Privacy Policy - COCHASA

This Privacy Policy (‘Privacy Policy’) governs your use of the Website and the Services, which are owned by the Confederation of Complementary Health Associations of South Africa (‘COCHASA’).

At COCHASA we value your personal information or data and are committed to safeguarding the privacy of the COCHASA website Users. We have created this Privacy Policy to ensure that you understand our policies and procedures relating to privacy, what personal information you must provide if you wish to use certain portions of the Website and the Services, and how we use such personal information. You agree that it is always your choice to provide COCHASA with specific personal information or data via the COCHASA website. By using the COCHASA website or submitting personal information, you consent that we may process your personal information according to this policy.

This Privacy Policy is a part of and incorporated into the Terms and Conditions of Use. All defined terms in this Privacy Policy shall have the meaning assigned to them in the Terms and Conditions of Use. By accessing or using any of the Website and the Services, you acknowledge and agree that you have read and agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy.

Site and Site Operator
The site to which the following Privacy Policy applies is www.cochasa.org.za (‘the Website’). The operator of the Website is COCHASA.
Effective Date
This Privacy Policy is effective as of and was last revised on, 27 October 2018. COCHASA reserves the right to add to, delete from or otherwise change this Privacy Policy at any time in its sole and absolute discretion. To the maximum extent permitted by law, you are responsible for monitoring the Website in the future to determine if there are any changes made to the Privacy Policy. Your access to and/or use of the Website and/or the Services after the date of any such change shall be deemed to confirm your agreement to be bound by the Privacy Policy then in effect. By agreeing to the Terms of Use applicable to the Website at which this Privacy Policy is posted, you also agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy. Unless otherwise indicated, defined terms in this Privacy Policy shall have the same meaning assigned to them in the Terms and Conditions of Use.
What Information We May Collect
We collect two types of information from Users of the Website: personal information described below; and non-personal information such as information about traffic patterns on the Website.
Personal Information: We may collect, store and use the following personal data:
1. Information about your computer and your visits to and use of the COCHASA website (including but limited to your internet protocol address, geographical location, browser type, referral source, length of visit and number of page views);
2. Information that you provide to us to contact you (including name, contact number and email address); and
3. Any other information that you choose to send to us via the COCHASA Website.
  For example, to access certain portions of the Website, including the portions where the Services are offered, we require you to register and select a username and password. Some personal data is collected during the registration process. We may then ask for additional information, including personally identifiable and non-personally identifiable information. When you subscribe to the Services, list on our Directory, make a purchase on the Website, and/or when you enter a contest or other promotion, we may ask you for certain personal information such as your name, address, e-mail address, in order to manage your membership, process your order, administer the competition, or send you promotional e-mails.
  Providing personal information in these instances is solely your choice. You do not need to provide such information, subscribe to Services, list on our directory, make purchases or enter contests to browse our Website as a Visitor.
Cookies
1. We may use cookies to enhance your experience on our Website, to determine user traffic patterns and for other purposes. A cookie is a small amount of data generated by a website and saved by your web browser. Its purpose is to remember information about you, similar to a preference file created by a software application. Certain features on the Website and/or the Services utilize cookie technology. A cookie file can contain various types of information, including a user ID that the site uses to track the pages you've visited. Depending on the type of cookie we use, cookies also allow us to make our website more user-friendly.
  For example, permanent cookies allow the site to save the User password so that the user does not have to re-enter it every time the user visits our website. Cookies also allow us to monitor which pages have been viewed, to determine the most popular areas of our website and how frequently particular pages are visited.
2. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies; however, you can usually adjust your browser settings so that your computer does not accept cookies. If you do this, you will still be able to browse around the site but the functions that allow you to access an existing account or page that requires a username or password, will not be available.
3. Alternatively, you can adjust your browser to notify you when a website attempts to put a cookie on your computer or you can flush your browser of cookies from time to time. How you adjust your browser to prevent it from accepting or alerting you to cookies will depend on the type of internet browser programme that your computer uses. (You may need to consult the help area of your browser application for instructions.)
4. We may also use cookies to improve the performance of our advertising on other websites. Although you may not opt out of receiving online advertisements generally, you may control the collection of data on our site used for targeted advertising during your visits to other websites.
5. Please note that cookies do not contain personal information such as your home address, telephone number or credit card details. We do not exchange cookies with any third-party websites or external data suppliers.
6. Your browser also generates other information, including the display language of the site and your Internet Protocol address ('IP address'). An IP address is a set of numbers assigned to the User’s computer during a browsing session whenever the User logs onto the internet via your internet service provider or your network (if you access the internet from, for example, a computer at work). Our servers automatically log your IP address and use it to collect traffic data about our site visitors. We do not use your IP address to identify you personally.
7. We only keep cookies for the duration of your visit to our website.
How We Use Your Personal Information
Personal data submitted on the COCHASA website or by any other electronic communications are used for the purposes specified in this privacy policy or in relevant parts of the COCHASA Website.
1. We use the information collected on the Website for a variety of purposes, including, but not limited to:
  1. administer the Website;
  2. enable your use of the services available on the website;
  3. improve your browsing experience by personalising the website;
  4. communicate back to you, send you notifications which we feel may be relevant to you or as requested by you as a member of COCHASA;
  5. send to you our newsletter (where applicable) and other communications relating to COCHASA or the businesses of relevant carefully-selected third parties, which we think may be of interest to you by email or similar technology where you have specifically agreed to this. You can opt out or inform us at any time if you no longer require these communications. You can remove your e-mail address from our e-mail list at any time by following the procedures set forth in Section 7 below (‘Opt-Out Procedures’) if you no longer require these communications. In addition, you can modify your information or change your preferences, as set forth in Section 8 below (‘Reviewing or Changing Your Information’).
  6. provide third parties with statistical information about our website users – but this information will not be used to identify any individual user; and
  7. deal with enquiries or complaints made by or about you relating to the website.
  8. The Website and the Services may also make available to other Registered Users information provided by you during registration, such as your screen name.
  9. In addition, if you make a purchase on the Website, we may send you order and shipping confirmation emails. We will always give you the opportunity to opt out of receiving such materials.
2. Where you submit personal information for publication on our website, we will publish and otherwise use that information by the license you grant to us.
3. If you are an existing member of COCHASA, we will contact you by electronic means or by telephone with information which we may think is relevant to you as a member, unless you advise us otherwise in writing.
4. If you are a new member, and where we permit selected third parties to use your data, we (or they) will contact you by electronic means only if you have consented to this.
5. Submission of personal information on behalf of another:
  Kindly take note that if you provide information on behalf of someone else, then it is your responsibility to obtain the necessary consent from that person before making the information available to us. When we receive such personal information, we assume that the necessary consent has been obtained.
6. Discussion Forums and Community Tools: The Website and the Services may make chat rooms, forums, bulletin boards, news groups and other community tools available to Registered Users and/or Visitors. It is important to be aware that these community tools and forums are open areas for all registered members to submit comments and view comments of other members. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information for other users to view and for COCHASA to use. You should not add your sensitive personal information to a forum and if you decide to add any personal information you should know that we have no responsibility to keep your personal information from being used by any other forum member. Please do not disclose any personally identifiable information, including without limitation your full name or e-mail address, in these publicly accessible areas of the Website or the Services. Please be considerate and respectful of others while using any chat rooms, forums or message boards to share your opinion.
Your Rights
You have a right to see your personal information that we keep about you.
1. You may instruct us to provide you with any personal information we hold about you upon receipt of a written request and payment of a fee as per the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000. If you are concerned that any of the information we hold on you is incorrect, please contact COCHASA immediately.
2. You may instruct us not to process your personal information for marketing purposes as per the Opt-Out Procedures below.
Opt-Out Procedures
You have two options to opt out of receiving information from COCHASA, the Website and the Services.
1. An opt-out message will appear at the bottom of every promotional email that is sent out, with an 'Unsubscribe' link. Click this link to remove your email address from our email list.
2. If you no longer wish to take advantage of the Website or the Services or receive any form of direct contact from COCHASA, whether it is email, discounts, newsletters, or other promotional offers or materials, please send an email (from the email address as per the COCHASA records) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the word 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in the subject line. Please note that it may take up to 21 days to action your request.
Changing or Reviewing Your Information
In order to ensure that the information we maintain is accurate, we give Users the option to change or modify their information that was provided during their registration. If you would like to change your information that is currently in our database, please log in and click the ‘My Details’ link on the Website, or email us with the detailed request at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Sharing Your Information
1. We may share information about you to any of our officers, employees, agents, suppliers or subcontractors insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes as set out in this privacy policy.
2. We may also disclose information about you:
  1. to the extent that we are required to do so by law;
  2. in connection with any legal proceedings or prospective legal proceedings;
  3. to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others to prevent fraud and reduce credit risk); and
3. Except as provided in this privacy policy, we will not provide your information to third parties.
4. Occasionally third parties may provide information processing services to COCHASA. In those circumstances, those third parties shall be required to enter into a non-disclosure agreement on no less stringent terms than found in this privacy statement and to process and protect your personal information per our instructions.
5. We may from time to time disclose non-identifiable personal information to third parties to identify the user population regarding our website and/or services utilisation.
Security of Your Personal Information
Providing a secure site is essential for your peace of mind and trust in COCHASA. We have installed encryption software conforming to the Secure Socket Layers (SSL) protocol to safeguard all of the information you send to us.
1. We will take appropriate technical and organisational precautions to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information.
2. We will store all the personal information you provide on our secure servers.
3. It is important for you to protect against unauthorized access to your password and to your computer. If your password is compromised, notify the Secretariat at once at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
4. Privacy Precaution Warning: Please note that data transmission over the internet is inherently insecure. As a result, we cannot guarantee the security of data sent over the internet that you transmit via our online services.
Retention of Personal Information
1. We will retain your records in accordance with the relevant retention laws of South Africa that require us to retain specific information (i.e. the Protection of Personal Information Act No. 4 of 2013).
2. When we receive the written cancellation of your COCHASA membership we will remove your personal information from our active operations.
3. Personal information records will be kept for no longer than is necessary for achieving the purposes for which the information was collected unless it is required or authorised by law.
4. Records of personal information may be retained for longer periods than those contemplated in the clause above for historical, statistical or research purposes, subject to COCHASA establishing appropriate safeguards against the records being used for any other purpose.
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Policy
The Website and the Services are not intended for or directed to users under the age of 18, and we do not knowingly or intentionally collect personally identifiable information from children under the age of 18 or other minors. Where appropriate, we take reasonable measures to determine that our users are adults of legal age and to inform minors not to submit such information to the Website or the Services or in response to advertisements. If you are concerned that personal information may have been inadvertently provided to or collected by COCHASA, please contact us immediately at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so that we may appropriate steps to remove such information from our database.
Social Media Platforms
1. Communication, engagement and actions taken through external social media platforms that the COCHASA website and its committee members, and/or employees participate in, are subject to the terms and conditions as well as the privacy policies held with each social media platform respectively.
2. You are advised to use social media platforms wisely and communicate or engage with them with due care and caution regarding their own privacy and personal information policies. Neither this website nor its committee members or employees will ever ask for personal or sensitive information through social media platforms, and we encourage Users wishing to discuss confidential details to contact us through primary communication channels such as by telephone or email.
3. The COCHASA website and its committee members and/or employees may through their social media platform accounts share web links to relevant web pages. By default, some social media platforms shorten lengthy web address URLs. You are advised to exercise caution and good judgement before clicking any shortened URLs that may be published on social media platforms by this website. Despite the best efforts to ensure that only genuine URL's are published, many social media platforms are prone to spam and hacking and therefore this website and its owners cannot be held liable for any damages or implications caused by visiting any shortened links.
4. Any unlawful use of a social media platform or breach of such social media platform terms and conditions may result in disciplinary action taken by COCHASA.
Third Party Websites
Please be aware that COCHASA website may link to other sites which may be accessed through the COCHASA website. COCHASA is not responsible for the data protection or privacy policies or procedures or the content of these linked websites.
Your Consent
By using the Website and/or the Services, and by providing your personal information to us, you also authorize the storage, use and export of your personal information as specified herein.
Applicable Law
The headquarters of COCHASA is located in The Republic of South Africa. This Privacy Policy and our legal obligations are subject to the laws of The Republic of South Africa., regardless of the location of any user. Any claims or complaints must be filed in a court of competent jurisdiction in The Republic of South Africa.
Contact
If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our treatment of your personal data, please write to us by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by post to the address as per our terms and conditions.