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).
