Privacy Statement

Privacy statement

The City of Coffs Harbour (City) is required to manage personal information under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 NSW (the PPIP Act). This includes the collection, storage, use, disclosure and amendment of personal information that the City holds. The City is required to have a Privacy Management Plan that details how we manage this personal information.

This privacy statement is in line with our Privacy Management Plan and explains how your personal information will be treated when you interact with the City’s Webpages/platforms/ interfaces and so on.

What we collect

We will only collect personal information from you with your knowledge and consent. You can access our website home page and browse our site without disclosing personal information.

When you visit our website, our Internet Service Provider makes a record of your visit and logs the following information for statistical purposes:

• Your server address
• Your top level domain name (for example .com, .gov, .au, .uk)
• The date and time of your visit to the site
• The pages you accessed and documents downloaded
• The previous site you have visited
• The type of browser you are using

If you visit our site to browse, read or download information, our system will log these movements. These website logs are not personally identifiable, and no attempt will be made to identify users or their browsing activities except, if required by law.

We only collect personal information which is personally identifiable though our website where you submit it through forms, submissions, inquiries and the like. Providing personal information to the City is voluntary. However, if you choose not to provide personal information, the City may be limited in its ability to deliver certain services to you.

To access, update or correct your personal information, ask to speak to the Privacy Contact Officer. For more information on our privacy obligations, refer to our Privacy Management Plan.

How we use your data

We will only use personal information provided by you for the purposes for which it was collected. We will record your email address only if you send us a message or request a publication. Your email address will be used for replying to you directly only if you wish to have us reply to your message or we need to communicate with you about information you have requested. It will be added to only those mailing lists on which you request inclusion.

We will not use your email address for any other purpose without your consent, and will not disclose it to any third party, unless authorised or required by law.

Record Management

The City uses a range of internal and third‑party systems to collect, store, and manage personal information under appropriate privacy and security controls, in order to deliver services and meet legislative obligations.

These systems include:

• Records and document management systems
• Customer request and service management systems
• Cloud-based data storage and collaboration platforms
• Email and communications management systems

General examples of forms and services that may be hosted or managed through third-party platforms on the City’s behalf include event/room booking registrations, payments, service requests, social media platforms and so on.

The information you submit, may be collected and stored by the third-party provider and then supplied to the City. Some third-party systems may store data outside of NSW or Australia. The City takes reasonable steps to ensure that personal information is protected in accordance with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW).

Examples of systems can be provided on request where relevant to a specific interaction or service. If you require more detailed information about how your personal information is handled, please contact the City’s customer service team.

Data protection and security

The City is committed to managing information security in accordance with our Information Security and Management Policy and relevant laws and regulations.

Cookies

Our websites may use cookies to improve the user's experience while visiting these websites. Where applicable these websites use a cookie control system allowing the user on their first visit to the websites to allow or disallow the use of cookies on their computer/device.

Cookies are small files saved to the user's computer hard drive that track, save and store information about the user's interactions and usage of the website. This allows the website, through its server to provide the users with a tailored experience within the website.

You may opt out by turning off cookies in your browser. Please note however that disabling cookies may result in a reduction of available website functionality.

Website analytics

Our website uses Google Analytics, a service which transmits website traffic data to Google servers in the United States. Google Analytics does not identify individual users or associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. We use reports provided by Google Analytics to help us understand website traffic and webpage usage.

By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner described in Google's Privacy Policy Privacy & Terms - Google (external link) and for the purposes set out above. You can opt out of Google Analytics if you disable or refuse the cookie, disable JavaScript, or use the opt-out service provided by Google (this is an external site).

Third party sites

Our website provides links to other websites. We are not responsible for the content and the privacy practices of other websites and encourage you to examine each site's privacy policy and make your own decisions about the currency, accuracy or completeness of any information found.

Social media

Our website also uses interfaces with social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn,  and others. If you choose to "like" or "share" information from this website through these services, you should review the privacy policy of that service. If you are a member of a social media site, the interfaces may allow the social media site to connect your visits to this site with other personal information.

What we do with feedback and form information

This website provides feedback facilities to allow users to provide input into the future development of the website and to comment on the provision of service by the City of Coffs Harbour.

We may request personal information for the purpose of providing a reply to your feedback, if you request it. Providing personal information to us is voluntary. However, if you do not provide contact details, we will not have any way of communicating with you. The information you provide will only be used for the purpose for which it was collected.

We will not add your email address or name to any mailing list.

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

Newsletter subscriptions

We request your email address, name and postcode so that we can provide you with regular updates through email newsletters.

For the same purpose, we may provide this information to a service platform to distribute the email newsletter.

The service platform also allows us to follow your actions in relation to email campaigns you receive to allow us to better target information to your needs.

We will not disclose your personal information to anybody else unless we are required to do so by law - for example if the information is needed in an emergency or for a law enforcement purpose.

Providing us with the requested information is voluntary. However, if you choose not to provide us with the requested information, we cannot send you the email newsletter.

The email newsletter is offered as an 'opt in' subscription. You can 'opt out' at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the newsletter.

Privacy statement updates

The City of Coffs Harbour reserves the right to modify this privacy statement at any time. Changes and clarifications will take effect immediately upon their posting on City owned websites.

Privacy complaints and enquiries

Complaints

Contact City 's Privacy Contact Officer: see our Privacy Management Plan for their current details.

Although we encourage the informal resolution of privacy issues, you may make an internal review application if you consider that your privacy has been breached by the City  (see  our Privacy Management Plan for details).

Enquiries