This site is owned and operated by Northern NSW Local Health District using software licensed from Social Pinpoint.

For details on how Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) collects and protects your personal information, refer to our Privacy Policy below.

For details of how Social Pinpoint may access personal information, please refer to Social Pinpoint’s Privacy Policy.


Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important to us. This Privacy Statement describes how we collect, use, store and disclose personal information when you interact with Engage Northern NSW Health.

When used in the Statement, "personal information" has the meaning given in the NSW Privacy Acts. Generally, it means any information or an opinion that could be used to identify you.

This privacy policy applies to all the publicly accessible pages on the Engage Northern NSW Health site located at engage.nnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au

This privacy statement does not apply to any other aspects of your interactions with NNSWLHD (e.g. receiving a health service).

The Engage Northern NSW Health website is maintained by Northern NSW Local Health District. We adhere to the privacy standards outlined by NSW Government Privacy Statement. Northern NSW Local Health District does not have any responsibility for the privacy policies or practices of third-party sites linked to the Engage Northern NSW Health site.


What information do we collect?

We collect information about you and your use of Engage Northern NSW Health. The type of information we collect will vary depending on how you interact with the service. We will only collect personal information if it is necessary to carry out the functions of Engage Northern NSW Health. We will always take reasonable steps to collect your personal information directly from you and provide you with options about what information you share.

Site visitor data

When you look at the pages on the Engage Northern NSW Health site, we 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, .edu, .au, .uk etc.)
  • the address of your server
  • the date and time of your visit to the site
  • the pages accessed and documents downloaded
  • the previous site visited and
  • the type of browser and operating system you have used.

Cookies

Only sessional cookies are used from the site to collect information. This information is unable to be retained once the user session has ceased.

Registration

If you register to join the community network, we will collect the above data and also:

  • Your name, email address, username
  • Information about your demographics, preferences, and interests (optional).
  • Information you choose to provide in any engagement activity via the feedback tools, including:
    • comments and votes in forums
    • stories
    • surveys
    • interactive maps
    • quick polls
    • ideas and suggestions
    • images.

How do we use the information collected?

The information collected during each visit is aggregated with similar logged information and published in internal reports for Northern NSW Local Health District to identify patterns of usage of the site. This will assist us in improving the site and the services it offers.

Northern NSW Local Health District will not disclose or publish information that identifies individual machines, or potentially identifies sub-groupings of addresses, without consent.

Users of the Engage Northern NSW Health site are entitled to expect that any information as a result of that use will be treated within the terms of the NSW Government's privacy responsibilities and obligations. NSW Health is governed by the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1988.

We use personal information you provide about yourself to:

  • send you updates and information, but only when you have agreed to us sending you this information or when the information is necessary to assist with the administration of the site
  • administer the site and manage your account
  • identify when you sign into your account
  • respond to queries that you have contacted us about
  • attribute content that you post on the site to you
  • analyse use of the site to inform ongoing improvements and enhancements
  • inform policy decisions, service delivery or project development by NNSWLHD
  • for any other purposes that we indicate to you when we request your personal information.

Engagement activities on Engage Northern NSW Health are conducted by staff from NNSWLHD and supported by the Community Engagement Team.

The information you provide through the feedback tools will be collated and provided to the NNSWLHD team overseeing the project for the purpose of decision-making and development of the service or project. You will not be identified as part of this report, unless we advise otherwise. You will be identified if you are applying to part of a committee or workshop and it is necessary for the team to contact you to discuss your application.

Reports from consultations may also include de-identified quotes from participants in forums, surveys and other consultation tools.

Each consultation will provide you with the following information:

  • the project that you are contributing to
  • who is leading the project and their contact information
  • how you can take part and provide your input
  • what will happen to the information or feedback you provide
  • important dates and stages of the project.

Publicly available information is limited to your username (selected by you) and any comments you leave under that name in the feedback tools on Engage Northern NSW Health that are publicly viewable. To protect your privacy, we require that you select a username which does not identify you and that you do not include personal identifying information (e.g. real name, location) in your comments.To protect your own privacy, your password for Engage Northern NSW Health should be kept confidential, and must not be displayed, shared or written down.

The personal information gathered through your interaction with Engage Northern NSW Health is only for the purpose of your participation in this site and the consultations listed. Your information and activities on the site are not recorded in your healthcare record.


What exceptions are there to this rule?

Northern NSW Local Health District will collect, use and disclose more extensive information than stated above in the following circumstances:

  • unauthorised attempts to access files which are not published Engage Northern NSW Health pages
  • unauthorised tampering or interference with files published on the Engage Northern NSW Health site
  • unauthorised attempts to index the contents of the Engage Northern NSW Health site by other sites
  • attempts to intercept messages of other users of the Engage Northern NSW Health 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 Engage Northern NSW Health site by other users.

Northern NSW Local Health District reserves the right to make disclosures to relevant authorities where the use of the Engage Northern NSW Health site raises a suspicion that an offence is being, or has been, committed. In the event of an investigation, Northern NSW Local Health District will provide access to data to any law enforcement agency that may exercise a warrant to inspect our logs.


Is the information stored securely?

Yes. Information collected is stored in an appropriately secure format and held by Northern NSW Local Health District for archival purposes.


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 considering 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.



Statement updated Jan 2025.