Privacy Policy

This site is owned and operated by Port Stephens Council using software licensed from Social Pinpoint. For details on how Port Stephens Council collects and protects your personal information, refer to the Privacy Policy below. For details of how Social Pinpoint may access personal information, please refer to Social Pinpoint's Privacy Policy.

What this policy covers

We, Port Stephens Council, take our privacy obligations seriously and we’ve created this privacy policy to explain how we treat your personal information collected on this website. Personal information is information we hold which is identifiable as being about you.

Our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information is regulated by the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988. You can find more information about your privacy rights at the Privacy Commissioner's web site: http://www.oaic.gov.au.(External link)

(External link)

What personal information we collect

Profile Information

We collect information from you when you register to use this site. This includes your email address and additional demographic information as provided by you on the registration form.

Please note that you are able to browse any publicly accessible sections of this website completely anonymously without signing up.

Engagement Information

The content you create as part of your interactions with this website. These can include responses to surveys, comments on discussion forums, or any of the other engagement opportunities available here.

Usage Information

We collect information about your usage of the site, such as pages visited, documents downloaded, etc.

How we use the information we collect

We collect this information in order to:

• analyse and interpret it to help meet our objectives and obligations;
• communicate information to you about engagement opportunities, events and other initiatives; and
• respond to enquiries and otherwise engage with stakeholders.

External links

Our website may contain links to other websites. Those links are provided for convenience and may not remain current or be maintained. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of linked websites and we suggest you review the privacy policies of those websites before using them.

Security

While no online service is completely secure, we work very hard to protect information about you against unauthorized access, use, alteration, or destruction, and take all reasonable measures to do so.

Requesting access or correcting your personal information

Subject to applicable local laws and regulations, you may have some or all of the following rights with respect to your personal data:

• to access your personal data and to rectify any inaccuracies within that personal data;
• to request for the erasure of your personal data residing with us;
• to request your personal data in portable, machine-readable format; and
• to withdraw your consent to our processing of their personal data.

If you wish to contact us to with a request relating to personal information we hold about you, please contact us using the contact details set out below including your name and contact details. We may need to verify your identity before providing you with your personal information.

In some cases, we may be unable to provide you with access to all your personal information and where this occurs, we will explain why. We will deal with all requests for access to personal information within a reasonable timeframe.

Contact Us

For further information about our privacy policy and related information practices, or to access or correct your personal information, or make a complaint, please contact us on converse@portstephens.nsw.gov.au.

The following Terms and Conditions govern the use of Have Your Say Port Stephens (“the site”). The software platform is owned by Social Pinpoint Pty Ltd and operated by us, Port Stephens Council.

By accessing and using this site, you are choosing to accept and comply with the Terms presented throughout this agreement as well as the Privacy Policy and Moderation Policy. These Terms apply to all visitors and users of this site. Linked sites, affiliated services or third party content or software have their own Terms that you must comply with. If you disagree with any of the Terms presented in this agreement, you may discontinue using the site immediately.

If you are under 18 years old, please ensure that your parent or guardian understands and accepts these Terms and Conditions (including the Privacy Policy and Moderation Policy).

What are the conditions with a user’s account?

While using the site, you must not violate any applicable laws and regulations. It is our duty to protect the confidentiality of content you provide on our site in accordance with our Privacy Policy. When you create an account with us, you must always provide us with accurate information. Failure to provide accurate information violates the Terms, which may result in immediate termination of your account on our service. You are responsible for protecting your own password you use for this site and for any activities done under that password. Unauthorised use of your password or account must be immediately reported to us. In some cases, we or our agents may require access to your user accounts to respond to technical issues.

We are not responsible for the content on the site that has been provided by the users of the site. Any content posted by you is subject to the rules of our Moderation Policy. Your contribution to the site may be edited, removed or not published if we consider it inappropriate (refer to Moderation Policy). Contributors should also be aware that their posts may remain online indefinitely. Where practical, you may choose not to identify yourself, deal with us on an anonymous basis or use a pseudonym.

What do we require from our users?

You must understand and agree that, without limitation:

• all information, data, images and other materials are the sole responsibility of the person from whom the content originated;
• you are prohibited from advertising or offering to sell or buy any goods and services
• you cannot transmit Content that contains software viruses or programs designed to change or destroy the functionality of any computer software or hardware; or
• you cannot collect or store personal data about other users of the site
• you cannot impersonate any person or entity, including without limitation to a Port Stephens Council representative
• you cannot interrupt or interfere with the site or servers or networks connected to the site
• you cannot attempt to gain unauthorised access to the site or other use accounts

Can your account be suspended or terminated?

We may terminate or suspend access to your site and/or account immediately, without prior notice, including without limitation if you breach the Terms. We may immediately deactivate or delete your account and all the related files and information in your account. After your account has been terminated, the content you have posted may also remain indefinitely on the site.

If you want to terminate your own account, please send an email to converse@portstephens.nsw.gov.au.

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed in accordance with the laws of NSW, Australia, without regards to its conflict of law provisions.

Indemnification

Port Stephens Council, its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, licensors and other partners are not responsible for any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including legal fees, made by any third party due to or arising from a breach of this agreement and/or any breach of your representations and warranties set forth above.

What content do we own?

This website contains the copyrighted material, trademarks, patents, trade secrets and other proprietary information (“Intellectual Property”) of Port Stephens Council and its suppliers and licensors. Port Stephens Council owns and retains all proprietary rights in the intellectual property. All intellectual property in the content of this site including without limitation to text, software, source code, pages, documents and online graphics, photographs, sounds, audio, video and other interactive features are owned by or licensed to us.

Any original content that you submit or post on our site may be made available to the public and allows users to share your content (with the end user acknowledging your contribution) under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Australian License.

Except for Intellectual Property which is in the public domain or for which you have been given written permission, you may not copy, alter, transmit, sell, distribute any of the Intellectual Property on this site.

We are not responsible for your communications or dealings, including payment and delivery of goods or services, with a third party found via our website. Any loss or damage incurred from those communications or dealings are solely between the user and the third party.

Disclaimer and Warranties

Users must agree that you use of the site is at your own risk. We make no warranty that the site will meet your requirements or be uninterrupted or error-free. Any material that the user downloads through the site is done at their own risk and are responsible for any damages to their computer system or loss of data.

What happens if these Terms change?

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time without notice. The most recent version of the Terms can be seen on this page. By continuing to access or use our site after those revisions become effective, you agree and will comply to the revised terms. If you do not agree to the revised terms, please discontinue using our site.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at converse@portstephens.nsw.gov.au.