Last updated: 5 October 2026
Faith • Civilization • Theology (FCT) respects the privacy of authors, reviewers, correspondents, website users and other individuals whose personal information is handled in connection with the journal.
This policy explains the kinds of personal information FCT may collect and hold, how that information may be used, who may have access to it, and how privacy enquiries may be made.
Information we may collect
Depending on how an individual interacts with the journal, FCT may collect or hold information including:
- name;
- email address and other contact details;
- institutional affiliation;
- professional or academic biography;
- ORCID or other scholarly identifiers;
- manuscript files and supplementary material;
- declarations relating to authorship, funding, competing interests, AI assistance, permissions and ethics approvals;
- reviewer information and review reports;
- editorial correspondence;
- publication metadata;
- account or login information used by the submission or journal system;
- information supplied through enquiries, complaints or correspondence;
- and technical information reasonably necessary for website operation, security or administration.
FCT does not seek to collect unnecessary personal information.
Sensitive and confidential information
Manuscripts, peer-review reports, reviewer identities where anonymity applies, editorial correspondence and unpublished submission material are treated as confidential editorial records.
Where authors submit personal, sensitive or identifiable information relating to research participants, case studies, pastoral situations or third parties, authors remain responsible for ensuring that the information has been lawfully and ethically included and that appropriate consent, privacy protections or approvals have been obtained where required.
How information is collected
Personal information may be collected directly from individuals through:
- manuscript submissions;
- reviewer registration or invitations;
- journal accounts;
- email correspondence;
- contact or enquiry forms;
- publication processes;
- complaints or integrity enquiries;
- or other direct interaction with FCT.
Information may also be generated as part of legitimate editorial activity, including peer-review records, editorial decisions, correspondence histories and publication metadata.
How information is used
FCT may use personal information where reasonably necessary for legitimate journal and editorial purposes, including:
- managing manuscript submissions;
- selecting and communicating with reviewers;
- conducting editorial assessment and peer review;
- corresponding with authors, reviewers and readers;
- verifying authorship, declarations, permissions and publication information;
- preparing and publishing accepted contributions;
- maintaining the scholarly and editorial record;
- responding to complaints, corrections, retractions or integrity concerns;
- administering the journal website and submission systems;
- maintaining security and preventing misuse;
- and meeting applicable legal or regulatory obligations where required.
Personal information will not be used for unrelated purposes without an appropriate basis.
Access to editorial information
Access to unpublished manuscripts, confidential reviews, editorial correspondence and other restricted information should be limited to persons who reasonably require access for their assigned journal responsibilities.
Reviewer identities and confidential peer-review reports are not public author-profile information.
Editors, reviewers and other persons given access to confidential material must not use that material for personal, professional or competitive advantage.
Publication of personal information
Published contributions may display information that authors have agreed to make public, including:
- author name;
- affiliation;
- ORCID;
- biography;
- correspondence details where expressly agreed;
- funding statements;
- competing-interest declarations;
- acknowledgements;
- and other publication metadata.
Once scholarly material has been formally published and entered into the public scholarly record, requests to remove published attribution or metadata will be considered in light of privacy interests, legal obligations, publication ethics and the integrity of the scholarly record.
Service providers and external systems
FCT may rely on third-party providers for services necessary to operate the journal, including website hosting, email, submission systems, security, storage, repositories, analytics or related technical services.
Such providers may process information to the extent necessary to provide those services.
FCT does not claim that information remains exclusively within Australia unless that has been confirmed. Some service providers may store or process information in other countries.
Where practicable, FCT will use reputable providers and reasonable safeguards appropriate to the information being handled.
International access and transfers
Because FCT is an international scholarly journal, authors, reviewers, editors, service providers and readers may be located in different countries.
Personal information and editorial records may therefore be accessed or processed outside Australia where reasonably necessary for journal operations, peer review, publication or technical services.
FCT will not state specific overseas locations unless those locations are known and confirmed.
Data security
FCT takes reasonable administrative and technical steps appropriate to its size and operations to protect personal and confidential information against unauthorized access, misuse, interference, loss, alteration or disclosure.
No online system can guarantee absolute security. Individuals should therefore avoid sending unnecessary sensitive information by email or through the website.
Suspected unauthorized access, disclosure or other security incidents may be investigated and appropriate remedial action taken.
Retention of editorial records
FCT may retain submission records, review reports, editorial correspondence, decisions, declarations and publication records for as long as reasonably necessary to:
- administer the journal;
- maintain the integrity of the scholarly record;
- respond to disputes or complaints;
- document peer-review and editorial processes;
- address research-integrity concerns;
- or meet applicable legal obligations.
Retention does not mean that all information will be kept indefinitely. Information that is no longer reasonably required may be deleted, anonymized or archived where appropriate.
Access and correction
Individuals may contact FCT to request access to personal information held about them or to request correction of information that is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date.
Requests will be considered reasonably and may be subject to limits necessary to protect:
- reviewer anonymity;
- confidential editorial processes;
- the privacy of other individuals;
- legal obligations;
- research integrity;
- and the integrity of the published scholarly record.
Privacy complaints and enquiries
Privacy concerns, access requests or correction requests may be sent to:
editor@faithcivilizationtheology.org
FCT will consider privacy enquiries in good faith, seek relevant information where necessary and take proportionate action.
Where an individual believes a privacy issue has not been resolved, any external complaint or review rights available under applicable law remain unaffected.
Cookies and technical information
The website or services used by FCT may use essential cookies or similar technologies for functions such as login, security, session management and website operation.
Where third-party services provide additional analytics or functionality, their own privacy practices may also apply.
FCT should not describe non-essential tracking, analytics or advertising technologies in this policy unless they are actually in use.
Automated decision-making
FCT does not represent that editorial acceptance, rejection or peer-review decisions are made solely by automated systems.
Generative AI or other software tools, if used for administrative or editorial support, do not remove human editorial responsibility for publication decisions.
If FCT later introduces automated systems that materially affect individuals’ rights or interests, this policy should be reviewed and updated accordingly.
Changes to this policy
FCT may update this Privacy Policy when journal systems, service providers, editorial practices or applicable legal requirements change.
The current version published on the journal website will apply from the date shown on the page.
This policy should be reviewed periodically to ensure that it accurately reflects FCT’s actual information-handling practices.