Web analytics collection notice
Web Analytics Collection Notice
This website (nsw.gov.au) provides you with easy access to NSW government information from various NSW Government agencies and is maintained by the NSW Department of Customer Service. The nsw.gov.au website uses cookies, preferencing and analytic programs to collect information about how you use the website to improve our service and your user experience. Importantly, these collection processes do not collect, store, use nor disclose any of your personal information.
What information is collected by this website?
To improve our website and your user experience, we collect data about how you use the publicly accessible pages on nsw.gov.au.
For each page you visit, the following information is recorded:
- IP Address
- top-level domain name (for example .com, .gov, .au, .uk, etc.)
- the address of your server
- date and time of your visit
- search terms, pages visited, and documents downloaded
- the referring source of your visit (such as the URL that you came through to arrive at our website)
- device type, device location, browser and operating system.
How we collect and use the data
The nsw.gov.au website uses cookies, Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, Google Ads, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) and LinkedIn tools to collect data about how users interact with nsw.gov.au. The information collected during your website visit is aggregated to create reports that reveal patterns in web site usage that allow us to improve the website and our services for you.
Cookies
'Cookies' are small pieces of text data stored on your computer by a web server, which hold information about your website use and preferences. Nsw.gov.au uses persistent cookies. These cookies are stored on your device, contain an expiration date, and are accessed by the web server when you return to our website.
The cookie does not personally recognise you, rather the web server recognises your browser using the cookie and uses this information to present you with the information most relevant to you based on your previous site visits. Cookies also help us to understand what aspects of our site are most useful to you so we can improve the effectiveness of our web services.
Importantly, cookies do not perform any actions, connect to any other computers, or access information on your hard drive. You can choose to block cookies by setting your browser to refuse all or some cookies. However, blocking all cookies may impede full functionality of our website.
Google Analytics
Our site uses Google Analytics to help us understand how the people of NSW use and access government information, providing important insights that help us to customise and improve our services for you. Google Analytics collects data including the details of the links clicked, search terms, navigation details, browser type and other use details as listed above. While these identifiers provide information about user behaviour, Google prohibits customers from sending Personally Identifiable Information to Google Analytics. Google Analytics data is stored in the cloud protected by encryption with restricted user access as described in Safeguarding your Data. Google provides website visitors to prevent their data from being used by Google Analytics using the Opt-Out Add-On.
Adobe Experience Platform and Adobe Target
Our site uses Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) and Adobe Target (AT) to help us provide personalised links and experiences to the people accessing government information.
AEP collects data including navigation details, pages visited, links clicked on, search terms used, the browser type and other information as specified in the “What information is collected by this website?” section above.
Using this data and information, AEP groups users into audience categories. Audience categories pool users with similar interest and site behaviour. Using these audiences, we provide personalised recommendation links, and experiences aligning with what they are looking for.
While these identifiers help to create personalised experience, it is only behavioural data. The tool does not collect personal information. AEP data is stored in the cloud protected by encryption with restricted user access.
For information about Adobe privacy practices please refer to: https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/experience-platform/privacy/home
Microsoft Clarity
We use Microsoft Clarity to capture how you use and interact with our website. Microsoft Clarity provides behavioural metrics, heatmaps and session replay to improve our website. Microsoft Clarity captures website usage data using first and third-party cookies and other tracking technologies. We use this information to optimise our website.
You can learn more about how your personal information is used and how to opt-out from personalised advertising by Microsoft by reading the Microsoft Privacy Statement.
Campaigns and Advertising
Google Ads allows us to understand how you interact with key NSW Government messaging and information campaigns by collecting information about clicks on an NSW Government advertisement with our third-party advertising partners. This data does not contain information that identifies you. We use this data for the purpose of tracking advertising performance and remarketing.
You can learn more about Google Ads Privacy Policy and you can opt out by visiting the Google Ads Preference Manager.
Meta (Facebook) and LinkedIn pixel use
This website uses Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and LinkedIn remarketing pixels to aid in customised, targeted follow-up advertising. The Departments may display interest-based ads to you when you are using Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn and allow us to personalise our ads based on your interests, demographics, location, and any previous interactions with us.
This website nsw.gov.au, also uses a Meta pixel or LinkedIn Insights tag to follow your actions on our website when you enter the site by clicking on one of our Facebook or LinkedIn ads. The data collected through the Meta pixel and/or LinkedIn Insights tag is saved and processed by each of these platforms in accordance with Meta’s Privacy Policy and LinkedIn's Privacy Policy. Meta and LinkedIn provide us with anonymous, aggregated data reports that help us understand and report on the effectiveness of our advertising on Facebook and/or LinkedIn. The Departments may also share information about your use of this website and your interactions with our Facebook and/or LinkedIn ads with our trusted social media, advertising, and web analytics partners, including Google Analytics.
Facebook Conversion Tracking also allows Facebook and its partners to show you advertisements on and outside Facebook. LinkedIn may extend sponsored content to users that are active in LinkedIn’s Audience Network (trusted third-party publishers’ apps). In each case a cookie will be saved onto your computer or device for these purposes.
You can change your Facebook Ad Preferences and LinkedIn Ads Settings if you wish to revoke your permission for these services:
Other uses and disclosures
All agencies that maintain this website reserve the right to make disclosures to relevant authorities where the use of this website raises a suspicion that an offence is being, or has been, committed. In the event of an investigation, each agency will provide access to data to any law enforcement agency that may exercise a warrant to inspect our logs. Specifically, we will collect, use and disclose more extensive information than stated above in the following circumstances:
- unauthorised attempts to access files that are not published on this website (www.nsw.gov.au) pages
- unauthorised tampering or interference with published files
- unauthorised attempts to index the contents of this website by other websites
- attempts to intercept messages of other users of this website
- communications which are defamatory, abusive, vilify individuals or groups or which give rise to a suspicion that an offence is being committed
- attempts to otherwise compromise the security of the nsw.gov.au platform, breach the laws of the State of New South Wales or Commonwealth of Australia, or interfere with the enjoyment of the website by other users.
Who else has access to this information?
Nsw.gov.au uses Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity to aggregate the collected data to analyse and report how the website is being used by our visitors. Google Marketing Platform, Meta and LinkedIn platforms use advertising analytics data for the purposes of campaign and audience targeting and marketing.
Access to the data is restricted to authorised staff in each agency and service providers contracted for the purpose of analysis and reporting on our website, communication objectives and various NSW Government marketing/advertising activities.
Website security
Information collected by this website is transferred and stored securely. When the information is no longer required for the purposes for which it was collected it is deleted or archived in accordance with the NSW State Records Act 1998.
Reporting security bugs or issues
Department of Customer Service takes the security of our customer data very seriously. If you have identified any issues or potential vulnerabilities with our website that might pose a risk to our services or the information trusted to us, then we encourage you to inform us as quickly as possible by emailing us at webmaster@customerservice.nsw.gov.au.