Privacy Statement

Tourism New South Wales is committed to maintaining your privacy.

Your rights

When you use this site, your privacy is protected by the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) (PPIPA). The Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation has introduced practices and procedures to maximise compliance with PPIPA through its Privacy Management Plan. The following statement outlines in some detail the purpose for the collection of your personal information. However, if you would like more information about your rights concerning privacy you can view the Department's Privacy Management Plan at this location click here.

If you are a tourism operator, any matter that may be considered as "commercial in confidence" is protected by both the PPIPA and the Freedom of Information Act.

Tourism New South Wales' obligations

The Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation (the "Department") collects personal information directly from you through its Internet site for various purposes that relate to the development and promotion of tourism in New South Wales. The provision of your personal information on this web site is voluntary. However, it you choose not to provide your information we may not be able to forward the material that you are requesting or to provide you with one of the numerous services available through this web site. 

This privacy statement details the specific purposes for each one of the Department's Internet collections and the disclosures that are required to provide the service offered over the Internet.  The Department will only disclose personal information about you in accordance with the Information Protection Principles.  For more information concerning our privacy policy or information handling practices, please refer to the appropriate sections below.

If you feel aggrieved by the conduct of the Department in respect of your privacy, then you are entitled to ask to have that conduct reviewed. If you would like information on how to make an application to have a conduct reviewed, contact the Manager, Policy & Planning on 9931 1467.

Internet use

There are risks associated with the transmission of information over the Internet and you should therefore make your own assessment of the risks in the provision of your information to the Department's Internet site.

This web site contains numerous links to other organisation's web pages.  The Department is not responsible for the information handling practices or privacy policies of those other organisations including any of the Regional Tourism Organisations.

The Department can of course provide you with an alternative means of dealing with it, or transacting business with it, if you feel uncomfortable with the electronic transmission of information.

This site does not contain cookies.

How you can access your personal information

You can access any of your personal information that we hold.  The Department provides a right of access and alteration to the personal information held about you in accordance with the PPIPA and the Freedom of Information Act. If you would like to know more about the personal information that we may hold on you please e-mail us at corporate@tourism.nsw.gov.au.

Once this Organisation receives information from you via email or any of our other on-line applications, your information is stored in a secure environment. Your personal information will not be released unless we reasonably believe that a law requires it or where we seek your express permission to disclose your personal information.

Why we collect personal information

The Department conducts a large part of its operations over the internet. As part of its function, the Department processes thousands of requests for tour brochures or information, provides avenues for the booking of holidays or facilities, provides opportunities for tourism operators to market and promote their services, distributes industry based publications, conducts many exciting competitions and collects information on the types of holidays or events that you, the consumer, would like to see more of in the future so that we can help the tourism industry grow.

In order to provide as much information as possible, our web site is quite large. For this reason, we have designed this section in a manner that provides you with a quick and easy pathway to understanding our practices and procedures at each web page. The information is arranged under the following page headings. Scroll down the page to view the personal information collection policy for your area of interest:

Employment

This page contains a list of the all the advertised vacancies within the Department.  To download the information pack, please follow the downloading instructions. The downloading of the information pack does not involve the collection of personal information.  Should you be interested in applying for the position, you will need to complete the application form and forward it to the designate officer.  There is no provision to apply for these positions on-line.

Tenders

This page contains a list of the all the advertised tenders within the Department.  To download the Request for Tender (RFT), please follow the downloading instructions. The downloading of the RFT does not involve the collection of personal information.  Should you be interested in submitting a proposal for the tender, you will need to complete the requirements contained in the RFT and forward it to the designate officer.  There is no provision to submit your proposal on-line.

Publications

This website offers an extensive list of free publications including policies and plans, the Department's Annual Report and various publications containing research and marketing material. To download the publication, please follow the downloading instructions. The downloading of these publications does not involve the collection of personal information.

Your e-mail requests for publications or information are only used by the Department to process your request for information and are not collected for any other purpose. After your request for information has been processed, your e-mail request and any personal information it contain is safely destroyed.

Information Resource Centre

This page offers an extensive list of free publications. To download the publication, please follow the downloading instructions. The downloading of these publications does not involve the collection of personal information.

Your e-mail requests for publications or information are only used by this Organisation to process your request for information and are not collected for any other purpose. After your request for information has been processed, your e-mail request and any personal information it contain is safely destroyed.

Market Research Surveys

This survey is designed to collect specific market research and/or demographic information that the Organisation may use for planning and strategy development.

The personal information that is collected from you by this survey is de-identified so that your identity can no longer be determined. The original survey is held by the Organisation.

The information is only used in an aggregated form as statistical information. The statistical information that is collected is analysed to allow us to deliver more exciting and competitive holiday destinations that in turn allow the tourism industry in this state to grow.

Corporate and Industry Events

The Department conducts a series of corporate and industry events. These include trade event participation, sales missions, an annual Tourism Seminar, Tourism Industry Forums, Regional Tourism Forums and Partnership Sydney meetings.

Where applications or bookings to attend these events are offered on-line, we will ensure that you have been offered the opportunity to be listed on our tourism operator's database for future events of that kind. We will also indicate if we intend to distribute the participants list to all attendees and you will have the option to have your name deleted from the participants list. Our industry database is held securely by our Organisation and is not disclosed to anyone outside Tourism New South Wales.

Should you wish to change any of the your personal information that we hold on our database please contact the Government Planning & Communications Division - Corporate Affairs Unit on 9931 1552 to make any alterations.

Competitions

This competition is designed to encourage consumers to participate in travel related activities and to collect specific market research and/or demographic information that the Tourism New South Wales may use for planning and strategy development of future tourism products.

Once the winning entrant is determined, the personal information contained in the remaining unsuccessful entries is de-identified so that your identity can no longer be determined within the market research material. The original entry form is held by the Department.

After the competition is determined, the remaining information is only used in an aggregated form as statistical information. The statistical information that is collected is analysed to allow us to deliver more exciting and competitive holiday destinations that in turn allow the tourism industry in this state to grow.

As part of a competition, Tourism New South Wales may invite entrants to select the option of receiving special promotional material via email.  At this time, we may collect relevant preference information to better tailor the special promotional material we send to you.  Should you elect to receive the special promotional material, the personal information we collect from you will only be used to send you the special promotional material and will not be used for any other purpose.   The receipt of the special promotional material is voluntary and can be changed, deleted or unsubscribed at any time.  Tourism New South Wales will only disclose the personal information collected by this competition to our partners in this specific competition and will not disclose your personal information to any other organisation.

Funding Programs

The Department provides special purpose funding in order to support tourism marketing activities. One such funding program is the Regional Flagship Events Program.

Our applications for support under the program are tailored to ensure that we ask solely the information that is required to process your application. Any personal information or financial information that may be sought is treated as "commercial-in-confidence" and is not circulated throughout the Department. The circulation of the information is restricted to authorising officers within the Department and members of a panel convened by the Department to conduct the assessment process of applications. All funding applications are securely stored on site for approximately 2 years after which they may be archived at the State Records facility or securely destroyed.

You may request to have access to your own application for funding by contacting our Industry Strategy & Development Division on 9931 1495. However, you cannot have access to any other person's application.

Should you be the successful applicant to the funding, you and your business may be showcased in one of our media releases or at an industry forum. Should you wish not to be personally identified, please contact our Industry Strategy & Development Division to have your personal information suppressed

Tourism Awards

Each year, the Department in association with the New South Wales Tourism Awards Management Committee, conducts an award program that acknowledges or showcases the excellent business achievements throughout the tourism industry. The information that we collect during this process is collected voluntarily and used to determine which business operator will receive a category award.

The information in each entry may be viewed by no more than the Award Co-ordinator, three members of the judging panel, the Chairman of the judging panel and the auditor. The information in the entry is held securely and is not disclosed to anyone outside the above.

All entrants (except the winner) will have their entry returned after the winner of each category has been announced. Each category winner's entry is forwarded to the "Australian Tourism Awards" Management Committee to be judged for an "Australian Tourism Award".  However, winners of categories 29,30 and 31 - being the NSW specific awards, will not be forwarded to the Australian Tourism Awards as these categories are not national award categories.

The Department may add contact information from an entry to our industry database and offer those tourism operators an opportunity to participate in our industry events. (See Corporate & Industry Events above)

Should you be the successful applicant to the award, you and your business may be presented or introduced at one of the Department's industry forums in acknowledgement of your fine achievement. In addition, you and your business may be showcased in a Department media release and/or one of our marketing activities.

Should you wish that neither you nor your business be personally identified, please contact our -Corporate Communications Unit on 9931 1410 to have your personal information suppressed.

The award program is independently audited by an external auditor, to ensure the probity of the process of award. During the process of auditing, the independent auditor will also have access to your entry; but strictly in accordance with the auditor's duties and responsibilities.

Marketing Planner

This page offers a Marketing Planner as a tool that a tourism operator may use to customise their own marketing plan. Usage of the Tool is free and the Department does not collect any personal information from the tool itself.

Your e-mail requests for information are only used by the Department to process your request for information and are not collected for any other purpose.

Get Connected

If you are a tourism operator and would like to comprehensively display your details on the Department's consumer websites, http://www.visitnsw.com.au and http://www.sydneyaustralia.com, you will need to register through the Get Connected membership program. As a tourism operator, your contact details including address, telephone, fax, e-mail address and the title of your designated contact officer are collected by the Department through the membership program.  The provision of your personal information on this web site is voluntary. However, it you choose not to provide your details we cannot process your request for membership.

The Department recommends that the title of your designate contact officer for public contact purposes be an official title such as "Booking Officer" or "Registration Clerk" and avoid using your staff's personal names.

Membership in this program will ensure that your details are included in our product database which is called the State Tourism Data Warehouse (STDW). The STDW is available to potential consumers via our websites. (See also the privacy statement on the State Tourism Data Warehouse below)

In the future, membership will also ensure that you are invited to our corporate and industry events. (See also the privacy statement on Corporate & Industry Events above).  

Our membership database may also be provided to Local Tourism Associations, Regional Tourism Organisations, the Department of State and Regional Development and the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority.

The Get Connected membership program offers opportunities to have your business details forwarded to the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse which is the exclusive supplier of tourism product information to Tourism Australia's website, australia.com.

As an added benefit, your contact details including address, telephone, fax, e-mail address and the name of your designated contact officer are also included in the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW). The ATDW is a joint initiative of all state and territory government tourism organisations and Tourism Australia (TA). It provides a central database of tourism product and destination information that is made available to websites including Tourism Australia's website australia.com . The Department is not responsible for the information handling practices or privacy policies of Tourism Australia or the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse. For more information concerning the Tourism Australian's privacy policy or information handling practices, please refer to the appropriate sections on their site at http://www.australia.com/privacy.asp. 

State Tourism Data Warehouse

The State Tourism Data Warehouse (STDW) is the database that contains details of the various tourism operators and services within New South Wales. All tourism operators and services contained in the STDW are displayed on the Department's websites. 

The STDW is also accessed by the New South Wales tourism industry as a reference tool. For maximum marketing exposure we offer operators in the STDW the opportunity to participate in trade missions, to be included in trade newsletters, and in our trade (wholesale and retail agent) familiarisation visits and various other trade events. Should you wish not to be personally identified, please contact our International Sales & Operations Section on 9931 1419 to have your personal information suppressed.

If you do not want your product details stored in the STDW or displayed on the Department websites please contact getconnected@tourism.nsw.gov.au to have your personal information suppressed.

Feedback

The Department values any comments you may have concerning the structure or content of this site. Your comments will be kept on file for planning purposes, so that our future upgrades to the site can incorporate the wishes of our users. Your e-mail comments will be kept solely for the purposes of future planning and will not be integrated into any of our consumer databases. We will not disclose your e-mail addresses or any personal information they may contain, to any one outside the Department.  Should you wish to view your comments at any time please contact us at corporate@tourism.nsw.gov.au. 

Back to Top back to top