Privacy - Microsoft Cloud Services

This privacy statement applies to all content on the Department of Customer Service Microsoft Cloud Services.

The Department of Customer Service does not have responsibility for the privacy policies or practices of third party sites linked to this site. Users of this site are entitled to expect that any information collected as a result of that use will be treated within the terms of the NSW Government's privacy responsibilities and obligations. The NSW Government's privacy practices are regulated by the New South Wales Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998.

What information do we collect?

When you access the Department of Customer Services Microsoft Cloud services, our network automatically records information regarding all activity, including:

  • the IP (Internet Protocol) of the machine which has accessed it
  • your name
  • your email address
  • your profile photo
  • any comments, likes, shares or bookmarks
  • the date and time of your visit to the site
  • the pages accessed, and documents downloaded
  • the type of browser and operating system you have used

Cookies

'Cookies' are small pieces of text data that a web server can store on, and later retrieve from, a user's computer. They do not personally identify you but do identify your browser. Cookies can be either 'persistent' or 'session' based. Persistent cookies are stored on your computer, contain an expiration date, and may be used to track your browsing behaviour upon return to the issuing web site. Session cookies are short-lived, are used only during a browsing session, and expire when you shut down your browser.

This site uses both persistent and session cookies.

They record your preferences in relation to your use of the site and provide us with other information about your enquiry that allows us to recognise your browser if you return to this website in the future. This allows the Department of Customer Service to present information that may be most relevant to you based on the content to which you have access and your previous interactions. They also help the Department of Customer Service to understand what parts of the site users find the most useful and improve the effectiveness of the website.

The cookies on this site do not read the information on your hard drive. They do not make your computer perform any actions or make your computer send information to any other computer via the internet.

How do we use the information collected?

The information collected during each visit is aggregated with similar logged information and published in reports in order for the Department of Customer Service to identify patterns of usage on the site. This assists us in improving the service and the information/services offered on it.

The Department of Customer Service will not disclose or publish information that identifies individual computers, or potentially identifies sub-groupings of addresses, without consent or otherwise in accordance with the New South Wales Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1988.

What exceptions are there to this rule?

The Department of Customer Service will collect, use and disclose more extensive information than stated above in the following circumstances:

  • unauthorised attempts to access files or services
  • unauthorised tampering or interference with files published on the site
  • unauthorised attempts to index the contents of the site by other sites
  • attempts to intercept messages of other users of the site
  • communications which are defamatory, abusive, vilify individuals or groups or which give rise to a suspicion that an offence is being committed, and
  • attempts to otherwise compromise the security of the web server, breach the laws of the State of New South Wales or Commonwealth of Australia, or interfere with the enjoyment of the site by other users

The Department of Customer Service reserves the right to make disclosures to relevant internal and external authorities where the use of this site raises a suspicion that an offence is being, or has been, committed.

In the event of an investigation, the Department of Customer Service will provide access to data to any law enforcement agency that may execute a warrant to inspect our logs.

Information security

Information collected on the the Department of Customer Service Microsoft Cloud Service is stored in an appropriately secure format and held for archival purposes. When the information is no longer required for the purposes for which it was collected it is deleted

Information provided as feedback

The Department of Customer Service provides feedback facilities on this site to allow users to provide input into the future development of the site, comment on the provision of service and update information about them on the site.

Users provide personal details as part of their feedback. This information will only be used for the purpose for which it was provided. We may publish aggregated information about feedback on the site, to the extent that it does not identify or cannot be used to identify individual users.

Privacy statement updates

Due to the developing nature of privacy principles for online communication, this statement may be modified or expanded in light of new developments or issues that may arise from time to time. The amended statement will be posted to this site and will operate from the time it is posted.

Privacy Contact

If you believe your privacy has been breached through actions by the Department of Customer Service, you can apply for an internal review of the conduct that led to the breach. Please see information about making a complaint on the Information and Privacy Commission (IPC) website. If you decide to lodge a request for a privacy internal review, please complete the IPC’s generic form and lodge it with the Department of Customer Service’s GIPA and Privacy team:

Email: privacy@finance.nsw.gov.au

Phone: 02 9619 8672

Mail:   Level 22, McKell Building, 2-24 Rawson Pl, Sydney NSW 2000

Visit:   Documents, enquiries or complaints can be lodged via any Service NSW centre. The Service NSW centre locator can be found on their website or by contacting 13 77 88.

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