The Queensland Government has introduced privacy legislation which applies to the Queensland public sector (including local governments from 1/7/2010) —the Information Privacy Act 2009.  The Information Privacy Act contains a number of privacy principles which set out how agencies may and must handle personal information.  Personal information means any information from which your identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained.

Gladstone Regional Council has developed this Privacy Statement, which sets out details of how Council handles personal information and the types of personal information it holds in relation to its website. A general Privacy Policy which does not specifically relate to this website has also been developed.

Collection of personal information
Cookies
Email correspondence
Security of information
Statistical information
Wireless Network Service
More Information

Collection of personal information

Where you provide your personal information during the course of completing a form, survey or other activity on our website, your details will be used and accessed in accordance with the statement provided on the form. In addition to any privacy statements provided on the form, by providing your personal information, you agree that your personal information will:

• be used and accessed in accordance with the statement provided on the form, or otherwise be used for the processing of your request and for performing other Council and administrative functions related to your request – this may include access to your personal information by Council employees, contractors or sub-contractors engaged by Council;
• where your access to Council’s site is integrated with Facebook functionality, be shared with and processed by Facebook in accordance with the Facebook Data Policy (accessible here: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy) which you can request to be deleted by Facebook in accordance with your individual Facebook settings used to link to or otherwise participate on Council’s platform.

Your personal information may be stored offshore without the same protections in relation to personal information which apply in Australia.

Cookies

A cookie is a small file stored by the web browser software on your computer. Cookies may be used when accessing certain areas of a website. The use of cookies allows information to be transmitted between pages within a website. Council's website use cookies.

Email correspondence

Email correspondence sent to this site may be treated as a public record and retained as required by the Public Records Act 2002 and other relevant legislation.

Your email address details will not be added to a mailing list (unless you so request), nor will we disclose these details to third parties without your consent, unless required by law. Email messages may be monitored by our information technology staff for system trouble-shooting and maintenance purposes.

Security of information

Your personal information is protected by law. These laws prohibit any person from accessing, using or disclosing any personal information except in the performance of their duties or in specific circumstances permitted by these laws.

While we provide a secure and reliable system, this site does not provide facilities for the secure transmission of information across the Internet. Users should be aware that there are inherent risks associated with the transmission of information across the Internet, and that use of the contact facilities provided through this website is at the risk of the user.

Statistical information

When you view the Gladstone Regional Council website, our web server makes a record of your visit and logs the following information for statistical purposes:

• your server (IP) address
• the type of browser and operating system used
• the date and time of your visit
• the previous site visited
• the pages accessed and the files downloaded, and
• the time spent on individual pages and the site overall

Gladstone Regional Council will not make any attempt to use these statistics to identify individual users.. However, in the unlikely event of an investigation, a law enforcement agency or other government agency may exercise its legal authority to inspect our log files.

We may also record search terms that you enter when using this website’s search engine. These search terms are used to gauge what information is commonly sought and to improve the services that we provide. This information is not associated with any other information that we collect.

Wireless Network Service

Terms and Conditions

The wireless network service is provided ‘as is” by the Gladstone Regional Council. By accessing the wireless network, you acknowledge you’re of legal age or have consent of a parent of guardian, have read, understood and agree to be bound by this agreement.

You agree not to use the wireless network for any purpose that is unlawful or that may be offensive to others and take full responsibility of your acts. Your access to the network may be blocked, suspended, or terminated at any time for any reason. The wireless network service is an unsecured network and as such is inherently insecure. Never disclose any personal or sensitive information at any time. Make sure your device’s operating system, applications, and anti-virus software are up to date and active.

The wireless network is provided “as is” without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied. “GRC Free” is for personal non-commercial use.

More information 

Gladstone Regional Council’s Privacy Policy sets out Council’s legislative obligations and establishes a framework for the responsible collection and handling of personal information by Gladstone Regional Council.