Privacy Statement

The City of Sydney web site makes some use of data that directly or indirectly identifies users. We take great care with practices that affect personal privacy.

Accountability

The staff who operate the City of Sydney web site, and most Commonwealth government agencies, are subject to the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988. http://www.privacy.gov.au/act/

Data collected by the City of Sydney

Data that in some way identifies the user is gathered during interactions with the City of Sydney's web site in the following circumstances:

Computer information

It is a necessary part of visiting any web site, including City of Sydney sites, that the user's web browser provides the machine's identity (its IP address) to the Web server, so that the server can address the reply to the correct machine.

Information automatically collected and logged in this manner includes:

• your country, state and organisation type
• your computer's operating system (i.e. Windows XP, Mac OS9, etc)
• the date and time of your visit
• the pages that you access and the documents you download
• the path taken to the City of Sydney site (e.g. through a search engine or link at another site) and
• the type of browser you use.

User feedback

We seek feedback from our users in order to improve the service offered by the site. Answering feedback questions is voluntary and does not in any way affect your access to the City of Sydney's web sites.

Subscription Details

Information provided by you when you subscribe to a City of Sydney mailing list will be used for the purpose for which you have provided it. We will not use your email address for any other purpose and will not disclose it without your consent.

You will only receive mailing list messages if you choose to 'opt in' and select the appropriate option in your registration.

Polls

No personal information is collected or retained when you vote in one of the City of Sydney's polls. Only your vote is kept.

Click-through Tracking

The City of Sydney records the number of times some links on our web sites are clicked by users. No personal information is related to these records and the data is kept as aggregated statistics only. From time to time we may present reports on the aggregated data to sponsors of events produced by the City of Sydney.

Cookies

The City of Sydney occasionally makes use of a technology called Cookies. This cookie identifies and recognises the computer (but not the person using the computer) when you visit the City of Sydney web site.

Cookies are inert pieces of text information that a web site can transfer to your computer hard drive for record keeping. Cookies can make using City of Sydney web sites easier by storing information about your preferences on a particular web site. This will enable you to take full advantage of the services that the City of Sydney offers. The use of cookies is an industry standard and you'll find most major websites use them. Most Internet browsers are pre-set to accept cookies. If you prefer not to receive cookies, you can adjust your Internet browser to disable cookies or to warn you when cookies are being used. Refer to your browsers Help menu for how to do this.

More information about cookies can be found at:

http://www.howstuffworks.com/cookie.htm

Data storage, use and disclosure, and retention

All data described in the preceding section may be stored and archived for a period that is yet to be determined but is likely to be at least 12 months and quite probably seven years.

Unless stated otherwise, the data is used by the City of Sydney site software, and by staff involved in the City of Sydney Web Site operation, only for:

• Web site and system administration, including monitoring to prevent security breaches;
• customisation of the Web site to the user's needs; and
• evaluation, research and development.

Identified data can only be re-disclosed to the user if the user provides the unique request session number. Personally identified data may be disclosed to a third party only in circumstances in which such disclosure is legally authorised, such as in the investigation of a criminal offence, and in compliance with a search warrant or subpoena.

Users 16 and under

If you are aged 16 or under, get your parent/guardian's permission before you provide personal information to the City of Sydney web site. Users without this consent are not allowed to provide us with personal information.

Monitoring

If you believe that we have not followed the principles of this privacy statement, or would like to comment on these principles, please contact us.

eNewsletter/Competitions

The information obtained by entering a What's On e-newsletter competition will be used by administration staff at City of Sydney. The personal information obtained from the form will remain confidential and will be stored on City of Sydney’s files.