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Data collection policy

This page defines the ASEG’s data policy by describing specific aspects such as what data are collected, who will access that data, what will be done with it and how long it will be retained for. Any questions relating to this policy should be directed to the ASEG President (president@aseg.org.au) or the Web master (webmaster@aseg.org.au).
There are four aspects to the ASEG’s Data Collection Policy. Each of these aspects, viz., data collection, data access, data sharing and data retention are described below. Data are collected for the twin purposes of providing services and for improving the ASEG’s services to members.

Data Collection

Members are asked to provide personal data for two reasons. Provision of personal data simplifies services such as post-service and electronic delivery of the Societies journal (Exploration Geophysics), magazine (Preview) and newsletter. Personal data required to deliver basic services are:

*First Name, Home address, *Last name, Postal address, Title, Home phone number, *email address, Mobile phone number, Employer, Work phone number. Entries preceded by * are required.

In addition, the following fields are updated when members login to the ASEG’s website: Member ID, Joining Date, Location, Member name, Member status, Currency, Member number, Chapter, Dashboard URL, Include in search?, Member type, Details URL, Expiry date, Amount outstanding, Last logged in, Expired?, Add ons, Invoice URL, Extras, Payment URL.

Data Access

Members data are accessed in order to meet a service requirement and to characterise the society’s demographics. In the first instance, specific member data are accessed while in the second they are not.

Member search examines first and last names as well as employer and email address. Members may opt out of member search when they renew membership using a checkbox. So-called outstanding members are not included in search results. Member search is only available to members who have opted into the member search functionality.

The second reason to access ASEG members’ data is for the purpose of providing a snapshot of the society in terms of membership category, joining year, employment type, field of interest and geographical distribution. Member names are not used in such snapshots. These anonymised statistics may be used in publications such as Preview and conference material and published on the ASEG's website.

Data Sharing

The ASEG’s policy is that membership data will not be shared with or sold to third parties. By joining the ASEG members grant permission to access and use data according to the Data Access section of this page. Only Membership inquiries which are required as a normal part of conference registration will be handled by the Secretariat with yes/no responses. The ASEG will not respond to third-party requests for member details.

Data Retention

The GDPR requires that data-holding organisations not hold data indefinitely. ASEG Members data are retained while membership is current and for at most six (6) months after membership expiry. This provides some compromise between membership renewals and retaining outdated information. Because membership is typically renewed in January, outstanding members (members who have not renewed for the current year) are removed from the membership database and website in June.

Data Deletion

The GDPR requires that requests by members to delete their data are accommodated. Deletion of data will be treated as resignation from the ASEG. Equivalently, resignation from the ASEG will result in the deletion of members data. It should be noted that deletion of members data includes the member’s purchase history and therefore access to any purchased material

Data Requests

Accommodation of requests by members for private data held by the ASEG is a requirement of the GDPR. Data will be supplied in JSON and CSV formats. Because both formats are ASCII text files, they can be read on any computer system and therefore also satisfy GDPR requirements for data portability.