The collection and handling of personal information is in accordance with Whitehorse City Council’s Information Privacy Policy which is displayed on Council’s website and available for inspection at, or collection from, Council’s Customer Service Centre.

Whitehorse City Council takes its privacy obligations seriously. We have created this Privacy Collection Statement to explain how personal information collected on this website is treated. Personal information is information we hold that is identifiable as being about you. Our collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information is regulated by the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic). You can find more information about your privacy rights on the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner website.

This site is owned and operated by Whitehorse City Council using software licensed from Social Pinpoint. For details on how Whitehorse City Council collects and protects your personal information, please refer to our Privacy Collection Statement below. For information about the broader collection and use of personal information by Whitehorse City Council, please refer to our Privacy Policy. For details of how Social Pinpoint may access personal information, please refer to Social Pinpoint’s Privacy Policy.

Privacy Collection Statement

What information do we collect?

We collect personal information that you provide when registering to use this site. This includes your email address, topics in which you have expressed an interest in being consulted or informed, and demographic information that helps us determine whether we are hearing from a diverse cross-section of participants. Please note that you can browse any publicly accessible sections of this website anonymously, without disclosing your personal information.

We also collect information from your interactions with us through this website. This includes responses to surveys, comments on discussion forums, and other engagement opportunities.

Your Say Whitehorse also collects information for statistical and system administration purposes. This includes:

• Your server (or IP) address
• The date and time you visited our site
• The pages that you accessed within Your Say Whitehorse, including how long you spent on each page
• Your route through Your Say Whitehorse (the journey of pages and other content that you visit)
• The operating system you are using
• Any documents, images or videos that you download from the service
• Your approximate geographic location
• The language of your browser
• Your internet service provider
• The type of browser and version you are using

To the extent that this data could identify you, Council will not attempt to identify individuals from the records automatically generated by the server unless necessary to investigate a breach of law or regulation.

Cookies are used on our site, but they do not collect any personal information. For the most part, they are session-based and only contain system-generated values to identify the user's session for statistical and system administration purposes. We collect data and information through a combination of Google Analytics, server logs, and tools within the functionality of the site, using data security protocols.

If you choose to respond to forum questions, we require a username and an email address. Only your username will be visible to other participants when they view responses.

We recommend you use an anonymous username if you do not want your real name to be visible on the website with forum comments, stories, or questions.

By providing an email address, you help us protect the integrity of the discussion from individuals and groups who may attempt to unduly influence the outcomes of the consultation process. For example, we check the database to ensure each user has a single email account on the site. We also frequently review the site for trolls and spammers.

How will we use and disclose your information?

Your information is used to:

• Administer the site and manage your account
• Identify when you sign into your account
• Send you newsletters and information, but only when you have agreed to receive this information or when it is necessary to assist with the administration of the site
• Respond to queries that you have contacted us about
• Attribute content that you post on the site to you
• Analyse usage of the site to inform ongoing improvements and enhancements
• Inform policy decisions by Whitehorse City Council
• For any other purposes that we indicate to you when we request your personal information

Only Council officers, authorised contractors, and consultants will access your information to develop policies and plan future strategies. We will not disclose your personal information otherwise unless required or authorised by law. Please note that Whitehorse City Council is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), which gives individuals a general right of access to documents held by Whitehorse City Council, including records on our Your Say Whitehorse website.

Content that you post on the site publicly will be viewable by everyone who uses the site. Each post will contain your username, any publicly available reports from consultations, and may include quotes from participants in forums, surveys, and other consultation tools.

While Whitehorse City Council takes multiple measures to protect the anonymity of survey respondents, we ask that you help us reduce the risk of inappropriate information access and exposure by not including other information in your survey responses that could possibly identify you or others.

How do we store and protect your information?

While no online service is completely secure, we work hard to protect information about you against unauthorised access, use, alteration, or destruction, and take all reasonable measures to do so.

We utilise a secure cloud service for data storage, with a data centre located in New South Wales. Your personal information can be accessed and corrected through your account.

When will we contact you?

We may send communications regarding community consultations and updates on topics of interest. You can unsubscribe from these communications at any time. Council uses Mailchimp as its email distribution tool, and you can view Mailchimp's collection statement for more details.

Can I access my information and who do I contact for further information?

You can request access to your personal information via a Freedom of Information request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic).

For inquiries to correct your personal information, please contact Council's Freedom of Information & Privacy Specialist Officer at 9262 6318 or email FOI@whitehorse.vic.gov.au.

Requests seeking amendment of personal information must state the information that is believed to be inaccurate and what changes are requested to be made.

For further information on how we manage privacy, please email customer.service@whitehorse.vic.gov.au or visit Council’s Customer Service Centre and ask for a copy of our privacy policy.

Policy updates

We may update the content of this Privacy Disclaimer Statement from time to time for any reason. The updated version of the Privacy Disclaimer Statement will apply to you as soon as it is posted on the website, so we suggest that each time you return to the consultation website you should review the Privacy Disclaimer Statement (and the Terms of Use).

The following Terms and Conditions govern the use of Your Say Whitehorse (“the site”). The software platform is owned by Social Pinpoint Pty Ltd and operated by us, Whitehorse City Council.

By accessing and using this site, you are choosing to accept and comply with the Terms presented throughout this agreement as well as the Privacy Policy and Moderation Policy. These Terms apply to all visitors and users of this site. Linked sites, affiliated services or third party content or software have their own Terms that you must comply with. If you disagree with any of the Terms presented in this agreement, you may discontinue using the site immediately.

If you are under 18 years old, please ensure that your parent or guardian understands and accepts these Terms and Conditions (including the Privacy Policy and Moderation Policy).

What are the conditions with a user’s account?

While using the site, you must not violate any applicable laws and regulations. It is our duty to protect the confidentiality of content you provide on our site in accordance with our Privacy Policy. When you create an account with us, you must always provide us with accurate information. Failure to provide accurate information violates the Terms, which may result in immediate termination of your account on our service. You are responsible for protecting your own password you use for this site and for any activities done under that password. Unauthorised use of your password or account must be immediately reported to us. In some cases, we or our agents may require access to your user accounts to respond to technical issues.

We are not responsible for the content on the site that has been provided by the users of the site. Any content posted by you is subject to the rules of our Moderation Policy. Your contribution to the site may be edited, removed or not published if we consider it inappropriate (refer to Moderation Policy). Contributors should also be aware that their posts may remain online indefinitely. Where practical, you may choose not to identify yourself, deal with us on an anonymous basis or use a pseudonym.

What do we require from our users?

You must understand and agree that, without limitation:

• all information, data, images and other materials are the sole responsibility of the person from whom the content originated;
• you are prohibited from advertising or offering to sell or buy any goods and services
• you cannot transmit Content that contains software viruses or programs designed to change or destroy the functionality of any computer software or hardware; or
• you cannot collect or store personal data about other users of the site
• you cannot impersonate any person or entity, including without limitation to a Whitehorse City Council representative
• you cannot interrupt or interfere with the site or servers or networks connected to the site
• you cannot attempt to gain unauthorised access to the site or other use accounts

Can your account be suspended or terminated?

We may terminate or suspend access to your site and/or account immediately, without prior notice, including without limitation if you breach the Terms. We may immediately deactivate or delete your account and all the related files and information in your account. After your account has been terminated, the content you have posted may also remain indefinitely on the site.

If you want to terminate your own account, please send an email to yoursay@whitehorse.vic.gov.au.

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed in accordance with the laws of Victoria, Australia, without regards to its conflict of law provisions.

Indemnification

Whitehorse City Council, its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, licensors and other partners are not responsible for any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including legal fees, made by any third party due to or arising from a breach of this agreement and/or any breach of your representations and warranties set forth above.

What content do we own?

This website contains the copyrighted material, trademarks, patents, trade secrets and other proprietary information (“Intellectual Property”) of Whitehorse City Council and its suppliers and licensors. Whitehorse City Council owns and retains all proprietary rights in the intellectual property. All intellectual property in the content of this site including without limitation to text, software, source code, pages, documents and online graphics, photographs, sounds, audio, video and other interactive features are owned by or licensed to us.

Any original content that you submit or post on our site may be made available to the public and allows users to share your content (with the end user acknowledging your contribution) under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Australian License.

Except for Intellectual Property which is in the public domain or for which you have been given written permission, you may not copy, alter, transmit, sell, distribute any of the Intellectual Property on this site.

We are not responsible for your communications or dealings, including payment and delivery of goods or services, with a third party found via our website. Any loss or damage incurred from those communications or dealings are solely between the user and the third party.

Disclaimer and Warranties

Users must agree that you use of the site is at your own risk. We make no warranty that the site will meet your requirements or be uninterrupted or error-free. Any material that the user downloads through the site is done at their own risk and are responsible for any damages to their computer system or loss of data.

What happens if these Terms change?

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time without notice. The most recent version of the Terms can be seen on this page. By continuing to access or use our site after those revisions become effective, you agree and will comply to the revised terms. If you do not agree to the revised terms, please discontinue using our site.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at yoursay@whitehorse.vic.gov.au.