Welcome to UniteSA. We are an independent, non-partisan South African civic participation platform operated by Unite SA NPC, a registered non-profit company.
Our purpose is to give South Africans an informed, structured and trustworthy way to participate in matters affecting their communities and country.
By creating an account, accepting these Terms or using the platform, you agree to the conditions below.
1. Membership and participation
UniteSA offers free Participant membership and may provide additional paid, higher-assurance Verified Membership services.
Members must provide accurate registration information, protect their accounts and use the platform lawfully. Each account is intended for one genuine individual.
Participation is subject to the eligibility requirements, rules and opening and closing times of each consultation.
UniteSA uses technical, organisational and identity-related safeguards to reduce duplicate participation, impersonation and manipulation of consultation results.
Where Verified Membership is available, additional identity assurance may be required to establish that a member represents a unique individual. Payment alone does not establish verified identity.
Our consultations are expressions of civic participation, not statutory elections or official electoral votes. We work to maintain trustworthy results but cannot guarantee the prevention of every fraudulent attempt.
2. Personal information and identity protection
We collect information reasonably necessary to provide and protect our services, including names, email addresses, account information, organisational affiliations and participation records.
Your email address must be verified to activate and secure your account.
Additional personal information, including telephone numbers and South African identity numbers, is voluntary for ordinary Participants. Certain information may be required for higher-assurance Verified Membership.
Where an identity-verification service is offered, members may be asked to authorise verification of their name and identity number against a recognised external verification provider or registered credit bureau.
We protect identity information through appropriate technical and organisational safeguards, including access controls and measures to prevent misuse and duplicate identities. We limit access, use and retention to legitimate purposes and applicable legal requirements. Full identity numbers are not shown in normal member or administrative screens.
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to prevent unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration or loss of personal information.
3. Privacy and POPIA
UniteSA processes personal information in accordance with applicable South African law, including the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA).
We use personal information for legitimate purposes connected with membership, authentication, participation eligibility, consultation administration, communication, security, fraud prevention, reporting, support and legal compliance.
We do not sell, rent or trade members' personal information, email addresses, telephone numbers or identity details.
We do not give partner organisations, consultation issuers, sponsors or donors access to member contact lists or identifiable individual participation records for their own purposes.
Trusted contracted service providers may process limited information when necessary to deliver email, hosting, payments, identity checks, notifications or other platform services. They must process that information only for authorised purposes and under appropriate safeguards.
Routine Operations member searches display limited information such as name, member number, authority status and applicable membership/verification status. They do not disclose protected email addresses, telephone numbers, identity numbers or personal demographic information.
Protected information may be accessed through specifically authorised technical procedures for lawful requests, security incidents or essential operations. Routine UniteSA staff do not have access to that underlying information. Information may also be disclosed where required by law or lawful process.
4. Civic responses and results
UniteSA's poll results, PDF reports and CSV exports exclude members' names, member numbers, identity numbers, email addresses and telephone numbers. Public and member-accessible reports contain approved aggregate findings only.
Individual response records and optional written comments may be included in restricted, specifically authorised Operations reporting without direct member identity fields. These detailed records are never provided as member-accessible or public reports.
A final submitted response cannot be edited or replaced. Exceptional lawful invalidation is managed through a controlled, audited process while preserving the original submission history.
We aim to preserve the accuracy, independence and integrity of consultation results. Participation does not guarantee that a particular policy, decision or public action will follow.
5. Emails, notifications and service updates
By registering, members acknowledge that UniteSA uses their verified email addresses to operate and support their accounts.
Essential account notices, email verification, password recovery, security messages and participation confirmations are generated through automated platform systems and authorised providers. We also communicate significant changes affecting our services.
We do not use verified member phone numbers for unsolicited telephone calls or marketing SMS messages. Member-initiated verification SMS or one-time passcodes may be available separately.
We may also send occasional non-promotional service updates concerning UniteSA's operation, relevant consultations, participation opportunities, important deadlines and significant changes to the platform.
We aim to keep these communications relevant, useful and limited in frequency. Members may request to stop receiving optional, non-essential updates by contacting exco@unitesa.co.za.
Where available, members may separately enable app or device notifications. Device notification permission remains under the member's control.
We do not treat acceptance of these Terms as blanket permission to receive fundraising or other direct-marketing emails. Such communications will only be sent where a lawful basis exists, including separate consent where required, and will include an appropriate means to unsubscribe.
Essential account and security communications may continue while the account remains active.
6. Donations and financial support
Unite SA NPC operates on a non-profit basis and may seek voluntary donations to support its activities and continued operation.
Donations are entirely voluntary and do not purchase influence over consultations, results or UniteSA governance.
Donations and applicable payment services may be made available through our official website, https://unitesa.co.za.
Payment information and any applicable paid membership conditions will be disclosed before a transaction.
Authorised payment providers receive the information necessary to process transactions, including the payment email address, amount and transaction reference. Authorised billing personnel may access relevant transaction and receipt records through the payment provider.
Donations are not automatically tax deductible. Eligibility for a South African section 18A tax deduction depends on the relevant legal approvals and circumstances.
Individuals and companies considering donations should contact the Executive Committee at exco@unitesa.co.za to enquire about the organisation's current tax status and applicable documentation.
7. Security, retention and member rights
We retain personal information only for lawful operational, administrative, security, accountability and recordkeeping purposes, taking account of applicable legal requirements.
Certain completed consultation records may need to remain available to preserve result integrity, accountability and audit history.
Members may request access to, correction of or deletion of personal information where permitted by law. Members may also raise privacy concerns, object to applicable processing and withdraw optional consent where appropriate.
We may request identity confirmation before processing requests involving protected account information.
No internet-based system can guarantee absolute security. Where a personal-information security compromise occurs, UniteSA will take appropriate action and provide notifications required by law.
Privacy enquiries and requests may be sent to exco@unitesa.co.za.
Members also have the right to lodge appropriate complaints with South Africa's Information Regulator.
8. Responsible use and independence
UniteSA is not a political party, government institution or electoral authority.
Members may not abuse the platform, impersonate others, attempt duplicate or fraudulent participation, interfere with security systems, threaten other participants or submit unlawful content.
UniteSA may suspend or restrict access where reasonably necessary to protect members, platform integrity or legal compliance, subject to applicable law.
Civic information and external resources may be supplied by participating organisations or third parties. Their inclusion does not necessarily constitute endorsement by UniteSA.
UniteSA may moderate or restrict unlawful or harmful content in accordance with applicable rules.
9. Platform operation and changes
We aim to provide reliable and secure services, but availability may be affected by maintenance, connectivity, technical failures or events beyond our reasonable control.
Features, membership services and participation rules may evolve as the platform develops.
We may amend these Terms when operational or legal requirements change. Material changes will be communicated where appropriate, and the current version will remain available at:
https://app.unitesa.co.za/terms
Nothing in these Terms excludes rights or protections that cannot lawfully be excluded.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.
10. Contact
Unite SA NPC
Registration No. 2019/476955/08
Website: https://unitesa.co.za
Application: https://app.unitesa.co.za
Executive Committee, privacy and membership enquiries:
exco@unitesa.co.za