The Waterwatch NSW program aims to promote awareness and involvement of the community in protecting our waterways.
As a user and/or contributor to the Waterwatch site, we want you to know that we at Waterwatch NSW respect your privacy.
Waterwatch NSW treats all personal information according to the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Protection (PPIP) Act 1998.
The Waterwatch NSW Privacy Policy explains what information about you is collected when you visit the Waterwatch NSW website, how we use that information and what we will not do with your information.
The policy also outlines the permitted uses for water quality information included on the Waterwatch NSW website.
The Waterwatch NSW Privacy Policy addresses the following:
What Information does Waterwatch NSW collect?
How does Waterwatch NSW use your Personal Information?
How do I remove my email address from the Waterwatch NSW database?
How does Waterwatch NSW protect your Personal Information?
How can I access my Personal Information?
How can I correct my Personal Information?
What is the Internal Review process?
How can I contact the NSW Privacy Commissioner?
Will the Waterwatch NSW privacy policy be updated over time?
If you have any concerns regarding privacy issues associated with the Waterwatch NSW website and online water quality database, please contact:
Jacqui Donaldson
Privacy Coordinator
Legal and Compliance Branch
Department of Natural Resources
23-33 Bridge Street
SYDNEY
NSW 2000
Phone: 9228 6409
Fax: 9228 6477
Email: privacyinformation@dnr.nsw.gov.au
What Information does Waterwatch NSW collect?
Personal information
When you or your group register with Waterwatch NSW we ask you to provide:
the name of your group contact,
the name of your organisation,
a postal contact address,
a contact telephone number,
a username and password, and
a preferred email address (where available).
These registration details are included on a database that is used for the management of the Waterwatch NSW program. These details are used to provide information to registered groups about the Waterwatch NSW program, or information relevant to the Waterwatch NSW program. The information included in the database shall not be passed on to third parties unless it is for purposes associated with the coordination of Waterwatch NSW on a national and state basis. When you submit a username and password to register, the username you enter is logged (but not the password). All registration details and usernames are held securely, and accessed only by designated Waterwatch NSW administrators.
In the event that an enquiry is made about a particular area, the regional co-ordinator shall forward the details of the enquiry to the group contact. The group contact may then determine an appropriate response to the enquiry.
Electronic information
In general, you can surf the Waterwatch NSW website without telling us who you are or revealing any information about yourself.
Like virtually all servers on the internet, when you look at our website, our computers automatically records these standard usage details:
The IP (Internet Protocol) address of the machine which has accessed it;
Your top-level domain name (eg. .com, .gov, .au, etc)
The address of your server;
The date, time and duration of your visit to the site;
The pages accessed and documents downloaded;
The previous site visited (if any); and
The type of browser and operating system you have used.
None of the above electronic information that we log can be used to identify an individual. The information is aggregated with similar logged information and published in reports in order to assist us in improving the Waterwatch NSW website and to help us better serve our website visitors.
Cookies
Some Waterwatch applications use "cookies" to maintain the link between the user's web browser and the application server during a user session. A cookie is a collection of information, usually including a username and the current date and time, stored on the local computer of a person using the World Wide Web. Cookies are used chiefly by websites to identify users who have previously registered or visited the site and do not contain any personally identifying information.
How does Waterwatch NSW use your Personal Information?
All information collected at the Waterwatch NSW website will be kept strictly confidential and will not be sold, reused, rented, leased, loaned, traded, or improperly disclosed to a third party. Any information you give on this site will be held with the utmost care.
We will not publish your name, your email address, or photographs of you on this website without your permission.
Waterwatch NSW will take reasonable steps to ensure personal information that it keeps is accurate, up to date, and relevant to the purposes for which it is to be used.
In rare circumstances we may be required by law to provide personal information about you to law enforcement agencies, emergency service agencies and other organisations engaged in the planning and provision of services to the community.
In respect of email contact information -
We will:
store it securely on the Waterwatch NSW mail server and the Waterwatch NSW coordination database for access by relevant program co-ordinators only;
use your e-mail address to forward relevant program information;
produce summary statistics which help us understand Waterwatch NSW and thus improve the Waterwatch NSW program.
We may:
use it to communicate with you or your organisation about Waterwatch NSW;
publish the total number of registered groups and group participants to a list.
We will not:
Publish or reveal the personal details you have supplied to any third party, nor to staff of Waterwatch NSW agencies who are not directly involved in Waterwatch NSW administration;
use the details supplied for any purpose unrelated to the Waterwatch NSW program.
How do I remove my email address from the Waterwatch NSW database?
If you do not wish to receive email messages about Waterwatch NSW, please note this on the registration form and e-mails will not be forwarded to you. If you receive any e-mails which you feel are inappropriate, please notify the Waterwatch NSW Facilitator as soon as possible via e-mail water.watch@dnr.nsw.gov.au or telephone 02 9895 7402 to discuss your concerns.
How does Waterwatch NSW protect your Personal Information?
The Act contains provisions to safeguard your personal information, and recognises a balance must be achieved between the protection of privacy and legitimate community rights to information. In response, Waterwatch NSW is committed to the following privacy standards:
We will use all reasonable endeavours to protect personal information from misuse, loss; and unauthorised access, modification and disclosure.
We will retain personal information for no longer than is necessary for legitimate purposes.
We will appropriately archive or destroy personal information no longer used or required for Waterwatch NSW purposes.
How can I access my Personal Information?
Waterwatch NSW will provide you with access to personal information that we hold about you on request. There may be a charge for lodging a request for access to your personal information. Your request should be in writing and addressed to the Waterwatch NSW Facilitator. You can expect us to respond within 21 days of receipt of your request. You can obtain further information from the Waterwatch NSW Facilitator via e-mail water.watch@dnr.nsw.gov.au or telephone 02 9895 7402.
How can I correct my Personal Information?
If your contact details change we encourage you to contact Waterwatch NSW to make appropriate corrections, deletions or additions to your personal information. This will help us to ensure our information about you is accurate, relevant, up-to-date, and complete.
If you find that the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate or out-of-date, please contact the Waterwatch NSW Facilitator immediately via e-mail water.watch@dnr.nsw.gov.au or telephone 02 9895 7402, and we will ensure it is corrected.
What is the Internal Review process?
An internal review is a process where DNR
The stages of the internal review process are as follows:
Applications for an internal review must be lodged with the DNR Privacy Coordinator within six months of you becoming aware of the alleged breach.
DNR must determine the outcome of internal review applications within 60 days of receiving the application.
DNR will advise the determination and any subsequent action to be taken within 14 days of the determination being made.
If you are not satisfied with the result of the internal review or how DNR handled the review, you can seek further review from the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal and advice from the NSW Privacy Commissioner.
How can I contact the NSW Privacy Commissioner?
For general information and assistance with privacy legislation in New South Wales, contact:
Privacy NSW
PO Box A2122 Sydney South NSW 1235
Telephone: (02) 9268 5588
Facsimile: (02) 9268 5501
Email: privacy_nsw@agd.nsw.gov.au
Website: www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/pc
Will the Waterwatch NSW privacy policy be updated over time?
Due to the developing nature of privacy principles for online communication, this policy may be modified or expanded in light of new developments or issues that arise from time to time.
