Privacy
Application and Ownership
This privacy statement applies to the website known the First Star, with a home page address of http://www.thefirststar.com.au. The site is operated by the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (LHMU) (ABN No 52728088684) which is the sole owner of the information collected on the site.
This statement does not apply to other companies or organisations websites to which this website is linked. We encourage you to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personally identifiable information.
We reserve the right to change our privacy statement at any time, as this website grows and its privacy implications change.
Purpose of the Privacy Statement
The purpose of this statement is to let you know what information is collected about you when you visit this website, how this information is used, to whom it is disclosed, and your ability to have any incorrect personal information amended.
Our goal is to provide you with a satisfying experience while allowing you to control your privacy and to give you a means to voice any questions or concerns you may have.
This statement has been prepared in accordance with the Australian Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000.
Commitment to privacy
The LHMU is strongly committed to protecting your privacy while interacting with this site.
Information is collected from you primarily to enable us to provide our services. Depending on the service you are accessing, you could be asked to provide information such as your name, email address or other information.
We use any personal information you have chosen to provide us for the purpose for which you provided it.
Information collected
This website collects two types of information. The first type is anonymous information. The web server managed by [ISP] makes a record of your visit and logs the following information for statistical purposes:
- the user’s server address,
- the user’s top level domain name (eg. com, .gov, .net, .au, etc.),
- the date and time of the visit to the site,
- the pages accessed and documents downloaded,
- the site referred from, and
- the type of browser used.
No attempt will be made to identify users or their browsing activities except, in the unlikely event of an investigation, where a law enforcement agency may exercise a warrant to inspect the internet service provider’s logs.
The second type of information that this website collects is personal information. Personal information is requested in order to provide personalised and enhanced services that are not available to anonymous users.
Email address
We will record your e-mail address if you send us a message, register to take part in the First Star program, or complete a form where this information is requested. If subscribing to an email newsletter you may “unsubscribe” at any time from the newsletter mailing list. Email addresses will not be added to any other mailing lists. We will not disclose your email address without your consent unless required to by law. Some email addresses used in our mailing lists are taken from sources other than direct subscribers. These users can unsubscribe from the list at any time, and are people with an existing relationship with the LHMU.
Social networking integration
An optional feature of the site enables you to input your social networking account details such as Twitter and Facebook with the purpose of having your comments and participation highlighted on those sites. We do not record/store your social networking account details.
Publicly visible information:
When using applications such as comments, we suggest that you use your discretion and exercise caution when providing any personal information. Note that whenever you post personal information in publicly accessible places, such as forums, this information becomes available to anyone with access to the internet. If you post personal information, you may receive unsolicited messages from other parties in return. Therefore, we recommend that you refrain from posting any information that you do not want seen in these public areas. For example, when participating in a forum, your name will appear on the message board. If you do not want your real name to appear use a false name but do not under any circumstances use somebody else’s name.
Use of cookies
A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user.
The First Star website tries to avoid the use of cookies, and where they are sent the information in them is not used for any purpose other than what they were sent for.
If you have any concerns about cookies, you can adjust your computer settings so they will not be accepted. Alternatively, you may set your computer to prompt you each time a cookie is about to be stored.
How information is used
We will only use the personal information you have chosen to provide us for the purpose you have provided it – information and engagement opportunities around ethical hotels. We will not use it for any other purpose without your consent (however if you are an LHMU member we may enter your email address into our membership system).
Under no circumstances will the LHMU sell or receive payment for licensing or disclosing your personal information.
We will only publish personal information on this site if it has been collected for this purpose with your knowledge or if you have consented to the disclosure. You should be aware that information published on this site is accessible to users from all over the world and may be indexed by search engines. It may also be copied and used by any web user. This means that, once the information is published on this site, we will have no control over its subsequent use and disclosure.
Commitment to data security
We will take reasonable steps to ensure that all information we collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete, up-to-date and stored in a secure environment accessed only by authorised persons.
Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us or receive from our web site. These activities are conducted at your own risk. Once we receive your transmission, we make our best effort to ensure its security.
We do keep records of all emails sent to us through this website. But we take all possible steps to ensure that this data is kept secure and accessed only by authorised persons.
How users can access and correct their personal information
When this website holds your personal information we will, where possible, provide you with access to the information. We will take reasonable steps to correct the information so that it is accurate, complete and up-to-date. To request any corrections please contact the Privacy Officer at or contact us by telephone or postal mail at the contact information listed below.
How to contact us
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding our privacy policy, please contact:
Privacy Officer
LHMU, National Office
Tel: 61 2 8204 3000
Fax: 61 2 9281 4480
Email: lhmu@lhmu.org.au
We absolutely welcome open discussion but wish to keep the conversations open and honest.
Comments are pre-moderated, but comments will be allowed through if they don’t meet any of the following criteria.
We don’t want to see comments that are:
- abusive,
- off-topic,
- promote hate,
- are spammy,
- or use language that you wouldn’t use in front of your grandmother.
We’re also on the lookout for single IP addresses masquerading as multiple personalities. Comments from these IP addresses will be marked as spam.