Privacy Policy

This website is maintained by the New South Wales Office for Veterans Affairs. This Privacy Policy applies to all the publicly accessible pages on this site. 

The Office for Veterans Affairs does not have any responsibility for the privacy policies or practices of third party sites linked to this site. If you have any questions about this site, or the application of this Privacy Policy or a request for access to information held please contact:

Communications Officer, Office for Veterans Affairs
NSW Department of Communities and Justice 
GPO Box 6
SYDNEY NSW 2001

Telephone: (02) 8061 9288 or 1300 838 233

Users of the site are entitled to expect that any information collected as a result of that use will be treated within the terms of the New South Wales Government's privacy responsibilities and obligations. The New South Wales 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 look at the pages on this website, our computers automatically record information that identifies, for each page accessed:

  • the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the machine which has accessed it
  • your top-level domain name (for example .com, .gov, .au, .uk etc.)
  • the address of your server
  • the date and time of your visit to the site
  • the pages accessed, documents downloaded and keywords searched on the website
  • the previous website visited
  • the type of browser and operating system you have used
  • the number of screen colours displayed on the device
  • the time spent on each page.

Only some of this information may be considered personal information. We may also collect your personal information if you use the feedback facilities on this website or subscribe to our mailing list. 

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 website uses persistent 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 Office for Veterans Affairs to present information that may be most relevant to you based on your previous visits. They also help the Office 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. TheOffice for Veterans Affairs makes no attempt to associate cookies with users' names or identities. Our server cannot find out your name or email address, or anything about your computer, by using cookies.

Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics, a reporting service provided by Google, Inc. (‘Google’) and its subsidiaries. Google Analytics uses ‘cookies’ to help us analyse how users navigate the website. The information generated by cookies about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States.

Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity.

Google may also transfer this information to third parties, where required to do so by law or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser. Please note, however, if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website.

By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above. For more details visit Google Analytics Terms of Service.

Facebook Pixel use

The Office for Veterans Affairs uses Facebook remarketing pixels to aid in customised, targeted follow-up advertising.  We may display interest-based ads to you when you are using Facebook through Facebook’s Custom Audience Tool. This tool allows us to personalise our ads based on your interests, demographics, location and any previous interactions with us.

This website (www.veterans.nsw.gov.au and www.vep.veterans.nsw.gov.au) uses the Conversion Tracking Facebook Pixel to allow us to follow your actions once you have been redirected to the website via clicking on one of our Facebook ads. This assists us in recording the effectiveness of Facebook ads for reporting and market research purposes.

The data collected through the Facebook Pixel and provided to us is aggregated and remains anonymous, meaning that we cannot see the personal information of the individual user. However, the collected data is also saved and processed by Facebook and used in accordance with Facebook’s Data Use Policy.

We may also share information about your use of this website and your interactions with our Facebook ads with our trusted social media, advertising and web analytics partners, including Google Analytics.

Facebook Conversion Tracking also allows Facebook and its partners to show you advertisements on and outside Facebook. A cookie will be saved onto your computer for these purposes.

Please visit Facebook Ad Preferences if you wish to revoke your permission.

Newsletter subscriptions

The Office for Veterans Affairs requests your name and email address so that we can provide you with regular updates through an email newsletter.

For the same purpose, we may provide this information to a service provider contracted to distribute the email newsletter. 

We may use Facebook’s Custom Audience Tool to deliver advertisements to our subscribers on Facebook. Your personal information is not shared with Facebook; your email address is converted to a unique number that is matched with another unique number to identify you within Facebook (a process known as "hashing").

The Office for Veterans Affairs will not disclose your personal information to anybody else unless we are required to do so by law - for example if the information is needed in an emergency or for a law enforcement purpose.

Providing us with the requested information is voluntary. However, if you choose not to provide us with the requested information, we cannot send you the email newsletter. The email newsletter is offered as an ‘opt in’ subscription. You can 'opt out' at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the newsletter.

You may request access to your information at any time. To access, update or correct your personal information, or for more information on our privacy obligations, please contact the Office for Veterans Affairs.

Other uses and disclosures

The Office for Veterans Affairs will collect, use and disclose more extensive information than stated above in the following circumstances:

  • unauthorised attempts to access files which are not published pages;
  • 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 Office for Veterans Affairs reserves the right to make disclosures to relevant 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 Office for Veterans Affairs will provide access to data to any law enforcement agency that may exercise a warrant to inspect our logs.

Who else has access to information within the Department?

Access to the raw data is restricted to a limited number of officers at Symbiote - our Hosts, and the Department of Communities and Justice for the purpose of analysis and to report on the success of the site in meeting the Department's communication and access objectives. If you would like to access information held about you by the Department of Communities and Justice please contact:

GIPAA Unit
NSW Department of Communities and Justice 
GPO Box 6
SYDNEY NSW 2001

http://www.justice.nsw.gov.au/contact-us/access-to-information

Will this policy be updated over time?

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