document: title: privacy
text: ## Victoria Online – Who we are

Victoria Online is the entry point website of the government of the State of Victoria, Australia (here referred to as "the Victorian Government"), operated by the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development. This is a portal website with links to external websites. If you have any queries about this website, please contact the Manager, eServices as follows: 

by email at:
    victoria.online@dpcd.vic.gov.au
by post at:  

    Manager, eServices  
Victoria Online  
Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development  
GPO Box 4509 RR  
Melbourne Vic 3000

## Application of this privacy statement

This privacy statement applies only to the Victoria Online website and not to any websites to which Victoria Online provides a link. 

## Use and disclosure of personal information

Victoria Online only requests you to provide personal information for the purposes of responding to your feedback. The purpose for collecting personal information is to provide feedback and answer queries that you have in respect of a particular site or the information you are trying to obtain and Victoria Online will only use and/or disclose the information for these purposes. It is possible to provide feedback without providing your personal information although if you do this, we are unable to respond to you about your feedback or your query.

Personal information that is collected by Victoria Online will be used by and disclosed to Victorian Government employees or contractors whose duties require them to use it. Such employees and contractors are required to protect and handle your personal information in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2000 (Vic).

## Access to and correction of personal information

You may request access to any personal information that Victoria Online may have collected about you. Also, you may request correction of your personal information if you can establish that it is not accurate, complete or up to date. 

The Manager, eServices may be contacted about access to, and correction of, personal information collected by Victoria Online or for any questions or concerns you may have arising out of this privacy statement,

by email at:
    victoria.online@dpcd.vic.gov.au
by post at:
    Manager, eServices  
Victoria Online  
Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development  
GPO Box 4509 RR  
Melbourne Vic 3000  


The Privacy Officer for the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development may also be contacted about access to, and correction of, personal information collected by Victoria Online or for any questions or concerns you may have arising out of this privacy statement:

by telephone on:
    03 9651 9749 (between 9.00 am and 5.00 pm on weekdays except public holidays in Melbourne) 
by post at:
    The Information Privacy Officer  
Department Planning and Community Development  
Level 31, 121 Exhibition Street  
Melbourne Vic 3000

## Collection of personal information

It is intended that Victoria Online can be used anonymously. 

However, for some functions of Victoria Online the collection of personal information is necessary or unavoidable. 

You will know if Victoria Online is collecting personal information from you because you will be requested to provide it. There are two exceptions to this. 

The first exception is where someone else provides Victoria Online with your personal information. Victoria Online cannot prevent this. However, you are entitled to access and correct any personal information about you collected by Victoria Online. 

The second exception is where Victoria Online collects statistics using software techniques such as web server log file analysis, clickstream data, cookies and web beacons. For an explanation of these techniques, and how they are used on Victoria Online, see Web measurement services used by Victoria Online below. Such statistics may qualify as personal information under the Information Privacy Act 2000 (Vic.). However, these statistics are not used to identify individual users of Victoria Online.

## Internet Use Risks

You should be aware that there are risks in transmitting information across the Internet. However, Victoria Online takes reasonable steps to protect any personal information from unauthorised access once that personal information comes into its possession. 

## Hyperlinking

This website contains hyperlinks to pages contained on external government and non-government websites (third party websites). Unless otherwise indicated, Victoria Online: 

  * does not endorse or authorise the content of any third party website; 
  * is not affiliated or associated with the owner or operator of any third party website; and 
  * assumes no responsibility or liability for the condition or content of any third party website or for the operation or function of any service or facility offered on any third party website. 



## Website personalisation features of Victoria Online

### Use of Cookies

A cookie is a block of data that is shared between a web server and a user's browser. 

Victoria Online uses first party cookies to enable users to personalise their use of the website's weather information. A first party cookie is that which is created by the website you are currently visiting - in this case Victoria Online. If you do not allow cookies to be used within your browser, then you will not be able to take advantage of the weather personalisation features offered by this website. 

In using these cookies Victoria Online does not retrieve or record any personal information. For example, we do not use cookies to collect names or email addresses. 

### Web Server Log Files

Victoria Online uses standard web analytics software packages to analyse its web server log files to track web site usage. This analysis provides general data including number of visits, unique visits, pages viewed, browser type, how the site is navigated, search terms used, the sections of the website visited and other website usage information without identifying individual users. 

## Web measurement service used by Victoria Online

Victoria Online currently uses Nielsen//NetRatings as its web monitoring service provider. 

### Use of Cookies

As part of the service provided by our web monitoring service provider, Victoria Online uses third party cookies to assist us to make your experience of our website easier and more efficient. Third-party cookies are created by a website other than the one you are currently visiting. The third party cookies used by Victoria Online are provided by Nielsen//NetRatings. These cookies collect information such as the number of visits, unique visits, documents viewed, browser type, how the site is navigated, the type of search engine used, the sections of the website visited and other website usage information. 

### Use of Web Beacons

The Nielsen//NetRatings service also uses web beacons. These web beacons capture every visit, and measure interactivity at the browser-level. This technology helps measure what is actually viewed on the site. While the anonymous statistical data Victoria Online collects may be aggregated and used in broader statistical analysis by either Victoria Online or its web monitoring service provider to improve our services, at no time can Victoria Online personally identify you as the source of that data. 

### Use of Clickstream data

"Clickstream" data is gathered by the Nielsen//NetRatings service and by Victoria Online when monitoring computer browsers in relation to the path website visitors take while moving within Victoria Online. In this instance, individuals are not identified only unique browsers.

Further information about how our web monitoring service provider collects and uses information gathered over the web is available from the  Nielsen//NetRatings website. 

Victoria Online uses the clickstream data provided by Nielsen//NetRatings or which it collects itself purely for statistical purposes (such as the most popular searches and the times of the day that Victoria Online is used most/least) without identifying individual users.