The Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety values the privacy of every individual and is committed to handling personal information (as defined in its Information Privacy Policy (External link)) in accordance with the privacy principles contained in the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic).

Collection of personal information

You can use the department's websites anonymously without disclosing any of your personal information to the department. 

However, for some functions of the website the collection of personal information about you or another person is necessary or unavoidable for the department to provide a service for you. 

You will know if www.justice.vic.gov.au (External link) is collecting personal information from you because you will be asked to provide it. There are two exceptions to this. 

The first exception is where someone else provides www.justice.vic.gov.au (External link) with your personal information. The department cannot prevent this. However, you are entitled to access and correct any personal information about you collected by the website. 

The second exception is where www.justice.vic.gov.au (External link) collects statistics using software techniques. For an explanation of these techniques and how they are used, see Web statistics data collection below. 

Use and disclosure of personal information

The department will not use or disclose any personal information that it collects through its websites unless the use or disclosure is:

  • for the primary purpose the information was collected
  • for a related secondary purpose, which an individual ought reasonable to expect in the circumstances
  • required or authorised by law
  • for any other purpose permitted under the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) or Health Records Act 2001 (Vic). 

The department will not use any of your personal information collected through its websites to add you to a mailing list without your consent. 

Personal information which you provide to any of the department’s websites using any web service may be accessible to other users of the web service who are not officers, employees or contractors of the department. Other users of, and third parties which provide, such web services may use or disclose your personal information for any purpose including the purpose of sending you unsolicited electronic communications. You acknowledge and agree that the department is not responsible for any such use or disclosure.

Web statistics data collection

The department uses web analytics software to collect usage statistics for its websites. This information is not used to identify you or match your identity with any of your personal information.

Clickstream data

The following non-personal information may be automatically recorded by the web server of any of the department’s websites for statistical and system administration purposes:

  • your server address 
  • your top-level domain name (e.g. .com, .gov)
  • the date and time of your visit to the site
  • the pages you accessed and downloaded
  • the address of the last site you visited
  • your operating system
  • the type of browser you’re using.

Cookies

Like many others, the department’s web services may use cookies. Cookies are small data files that a website places on a user’s hard drive to record aspects of that user’s experience of the website. Cookies are not used to identify you or record any of your personal information. The default settings of your browser may allow some or all cookies, but you can easily take steps to erase cookies from your hard drive, block all cookies or receive a warning before a cookie is stored on your hard drive. However, a website may not function fully if you disallow cookies.

Security

When accessing or using any of the department’s websites you should be aware that there are risks in transmitting information across the Internet. The department takes reasonable steps to protect personal information collected through its websites from misuse and loss from unauthorised access, modification and disclosure. The department also takes reasonable steps to remove personal information from its system where it is no longer required.

Access and correction 

The department relies on you to ensure that any personal information you provide to, or make available on, its websites is accurate, current, complete and relevant. The department also relies on you to advise it of any changes to such personal information.
You have a formal right of access to, and correction of, your personal information held by the department.  You can access and correct your personal information by making a formal application under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic).  

You can also request access to personal information that www.justice.vic.gov.au (External link) may have collected about you without making a formal application under the Freedom of Information Act. However, there are situations, such as where providing access would compromise the privacy of another person, where you will be required to make a formal freedom of information request.

For information on making a freedom of information request visit the department’s Freedom of Information page (External link) or the Freedom of Information website (External link).

Further information

For further information about the handling of personal information by the department please contact:

Information and Privacy Unit
Department of Justice and Community Safety
GPO Box 4356
Melbourne VIC 3001

Tel: 03 8684 0178

Email: privacy@justice.vic.gov.au (External link)

 

Issued date: 11 November 2016