Privacy

This website is maintained by the NSW Premier's Department (the Department). This Privacy Statement sets out the Department's practices relating to the privacy of your personal information.

The Department will only collect personal information for a lawful purpose which directly relates to our primary function as a NSW Government agency and for obtaining feedback about our services. The Department will not collect any more information than is necessary for it to fulfil these functions.

The Department will not disclose your personal information to anyone without your consent, unless legally required to do so.

Anyone engaged to collect, store or use personal information for the Department will be required to comply with the law and the Department’s privacy policies. However, the Department does not have any responsibility for the privacy policies or practices of third party sites linked to this website.

The collection of personal information through this website is voluntary and you are not obligated by law to provide any personal information.

The Department's privacy practices are regulated by the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) (PPIP Act) and the Department's Privacy Management Plan.

What is personal information?

Your personal information relates to you personally and includes any information or opinion made about you. Personal information includes your name, address, phone number, email address or any information from which your identity can be reasonably ascertained.

Personal information is information that identifies you, some examples include:
- a written record which may include your name, address, and other details about you
- electronic records, photographs, images, video or audio footage
- biometric information such as fingerprints, blood and records of genetic material.

What is not personal information?

The PPIP Act excludes certain information from the definition of personal information. The most significant exemptions are:

information contained in publicly available publications
information about a person’s suitability for public sector employment
information about people who have been dead for more than 30 years
a number of exemptions relating to law enforcement investigations
matters contained in Cabinet documents.

When can personal information be disclosed?

The PPIP Act allows disclosure of personal information in certain circumstances, such as:

law enforcement and related matters, including for the protection of public revenue or in relation to the proceeds of crime
to investigative agencies
where lawfully authorised or required
when it would benefit the individual concerned
to inform the Premier or a Minister of certain matters.

Will my personal information be stored?

The Department is required by law to store certain records by the State Records Act 1998 (NSW) which may contain your personal information. Even if your information is stored, it can only be accessed if authorised by law as set out above.

The Department is only permitted to store personal information for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. Information stored by the Department will be protected by appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorised access or misuse.

The Department will securely destroy any personal information that does not need to be retained.

How does the Department manage email addresses that are collected through the website?

If you email the Department directly or provide your email address through this website, the Department will only retain and use your e-mail address for the purpose for which you have provided it.

If you subscribe to an electronic mailing list, we will only send you information relevant to the purpose or project for which you have provided it.

If you provide feedback about this website or the Department’s services your address will only be used for the purpose of providing you with a reply.

You will not be subscribed to any mailing list without your consent. All newsletters offer an option to ‘opt out’ or ‘unsubscribe’.

We operate in accordance with the Spam Act 2003 (Cth) and will not send unsolicited electronic messages unless they are permitted by the Act. A government department may send unsolicited emails if they contain only factual information or if they relate to goods or services provided by the department.

How does the Department manage correspondence?

The Premier and Department receive significant amounts of correspondence, including emails, contact form submissions and posted letters. The Department aims to open all correspondence within 1 business day and respond within 20 business days unless you are otherwise notified. Not all correspondence requires a response; the Department will not respond to threatening or offensive correspondence or correspondence where the Premier, Secretary or Department is a carbon copy (‘cc’) or blind carbon copy (‘bcc’) or otherwise indicated to not be the primary recipient.

The Ministry and the Department receive offsite security screening and mail sorting services from a third-party, Decipha Pty Ltd. All incoming physical correspondence (i.e. letters and packages) addressed to the Premier or the Department will be opened and scanned into the Department’s internal systems by the third-party service provider. The third-party service provider is required to keep any personal information accessed as part of its provision of services confidential.

Correspondence may be forwarded to a Minister or another Department.

What data does this website collect?

To help the Department improve its website and provide better services to its users, visits to this website may be tracked, including through the use of persistent cookies, to record information that may include:

the user's service address;
the user’s top-level domain name (for example .com, .gov, .au, .uk etc.);
the address of your server;
the date and time of your visit to the site.

The Department only has access to anonymised and de-identified data and individuals cannot be identified by it.

How do I complain about a breach of my privacy?

If you feel there has been a breach of your privacy you have the right to make a complaint to the Department or to the NSW Privacy Commissioner:

NSW Privacy Commissioner
Information and Privacy Access Commission
GPO Box 7011
Sydney NSW 2001
Phone: 1800 472 679
Email: [email protected]

Can I access or amend my personal information?

You have the right to access your personal information held by the Department without excessive delay or expense. You also have the right to have your personal information corrected in certain circumstances (e.g. if it is incorrect). If you wish to access or correct your personal information complete the form below.

How do I contact the Department?

If you have any questions about the application of the Department’s privacy policy please complete this form.