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Privacy

Privacy Statement

This statement applies to the Victorian Ombudsman. It applies to the handling of information outlined in our Privacy Policy.

If you are directed to another website from this one, we recommend you read their privacy statement.

If you have any questions about our privacy policy, please contact:

Privacy Officer

Victorian Ombudsman
Level 2, 570 Bourke Street
Melbourne VIC 3000

Email: complaints@ombudsman.vic.gov.au

Tel: 1800 806 314

Our commitment and obligations

The Victorian Ombudsman values your privacy and personal information.

Personal information provided by you will not be disclosed other than when this is consistent with the principles in the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and other applicable legislation.

Your information is only used to perform the functions of the Ombudsman, which is mostly enquiring into and/or investigating:

  • particular complaints about actions of state and local organisations
  • public interest complaints about the behaviour of publicly funded people in these organisations.

How we collect information

If you choose to provide personal information, it is treated as confidential. Your information could be collected by you making a complaint using our online form or signing up to an event, newsletter or social media account.

Forms

Information submitted through the online complaints form is collected and stored by this office in a database. Personal details from complaints made by email or telephone may also be stored within the same database.

Your complaint and contact details may be forwarded to another person or organisation for action. This would be for the purposes of investigating and considering the complaint.

If you make a complaint and do not want to be identified to a person or organisation at all, you should request this at the time of your complaint. You can also make a complaint without identifying yourself to us. If you are anonymous, we won’t be able to get in touch for more details or let you know the outcome.

Subscriptions

In subscribing to receive email alerts when we publish new content, you are providing us with personal information.

You are only required to provide your first name, last name and an email address.

This information will be stored in our distribution list database hosted by Microsoft Dynamics 365. We will only use this information to send email updates to you.

We allow you to select what content you'd like to receive from us. You can review those preferences or unsubscribe at any time.

We will not disclose your personal information to any other individual or organisation for any other purpose without your consent.

Email hosting account managed by the Victorian Ombudsman:

Microsoft Dynamics 365

    Survey

    The office uses third-party vendor EY Sweeney to manage our Customer Satisfaction Survey . This is a voluntary survey. Your information will only be used with your permission for the purpose of this survey.

    Training registration

    If you submit a registration or query about our educational programs, your information may be used for the purposes of responding to you about that program.

    Social Media

    If you engage with any of our social media channels, we will only collect information provided by you. This includes, but is not limited to, any posts, comments, direct messages or polls.

    We may use your social media profile details to contact you, but only through the same media channel.

    Most of your activity on social media is accessible to anyone using the same channel. We do not have control over these settings. We recommend that you check the privacy settings of your social media accounts to understand what information you are making public.

    Social media accounts managed by the Victorian Ombudsman:

    Automatic collection of information

    Some information is generated through the automatic collection of data when you visit our website. We use Google Analytics and other measurement software to help analyse how the site is used and improve governance and safety.

    Software we use:

    Cookies

    Cookies are used to make your site experience easier and more efficient. This office does not use cookies to record any personal information or as a tool for direct marketing.

    You can turn cookies off within each browser you use. If you turn off cookies you may not be able to use all the functionality of the website.

    Associated risks

    There are risks in transmitting information across the internet, including viruses or other harmful components. We have technology and security policies to protect information handled in this office but cannot fully ensure the security of any information transmitted to us online.

    If you are concerned about conveying sensitive material to us over the Internet, you might prefer to contact us by telephone or mail.

    Access and management of personal information

    Your personal information will be removed where it is no longer required, except where archiving is required and in compliance with the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic).

    We will take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information is accurate, complete and up to date whenever the Ombudsman collects, discloses or uses it.

    You can request to make a correction of your personal information, contained in a document held by the Ombudsman, by submitting a request to our Privacy Officer (see top of this page for details).

    In some cases, requests for access or correction will be handled in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act.