Privacy Statement - Official Functions

The Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General's Privacy Statement – Official Functions

  • This policy sets out how the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General (OOSGG) complies with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) when requesting, collecting and managing personal information required to host  official functions.
  • The APPs set out requirements in relation to how the OOSGG  manages your personal information.
  • 'Personal information' is information or opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable. The information or opinion may or may not be true, and may or may not be recorded in a material form.

What personal information does OOSGG collect and why do we collect it?

  • OOSGG collects personal information that is reasonably necessary to perform its functions and activities, such as the planning and conduct of official events, functions and visits.
  • The nature of the personal information collected will depend upon the function being performed and may include names, contact details (including telephone, email and residential or postal address) and mobile/accessibility requirements and dietary preferences.
  • Generally, you have the option of dealing with OOSGG anonymously or using a pseudonym, such as when you are making a general inquiry regarding our functions or activities. However, it may be impracticable for us to deal with you in that way in other circumstances or we may be required or authorised by law to know your identity in order to perform our functions. For example, to gain entry to Government House or Admiralty House for an event, the Australian Federal Police must positively identify you.

How does OOSGG collect personal information?

  • OOSGG generally collects your personal information directly from you.  However, in some circumstances we collect personal information about you from someone else (for example, a parent or guardian of a child aged under 18, or where you have authorised us to do so), where the information is on a publicly available source, or where it is unreasonable or impracticable to collect the information from you directly.
  • We may collect your personal information in a variety of ways including by phone, in writing, or via our website when you provide information online.

How does OOSGG use and disclose personal information?

  • OOSGG uses and discloses personal information for the purposes of organising official functions. Examples of how we use and disclose personal information include disclosing your name and contact details to:
  • the organisers of an official event being hosted by the Governor-General or the OOSGG at Government House, Admiralty House or other location that you have agreed to attend or participate in
  • the Australian Federal Police who maintain the security of Government House and Admiralty House
  • OOSGG may use or disclose personal information for another purpose with your consent or where otherwise permitted by law.

What happens if you don't give us your personal information?

  • To gain entry to Government House or Admiralty House for an event, the Australian Federal Police must positively identify you. If you choose not to provide OOSGG your personal information, then you may not be permitted entry to Government House or Admiralty House.

The data we collect - browsing (clickstream data)

When you look at the OOSGG website, our server makes a record of your visit and logs the following information:

  • the address of your server;
  • the  toplevel domain (for example .com, .gov, .au, .uk etc.) of that server;
  • the date, time and total duration of your visit;
  • the pages and documents you accessed, and the time you spent on each;
  • the previous site you visited; and
  • the type of browser used.

The data listed above is collected and used for:

  • web site and system administration, including monitoring to prevent security breaches;
  • enhancing and improving the OOSGG website to better meet user needs;  and
  • research and development.

No attempt will be made to identify users or their browsing activities, except in the unlikely event that a law enforcement (or other government) agency exercises a legal authority to inspect an Internet Service Provider’s logs and records (e.g., by warrant, subpoena, or notice to produce).

Cookies

  • A cookie is a small amount of information stored on your computer by our web site server. It is information that your web browser sends back to our web site server whenever you visit it again. We use cookies to 'remember' your browser between page visits. In this situation, the cookie identifies your browser, not you personally. No personal information is stored within the OOSGG website cookies.
  • Any comments or queries about your privacy or this website should be sent to: webadmin@gg.gov.au

How does OOSGG protect your personal information?

  • OOSGG takes information security seriously and uses a range of IT and physical measures to ensure that your personal information is held securely and protected from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification and disclosure. OOSGG also takes steps to ensure that any personal information it uses or discloses is accurate, up-to-date, complete and relevant.
  • Under the Archives Act 1983, OOSGG is not permitted to destroy Australian Government records (which may contain personal information) except in specified and controlled circumstances. If the personal information is not held in an Australian Government record and there is no other legal impediment to doing so, OOSGG will take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to destroy or de-identify the information when it is no longer required for OOSGG functions.

Access to personal information and correction

  • You may request access to your personal information held by OOSGG and request that it be corrected if you believe it to be inaccurate. OOSGG will provide you with access to your personal information except in limited circumstances set out in the Privacy Act. If we refuse a request for access or correction to personal information, we will provide you with written reasons for that refusal. We will respond to a request for access or correction within 30 days after the request is made.
  • Requests for correction of personal information can be made to the contact below.

How to make a complaint

  • If you make a complaint to OOSGG about how we have handled your personal information, we will contact you regarding whether an investigation will be conducted, who to contact about the matter and an estimated timeframe for resolving the complaint.
  • We will advise you of the outcome of our enquiries regarding the complaint in writing.
  • If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you may take the matter to the Privacy Commissioner in the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:
    Ph 1300 363 992
    Email privacy@privacy.gov.au
    Sydney Office: GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001
    Canberra Office: GPO Box 2999 Canberra ACT 2601

Privacy Impact Assessment register

  • A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is a systematic assessment of a project that identifies the impact that the project might have on the privacy of individuals, and sets out recommendations for managing, minimising, or eliminating that impact.
  • From 1 July 2018, OOSGG is required by the Australian Government Agencies Privacy Code to maintain a register of the Privacy Impact Assessments it conducts. Copies of PIAs may be requested by contacting the Privacy Officer at privacy@gg.gov.au.

Contact

  • Complaints, requests for access and/or correction should be in writing and sent to:
  • By post:
    Director, People and Services Branch
    Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General
    Dunrossil Drive
    Yarralumla ACT 2600
  • By email:
    privacy@gg.gov.au

Further Information

For further information please refer to our Privacy Policy.