The Humanitarian Frontiers Lab (HFL, “we”, “us”) is committed to protecting your personal information when you use our website or interact with us. This privacy policy explains:

  • What information we may collect about you;
  • How we use that information;
  • Whether we disclose it to anyone else;
  • Your choices and rights regarding your personal information; and
  • How we keep it secure.

What information do we collect?

Our website is informational. You can browse it without creating an account, and the site itself does not ask you for personal information.

We collect personal information only when you choose to provide it — for example, when you:

  • Contact us by email;
  • Subscribe to a mailing list we operate;
  • Express interest in joining the lab or apply for a position or placement (in which case you may provide your employment history, education, skills, and references);
  • Take part in one of our research studies.

The information collected in these cases may include your name, organisation and job title, contact details, and any other information you choose to share.

Research participants. Personal information collected as part of a research study is governed by the ethics approval and participant consent arrangements for that study, which are explained to participants before they take part. Those arrangements take precedence over this general website policy.

Cookies and analytics

This website does not set cookies and does not use tracking or advertising technologies.

Our website is served by a hosting provider, which processes limited technical data (such as your IP address, browser type, and pages requested) in server logs for security and performance purposes. Where we use website analytics, we use privacy-preserving, aggregate measurement that does not use cookies and does not identify individual visitors.

How will we use your information?

We use personal information you provide to:

  • Respond to your enquiries;
  • Send you news, event invitations, publication announcements, or similar updates you have subscribed to;
  • Consider applications to join the lab;
  • Invite you to participate in or contribute to research projects (participation is always voluntary);
  • Maintain accurate records.

You can unsubscribe from any mailing list, or withdraw consent for any of these uses, at any time by contacting us or using the unsubscribe option in our emails.

Will we share your personal details with anyone else?

We do not sell, lease, or trade your personal information.

We may share it with service providers who help us operate the website or deliver communications (for example, an email newsletter service). These providers act on our instructions and are not permitted to use your information for their own purposes.

We may also disclose personal information where disclosure is required or authorised by law.

Third-party websites

Our website contains links to websites operated by third parties. Those websites have their own privacy policies, and we are not responsible for their privacy practices. We recommend reviewing the policies of any website you visit from ours.

How will we keep your information secure?

We take reasonable physical, electronic, and managerial precautions to safeguard the personal information we hold. However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

How long will we keep your personal information?

We keep personal information only as long as it is needed for the purposes described above, or as required by law. If you unsubscribe from a mailing list, we may retain a minimal record (such as your email address) to ensure we do not contact you again.

Your rights

You may request access to the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct or delete it. If you believe any information we hold is incorrect or incomplete, contact us and we will promptly correct it.

We handle personal information in accordance with applicable privacy laws, including the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Spam Act 2003 (Cth).

How can you contact us about this policy?

If you have any questions or requests regarding this privacy policy, contact us by email: aaron.opdyke@sydney.edu.au

Changes to this privacy policy

We may amend this policy from time to time by updating this page, so you may wish to check it periodically. This policy was last updated in August 2026.