Privacy and Security

Cassowary Coast Regional Council is committed to protecting the privacy of our website users. Council understands and appreciates that visitors to, and users of, this website, are concerned about their privacy and the confidentiality and security of information they provide to us.

By visiting Cassowary Coast Regional Council's website, you are accepting the practices described in this Website Privacy Statement. Further details about Council's handling of personal information is contained in Council's Information Privacy and Confidentiality Policy.

For the purposes of this statement, personal information refers to any information that may enable the identification of an individual visitor to the website. As a visitor to the Cassowary Coast Regional Council's website, you will not be required to disclose personal information to visit or browse our site unless you voluntarily choose to do so.

When visiting this site, an anonymous record of your visit is logged. This data is collected for statistical purposes and is used to help improve this website. The following information is supplied by your browser (for example Internet Explorer) and collected by us:

• the user's server address;
• the user's operating system (for example Windows, MAC);
• the user's top level domain name (for example .com, .gov);
• the date and time of the visit to the site;
• the pages accessed and the documents downloaded;
• the previous site visited; and
• the type of browser used.

Council may also collect personal information that you choose to give us via online forms or by email, for example:

• you may submit online forms to report an issue such as barking dogs
• you may subscribe to Council's e-newsletter.

Emails

When you email Council personal information, or provide it to us through 'Contact Us' for online webforms, Council will record your email address and any other information submitted. Council will only use this information for the purpose for which you provide it and your email address will not be added to a mailing list unless provided by you specifically for that purpose.

If you do not provide Council with a minimum level of information (usually marked with an asterisk and generally an email address), we may not be able to respond to you.

Email messages may be monitored by Council's Information Technology staff for system trouble-shooting and maintenance purposes.

Collection notice

You are providing personal information which will be used for the purpose of delivering services and carrying out council business.

Your personal information is handled in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009 and will only be accessed by persons who have been authorised to do so. Your information will not be given to any other person or agency unless you have given us permission or the disclosure is required by law.

Public records

Email correspondence and information provided via webforms can constitute public records and can be retained as required by the Public Records Act 2002 and other relevant legislation. Council will only use personal information collected via our website for the purposes for which it was given to us and for related, internal management purposes.

Council does not share personal information about you with other government agencies, organisations or anyone else unless one of the following applies:

• you have consented
• you would expect us to, or we have told you we will
• it is required or authorised by law
• it will prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to somebody's life or health
• the disclosure is reasonably necessary for law enforcement or for the protection of public revenue.

Recognising a secure site

A "secure" area is recognised by the closed padlock or an unbroken key coming into view in the bottom status bar in your web browser. You can also check to make sure that a valid site certificate is being used. A site certificate is used to validate a site's authority to use SSL and authenticates the website's state of security. This enables you to check the site's validity yourself. You can do this by double clicking on either the closed padlock or the unbroken key.

Website analytics

To improve your experience on our site, we may use 'cookies'. Cookies are an industry standard and most major websites use them. A cookie is a small test file that our site may place on your computer as a tool to remember your preferences. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website.

Council uses Google Analytics to gather statistics about how the website is accessed. Google Analytics uses cookies to gather information for the purpose of providing statistical reporting.

The information gathered by the cookie about your use of the website will be transmitted and stored by Google on servers located outside of Australia. No personally identifying information is recorded or provided to Google.

Information gathered using the Google Analytics cookie includes:

• the number of visitors to Council's website
• how visitors arrive at Council's website, for example, did they type the address in directly, follow a link from another webpage or arrive via a search engine?
• the number of times each page is viewed and for how long
• time and date of visit
• geographical location of the visitor
• information about what browser was used to view Council's website and the operating system of the computer
• information about whether the browser supports Java and Flash
• the speed of the user's internet connection.

Council's website may contain links to other websites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. When you go to other websites from here, we advise you to be aware and read their privacy policy.

Website Disclaimer

While the Cassowary Coast Regional Council has made every reasonable effort to ensure all the information contained within this site is both accurate and current, users should contact Council if they have any concern in relation to information presented. Council does not accept any liability for any statements or opinion, or for any errors or omissions contained within this site. All users accessing the site are responsible for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its contents. Links to other websites are provided purely for convenience and do not constitute endorsement of any material contained within these sites.

No reliance should be placed on information contained or to be implied or inferred from this website without checking out the details with an authorised officer of Cassowary Coast Regional Council. Council reserves the right to monitor all use of its computer systems and communication networks through authorised systems administrators.

Copyright and Intellectual Property

The information contained herein is the property of the Cassowary Coast Regional Council. Information may be downloaded, displayed, printed and copied in an unaltered form only. It is not to be distributed or used for commercial purposes without the written permission of the Chief Executive Officer of the Cassowary Coast Regional Council. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved.