Department of Transport and Planning privacy statement

Application of this privacy statement

This privacy statement applies to your access and use of our websites, and these include:

Our websites are operated by the State of Victoria and managed by the Department. This privacy statement also applies to all the subdomains of our websites.

Our websites contain links to other external websites. This privacy statement does not apply to those websites.

For more information about our broader privacy practices, and about the Department's functions and activities, including relevant legislation and regulations, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

We update this privacy statement from time to time, including updating the list of our websites. Please check the version date each time you visit this page.

What we collect

We collect two kinds of information, website statistics using web analytics technologies, and other information provided by or about users, including personal information.

Website statistics, such as metadata, are collected from your use of our websites, and this data may include your IP address, the date and time stamp of your visit, your location data, data about your interaction with our websites, as well as data collected from our use of cookies and similar technologies.

Personal information may be collected directly from you, including from your interactions with us through our surveys, online forms, electronic direct mail, newsletter subscriptions, social media, registration information and website feedback. This information may include your name, email address, job title, telephone number, date of birth, gender, age, postal address, other location data, spatial data which may be identifiable, or your vehicle or licence data.

In some cases, we may collect your information indirectly. For example, this may occur if another person includes your information in a form when completing one of our online forms, or when we collect your information through social media and external websites.

We do not ordinarily ask you to provide sensitive information or health information, but we may collect it, as an example, if you include it in your feedback on our surveys or online forms. This information may include your racial or ethnic origin, disability or medical conditions.

The terms 'information', 'personal information', 'sensitive information' and 'health information' are explained in our Privacy Policy.

Third-party service providers

Any information collected by third-party service providers (such as Twitter or Facebook) which are not engaged by the Department as contracted service providers will be collected and handled by them in accordance with their privacy policies and terms of use, which we list and link, below. You should check the privacy policy of the relevant third-party service provider to understand how it will handle your information. Those third-party service providers are not required to comply with this privacy statement or our Privacy Policy. However, any information that we collect through third-party service providers or which is collected by or from contracted service providers will be collected and handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Anonymity

We respect your choice to remain anonymous, and you may interact with us anonymously where it is lawful and practicable for you to do so. However, sometimes, it may not be possible for us to provide information, deal with a complaint or perform our other functions unless we can identify you.

Our surveys and online forms set out the information we need from you. In some instances, our surveys and forms will have mandatory fields which you will not be able to submit without providing all the relevant information. However, in most instances, you will be able to proceed without filling in the entire survey or form.

Our surveys and forms also indicate whether you can interact with us anonymously. If so, you will be able to get a copy of the survey or form by contacting us to request it as a hard copy.

Otherwise, your anonymity will be affected if another person passes your information to us. Refer to our 'Access and contact details' section if you wish to correct any information we have collected about you.

Surveys and online forms

We use internally built survey software and third-party service providers to collect, aggregate and analyse survey data.

If you choose to engage with us through a survey, then we recommend that you view the privacy policy of the relevant third-party service provider. We often use the following platforms:

We may also collect information from you through various online forms and community engagement activities. Our Privacy Policy applies to our online forms, only. If you are completing a form through a third-party service provider then we recommend that you view that third-party service provider's privacy policy.

We use internally built mail distribution software and third-party service providers to provide newsletter services and online communication services, including for some email campaigns.

You can unsubscribe from any of these services at any time and your email address will be moved to a 'do not contact' email database. To unsubscribe, click on the unsubscribe link in the email or newsletter that you subscribed to.

We may use the services of third-party providers including (but not limited to) Campaign Monitor (opens in a new window)and Amazon PinPoint(opens in a new window). We recommend that you view their privacy policies.

You may choose to engage with us through social media. We will collect your information if you give it to us by using social media polls, responses, posts, comments, direct messages and tweets.

Any information you post on social media is potentially accessible to anyone else using that same social media provider. Each social media platform has in-built privacy settings and we strongly recommend that you regularly check and configure the privacy settings for your profiles and accounts to ensure that you are aware of the information you are making available to the public.

When you use our social media facilities, some of your information may be visible to others. For example, if you choose to: ‘like’ a Department post, tweet, comment or update; share a link; follow us on Twitter; tweet a mention or retweet a message; or join a Facebook Group, your activity may be made visible to others using that platform.

To access the privacy policies of some of our social media platforms, see:

Event registration

We may also collect your information if you choose to engage with us through an event or program organised or managed by the Department. We may engage third-party service providers, such as EventBrite(opens in a new window), to assist us in the organisation or management of an event.

Why we collect your information

Website statistics

We collect website statistics for statistical analysis and reporting so that we understand general user trends at an aggregate level. This assists us in improving our content and your user experience.

We also collect website statistics for website or system administrative purposes, including to protect against cybersecurity threats.

This information is not used to identify you or to match your identity with any other personal information we collect from you, unless we are required to do so as part of an internal investigation of suspected unlawful activity or for law enforcement-related purposes.

For more information about this and how to disable cookies, see the sections below on Cookies and similar technologies and Disabling cookies or opting out of online ads.

Other information

We may also collect other information that we ask you to provide or that you choose to give us when you interact with us on our websites. Generally speaking, we collect your information for the purposes of carrying out our functions and activities. For more information about the Department's functions and activities, please visit our Privacy Policy.

Your personal information and (if collected) health information may be used by and disclosed to employees or contractors who are required to use it in the course of performing their duties.

Among other things, our contractors deliver services and the Department communications to the community on our behalf (including on social media). We also engage IT service providers who provide or manage our stakeholder relationship management databases, electronic direct mail services, newsletter subscriptions, or they otherwise assist us to carry out our functions and activities.

If payment services are supported by third-party service providers, we will only share your details with them to assist in the resolution of technical issues or for the detection or prevention of fraud or security issues.

If we collect your information from newsletter services and online communication services, we may share your email address with third-party platforms, such as Facebook, to deliver targeted advertisements to you.

Your information may also be shared with project teams within the Department, other Victorian Government departments, authorities or agencies, Ministers and Cabinet Committees, and other authorised third parties who need the information in order to perform their job roles or statutory functions, to provide assistance to you, for reporting and statistical purposes, or where permitted by law.

Your email address will not be shared with third parties for use in other mailing lists without your prior consent.

Website analytics

We use website analytics to analyse, measure and report on data about the traffic on our websites. We may collect and use information about your use of this website, such as your IP address, the date and time of your visit, the address of your server, data about your interaction with our Websites, your device information and your geolocation information (if enabled by you), as well as data collected from cookies and similar technologies.

This information is collected at an aggregate level and we do not use it to identify you. However, we may do so if we are required to investigate and mitigate a cybersecurity threat or an attempt to interfere with the enjoyment of our websites by other users, to cooperate with law enforcement authorities or to comply with the law.

We obtain website analytics provided by third-party service providers such as Google Analytics and Monsido. For more information about their privacy practices, please visit Google's Privacy Centre(opens in a new window) and Monsido's Privacy Policy Statement(opens in a new window).

Cookies, remarketing pixels and similar technologies

Our websites use cookies to make your experience of the site easier and more efficient. Cookies are small files that are transferred to your web browser when you visit a website. These files contain certain pieces of information that help you navigate a website efficiently. Cookies are used to save information about your interaction with our websites. For example, your login details, preferences, and how and when you use our websites.

Our websites use session cookies which are stored in temporary memory and are not retained after you close the browser session.

We may also use remarketing pixels, such as those provided by third-party advertising platforms like Google Ads or Facebook, to track your activity on our websites and deliver targeted advertisements to you on third-party platforms. Remarketing pixels are small snippets of code placed on our websites that allow us to display relevant ads based on your previous interactions with our websites.

If you do not want to have cookies placed on your computer, you can disable them using your web browser. However, opting out of cookies may affect some of the resources provided on our websites.

Website functionality and security

The Department cannot promise that its websites will operate in an error-free or uninterrupted manner. We take steps to secure our websites but we will not be responsible for any computer worms, viruses or other harmful components transmitted through our websites. We recommend that you ensure that your browser is equipped with appropriate and adequate protections to prevent damage to your computer, software and data.

Access and contact details

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that the information we collect about you is accurate, complete, and up-to-date.

If you wish to gain access to or correct the information we collect about you, please:

contact our Privacy and Information Access Branch, at FOI@transport.vic.gov.au, including for any questions you may have about this privacy statement, or
submit a freedom of information request at https://online.foi.vic.gov.au/foi/request.doj(opens in a new window).

We will take reasonable steps to correct and update any information that is established to be inaccurate, incomplete, or not up-to-date. If we refuse your request, we will explain our reasons in writing.

Traffic & transport

Updated 5 January 2024