Privacy
Privacy Policy
Parks Victoria is committed to protecting your personal information by complying with the information privacy principles set out in the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (PDPA), and where relevant, the health privacy principles set out in the Health Records Act 2001 (HRA) - collectively the ‘Acts’.
We use the words ‘personal information’ to include personal information and health information. The term ‘users’ in this policy refers to anyone who wishes to access information concerning Parks Victoria by using this website or anyone that provides information to Parks Victoria as part of any of its functions.
Functions of Parks Victoria
Parks Victoria is established under the Parks Victoria Act 2018 as an independent statutory authority to protect, conserve and enhance Parks Victoria managed land, including its natural and cultural values, for the benefit of the environment and current and future generations. We work in partnership with other government and non-government organisations and community groups such as the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), catchment management authorities, private land owners, friends groups, volunteers, licensed tour operators, lessees, research institutes and the broader community.
Further information about our functions can be found on the About Us section of our website.
Collection
Parks Victoria will only collect personal information that is necessary for it to perform its functions and activities. Examples of when Parks Victoria may collect personal information includes to:
- enable you to use or access a service provided by Parks Victoria,
- resolve any queries you may have,
- make a payment for an activity or service by credit card,
- conduct investigations of potential breaches of regulations or laws,
- enable you to participate in an activity or consultation facilitated by Parks Victoria.
In most cases, Parks Victoria will collect personal information directly from you. That could occur when you deal with us over the telephone, send us correspondence (by letter or e-mail) or by direct entry into our systems via a web service. The information may include your name, home or work address and telephone number, emergency contact details, and e-mail address. In some situations, it may also include sensitive or health information such as membership of a professional or trade association or disability needs.
Use and Disclosure
The primary purpose of collecting personal information is to enable Parks Victoria to carry out its functions and activities. Personal information will be used or disclosed for that purpose, and in other cases where consent has been given.
Your personal information may be disclosed to, or stored by, our contractors (third party service providers) where necessary for us to perform our functions or activities – for example when we contract a company to conduct a survey of Park users, or we have an IT services contract. Those contractors are required to be bound by the information privacy principles in the same way and to the same extent as Parks Victoria is bound.
Parks Victoria may otherwise use or disclose your personal information where required or authorised by law, which may include emergency situations and assisting law enforcement agencies.
We may also use your personal information to provide you with information about other services or activities offered or available through Parks Victoria. This type of communication will provide you the option to ‘opt-out’ at any time.
Subscriptions and electronic direct mail may be supported by third-party vendors. We only share details with these vendors to assist with managing delivery, technical issues and the prevention of fraud or security issues. Your information will be stored on secure databases which reside in Australia, and the USA. If you do not want your personal information being stored offshore, please do not submit personal information to us or ‘opt-out’ of these services.
Protection of personal information
Where necessary, Parks Victoria will securely retain information as part of its obligations under the Public Records Act 1973. Parks Victoria will take reasonable steps to:
- protect the personal information it holds from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure; and
- destroy or permanently de-identify personal information if it is no longer needed for any purpose.
Access to your personal information
Parks Victoria will (unless an exemption applies) at your request provide you with access to the personal information we hold about you as quickly as possible. If you need to access or correct any personal information we hold about you, please contact us by writing to the Privacy Officer whose contact details are set out below.
You should provide Parks Victoria with as much detail as possible about the particular information you seek, in order to assist us to retrieve it. A reasonable access fee may be charged to cover Parks Victoria's costs of providing the information to you. In certain circumstances, Parks Victoria may not be required by law to provide access or to correct your personal information. If that is the case you will be provided with reasons for that course of action.
For access to your personal information, to make a complaint about a breach of your privacy, or for advice on how your personal information is collected or used, please contact Parks Victoria's Privacy Officer in writing.
Alternatively, should you wish to make a complaint of a suspected privacy breach, please refer to our Privacy Complaint Form.
Privacy Officer
Parks Victoria
Level 10, 535 Bourke Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: 13 1963
Email: info@parks.vic.gov.au
Using this site
You can access and browse this website anonymously, without disclosing your personal information. This website does not retrieve or record any personal information except that which you provide freely in response to a specific query via one of the site's feedback or registration forms or registering to be a portal user. Any personal information you provide will be managed in accordance with the above Privacy Policy. Users should be aware that there are inherent risks in transmitting information across the Internet.
Parks Victoria uses 3rd party vendor re-marketing tracking cookies, including the Google Ads and Facebook Ads tracking cookies. This means we will continue to show ads to you across the internet. This may be through Google Search, the Google Display Network, Facebook or Instagram. As always, we respect your privacy and are not collecting any personal information through use of these 3rd party remarketing systems.
The third-party vendors, including Google and Facebook, will place cookies on web browsers in order to serve ads based on past visits to our website. This allows us to continue to market our parks and services to those who have shown interest in them.
You can opt out of personalised advertising via your Google Ad settings or Facebook Ad settings.
Links
The website is not knowingly linked to sites that are insecure or invasive of privacy. However, when you link to another site, we recommend you validate the security settings and read the privacy statement of that site to familiarise yourself with its privacy provisions. We cannot guarantee your privacy will be protected when you link to another site.