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Application of this privacy statement

This privacy statement applies only to the Department and this particular website. It is consistent with the Department's privacy policy and applies to all activities of the Department and its agencies.

This website contains links to other websites. This privacy statement does not apply to those websites.

The Department's privacy policy is available from the Privacy Officer.

Privacy Contact Officer

Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions
GPO Box 2392
Melbourne, VIC, 3001
AUSTRALIA
Email: privacy@ecodev.vic.gov.au

Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic): Personal information

In this privacy statement the term 'personal information' has the meaning provided in section 3 of the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic).

Personal information is information or an opinion that is recorded in any form, whether true or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained.

This Act is the legislation that regulates our collection and handling of personal information.

Detailed information about the Act is available at the Office of the Commissioner for Privacy and Data Protection.

Collection of personal information

It is intended that this website can be used anonymously. However, for some functions, the collection of personal information is necessary or unavoidable. You will know if the Department is collecting personal information from you because you will be requested to provide it.

There are two exceptions to this:

  1. When someone else provides the Department with your personal information. The Department cannot prevent this. However, you are entitled to access and to correct any personal information about you collected by the Department
  2. When the Department collects website visitation statistics using a web analytics service. For further information regarding this, see the Website Usage Measurement section below.

The statistics in No. 2 may qualify as personal information under the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic). However, these statistics are not used to identify individual web users.

Use and disclosure of personal information

If you provide personal information, the Department's privacy policy will regulate its use and disclosure. However, should the Department's intended use and disclosure of personal information deviate from the Department's general policy, a privacy statement particular to the circumstances will be made available at the time of collection.

Personal information that is collected by the Department will be used by, and disclosed to, Departmental 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 Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and any other applicable legislation regulating the collection, use, disclosure, storage and destruction of personal information.

Access to and correction of personal information

You may request access to any personal information that the Department 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 Victorian Privacy Commissioner has recommended that the appropriate means to access and correct information held by government departments is pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic).

The Freedom of Information Officer may be contacted on the details below about access to, and correction of, personal information collected by the Department or for any questions or concerns you may have arising from this privacy statement:


Freedom of Information Officer

Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions

FOI Unit, Legal and Legislation
Tel: 1800 317 531
Email: foi@ecodev.vic.gov.au

Internet user risks

The Department does not warrant that the functions contained in the site will be uninterrupted or without error. In addition, the Department shall not be responsible for the propagation of computer worms, viruses or other harmful components transmitted from this site and other third-party sites.

The Department recommends that you ensure that your browser is equipped with updated virus protection software.

Information we collect via the website and social media channels

If you choose to engage with any of the services provided on our website we collect information in two ways:

  1. Information you provide.  (Personal Information) -  For example, you may have signed up to a Invest Victoria enquiry form and submitted personal information, like your name, email address, telephone number. If you want to join our social media communities, we have access to your publicly visible details, which may include your name and photo; and
  2. Information we get from your interaction with our services. (Aggregated information -  collected in an anonymous form) -  For example, we may identify the type of device you use to access our services, age, gender and interests through third-party vendors such as Google Analytics and Hotjar.

If you access social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, you should be aware that any information you post onto such media is available for the public to see. You should, therefore, check your individual privacy settings for profiles and accounts on social media networks and their privacy policies. It is strongly recommended that you regularly check and configure the privacy settings for your profiles and accounts to make sure that you know what information you are making available, and to which audience.

Data Quality and Security

While reasonable precautions are taken to protect the information the Department from unauthorised use, the nature of the information systems is such that the security of information cannot be guaranteed. The Department relies on commercially available technologies for the security of its information systems - this applies to the use of online information security systems in general.

The Department relies on the information that users provide and it is the users' responsibility to ensure that information they submit is accurate. Users are prohibited from posting as someone else.

Website Usage Measurement

This website uses Google Analytics tracking code to understand how you are using the internet and the Invest Victoria website.

We have implemented the following Google Analytics features for Display Advertising:

  • Demographics and Interest Reporting

The Department and third-party vendors, including Google, use first-party "cookies" (such as the Google Analytics cookies) and third-party cookies together  to retrieve statistics on how our visitors use the Invest Victoria website, social media channels and other internet services provided, how long you are on those channels, how you got there etc. Google Analytics cookies do not collect personal identifiable information about your visits to the website. They do however collect other non-personal information including your IP address which is transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. This information will help us understand and better meet our audience's needs.

Invest Victoria also has other technologies in place that use cookies to allow the website to track personal usage information and 'remember' users when they return to this website and other online services provided by Invest Victoria. No personal information will be collected through these processes.

This website uses Google Signals, which is a feature of Google Analytics that allows for enhanced cross-device tracking and reporting by leveraging signed-in user data from various Google services. If you have enabled personalised advertising in your Google account, Google will be able to prepare data models and reports on website habits, which is used to provide aggregated and anonymised insights into users’ cross device behaviours.

By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner described in Google's Privacy Policy for the purposes set out above.

The Invest Victoria website uses Hotjar, an all-in-one analysis and feedback tool that reveals the online behaviour and feedback of a website's visitors. For information relating to privacy, refer to Hotjar's privacy statement.

How information we collect is used

Invest Victoria collects information (such as age, gender and interests) in order to understand the type of information and activity you may choose to participate in when engaging with the website content and social networks and other services. This information helps us to provide a better service, ensure content is relevant and improve how and when we communicate with you.

Your personally identifiable information will not be merged with non-personally identifiable information collected via Google Analytics tracking code without your consent.

You can opt-out of Google Analytics for Display advertising using the Ads Settings and/or by using the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. Please note that if you opt-out, you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you in the manner and for the purposes set out above.

Data Storage

Please note that the personal information you submit using some of the services on our website (including Google Analytics and Newsletter Subscriptions) will be stored on secure databases which reside in Australia, and in some cases, by the United States of America owned company with the database located in Japan. If you do not want your personal information being stored offshore, please do not submit personal information to us when you use any of the services on our website.

Personal information submitted using other services on our website, unless indicated to the contrary will be stored in  a cloud infrastructure provided by the cloud service provider, Telstra. The cloud will only be accessible by the Department and members of the Telstra cloud service provider team. Personal information will predominantly be stored on Telstra's data centres located in Victoria and New South Wales.

Email addresses

Email addresses will only be used to respond to specific user queries and will not be kept or used for any purpose other than stated. Email addresses will not be added to a mailing list unless consent is given, nor disclosed to any other party without your knowledge or consent.

Cookies

This site uses cookies to make your experience of the site easier and more efficient. A cookie is a small data file placed on your hard drive by the web page server. A cookie cannot retrieve any other data from your hard drive, pass on a computer virus, or capture your email address. Note that the cookie will remain on your computer as a record for future visits to this website.

In using cookies the Department does not record any personal information or collect names or details of commercial transactions. In addition, the Department does not use cookies as the basis for direct marketing.

You can configure your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, providing you with the opportunity to either accept or reject it. You can also refuse all cookies by turning them off in your browser or deleting all cookies from your computer if required.