PRIVACY POLICY

Last Updated: October 2022

About eNotices

eNotices is a registered trademark and software platform developed, and owned by Forms Express Pty Ltd that provide organisations in the Local Government, Water, Corporate, Financial and Utility sectors to outsource the production & distribution of their billing notices and related documents, and payment collection services on behalf of their customers (“Notice Services”). Over 200 organisations across Australia and New Zealand have subscribed to the eNotices software platform that enables them to reduce their costs and provide efficiencies for some, or all their Notice Services.

Hastings District Council are currently using eNotices.

Introduction

eNotices is committed to treating the personal information we collect in accordance with the Hastings District Council's Privacy Policy, Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Information Privacy Principles (IPP’s) that form part of the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) (the Privacy Acts) and any other privacy legislation in your territory. This Privacy Policy sets out how we handle personal information.

eNotices collects personal information from the eNotices platform and Hastings District Council for the sole purpose of fulfilling the provision of the Notice Services. The Notice Services are provided to a range of recipients. Examples of recipients are property owners, animal owners, water or utility customers, corporate and financial customers, among others (“Recipients”).

Hastings District Council Privacy Policy can be found at hastingsdc/

Our Privacy Policy describes how we manage personal information, including the kinds of personal information we collect, the purposes for which we collect personal information, and how we hold, use and disclose personal information. By using our products and services (including our website) or by providing your personal information to us you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

We may need to update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect our current privacy practices or changes in the law and regulations. When we make any material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will post the updated policy on our website.

We encourage you to check our website from time to time to ensure that you are aware of our current Privacy Policy.

  1. PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT
    1. The types of personal information we collect depends on the nature of our engagement with you. Examples of personal information we may collect include:
      1. General identification information such as names
      2. Contact details such as postal address, property address, email address, phone and mobile phone number
    2. If you choose not to supply us with this information, we may not be able to allow you to access or use our products or services (or all of the features and functionality offered by our products or services) or to respond to queries or requests that you submit to us.
    3. Our eNotices website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of those other websites. The privacy practices applicable to those other websites may differ substantially from ours, so we advise you to read the privacy policy of those other websites before using them.
  2. COLLECTING PERSONAL INFORMATION
    1. The collection and handling of personal information is in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
    2. Sensitive Information such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, membership of a professional or trade association, membership of a trade union, sexual preferences or practices, criminal record, as described in Information Privacy Principles 10 (Sensitive Information) are not required to be collected.
  3. HOLDING PERSONAL INFORMATION
    1. We hold personal information in both hard copy and electronic formats. We take security measures to protect the personal information we hold which includes physical controls (for example, security passes to enter our offices and storage of files in lockable cabinets) as well as technological controls (for example, restriction of access, firewalls, the use of encryption, passwords and digital certificates).
    2. We also have policies and processes which govern document retention and data breach incidents. We endeavour to ensure that personal information is kept as current as possible and that irrelevant or excessive data is deleted or made anonymous as soon as reasonably practicable. However, some personal information may be retained for varying time periods in order to comply with legal and regulatory obligations and for other legitimate business reasons.
    3. Personal information will be archived or destroyed in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973, relevant Retention and Disposal Authority from the Public Records Office Victoria, any other privacy legislation in your territory, or as per the written agreement with Hastings District Council.
    4. In accordance with the Privacy Acts, we collect personal information to ensure accuracy, completeness, consistency, and validity of ratepayers / recipients. We maintain a secure system for the collection, handling and storing of personal information within Australia and will use appropriate technologies, security methods, operational policies and procedures to protect the information from:
      1. Unauthorised access
      2. Improper use
      3. Alteration in any way
  4. PURPOSE FOR COLLECTING, HOLDING, USING, SHARING AND DISCLOSING PERSONAL INFORMATION
    1. We will only use your information if we have a lawful reason to do so such as when it’s our legal duty, if we have your consent and when it’s in our legitimate interest to do so. The personal affairs information that you provide when registering for eNotices (for example: name, address, email, phone number and unique identifier such as eNotices reference number and assessment number), will only be used for the primary purpose that it was collected for, that being for the issue of Notices electronically, and, or via hard copy in the mail for the ratepayers / recipients, and not for any other secondary purpose without your explicit permission.
    2. Where lawful and practicable, we will offer you the option of remaining anonymous as part of your transaction with us.
    3. We may also use non-personal, de-identified and aggregated information for several purposes including for data analytics, research, submissions, thought leadership and promotional purposes. Any output is anonymised or aggregated so that no personal information or information relating specifically to you is reasonably identifiable.
  5. ACCESS TO PERSONAL INFORMATION
    1. Certain sections of, or offerings from, eNotices may require you to register. If registration is requested, you agree to provide us with accurate, complete registration information. Your registration must be done using your real name and accurate information. Each registration is for your use only and on behalf of the stated entity. We do not permit (a) any other person using the registered sections under your name; or (b) access through a single name being made available to multiple users on a network. You are responsible for preventing such unauthorised use.
    2. We will endeavour to ensure that the personal information it holds is accurate, complete and up to date. We will systematically append and/or update any new personal information you provide to your existing customer record. This ensures that your customer record is complete and up to date.
    3. It is important that you make sure the personal information we hold about you is accurate, up to date and complete. If any of your details change or if you believe that any personal information we have collected about you is inaccurate, you can update your contact details via your eNotices account or visit our website for contact information, and we will take reasonable steps to correct it in accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Acts.
  6. COMPLAINTS
    1. You can notify Hastings District Council of any complaint you may have about our handling of your personal information. Hastings District Council will endeavour to reply to you of receipt of your enquiry and, where appropriate, will advise you of the general reasons for the outcome of the complaint.
    2. While Hastings District Council hope that they will be able to resolve any complaints, you may have without needing to involve third parties such as eNotices, if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you can refer your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or any other relevant authorities in your territory.
    3. Where lawful and practicable, Hastings District Council will offer you the option of remaining anonymous as part of your complaint with Hastings District Council. Please bear in mind, anonymity may limit the ability to process a complaint or other matter. Therefore, if you choose not to supply personal information that is necessary for us and Hastings District Council to perform its functions, then we reserve the right to take no further action on that matter.
  7. DIRECT DEBIT
    1. Direct Debit arrangements that do not pay the Rates in full within the current financial year will be reviewed on an annual basis.
  8. CONTACT DETAILS
    1. If you have any queries in relation to the management of your personal information, you can direct your questions directly to Hastings District Council by email or phone. Contact details can be found at hastingsdc