Privacy statement

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is subject to the Privacy Act 1988 which requires that we comply with the Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) set out in the Act. The IPPs set out how Australian Government agencies should collect, use, store and disclose personal information and how individuals can access records containing their personal information.

The personal information handling practices of the NHMRC are detailed in the annual Personal Information Digest.  These set out the kind of personal information collected or held NHMRC, what it is used for, to whom it is disclosed and how access to the information can be arranged.

General enquiries about the NHMRC compliance with the IPPs can be made to the NHMRC Privacy Contact Officer.  Any complaints about NHMRC’s personal information handling practices can be made to the Privacy Contact Officer or to the Privacy Commissioner.  The Privacy Contact Officer can be contacted by telephone (02) 6217 9333 or by writing to the following address:

Privacy contact officer

NHMRC

GPO Box 1421

CANBERRA  ACT  2601

General information about the Privacy Act and IPPs can be found on the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at http://www.oaic.gov.au/.

About this website

NHMRC is committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s guidelines for Federal and ACT Government World Wide Websites (http://www.privacy.gov.au/internet/web/index.html).  The guidelines set out the requirements for transparent collection, appropriate and ethical use and the secure storage of personal information.  Our aim is to provide an online environment which will ensure all information provided to us is handled in a secure, efficient and confidential manner.

While every effort is made to secure information transmitted to this site over the internet, there is a possibility that this information could be accessed by a third party while in transit.

Electronic mail addresses

We will only record your e-mail address if you send us a message.  It will only be used for the purpose for which you provide it.  In particular, we will not add it to a mailing list unless you request that this be done and we will not disclose it without your consent.

Subscriptions

Your personal data submitted through the subscription service form will be used solely by NHMRC.  We will not disclose your data to anyone.

There are security risks associated with transmission of information via the Internet. The NHMRC has taken reasonable steps to safeguard against unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure of personal information we hold electronically.  Before deciding whether to use this facility you should make your own assessment of the potential risks to the security of your information.

By clicking on the warning/disclaimer tick box on the form, you acknowledge and agree that the Commonwealth will not be liable for any unauthorised access or for any loss or damage which you may incur as a result of any unauthorised access to this site or to the information transmitted by you or any other person.

Cookies

NHMRC uses 'cookies' for maintaining contact with a user through a website session.  A cookie is a small file supplied by the Agency, and stored by the web browser software on your computer when you access our site.  (An explanation of cookies can be found at the site of the Privacy Commissioner at: http://www.privacy.gov.au/internet/internet_privacy/#2.1).  Cookies allow us to recognise you as an individual, as you move from one of our web pages to another.

All cookies will be immediately lost when you end your internet session and shut down your computer.  Our copy of your information will be automatically deleted twenty minutes after you last use our website.  This information is only used to help you navigate our website systems more efficiently, not to track your movements through the internet, or to record private information about you.

Any system on this website that records information about you, will specifically ask your permission first.

When you visit this site, the NHMRC makes a record of your visit and logs the following information for statistical or systems administration purposes:

  • The user's server address
  • the user's top level domain name
  • the date and time of access to the site
  • pages accessed and documents downloaded
  • the previous site visited
  • type of browser used

This information is analysed to show broken links in our website, bottlenecks, and other site problems.  We use this information to maintain our site for your efficient use.

No attempt will be made to identify anonymous users or their browsing activities unless legally compelled to do so, such as in the event of an investigation, where a law enforcement agency may exercise a warrant to inspect the Internet Service Provider's log files.

Searches

Search terms you enter when using our search engine are collected, but are not associated with any other information that we collect. We use these search terms to ascertain what people are looking for at our site, and to improve the services that we provide.

Links to other sites

This website contains links to other sites.  NHMRC is not responsible for the privacy practices of any third parties nor are they responsible for the material contained in a website that is linked to this site.

Queries, concerns and further information

If you have any queries, concerns or require further information relating to privacy and the NHMRC website, please email the Agency at: itsa@nhmrc.gov.au.

If you have concerns about emailing this site, please use our postal address:

NHMRC IT Security Advisor

GPO Box 1421

CANBERRA ACT 2601