Purpose
- Greenpeace Australia Pacific is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that seeks to defend the natural world and its diversity of life. Supporters are essential to realising our shared mission of a greener, more peaceful future.
- From time to time, a supporter may seek a partial or full refund of an amount or amounts previously donated, often in circumstances of personal hardship.
- This Policy governs the circumstances in which Greenpeace Australia Pacific may approve a fund of a donation to a supporter.
- Whilst Greenpeace Australia Pacific seeks to respond to situations of hardship experienced by Supporters:
a. It is a not-for-profit registered charity.
b. It accepts donations on the basis they are given in good faith.
c. It is dependent on predictable giving to achieve its results, and this may be compromised by giving refunds.
d. There are operational costs associated with processing refunds, the meeting of which may divert funds away from Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s objectives.
e. It must guard against circumstances of fraud, where for example a person impersonates a supporter to obtain a refund of money they did not donate. - For these reasons, whether to provide a refund is in the discretion of Greenpeace Australia Pacific, which may in the circumstances outlined below require that a supporter requesting a donation demonstrate the circumstances giving rise to the request including by providing substantiating material. No offence or inconvenience is intended, and we appreciate your understanding on this point.
Policy
- Whether to provide a refund is entirely at the discretion of Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
- Refunds are assessed on a case by case basis but guided by the principles outlined in this policy.
- Except in the case of an error by Greenpeace Australia Pacific, refunds will not be provided where more than 60 days has passed since the making of the donation.
- In the case of recurring donations, except in the case of fraud or an error by Greenpeace Australia Pacific, the maximum refund Greenpeace Australia Pacific will provide is the amount of the Supporter’s most recent donation.
- Refunds are processed using the original method of payment. If the original method of payment is no longer in use, Greenpeace Australia Pacific may in its discretion provide a refund to another account in accordance with the procedures below.
- Greenpeace Australia Pacific reserves the right to deduct any bank or transaction charges associated with a refund from the refund.
- Refunds are likely to be approved (subject to 8 above) under the following circumstances:
a. The person requesting the refund can demonstrate they are the supporter that made the donation AND
i. The supporter can demonstrate that their payment details were used fraudulently by someone else;
ii. The supporter can demonstrate that donations were made after 7 days had passed since a cancellation of a recurring donation was requested;
iii. An error has been made by Greenpeace Australia Pacific or one of its agents; or
iv. There is evidence of supporter vulnerability. - Refunds may be approved (subject to 8 above) under the following circumstances:
a. The person requesting the refund can demonstrate they are the supporter that made the donation AND
i. The supporter can demonstrate financial hardship; or
ii. The supporter can demonstrate they intended to give a one-off donation online but a regular donation was started accidentally. - Refunds will not be approved under the following circumstances:
a. The person requesting the refund cannot demonstrate they are the supporter that made the donation;
b. The donation has been made knowingly and voluntarily, and the refund is sought due to ‘change of mind’;
c. A recurring donation has restarted after a period of being on hold, and the supporter was previously informed of and did not object to the restart date; or
d. If a supporter seeks a refund of donations made after requesting cancellation of
a recurring donation, but there is no evidence of a request to cancel. - Information and documents provided in support of a request for refund will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy – Our Supporters.
- Greenpeace Australia Pacific will not intentionally collect Sensitive Information as defined in our Privacy Policy from you, other than in exceptional circumstances, where we request the provision of Health Information because it is reasonably necessary to verify a request for a refund (to protect against fraud and or to prove vulnerability). In those circumstances, we will only collect Sensitive Information with the documented consent of the person or their appointed Attorney.
- Greenpeace Australia Pacific will implement this policy in good faith and apply due diligence, however it remains the responsibility of the Supporter to submit only correct receipts to the Australian Tax Office.
- Greenpeace Australia Pacific will publish this policy on its website.
Procedures
- To request a refund a Supporter should:
a. Call Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s Supporter Engagement team on 1800 815 151 during the hours 9am-5pm (AEST) or email [email protected] anytime.
b. Provide your name, email, supporter number (CON-XXXXXXX), the date and amount of the donation(s) you would like refunded, a photocopy of identification with your name and address (which match those provided to Greenpeace Australia Pacific) and the reason for the refund. - Our team will submit a same-day refund request to the Team Coordinator.
- The Team Coordinator will:
a. within 5 business days, review the refund request, check that the information provided matches our records, and if not, raise any discrepancies with the Supporter;
b. if and when satisfied the information provided is in order, promptly:
i. For refunds of up to $1,000 – decide whether to approve or decline a refund; and
ii. For refunds of more than $1,000, provide the request to the Director, Funding and Technology to decide whether to approve or decline a refund. - Our team will contact you via email once a decision has been made. If your refund has been approved, please allow up to 5 business days for the refund amount to be returned to you. While the refunds will be put through promptly after approval, we are subject to delays beyond our control such as bank processing times and pandemics.
- If the original method of payment is no longer in use, the Director, Fundraising and Technology will decide whether to provide a refund to another account, having regard to the amount of the refund, and any evidence provided that the original method of payment is no longer in use and the other account belongs to the Supporter.
- If you are dissatisfied with the decision whether to approve a refund, you may request a review by our Head of Fundraising, whose decision will be final.
- If a donation is refunded, the associated tax receipt is no longer valid so it should be securely destroyed.
