The Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) Privacy Policy also applies to this website. For more information, visit the Office of Environment and Heritage website.
Your rights to privacy
OEH must comply with the
Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW), which regulates the collection, storage, quality, use and disclosure of personal information. For details see
OEH and your privacy. Information that in some way identifies you may be gathered when you use our website or send us an email.
Collection of information
Information collected from web browsing
When you view the OEH website, we collect the following information:
- your IP (internet protocol) address or host name eg. 123.123.123.12 or xxx.yyy.com.au
- the date and time you visited the website
- the pages or documents you attempted to view or download, and whether those pages or documents were displayed
- the web browser and operating system you are using
- the previous site you visited, if you reached our website by clicking on a link
- whether you have previously visited our website (only if you accept cookies).
Information collected from online forms
When you submit a form on the OEH website (see Feedback) we collect information from it. This information may include personal and organisational details such as your full name, phone number, business name and ACN details, email address and street address.
Clicking on the 'submit' button on the form acts as your consent for OEH to collect the information you have provided. Before you submit this information we will take reasonable steps to inform you of:
- where applicable, any law that requires the particular information to be collected
- which fields are mandatory and which are optional.
Information collected from email
If you send us an email, we will record your email address for the purpose of responding to you.
Use and disclosure of information collected
Information collected from web browsing is used to identify patterns of usage of the OEH website. This will assist OEH to improve its website and the electronic services offered on it.
Information collected from forms and email will only be used for the purpose for which you have provided it. We will not use it for any other purpose, nor will we disclose it, unless with your consent or in other circumstances where such use or disclosure is permitted under the
Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. For example, we may provide the information you have submitted to another public authority in the course of administering environment protection legislation.
Your personal information (including your email address) will not be automatically added to a mailing list, or sold or otherwise transferred to a third party for commercial purposes.
The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act)
The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) commenced in early 2010, replacing the Freedom of Information Act 1989. The new system is focussed on making government information more readily available. This means that OEH must release information unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure.
The GIPA Act establishes four ways for the public to access government information:
- Mandatory release - certain information must be published on an agency's website, free of charge.
- Proactive release - agencies are encouraged to take the initiative to release as much government information as possible, in an appropriate manner and free of charge.
- Informal release - agencies are encouraged to release information without the need for a formal application, unless there are good reasons to require one.
- Formal access - in limited circumstances, access to information will require a formal access application.
The OIC is the Office of the Information Commissioner whose role is to administer and provide independent oversight of the new ‘Right to Information’ system. The Information Commissioner is strictly independent, and is not answerable to any Minister but reports to a Joint Committee of Parliament.
How do I get government information?
Search the agency’s website, to see if it is already available
Contact the government agency and ask for the information.
The agency will decide whether the information you want:
Is open access, or ‘mandatory release’information that is readily available. If it is, they should tell you where and how you can get the information.
Should be made available as part of a ‘proactive release’ of information.
Can be disclosed to you through ‘informal release’, for example where no third party personal information is involved.
Requires a formal access application, for example because consultation with a third party is required.
Note: Agencies must generally disclose information in response to a valid formal access application for information that is held by an agency and not otherwise available to the applicant. Agencies can refuse a request for information if there is an overriding public interest against disclosure or if searching for the requested information would require unreasonable and substantial diversion of the agency’s resources.
How can I get more information?
If you have a hearing or speech impairment, you can call us through the National Relay Service (NRS) on 133 677 or if you want to talk to us with the assistance of an interpreter, you can call us through the
Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 131 450. NRS and TIS are free services.
Please note:
The new Right to Information system has not yet commenced. If you are seeking access to government information now, before the Government Information(Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) commences,
please contact the agency holding the information, or visit the Freedom of Information website at
www.dpc.nsw.gov.au/about_us/freedom_of_information or contact the Premier's Department FOI Hotline on 02 9228 4441.
Storage of personal information