Privacy

Website Privacy Statement

The Sentencing Advisory Council values the privacy of every individual and is committed to protecting the information it collects and uses by complying with its obligations under the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 and the Health Records Act 2001. Protecting your privacy and your personal and health information is an important aspect of the way we create, organise, and implement our activities online and offline.

This website privacy statement applies to this website, which is operated by the Sentencing Advisory Council under the domain name www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au ('website'). This website privacy statement explains how your personal information (being information capable of identifying you as an individual) will be treated as you access and interact with this website. The practices outlined in this website privacy statement are subject to any rights we may have to handle personal information in accordance with the law.

Collection of Your Personal Information

The personal information we collect via this website includes:

  • the content of any electronic forms you submit via this website, requesting us to provide services or information or take actions
  • information submitted if you participate in any online survey
  • any messages or comments you submit to us via this website or to email addresses displayed on this website, which may include personal information such as name, email address, and telephone number.

Website Analytics Data Collection

Pages on the site may include Google Analytics tracking code. When a user clicks on a page with Google Analytics tracking code, the user executes a script enabling Google servers to track that visit. User reports are compiled using these data. User data are collected by Google for the Sentencing Advisory Council.

Google Analytics tracks user visits anonymously and in no way identifies a user personally. Google Analytics has an opt-out browser add on that users can install in order to prevent the recording of visits to websites using Google Analytics.

While you can browse this website anonymously (i.e. without disclosing your personal information), we may not be able to provide the full range of services available through this website if we are not provided with the information outlined above.  When you provide us with personal information about other individuals, we rely on you to make them aware of:

  • the fact that such information will or may be provided to the Sentencing Advisory Council
  • the types of third parties we may provide it to
  • the relevant purposes that we and such third parties will use it for
  • how they can access it.

Use and Disclosure of Your Personal Information

In addition to providing our services to you and carrying out your requests, we may use or disclose personal information that we collect about you for purposes including the following:

  • for the purpose that we have collected the information
  • purposes related to our research, planning, product and service development, security and testing
  • purposes connected with the operation, administration, development or enhancement of this website
  • where we suspect that fraud or unlawful activity has been, is being, or may be engaged in
  • any other purposes required by law.

Information Security

We have implemented technology and security policies, rules and measures to protect the personal information that we have under our control. However, you should be aware that there are risks in transmitting information across the Internet. While we strive to protect such information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information transmitted to us online, and individuals transmit information to us at their own risk. Once any personal information comes into our possession, we will take reasonable steps to protect that information from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification, and disclosure. If you are concerned about conveying sensitive material to us via this website, you might prefer to contact us by telephone or mail. We will remove personal information from our system where it is no longer required (except where archiving is required).

Forms and Email

We may preserve the content of any form, email or other electronic message that we receive. Any personal information contained in that message will only be used or disclosed in ways set out in this website privacy statement. We will not use your information to add you to a mailing list without your consent.

Twitter

Statistics generated from @SACvic Twitter activity and tweets addressed to @SACvic may be quoted by the Sentencing Advisory Council in our reports. Please refer to our Twitter Policy.

Links to External Websites

This website privacy statement does not extend beyond this website. When following links to other sites from this website, we recommend that you read the privacy statement of that site to familiarise yourself with its privacy practices.

Clickstream Data

This website's web server automatically records non-personal clickstream data. To the extent that any clickstream data could make you identifiable, we will not attempt to identify you from clickstream data unless required by law or to investigate suspected improper activity in relation to the website or to assist in law enforcement.

The following clickstream data is automatically recorded by this website's web server for statistical and system administration purposes only:

  • your server address
  • your top-level domain name (e.g. .com, .au, .gov)
  • the date and the time of your visit to the site
  • the pages you accessed and downloaded
  • the address of the last site you visited
  • your operating system
  • your browser type.

Cookies

This website may use cookies. Cookies are stored in a user's browser to record aspects of that user's experience of the website. In depositing information in a user's browser and referring to it later in the same session (sessional) or on a subsequent visit (persistent), cookies do not need to identify the user or record any personal information.

Users can take steps to erase cookies from their browser, disable cookies or receive a warning before a cookie is stored. However, some parts of this website may not function fully for users that disable cookies.

Access and Correction

To request access to or correction of your personal information held by the Sentencing Advisory Council, please contact us to find out about access and correction procedures.

It is the Sentencing Advisory Council's policy that, where appropriate, you should be able to request access to your personal information directly, without the need to make a formal application under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic). However, there are situations where it will not be appropriate to provide direct access to information, and you will be required to make an FOI application (for example, where providing direct access would compromise the privacy of another person).

For information on making an FOI application please visit the Freedom of Information website or contact our Privacy Officer:

Privacy Officer
Sentencing Advisory Council
3/333 Queen Street
Melbourne VIC 3000