Privacy
The Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works is committed to protecting user privacy. We understand and appreciate that visitors and users of this website are concerned about their privacy and the confidentiality and security of any information that may be provided.
The department is subject to the Information Privacy Act 2009, which requires that it complies with the Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) set out in the Act. The IPPs set out how Queensland Government agencies should collect, store, use and disclose personal information and how individuals can access and apply to amend documents containing their personal information.
When you visit a Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works website, our server makes a record of your visit and logs certain information for statistical purposes only. No attempt is or will be made to identify users or their browsing activities except, in the unlikely event of an investigation, where a law enforcement agency may exercise a power to inspect activity logs.
Cookies
Some of our department websites use cookies to provide customised online payment facilities for government services only. If you wish to use these facilities you will need to accept cookies. If you have configured your browser to reject all cookies, you will still be able to view information-only pages on these sites.
Personal and financial information provided when you purchase an item or renew a licence is protected at all stages of the transaction.
What is a cookie?
A cookie is a short piece of data which is sent from a web server to a web browser on the user's machine when the browser visits the server's site. The cookie is stored on the user's machine as an historical identifier. It is not however, an executable program and cannot do anything to your machine.
A server cannot find out a name or e-mail address, or anything about a user's computer, by using cookies and cookie information is not stored or collected by the department.
Links to external web sites
Some of the Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works websites contain links to other sites that are external. The department takes care in linking websites but has no direct control over the content of the linked websites, or to the changes that may occur to the content on those sites. It is the responsibility of the user to make their own decisions about the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of information contained in linked external websites.
Emails
This is a Queensland Government website. Email correspondence sent to this site is subject to the Right to Information Act 2009 and will be treated as a public record and retained as required by the Public Records Act 2002 and other relevant Acts and regulations.
Your name and address details will not be added to a mailing list, nor will we disclose these details to third parties without your consent unless required by law. Email messages may be monitored by our website support staff for system trouble shooting and maintenance purposes.
Google Analytics
The Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works is committed to providing a useful and effective service via its webpage. To that end, the department employs the tools provided by Google Analytics to gather information about how the department's website is accessed. Google Analytics uses 'cookies', which are text files placed on your computer, to help the department analyse how users use the site.
The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers located outside of Australia. No personally identifying information is recorded or provided to Google. If you are logged in to the department's website, information about your user account is NOT linked to data recorded by Google Analytics and is NOT provided to Google.
Information that is gathered using the Google Analytics cookie includes:
- the number of visitors to the department's website
- how visitors arrive at the department's website, for example did they type the address in directly, follow a link from another webpage, or arrive via a search engine
- the number of times each page is viewed and for how long
- time and date of visit
- geographical location of the visitor
- information about what browser was used to view the department's site and the operating system of the computer
- information about whether the browser supports Java and Flash
- the speed of the user's internet connection.
This information will be used by the Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works to optimise the department's site to improve access and useability, and to compile statistical data for reporting purposes, for example to include in the annual report.
Read more about Google's Privacy Policy.
Access and amendment of personal information
Individuals are entitled to seek access to their personal information and to amend those records if they are inaccurate, misleading or out of date. Rights of access and amendment exist under the Information Privacy Act 2009. You may apply online to access or amend your personal information or complete the Right to Information application form.
Payments
When you pay an account or purchase something through Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works on websites, your personal and financial details are protected at all stages of the transaction. In order to process any payment we need to know your name, address details, email address, and credit card details. Your credit card details are not stored on servers at any stage of the transaction. Once the credit card details have been sent to our financial institution they are no longer known to our system.