Privacy policy

This website is maintained by the Audit Office of New South Wales. This privacy policy applies to all publicly accessible pages on the Audit Office of New South Wales website. The Audit Office does not have any responsibility for the privacy policies or practices of third-party sites linked to the Audit Office website.

Audit Office website users are entitled to expect that any information collected as a result of the use of the website will be treated according to the terms of the NSW Government privacy responsibilities and obligations. NSW Government privacy practices are regulated by the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Act 1988.

What information do we collect?

When you look at the Audit Office website, we automatically record information for each page assessed that identifies:

  • the internet protocol address of the machine that accessed it 
  • your top-level domain name, such as, .com, .gov, .au, .uk 
  • the address of your server
  • the date and time of your website visit
  • the pages you accessed and documents you downloaded
  • the previous site you visited
  • whether you are viewing from a desktop or mobile device
  • the type of browser and operating system you used.

The Audit Office may use ‘cookies’ to gather statistical information. This helps us understand what you find interesting and useful on the website. 

You can decline our cookies by adjusting the ‘accept cookies’ setting on your browser.

We do not use this code to collect any personally identifiable information.

How do we use this information?

The information collected during each visit to the website is aggregated with similar logged information and published in reports. The Audit Office uses this information to identify patterns of website usage which assists us to improve the Audit Office website and the services it offers.

The Audit Office will not disclose or publish information that identifies individual machines or potentially identifies sub-groupings of addresses, without consent or otherwise in accordance with the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1988.

What exceptions are there?

The Audit Office will collect, use and disclose more extensive information than stated above if there are:

  • unauthorised attempts to access files which are not published Audit Office webpages
  • unauthorised tampering or interference with files published on the Audit Office website
  • unauthorised attempts by other websites to index the contents of the Audit Office website
  • attempts to intercept messages of other users of the Audit Office website
  • communications which are defamatory, abusive, vilify individuals or groups or that give rise to a suspicion that an offence is being committed
  • attempts to otherwise compromise the security of the webserver, breach NSW or federal laws or interfere with the enjoyment by other users of the Audit Office website.

The Audit Office reserves the right to make disclosures to relevant authorities where use of the Audit Office website raises a suspicion that an offence is being or has been committed. In the event of an investigation the Audit Office 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. The information collected is stored in an appropriately secure format and held by the Audit Office for archival purposes. The information is deleted when it is no longer required for the purposes for which it was collected.

What happens with feedback information?

The Audit Office provides feedback facilities on the Audit Office website to allow users to provide input into the website’s future development and to comment on the provision of our service. When you provide feedback, the provision of your personal details is optional.

Users may provide personal details for the purpose of receiving a reply to their feedback. This information will only be used for the purpose for which it was provided. We will not add your email address or name to any mailing list.

The Audit Office may publish aggregated information about feedback on the website, to the extent that it does not identify or cannot be used to identify individual users.

Third-party links

Please be aware that the Audit Office website sometimes contains links to other sites that are not governed by this privacy policy. Visitors to our site may be directed to third-party sites for more information including social networks. The Audit Office makes no representations regarding how user data is stored or used on third-party servers. We recommend reviewing the privacy policy of each third-party site linked from the Audit Office website to determine their use of your personal data.

Will this policy be updated?

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 on this website and will operate from the time it is posted.

For information about the Audit Office, the application of this privacy policy or a request for access to information, contact us.