The AER's objective in maintaining an active and expanding Internet website is to improve communication with the community at large, specifically to:
make it possible to quickly provide information about its activities and
comply with reporting and consultation requirements online.
Because privacy is an important issue for many users of the Internet the AER has formulated the following statement to reassure visitors to its website that it understands those concerns. If you have any queries or concerns about the AER's website privacy statement and/or its more general privacy policies please contact the webteam through our website feedback form (opens in new window).
Most Commonwealth government agencies and their personnel are governed by the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 and the Commonwealth Crimes Act 1914. Personnel who work for the AER are mainly Commonwealth public servants, employed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Therefore these personnel are under a duty to observe the Public Service Code of Conduct pursuant to section 13 of the Public Service Act 1999. In addition, some private sector consultants work at the AER/ACCC under contracts with terms and conditions by which they agree to comply with the Information Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act relevant to their work.
This statement applies to all users who access the AER's website.
Accountability
The Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 and the Commonwealth Crimes Act 1914 may provide redress mechanisms and sanctions if users of the AER's website suffer loss or damage as a result of a breach of those Acts by the AER.
This site is operated by the AER using both commonwealth and commercial web hosting facilities. When visiting this site, a record of your visit is logged. The following clickstream data is recorded and is used by the AER for statistical purposes:
your server address
your top level domain name (for example .com, .gov, .au, .uk etc)
the type of browser you are using
your operating system (for example Windows, Mac etc)
the date and time of the visit to the site
the pages accessed and the documents downloaded
the Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our site.
When you subscribe to email alerts you must provide an email address to which the system can send your alerts. We will not use your email address to send you unsolicited information or for any other purpose and we will not disclose it without your consent.
Other personal information collected by us, for example through the use of an online form or email will only:
be collected by lawful and fair means
be used for a lawful purpose and
be collected with your consent.
Where you choose to send us a completed electronic form that includes your personal details, we do collect personally identifiable information, such as name, address and/or email address.
The information collected by email or electronic forms will be used only for the purpose for which you provided it, and we will not disclose it without your consent, except where authorised or required by law.
The purpose for collection of information will be clear and explicit.
You may choose to subscribe to email alerts on the ACCC site. We require your email address to send you alerts. This information is accessible by the web team that administers the ACCC website.
No attempt will be made to identify users or their browsing activities except in the unlikely event of an investigation, a law enforcement agency or other government agency may exercise its legal authority to inspect our Internet web server logs.
This website does not provide facilities for the secure transmission of information across the Internet. Users should be aware that there are inherent risks in transmitting information across the Internet.
Cookies
A cookie is a piece of data that a website can send to your browser, which may then be stored on your computer as an anonymous tag that identifies your computer but not you. The AER website uses cookies to better serve you when you return to the website. You can set your browser to notify you before you receive a cookie, giving you the chance to decide whether to accept it. You can also set your browser to turn off cookies. If you do so, however, some pages in the site may not work properly.
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 website. Session cookies are short-lived, are used only during a browsing session, and expire when you quit your browser.
Like all modern websites which provide dynamic and personalised information, the AER website, http://www.aer.gov.au, uses both kinds of cookies to provide a rich and session based experience.
Cookies are used to enable the AER to track users' browsing patterns in order to provide statistical information to improve the usability of the website.
Some areas of the AER's website offer the opportunity for people to contact the AER by email. If you use those facilities we will not obtain personally-identifying information about you unless you choose to provide it.
If you wish to make a complaint or inquiry to one of our offices you can do so by sending an email, by writing, telephoning or faxing us. All of the necessary contact details can be found on this website.
While the risk of anyone intercepting and misusing information transmitted by email is usually very low you should be aware that a determined individual with the right skills may be able to do this. If you prefer, you can contact us using one of the phone numbers or addresses provided in the Contacts page.
Under the Commonwealth Privacy Act, Information Privacy Principle 4 regulates the storage and security of personal information. Privacy Principles 9, 10 and 11 regulate the use and disclosure of personal information.
The AER generally does not use information it collects from its website for any other purpose than to improve its website services or to respond to complaints, inquiries or feedback.
No data collected from the site will be disclosed to a third party except where it is legally required, such as in the investigation of a criminal offence, and in compliance with a search warrant or subpoena.