Privacy Policy

Version 2.0 | Effective 18 July 2026 | Supersedes the Privacy Policy dated 19 November 2025

This Privacy Policy explains how personal information is handled when you visit the Apostolic Old Catholic Mission website, contact us, donate, subscribe, apply for or take part in Institute of Ministry formation, or use our related digital services. We seek to treat every person’s information with care, restraint, and respect.

1. Who is responsible for your information

Apostolic Old Catholic Mission NPC, registration number 2025/038188/08, is responsible for the personal information covered by this Policy. The Apostolic Old Catholic Mission is the church body. The Institute of Ministry is the educational and formation body. Where the Institute processes learner, applicant, mentor, assessor, or programme information, it does so within the NPC’s governance and administration.

For privacy questions, requests, objections, or complaints, write to admin@apostolicoldcatholic.org. Please use the subject line “Privacy request” and tell us how we may verify your identity and respond safely.

2. Our approach and the laws that may apply

We apply the principles of lawfulness, fairness, transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy, security, and accountability. This Policy is intended to support compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA), the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA), the UK GDPR and EU GDPR where they apply, and other mandatory privacy or consumer laws. Nothing in this Policy removes a right that mandatory law gives you.

3. Information we collect

We collect only information that is reasonably needed for the service or relationship concerned. Depending on your dealings with us, this may include your name, contact details, correspondence, enquiry or donation details, account and transaction records, newsletter preferences, and technical information such as IP address, browser, device, cookies, and security logs.

For Institute of Ministry formation, we may also collect an application, eligibility and identity information, enrolment and attendance records, learning activity, submitted work, assessment and moderation records, feedback, communications, approved adjustments, and award or certificate records. We do not require special personal information merely to browse the website or make an ordinary enquiry.

In limited circumstances, information about religious belief, health, disability, safeguarding, pastoral need, or another sensitive matter may be volunteered or may be necessary to provide a requested adjustment, protect a person, meet a legal duty, or administer a formation process fairly. We will limit access to this information, use it only for the stated and lawful purpose, and apply the additional safeguards required by law. Pastoral communications are treated with particular care; however, confidentiality is not absolute where disclosure is required by law or is necessary to address a serious and immediate risk of harm.

4. Why we use information and our lawful grounds

We use personal information to answer enquiries; provide worship, pastoral, educational, membership, donation, and website services; administer applications, enrolment, assessment, awards, complaints, and appeals; communicate essential programme or account information; protect people and systems; keep appropriate records; meet legal obligations; and improve our services.

Where applicable, we rely on one or more lawful grounds: your consent; steps requested before entering a contract or performance of a contract; compliance with a legal obligation; protection of vital interests; legitimate interests pursued responsibly and balanced against your rights; or a lawful condition for religious, educational, safeguarding, or special personal information. We will ask for clear consent where consent is the appropriate ground. You may withdraw consent at any time, although this will not affect processing already carried out lawfully.

5. Marketing, cookies, and automated tools

We send newsletters or promotional updates only where permitted by law. You may unsubscribe at any time by using the link in the message or contacting us. We may retain a minimal suppression record so that we can honour your choice.

We use cookies and similar technologies for essential website functions, security, preferences, and, where you allow them, analytics or other optional services. Please see our Cookie Policy and the cookie controls presented to you for further detail.

We do not make decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects for you. Limited automated tools may help us manage subscriptions, detect abuse, organise routine communications, or support website security. A person may ask us to review a decision where applicable law gives that right.

6. Who receives information

Information is available only to people who need it for a proper purpose: authorised officers, staff, volunteers, tutors, assessors, moderators, mentors, or advisers, each subject to an appropriate duty of confidentiality. We use carefully selected service providers for matters such as website hosting, learning systems, email, communications, payment processing, security, and professional support. They may process information only on our instructions or as otherwise permitted by law.

We do not sell or rent personal information. We may disclose information where you ask us to, where it is necessary for the service, where law requires it, or where disclosure is necessary to prevent or investigate fraud, abuse, safeguarding concerns, or serious harm.

7. International processing

Our ministry and formation work are international. Information may be accessed or processed in countries other than the country where you live, including where a service provider operates its systems. When a cross-border transfer requires safeguards, we will use safeguards recognised by applicable law and will not transfer information merely for convenience.

8. Retention and security

We keep information for no longer than is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, for legal obligations, and for legitimate record-keeping. Ordinary enquiries are normally reviewed for deletion or anonymisation after 24 months. Learning, assessment, and programme records are normally retained for seven years after the learner’s last substantive activity. The minimum details needed to verify a genuine award or certificate may be retained indefinitely. Financial records are kept for the period required by applicable law. Safeguarding, disciplinary, and pastoral records receive restricted access, regular review, and a retention period proportionate to their purpose and any legal duty.

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect information, including access controls, least-privilege access, secure service providers, backups, and procedures for responding to suspected incidents. No online system can be guaranteed completely secure. If a breach creates a material risk to people, we will take the steps and provide the notices required by law.

9. Your privacy rights

Subject to applicable law and necessary verification, you may ask to know whether we hold information about you; request access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection, or portability where those rights apply; withdraw consent; object to direct marketing; and complain to the appropriate supervisory authority. We will normally respond to a privacy request within one calendar month, or sooner where law requires. If we need more time or cannot fulfil a request, we will explain why and tell you about any available review or complaint route.

To keep everyone’s information safe, we may ask for reasonable proof of identity and may withhold or redact information where disclosure would unlawfully affect another person, confidentiality, safeguarding, legal privilege, or another protected interest.

10. PAIA access-to-information requests

You may request access to records held by the NPC under PAIA. Send a written request to admin@apostolicoldcatholic.org, marked “PAIA request”, with enough detail to identify the record, your contact details, the capacity in which you make the request, and any preferred form of access. We will deal with the request under PAIA and POPIA, including any prescribed form, verification, time limit, fee notice, grounds for refusal, and internal or external remedy that applies. A request does not guarantee access; we will give reasons where law permits or requires us to withhold a record.

11. Children and young people

Our website is not designed to collect personal information from children without appropriate involvement of a parent, guardian, or other lawful authority. Institute programmes have their own published eligibility requirements. If you believe that a child’s information has been provided to us improperly, please contact us promptly.

12. Links, changes, and related policies

Our website may link to third-party websites or services. Their privacy practices are their own, and you should read their notices before providing information. We may update this Policy when our practices or the law change. Material changes will be posted here with a revised version and effective date.

Related policies include our Terms and Conditions, Cookie Policy, and Institute Formation Policie