Privacy Policy

Taranaki Hindu Cultural Trust (THCT)

Entity Status: Registered Charitable Trust under the Charities Act 2005 (Charities Registration Number: CC61749)
Inland Revenue Approved Donee Organisation: IRD Number: 141 230 689
Governing Jurisdiction: New Zealand (Aotearoa)

The Taranaki Hindu Cultural Trust ("THCT", "the Trust", "we", "our", or "us") is dedicated to protecting the sanctity, privacy, and personal rights of our devotees, donors, volunteers, and website visitors. This Privacy Policy sets out how we collect, hold, process, safeguard, and disclose personal information in strict compliance with the Privacy Act 2020 (including its 13 Information Privacy Principles), the Charities Act 2005, and the Tax Administration Act 1994.

1. Scope and Legislative Framework

This Privacy Policy applies to all individuals who interact with THCT, including users of our official website (www.taranakihindus.org), attendees of religious and cultural functions, financial donors, benefactors, and volunteers.

Our collection, use, holding, and disclosure of personal information is governed exclusively by the laws of New Zealand, principally:

• Privacy Act 2020: Ensuring transparent and lawful handling of personal information in alignment with the 13 Information Privacy Principles (IPPs).
• Tax Administration Act 1994 & Income Tax Act 2007: Governing our obligations as an approved Donee Organisation to record and verify charitable donations eligible for the 33.33% New Zealand tax credit.
• Charities Act 2005: Regulating charity governance, accounting disclosures, and statutory transparency to Charities Services (Department of Internal Affairs).

2. Information We Collect & Purpose of Collection

In accordance with Principle 1 (Purpose of collection) and Principle 2 (Source of information) of the Privacy Act 2020, we only collect personal information that is directly necessary for our legitimate charitable, spiritual, administrative, and statutory functions.

A. Information Collected Directly From You

• Full Legal Name: Required for the creation and issuance of official, legal IRD donation tax receipts, donor ledger maintenance, and personalized donor correspondence.
• Residential or Postal Address: Required strictly pursuant to Inland Revenue Department (IRD) regulations for donee organisations to establish tax residency and validate charitable tax deduction eligibility.
• Email Address: Used to deliver digital tax-deductible donation receipts (PDF), transaction confirmations, important Trust announcements, and responses to your direct inquiries. You may opt out of non-essential newsletters at any time.
• Telephone Number: Collected strictly for receipt queries, transaction reconciliation (e.g., matching unreferenced bank transfers), pledge clarification, or critical communication regarding donations. We do not use your phone number for cold-calling telemarketing.
• Engraving / Memorial Name: If you contribute towards specific giving tiers (such as Eet Daan brick sponsorship or Stambh Sewak pillar sponsorship), we collect the chosen dedication name as instructed by you.
• Communications & Messages: Records of correspondence submitted via our website contact or volunteer registration forms.

B. Technical and Telemetry Data

When you browse our website, our hosting web servers automatically record non-identifying telemetry (such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, referral URLs, and pages accessed). This technical data is collected exclusively to ensure server integrity, defend against cyber threats (such as DDoS or malicious brute-force attacks), and optimize performance.

3. IRD Donee Receipt Compliance (33.33% Tax Credit)

The Taranaki Hindu Cultural Trust is an approved Donee Organisation registered with Inland Revenue under IRD Number 141 230 689.

Under Section 32 of the Tax Administration Act 1994 and relevant IRD guidelines:

• Donation receipts issued by THCT must state the donor's full name, residential/postal address, official receipt number, donation amount, date of gift, and the Trust's registered charity details (CC61749).
• Failure to provide a full name or valid address prevents THCT from issuing a compliant tax receipt eligible for tax credits.
• Your receipt information is kept on our secure charity registers to enable verification should Inland Revenue audit donee claims.

4. Stripe Prebuilt Checkout & Financial Payment Security

To ensure top-tier security for digital contributions, THCT delegates online payment card processing to Stripe Payments Australia Pty Ltd / Stripe Inc. ("Stripe"), an industry-leading payment infrastructure provider certified to PCI-DSS Level 1 (the most stringent security standard in the global payment industry).

How Payment Processing Operates:

• When you make a donation using a credit card or debit card, your payment is processed directly on Stripe’s secure, audited infrastructure.
• Stripe securely transmits to THCT only non-sensitive transactional metadata (e.g., donor name, email address, transaction reference, amount paid, and masked card brand/last 4 digits) so that we may generate your official receipt and maintain accounting ledgers.
• For recurring monthly pledges processed via Stripe, your recurring schedule is managed tokenistically by Stripe. You may cancel or amend recurring donations at any time by contacting the Trust.
• Stripe’s processing of payment details is governed by the Stripe Global Privacy Policy.

5. Donors Recognition & Anonymity Protection

In accordance with Hindu cultural traditions of Dān (generosity) and community gratitude, the Trust maintains an online and physical Wall of Appreciation / Community Supporters Board celebrating contributors who assist in building the temple.

Your Privacy Choices:

• Voluntary Recognition: By default, public recognition includes only the donor's name (or family name) and tier classification (e.g., Founding Patron, Temple Pillar, Community Builder). Donation dollar figures are never publicly disclosed alongside individual names.
• Absolute Right to Anonymity: If you prefer that your donation remain completely confidential and omitted from all public donor lists, brochures, and websites, you may select "Anonymous" during donation or notify us in writing at info@taranakihindus.org.
• Revocation of Public Listing: You may request the removal of your name from our digital supporters pages at any time.

6. Data Storage, Security & Statutory Retention

In accordance with Principle 5 (Storage and security of personal information) of the Privacy Act 2020, THCT implements robust technical, organizational, and administrative safeguards to protect your personal information against loss, unauthorized access, misuse, modification, or unlawful disclosure.

A. Safeguards in Place

• Transport Layer Security: All data transmissions on our website are encrypted using modern HTTPS (TLS 1.3/256-bit encryption).
• Restricted Access: Access to donor records and administrative spreadsheets is strictly limited to authorized Trustees and executive officers on a strict "need-to-know" basis.
• Secure Cloud Infrastructure: Administrative records are backed up on encrypted, multi-factor authenticated (MFA) cloud storage services complying with international security certifications (SOC 2, ISO 27001).

B. Statutory 7-Year Retention Period

Under Section 32 of the Tax Administration Act 1994 and Section 42 of the Charities Act 2005, charitable trusts in New Zealand are legally required to preserve full and accurate accounting, donation, and receipt records for a minimum of seven (7) years from the end of the tax year to which they relate.

Upon expiry of the mandatory statutory retention period and when records are no longer required for any legitimate administrative or legal purpose, THCT will securely destroy, anonymize, or permanently delete the data.

7. Non-Disclosure & Third-Party Disclosures

In accordance with Principle 10 (Limits on use) and Principle 11 (Limits on disclosure) of the Privacy Act 2020, we will only disclose your personal information under the following narrow circumstances:

1. Inland Revenue Department (IRD): To verify and submit official donee schedules, or if audited pursuant to the Tax Administration Act 1994.
2. Charities Services / Regulatory Bodies: Where statutory reporting requires disclosure under the Charities Act 2005.
3. Essential Trusted Service Providers: Specialized third-party vendors operating under strict data processing agreements (e.g., Stripe for payment infrastructure, official accounting software such as Xero, and verified chartered accountants auditing the Trust's annual financial statements).
4. Legal Compulsion: Where required by law, summons, court order, or warrant issued by a New Zealand court of competent jurisdiction or law enforcement agency.

Cross-Border Disclosures (Principle 12): Where personal data is held by overseas service providers (e.g., Stripe or cloud hosting servers), THCT ensures that such entities are subject to privacy laws or contractual safeguards providing comparable protection to the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020.

8. Your Rights: Access, Correction & Deletion

Under Principle 6 (Access to personal information) and Principle 7 (Correction of personal information) of the Privacy Act 2020, you possess fundamental legal rights concerning your data:

• Right of Access: You are entitled to confirm whether THCT holds personal information about you and request an unredacted copy of that information.
• Right of Correction: If you believe any personal details (such as your address, phone number, or spelling of your name) are inaccurate, outdated, or incomplete, you have the right to request prompt correction.
• Right of Erasure / Deletion: You may request the deletion of your contact data from our general mailing lists. Please note that requests for complete erasure of financial donation ledgers are legally subject to our non-derogable 7-year statutory retention duties under New Zealand tax law.

To exercise any of these rights, please write to our Privacy Officer at info@taranakihindus.org. We will process and respond to your request within 20 working days in accordance with Section 44 of the Privacy Act 2020.

9. Notifiable Privacy Breaches

Under Part 6 of the Privacy Act 2020, if THCT experiences a privacy breach that has caused or is likely to cause serious harm to any affected individual, we are legally mandated to:

• Notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) as soon as practicable after becoming aware of the breach.
• Notify all affected individuals directly, enabling them to take steps to mitigate any potential consequences.
• Implement immediate containment, mitigation, and forensic security remediation.

10. Cookies, Web Analytics & External Links

A. Cookies

Our website uses minimal, essential functional cookies to ensure page navigation and responsive UI layout. We do not use intrusive third-party cross-site advertising trackers. You can configure your browser to block or alert you about cookies; however, certain site features may function with reduced speed.

B. External Links

Our website may contain links to external third-party websites (e.g., Inland Revenue myIR portal, banking websites, social media channels, or Charities Services registers). THCT is not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or data management policies of such external platforms. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party website you visit.

11. Legal Safeguards & Limitation of Liability

While THCT employs high-standard technical, organizational, and cryptographic measures in accordance with New Zealand law to protect your data, transmission of information across the public internet cannot be guaranteed to be 100% immune from sophisticated cyber interception or force majeure events.

To the maximum extent permitted under New Zealand law, the Taranaki Hindu Cultural Trust, its Trustees, officers, employees, and authorized volunteers shall not be held liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential loss or damage arising out of unauthorized access, security breaches, or disruptions resulting from events beyond the Trust’s reasonable technological control, provided the Trust has complied with its duty of care under the Privacy Act 2020.

Changes to this Policy

The Trust reserves the right to amend, update, or revise this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in New Zealand legislation, technological advancements, or charitable operations. Any updates will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" timestamp. Continued engagement with our website or services following such revisions constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Privacy Officer & Inquiries

If you have any questions, feedback, data access/correction requests, or complaints regarding how your personal information is handled by the Trust, please contact our designated Privacy Officer:

If you are dissatisfied with our response to a privacy complaint, you have the statutory right under the Privacy Act 2020 to lodge a formal complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC):
Website: www.privacy.org.nz | Phone: 0800 803 909 | PO Box 10-094, The Terrace, Wellington 6143.