Privacy

What information we collect and why

Your privacy is important to us. This Privacy Statement describes how we collect, use, store and disclose personal information when you interact with Victorian Public Notices.

In this Privacy Statement, 'personal information has the same meaning as that given in section 3 of the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014(opens in a new window) [PDP Act]: 'information or an opinion [including information or an opinion forming part of a database], that is recorded in any form and whether true or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion, but does not include information of a kind to which the Health Records Act 2001 applies'.

Additionally, this privacy statement describes how we collect, use, store and disclose other types of information that does not, on its own, constitute personal information. We recommend that you read this Privacy Statement because it applies to everyone who visits our website.

Victorian Public Notices is the Victorian Government's online publishing platform for public notices created by businesses and government agencies and departments. The service is provided by the Department of Government Services (DGS) and supported by Doghouse Agency. It provides an opportunity for citizens to find information which is relevant to them and their community.

Our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information is bound by the PDP Act. We will only collect and use personal information in accordance with the PDP Act and the Information Privacy Principles.

By providing personal information and/or continuing to use Victorian Public Notices you consent to your personal information being collected, used and disclosed in accordance with this Privacy Statement and you also agree to Victoria Public Notices' Terms of Use and Moderation Policy.

There are links to other websites on Victorian Public Notices. If you click on one of those links, you will leave the Victorian Public Notices website. This Privacy Statement does not apply to any other website and we recommend you review the other website's privacy statement when you access it.

What information do we collect?

We collect information about you and your use of Victorian Public Notices. The type of information we collect will vary depending on how you interact with the service. Victorian Public Notices will only collect personal information if it is necessary for the provision of services or to carry out Victoria Public Notices' functions.

Registering for the service

Users can register for Victorian Public Notices to submit public notices for publication.

To register you need to provide:

• username and password

• first name and last name

• organisation type and name

• ABN if relevant

• email address

Correspondence

We will retain any user feedback or correspondence that you send to us in accordance with the Victorian Public Records Act 1973. We will store this information in a secure area within our message services system and will use it in accordance with the Act or as required or authorised by law.

Service improvement

We collect the following information about your visit to the Victorian Public Notices website in order to improve the service. We collect clickstream data and visitor logs to measure visitation numbers and record:

• your server IP address

• the date, time and duration of your visit

• the pages that you access within Victorian Public Notices including how long you spend on each

• your route through Victorian Public Notices [the sequence of pages and other content that you visit]

• any documents, images or videos that you download from the service

• the immediately previous website that you visited

• the type of browser and device that you used.

• Hotjar feedback you submit on the user experience and performance of the site.

Information collected on unregistered users for service improvement is de-identified. We will not attempt to identify you except when required by law to do so.

How will we use your personal information?

DGS uses your personal information to undertake the following functions on Victorian Public Notices:

Registering for the service

• administer the site and manage your account

• identify when you sign into your account

• send you email notifications, but only when the information is necessary to assist with the administration of the site

Service improvement

• analyse use of the site to inform ongoing improvements and enhancements

• improve the promotion of consultations.

Other

• for any other related purposes that we may disclose to you in a collection notice when we request your personal information

Data collection tools

We collect the data and information outlined above including a combination of Google Analytics, server logs and tools within the functionality of the site, using data security protocols.

Where data in Google Analytics is stored offsite, we ensure this is depersonalised and cannot be used to identify specific individuals. Where data and information is collected via the site's servers and tools, this is managed through our data security protocols and processes.

Automatic collection by third party software vendors

Victorian Public Notices uses several tools to measure website use, which are provided by third party software vendors. We use these tools to help us make our site better.

We use software by third parties, including:

• Google Analytics

• Google Tag Manager

• HotJar

Personal information is not shared with these third-party software vendors. For more information, please review their privacy policies. Some information about your use of the website may be provided to third parties when accessing this website. Information that may be shared to third parties includes:

• network location and IP address

• the date and time of your visit to our website

• the types of web browser [e.g. Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari] and operating system [e.g. Windows 10, Mac OS X etc.] you are using

• Flash version, JavaScript support, screen resolution and screen colour processing ability

• referring site details [such as the URL that you came through to arrive at our website]

• page visited and the time spent on each page

• documents downloaded and search terms used

• forms accessed on our website

• Unique device identifier

• cookies and data about which page you visited

• device information, hardware model, operating system information, app version, app usage, debugging information, browser information

• geo location information [if enabled by user]

• Unique identifier assigned by the program.

Use of web analytics data

We use web analytics data to analyse, measure, and report on data about our website traffic. This information helps us understand general user trends at an aggregate level, and improve our website, content, and user experience.

We do not use this information to identify you or match it with any other personal information that we may collect from you, unless required under the PDP Act.

Your site visit data is collected under the authority of Information Privacy Principle 1.1 of the PDP Act for the purposes stated above.

Disclosure of web analytics data

Apart from the third-party tools described in this Privacy Statement, we do not disclose your site visit data to any other third parties without your consent, unless we are required or authorised to do so by law. In the event of an investigation into suspected unlawful or improper activity, a law enforcement or government agency may use its legal authority to inspect our web server's records [e.g. in relation to hacking or abusive messages].

Can I opt out of the collection of web analytics data?

You cannot opt out of the automatic collection of information that is used for analytical purposes. However, you may choose to disable cookies or delete any individual cookie. If you choose to disable cookies, the website may not function fully and your ability to browse, read and download information contained on our website may be impaired. However, you may still access our services by contacting our office via other methods such as telephone, email or mail.

You can enable a 'Do Not Track' setting on your browser to help protect your privacy. When Do Not Track is turned on, your browser will send a Do Not Track request to the sites you visit and to the third parties whose content is hosted on those sites. However, many websites will still collect and use your browsing data regardless of the Do Not Track Request. This depends on individual sites' privacy practices. Sending a Do Not Track request does not guarantee privacy protection.

Data quality, access and correction

We try to ensure that the personal information that we collect is accurate. If information that you have provided to us has changed, please support us to update our records by logging into your Victorian Public Notices account page where you can update your details. Alternatively, you can contact us.

You may request access to, or correction of, documents that contain your personal information which are in our possession. For information on how to make a request for access or correction, please contact us. In some cases, requests for access or correction will be handled in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 1982 [Vic].

Data security and destruction

Under the PDP Act, we have a responsibility to protect your personal information. We take reasonable steps to make sure that your personal information is protected from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure.

Further, any personal information that we collect and use for identifying user trends is aggregated and anonymised when generating reports.

To protect your own privacy, your password for Victorian Public Notices should be kept confidential, and must not be displayed, shared or written down.

When will we contact you?

We may send you information and announcements from time to time by email or via social media networks.

You can choose to receive newsletters and other updates from us by email. If you choose this but then change your mind, you can unsubscribe at any time by following the process set out in the emails and newsletters that we send you.

Changes to our Privacy Statement

We may update the content of this Privacy Statement from time to time for any reason. The updated version of the Privacy Statement will apply to you as soon as it is posted on the website, so we suggest that you regularly review the Privacy Statement.

What if you have a complaint?

If you wish to make a complaint about a breach of this Privacy Statement, please contact us. We will investigate your complaint and determine what steps we will take to resolve your complaint. You may also lodge a complaint about the handling of your personal information with the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner [OVIC].

Questions

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Statement, or want to update your personal details held by the service, please contact us.