Privacy

Privacy Notice

The Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (the department) is bound by the Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 with respect to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. The department also follows the Guidelines for Federal and ACT Government Websites published by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and available on the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner's (link opens new window) website.

Collection and use of personal information

Generally, the department collects personal information in order to properly and efficiently carry out its functions, and only uses personal information for the purposes for which it was given to the department and for directly related purposes (unless otherwise required by or authorised under law).

In addition to this general Privacy Policy, where more detailed information is needed to explain the department's privacy practices, the department publishes separate privacy notices to describe how it will handle personal information that it collects. For example, where the department asks you to provide personal information in relation to a particular program administered by the department, it will provide you with a privacy notice which details its practices in relation to that particular program. For more information about how the department may collect and use your personal information on its websites, visit the Legal Notices (link opens new window) section of the Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education website.

Communication - emails and electronic forms

The department's servers may record your email address if you send the department a message online. Your email address will not be added to a mailing list unless you have provided it to the department in order to subscribe to one of the department's subscription services, such as the department's Site Change Subscription Service or the department's Media Subscription Service.

Where you choose to send the department a completed electronic form that includes your personal details, the department collects personally identifiable information, such as your name, address and email address.

The information collected by email or electronic forms will be used only for the purpose for which you provided it and the department will not disclose it unless one of the circumstances described below under the heading ‘Information sharing’ has been satisfied. Where you send the department a message online, the department will use the information you provide to process your enquiry and may provide that information to third parties including higher education providers and other related entities for the purpose of responding to your enquiry.

Log information (browsing)

When you use the department's online services, the department's servers automatically record information that your browser sends whenever you visit a website. These server logs may include information such as your server address, your top level domain name (for example, .com, .gov, .au, .uk, etc.), the date and time of visit to the site, the pages accessed and documents viewed, the previous sites visited, and the browser type, browser language, and one or more cookies that may uniquely identify your browser.

Cookies

A cookie is a small file containing a string of characters that uniquely identifies your browser. It is information that your web browser sends back to the department's website server whenever you visit it again. The department uses cookies to ‘remember’ your browser between page visits. In this situation, the cookie identifies your browser, not you personally. No personal information is stored within the department's cookies.

Google Analytics

The department uses Google Analytics to collect information about visitors to its website. Google Analytics uses first-party cookies and JavaScript code to help analyse how users use the site. It anonymously tracks how the department's visitors interact with this website, including how they have accessed the site (for example, from a search engine, a link, an advertisement etc.) and what they did on the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purposes of compiling reports on website activity and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser.

Access and alteration of records containing personal information

When you provide personal information in relation to the department's services, the department will allow you access to your personal information and the department will correct your personal information if it is inaccurate (subject to restrictions on such access/alteration of records under the applicable provisions of any law of the Commonwealth). The Freedom of Information Act 1982 also provides you with an opportunity to request access to documents in the possession of the department.

Information sharing

The department only discloses personal information to third parties in the following circumstances:

• where you are reasonably likely to have been aware, or made aware by way of a privacy notice, that your personal information is usually passed to the relevant parties
• where you have consented
• where the department believes on reasonable grounds that the disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your life or health or that of another person
• where the disclosure is required or authorised by or under law, or
• where the disclosure is reasonably necessary for the enforcement of the criminal law or of a law imposing a pecuniary penalty, or for the protection of the public revenue.

Information security

The department takes all reasonable steps:

• to protect the personal information that it holds against loss, against unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure and against other misuse
• to ensure that, where the department has given personal information to a contractor (that carries out service for the department), that contractor complies with the Information Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988.

Data integrity

The department takes reasonable steps to make sure that the personal information it collects and stores is accurate, relevant, up to date, complete and not misleading.

Enforcement

The department regularly reviews its compliance with this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions/complaints about privacy, confidentiality or access to your personal information, please contact the department's Privacy Officer by emailing privacy@innovation.gov.au or by writing to:

Changes to this Privacy Policy

Please note that this Privacy Policy may change from time to time.

Further information

The department is required to submit a Personal Information Digest to the Privacy Commissioner each year, which outlines, amongst other things, the sorts of records of personal information that the department holds. The department's Personal Information Digests are available at the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner's (link opens new window) website.

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