Electoral Commission Queensland’s Privacy and Security - policy and practice
Privacy and security
The Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) is committed to protecting user privacy. We understand and appreciate that visitors and users of this website are concerned about their privacy and the confidentiality and security of any information that may be provided to us. The Queensland Government has established a privacy regime for the Queensland public sector based on the 11 Information Privacy Principles incorporated in the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988. A copy of our Privacy Plan can be accessed here.
The Commission makes every effort to adhere to the Guidelines for Federal (and Queensland) Government World Wide Websites developed by the Australian Privacy Commissioner. For more information on these guidelines, go to the website for the Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner.
In particular the Commission seeks to comply with Information Privacy Principles 1 to 3 and 10 and 11 of the Privacy Act 1988 (a copy of the Act is available at SCALEplus, the legal information retrieval system owned by the Australian Attorney General’s Department).
This page explains the type of information that is collected by the Commission, how such information is used, and under what circumstances and to whom it may be disclosed.
Your email address
The Commission will only record your email address in the event that you send a message by email or if you register requesting notifications. Registration for notifications may be made initially by email, postal mail or facsimile. Your email address will only be used for the purpose for which you have provided it and will not be added to any mailing lists without your consent by way of a specific request in writing. The Commission will not use or disclose your email address for any other purpose, without your prior written consent.
This is a Queensland Government website. Email correspondence sent to this site will be treated as a public record and will be retained as required by the Libraries and Archives Act 1988 and other relevant regulations. Email messages may be monitored by the Electoral Commission’s web team for system troubleshooting and maintenance purposes.
Data collection
When visiting this website the Commission’s site server makes a record of the visit and logs the following information for statistical purposes:
the user’s server address: this allows us to consider the visitors who use the site most, and tailor the site to their interests and needs
the user’s operating system (for example Windows, Mac etc.): this allows us to tailor browser or platform specific parts of the site to each operating system because browsers act differently on each platform
the user’s top-level domain name (for example .com, .gov, .au etc.): this can allow us to tailor information relevant to different domains
the date and time of the visit to the site: this is important for identifying the website’s busy times and ensuring maintenance on the site is conducted outside these periods
pages accessed and documents downloaded: this indicates to us which pages or documents are most important to our users and also helps identify important information that may be difficult to find
duration of the visit: this indicates to us how interesting and informative our site is to our users
geographic location: this shows us how well marketed our site is internationally
the type of browser used: this is important for browser specific coding e.g. Javascript.
No attempt will be made to identify 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.
This site contains links to other sites. The Commission is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites. The Commission has no knowledge if cookies or other tracking devices are used on linked websites.
Security of information
We provide a secure environment and a reliable system, but you should be aware that there may be inherent risks associated with the transmission of information via the Internet. For those who do not wish to use the Internet, the Commission provides alternative ways of obtaining and providing information.
Records held
In accordance with the Electoral Act 1992, the Commission holds the following:
Application for Ballot Papers
Postal Votes
Absent or Unenrolled Votes
Ballot papers of all electors who cast their ballot at the last State Election.
All this material is destroyed under supervision just prior to the next State election.
The electoral roll is maintained by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) under a Joint Roll Arrangement entered into between the Commonwealth and the State. The publicly available portion of the roll (that is, name and address), is available for public search at the Commission’s Office, between the hours of 9.00am and 5.00pm.
The roll can be searched via the following media:
the most recent printed version of the roll for the 89 electoral districts
the most recent electronic record of the State roll, searchable via a computerised search application.
The Commission keeps details of the following categories of staff:
permanent staff of the Commission appointed under the Electoral Act 1992 or the Public Service Act 1996
Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers appointed by the Governor in Council pursuant to the Electoral Act 1992
casual staff who work for the Commission on a periodic basis and casual staff who were engaged by the Commission to assist with the conduct of the last State election
The Commission also holds for limited specified periods:
details of persons who have applied for appointment to positions within the Commission
copies of correspondence received by the Commission as well as outgoing correspondence generated by it
submissions received from political parties, candidates, electors, elected officials and the general public in relation to the redistribution of State electoral boundaries and reviewable local government matters
lists of persons who were issued with a category of security pass, providing access to the central tally room
the Commission maintains the register of political parties in Queensland
register of party agents
election funding claims ?for all elections since 1995
candidates disclosure returns ?for all elections since 1995
third parties disclosure returns ?for all elections since 1995
annual returns by registered political parties
annual returns by associated entities
register of special postal voters.
GLOSSARY
Cookies: a cookie is a message given to a web browser by a web server. The browser stores the message in a text file called cookie.txt. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.
The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and possibly prepare customised web pages for them. When you enter a website that is using cookies, you may be asked to fill out a form providing such information as your name and interests. This information is packaged into a cookie and sent to your web browser that stores it for later use. The next time you go to the same website, your browser will send the cookie to the web server. The server can use this information to present you with custom web pages. So, for example, instead of seeing just a generic welcome page, you might see a welcome page with your name on it. The name cookie derives from UNIX objects called magic cookies. These are tokens that are attached to a user or program and change depending on the areas entered by the user or program. Cookies are also sometimes called persistent cookies because they typically stay in the browser for long periods of time.
Domain name: The code for the country or type of internet connection a user comes from, such as '.com' '.gov' '.au' '.uk'.
Information Privacy Principles: 11 principles established under section 14 of the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988. Commonwealth and Queensland government agencies must comply with these principles in their handling of personal information in their possession.
Internet Service Provider: a company or organisation that provides access to the internet for users.
Law enforcement agency: an agency of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory such as the Australian Federal Police, which exercises powers such as executing a warrant to seize documentation or goods or to search premises etc.
Notification: automatic advice of new or updated material available via the Commission, provided to a user who registers for this service.