Privacy

How we collect information about users of this website

This website is maintained by Spatial Services, a business unit within the Department of Customer Service. This Privacy Policy applies to all the publicly accessible pages located at www.spatial.nsw.gov.au.

Spatial Services does not have any responsibility for the privacy policies or practices of third party sites linked to this website. If you have any questions about this site, the application of this website-related privacy policy or a request for access to information collected through the website, please contact:

Privacy Coordinator
Department of Customer Service
2-24 Rawson Place
Sydney NSW 2000
Ph: (02) 9619 8672

Users of this site are entitled to expect that any information collected as a result of that use will be treated within the terms of the NSW Government's privacy responsibilities and obligations. The NSW Government's privacy practices are regulated by the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998, and Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002.

The information we collect

When you look at the pages on this website, our computers automatically record information that identifies, for each page accessed:

  • the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the machine which has accessed the website
  • your top-level domain name (for example .com, .gov, .au, .uk, etc.)
  • the address of your server
  • the date and time of your visit to the site
  • the pages accessed and documents downloaded
  • the previous site visited, and
  • the type of browser and operating system you have used.

Cookies

'Cookies' are small pieces of text data that a web server can store on, and later retrieve from, a user's computer. They do not personally identify you, but do identify your browser. Cookies can be either 'persistent' or 'session' based. Persistent cookies are stored on your computer, contain an expiration date, and may be used to track your browsing behaviour upon return to the issuing web site. Session cookies are short-lived, are used only during a browsing session, and expire when you shut down your browser.

This site uses session cookies

They record your preferences in relation to your use of the site and help Spatial Services to understand what parts of the site users find the most useful and improve the effectiveness of the website.

The cookies on this site do not read the information on your hard drive. They do not make your computer perform any actions or make your computer send information to any other computer via the internet. Spatial Services makes no attempt to associate cookies with users' names or identities. Our server cannot find out your name or email address, or anything about your computer, by using cookies.

To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

How we use the information collected

The information collected during each visit is aggregated with similar logged information and published in reports in order for Spatial Services to identify patterns of usage of the site. This will assist us in improving this site and the services offered on it.

Spatial Services will not disclose or publish information that identifies individual computers, or potentially identifies sub-groupings of addresses, without consent or otherwise, in accordance with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998.

Exceptions to this rule

Spatial Services will collect, use and disclose more extensive information than stated above in the following circumstances:

  • unauthorised attempts to access files which are not published on the Spatial Services pages
  • unauthorised tampering or interference with files published on the site
  • unauthorised attempts to index the contents of the site by other sites
  • attempts to intercept messages of other users of the site
  • communications which are defamatory, abusive, vilify individuals or groups or which give rise to a suspicion that an offence is being committed, and
  • attempts to otherwise compromise the security of the web server, breach the laws of the State of New South Wales or Commonwealth of Australia, or interfere with the enjoyment of the site by other users.

Spatial Services reserves the right to make disclosures to relevant authorities where the use of this site raises a suspicion that an offence is being, or has been, committed.

In the event of an investigation, Spatial Services will provide access to data to any law enforcement agency that may execute a warrant to inspect our logs.

Types of information that may be collected and processed

Device-specific data

The following information may be collected related to a device and browser:

  • the IP address
  • operating system
  • browser type
  • geographic location (country only)

Secure storage of information

Information collected is stored in an appropriately secure format and held by Spatial Services for archival purposes. When the information is no longer required for the purposes for which it was collected, or there is no legal requirement for it to be retained, it is deleted.

Information provided as feedback

Spatial Services provides feedback facilities on this site to allow users to provide input into the future development of the site and to comment on the provision of service by Spatial Services.

The provision of personal details on feedback is optional.

Users provide personal details for the purpose of receiving a reply to their feedback. This information will only be used for the purpose for which it was provided. We will not add your email address or name to any mailing list.

Spatial Services may publish aggregated information about feedback on the site, to the extent that it does not identify or cannot be used to identify individual users.

Access to information

Spatial Services captures this information on its own computers and through the use of third-party analytical software such as Google Analytics. Access to the raw data is restricted to a limited number of officers in Spatial Services for the purpose of analysis and to report on the success of the site in meeting our communication and access objectives.

If you would like to access information held about you by Spatial Services, please contact:

Privacy Coordinator
Department of Customer Service
2-23 Rawson Place
Sydney NSW 2000
Ph: (02) 9619 8672

Updates to this policy

Due to the developing nature of privacy principles for online communication, this policy may be modified or expanded in light of new developments or issues that may arise from time to time. The amended policy will be posted to this site and will operate from the time it is posted.