Privacy

Council values individuals’ rights to privacy and is committed to protecting those rights by being fully compliant with its obligations in accordance with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic).

Council's Privacy Policy(PDF, 374KB) explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal and health information, correct inaccuracies, and how an individual may lodge a complaint about possible breaches of privacy.

How and why we collect information

In the course of providing services to the community we collect personal information in a variety of ways. For example, personal information is collected when you:

  • make a payment to us
  • enquire about the services we provide
  • apply for a permit
  • apply for a job with us
  • supply goods or services to us.

Typical information we collect is your name, email address, home address and phone number. Depending on the purpose for which the information is being collected, we may ask for other details or information.

Information you provide

When using this website, you will usually provide your personal information directly to us, for a specific purpose.

For example, when you make an enquiry about our services or request to be placed on a mailing list through this website, we collect your contact details so we can provide you with the information or advice you requested.

We may also collect aggregate information which tells us about visitors to this website, but not the identity of those visitors. For example, we may collect information about the dates, times and durations of visits and which pages of this website are most commonly visited. The purpose of collecting this aggregate information is to help us administer and improve the website. That aggregate information does not contain any personal information and you cannot be identified from it.

Here is our website privacy statement.

Please read this Privacy Statement carefully before using this website. By using this website or any facilities or services made available on or through this website, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by this Privacy Statement and that you consent to the collection and use by us of your personal information according to the terms below.

How we use and disclose the information we collect

We use and disclose personal information primarily for the purpose for which it was collected. As most of our information is collected from you directly, you will normally be aware of the purpose of the collection and when and for what purpose your information may be used or disclosed.

If you do not provide personal information to us when we request it, we may not be able to provide you with access to and use of this website, our services or a response to your enquiry.

The types of organisation to which we usually disclose personal information include:

  • financial institutions for payment processing
  • third parties who support our information technology
  • our contracted service providers (including payment processors) and organisations that carry out activities that assist us to deliver services, including for mail centres, data entry, data storage, data processing and hosting. In each case, we may disclose personal information to the service provider and the service provider may in turn provide us with personal information collected from you in the course of providing the relevant products or services
  • law enforcement agencies, other governmental agencies or third parties if we are required by law to do so, or in other limited circumstances (for example if required by a court order or regulatory authority)
  • persons as part of any investigation into you or your activities or to protect our website, our products and our technology assets or the rights, property or personal safety of any person.  For example, if we have reason to suspect that you have committed a breach of our website terms or conditions of use or another agreement with Council, or have otherwise engaged in unlawful activity (such as fraud or cyber-crime), and Council reasonably believes that disclosure is necessary to police, any relevant authority or enforcement body, or to relevant internet service providers or network administrators
  • our professional advisers
  • anyone else to whom you authorise us to disclose it
  • to referees whose details are provided to us by job applicants.

Council uses cloud-based infrastructure as part of its website and online form tools, which is supplied by third party service providers which may be based overseas.  Accordingly, your personal information may be placed with, transferred to or disclosed to services providers in jurisdictions outside of Victoria.  These jurisdictions include the United States of America and the United Kingdom.

Use and disclosure of the information for a secondary purpose

We may sometimes use or disclose the personal information we collect for a secondary purpose, that is, for a purpose other than the purpose that was originally intended and advised to you. We will only do this where:

  • you have consented to the use or disclosure for that secondary purpose
  • the secondary purpose is related to the primary purpose for which we collected your personal information and you would reasonably expect us to use or disclose it in such a way
  • we are permitted or required by law, or it is in the interest of public safety, to do so.

Otherwise, we will not disclose personal information we collect about you to any third parties without your prior consent. We will never sell any personal information we collect about you.

How we protect our information collection

We have implemented technology and security measures to protect the personal information that we collect and we will take all reasonable steps to ensure the security of that personal information. This involves protecting it from:

  • unauthorised access
  • improper use
  • alteration
  • unlawful or accidental destruction
  • accidental loss.

In addition, your personal information is only kept while it is required for the purpose for which it was collected or for a permitted secondary purpose, unless we are required by law to retain it for a longer period.

Cookies

Like many websites, this website may use cookies, or similar mechanisms, to improve our understanding of website traffic, visitor behaviour and responses to promotional campaigns. These are used to supplement our server logs and other methods of traffic and response measurement. Information collected through the use of cookies on this website does not contain any personal information and you cannot be identified from it.

Access and correction

Subject to some exceptions that are set out in the Information Privacy Principles, you may access any personal information we have about you. To do so, please contact the Manager Governance and Risk on 03 5348 2306 or via email at governance@hepburn.vic.gov.au and we will respond to your request within 30 days.

If you believe that your personal information is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, you may write to us and request that we correct the information. Your request will be dealt with in accordance with the Act. If your request is refused, you may ask us to store a statement that the information is inaccurate, incomplete or outdated with your personal information.

Complaints

Although there is no obligation to do so, we encourage individuals to send written complaints directly to us about a breach, or perceived breach, of privacy in the first instance. Follow this link to lodge a complaint with Hepburn Shire Council.

Alternatively, complaints can be directed to the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner, although that complaint can be declined if you have not first complained directly to us.

Contact details

Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner
PO Box 24274
MELBOURNE VIC 3001
1300 006 842
enquiries@ovic.vic.gov.au

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