Tourism Australia Privacy Policy

Scope

Tourism Australia is the Australian Government agency responsible for attracting international visitors to Australia, both for leisure and business events.  Tourism Australia is based in Sydney, Australia and is active in around 16 key markets. Our activities include advertising, PR and media programs, trade shows and industry programs, consumer promotions, online communications and consumer research.

Tourism Australia recognises the importance of your privacy rights, and in turn, the importance of being transparent about how we collect, use, and share information about you, and demonstrates this by complying with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act), the Spam Act 2003 (Cth), and other applicable privacy and data protection laws such as the European Union General and Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA).

With regard to GDPR, it applies to the data processing activities of Tourism Australia in the European Union as we have operations in the European Union namely Germany, Italy and France. Similarly, the DPDPA applies to the data processing activities of Tourism Australia in India. Tourism Australia offers goods and services or monitors the behaviour of individuals in several jurisdictions, including the European Union and India – via our websites and representative offices. Tourism Australia promotes Australia as a tourism destination and also holds roadshows and famils in several jurisdictions, including the European Union and India.  As such, we have provided more detail around what we do with your data, and how you can have access to your privacy rights, and about the purposes for which we use your personal information.

This Policy is intended to help you understand:

A. What information Tourism Australia collects about you

B. How Tourism Australia collects information about you

C. How Tourism Australia uses and discloses information about you

D. How Tourism Australia transfers information we collect internationally

E. How Tourism Australia stores and secures information we collect

F. How to access and control your information

G. Contact us

This Policy applies to all external parties, namely, “you” – e.g. visitors to Tourism Australia websites and social media pages, subscribers to Tourism Australia briefings, newsletters, marketing materials, and any other individual whose personal information may be collected, stored and used by Tourism Australia or its partners. This Policy also applies to Tourism Australia's management of personal information across all of its offices (in Australia and internationally).

This Policy also covers the information we collect about you when you use our services, or otherwise interact with Tourism Australia (for example, attending Tourism Australia events), unless a different privacy policy is displayed. This Policy also explains your choices about how we use information about you. Your choices include how you can object to certain uses of information about you and how you can access and update certain information about you.  If you do not agree with this Policy, do not access or use our Services or interact with any other aspect of Tourism Australia.

When we refer to "Tourism Australia," "we," or "us" in this Policy, we mean Tourism Australia, an Australian government statutory authority established under an Act of Parliament, whose registered office is at Level 28, 180 George Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia, which controls the information Tourism Australia collects when you use the Services.  We own and operate a number of websites and social media pages, make briefings, newsletters, and marketing materials available, run programs and host events (collectively the “Services”).

A. What information Tourism Australia collects about you

The types of information that Tourism Australia collects will depend on the nature of your dealings with Tourism Australia and its Services and may include your name, contact details, photographic information, your views and opinions about Tourism Australia services, and travel information. In particular:

• If you are an applicant or participant who registers for Tourism Australia programs such as the International Media Hosting Program, Events Air, Aussie Specialist Program through a Tourism Australia website, information such as your name, gender, date of birth, job title, email address and business contact details may be collected.
  
• If you are a traveller or tourist who registers to receive e-newsletters from Tourism Australia or registers to create an account on the Tourism Australia website through email, Facebook or Google to customise your web experience, your name, address, email address, age group and information about what type of holiday you are looking for will be collected. This is so Tourism Australia can provide you with material likely to be of interest to you.
  
• If you deal with Tourism Australia in the course of business, Tourism Australia will generally collect only your business contact details (so Tourism Australia can communicate with you for normal business purposes).
  
• Tourism Australia also collects personal information about its employees (including job applicants) and contractors (personnel records).
  
• If you make a complaint, Tourism Australia will generally collect your name, address or email address and details about the complaint.

Tourism Australia will ensure that any Personal Information collected is relevant to Tourism Australia’s purpose (as detailed in section B below), is accurate, complete and up-to-date.  Tourism Australia will collect information directly from you, unless it is reasonably impracticable to do so.

B. How Tourism Australia collects information about you

Tourism Australia collects your information only for a lawful purpose, which is reasonably necessary for or directly related to Tourism Australia functions under the Tourism Australia Act 2004 (Cth).

Tourism Australia conducts a large part of its operations over the Internet and via email. As part of its functions, Tourism Australia conducts market research surveys, offers access to publications, 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 Australian tourism industry grow.

We collect information about you when you provide it to us when you use our Services, and when other sources provide it to us, as further described below.

• Account and Profile Information
  We collect information about you when you register for an account, create or modify your profile, set preferences through the Services (including when you register for an account via third parties such Facebook and Google). For example, you provide your contact information and, in some cases, billing information when you register for the Services. You also have the option of adding a profile photo, bio, and other details to your profile information to be displayed in our Services. We keep track of your preferences when you select settings within the Services.
  
• Tourism Australia Websites and Social Media
  The Services also include our websites owned or operated by us. We collect other content that you submit to these websites, which include social media or social networking websites operated by us. For example, you provide content to us when you:
  • Subscribe to a newsletter or register to receive brochures (e.g. through a Tourism Australia website);
  • Apply to attend or exhibit at a Tourism Australia event;
  • Enter a promotion or competition, including at a Tourism Australia event or through a Tourism Australia websites; and
  • Register to participate in the International Media Hosting Program or the Aussie Specialist Program.

If you use Tourism Australia’s websites (including Australia.com, restaurant.australia.com, australia.cn, bestjobs.australia.com, and aussiespecialist.com) information is recorded about your visit for web personalisation, research and statistical and reporting purposes as well as to allow Tourism Australia to improve its websites and services.  Tourism Australia also uses cookies and session tools to improve your experience when visiting its sites. The information collected may include your IP address, the referring site and the pages visited on Tourism Australia’s site. IP addresses are logged to track a user's session while the user remains anonymous. Tourism Australia analyses this data for certain trends and statistics, such as which parts of Tourism Australia websites users are visiting and how long they spend there. In general, you can browse Tourism Australia’s websites without telling Tourism Australia who you are or revealing any personal information about yourself. However, there are times when Tourism Australia may need to collect your personal information. For instance, if you register to receive Tourism Australia publications or to attend an event, Tourism Australia will need to collect some personal information from you for this purpose. In this case, Tourism Australia will provide notice and seek your permission to send you further electronic communications, and for your personal information to be stored in its databases. If at any time after submitting your personal information to Tourism Australia you would no longer like to receive information, simply follow the "unsubscribe" directions at the end of any email communications you receive, or contact Tourism Australia using the contact details listed at the end of this Policy.  No attempt will be made by Tourism Australia to identify website users or their browsing activities except in the unlikely event of an investigation where a law enforcement agency may exercise a warrant to inspect server logs. The statistics and log files may be preserved indefinitely and used at any time and in any way necessary to prevent security breaches and to ensure the integrity of the information supplied by Tourism Australia.  Where you use Tourism Australia’s social media pages (such as Facebook or Instagram) Tourism Australia will not collect any personal information about you without your consent.

• Payment information
  We collect certain payment and billing information when you register for certain Tourism Australia events. For example, we ask you to designate a billing representative, including name and contact information, upon registration. You might also provide payment information, such as payment card details, which we collect via secure payment processing services.
  
• Business Dealings
  If you deal with Tourism Australia in the course of business, we will generally collect only your business contact details which we use to communicate with you for normal business purposes (whether as job applicant, as an employee of one of Tourism Australia’s external service providers, if you work for a government agency Tourism Australia deals with, in the context of a transaction, or if you volunteer personal information to Tourism Australia).
  
• Enquiries and complaints
  When you make an enquiry or complaint with Tourism Australia including by phone, letter, email, face-to-face or online, Tourism Australia will generally collect your name, address or email address and details about the complaint.
  
• Employee information
  We also collect personal information about Tourism Australia’s employees (including job applicants) and contractors (personnel records).
  
• Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies
  Tourism Australia and our third-party partners, such as our advertising and analytics partners, use cookies and other tracking technologies (e.g. pixels) to provide functionality and to recognize you across different Services and devices. For more information, please see our Terms of Use, which includes information on how to control or opt out of these cookies and tracking technologies. Some Tourism Australia webpages use cookies which are small files that may be placed on your hard disk for recordkeeping purposes. A cookie helps Tourism Australia remember who you are and can make your subsequent visits to the webpage simpler and more seamless. You can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, giving you the chance to decide whether or not to accept it. However, by not accepting cookies, some webpages may not display properly or you may not be permitted to access certain information. Cookies are important for Tourism Australia websites and are used to provide the best possible online experience. By continuing to use the websites you are consenting to their use.

The provision of your personal information on Tourism Australia’s website is voluntary and you can opt out at any time.  However, if you choose not to provide your personal information we may not be able to forward the material that you are requesting or provide you with one of the numerous services available through the Tourism Australia websites.

Where it is practicable, you may choose to remain anonymous or adopt a pseudonym when dealing with Tourism Australia.

C. How Tourism Australia uses and discloses information about you

Tourism Australia will only use and disclose personal information for the purpose for which it was collected, or otherwise in accordance with the applicable privacy and data protection laws and regulations. For example, if you register on a Tourism Australia website to receive information about travelling to Australia, Tourism Australia will use your name and email address to send you this information. Other examples include use or disclosure for the purpose of:

• Providing you with the publications or services you have requested;
• Marketing communications;
• Complaint handling;
• Research and forecasting;
• Employment purposes;
• Reporting to Commonwealth ministers and government departments; and
• Performing specific statutory or administrative functions, for example responding to a request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) or under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

Examples of third parties Tourism Australia may disclose your personal information to include business partners (including data processors) with whom Tourism Australia has a formal contractual relationship; state and territory tourism authorities in the course of conducting trade events; external service providers such as IT consultants; professional advisers; publishing houses and marketing/advertising agencies; and Commonwealth ministers and government departments.

For instance, in the context of Tourism Australia’s programs (e.g. Aussie Specialist Program), Tourism Australia will disclose personal information only with the consent of participants in that program. If Tourism Australia obtains a participant’s consent, personal information about them may be disclosed to organisations involved in the Australian tourism industry such as airlines, hotels, tour operators and product suppliers.

Tourism Australia will not use or disclose personal information for a purpose other than that for which it was collected unless:

• Your consent is obtained;
• Tourism Australia is required to, or authorised by the law or a court or tribunal order; or
• Otherwise in accordance with the applicable privacy and data protection laws.

To the extent permitted under the law, Tourism Australia may also use or disclose your personal information for a secondary purpose related to, or directly related to, the purpose of collection where you would reasonably expect that your information would be used for this other purpose. These secondary purposes may include activities such as public education, reporting to Commonwealth ministers and government departments or quality assurance.

At or before the time Tourism Australia collects your personal information (or as soon as practical afterwards), Tourism Australia will take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to provide you with a collection notice containing the following information setting out, among other things, the purpose of collection.

D. How Tourism Australia transfers information we collect internationally

It is possible that Tourism Australia will disclose your personal information overseas as part of its marketing functions. Countries in which recipients are likely to be located include those where Tourism Australia has regional offices located including the USA, United Kingdom, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Germany and New Zealand.

Tourism Australia does not disclose your personal information to any overseas recipient unless one of the following applies:

• The recipient is subject to a law or binding scheme substantially similar to the Australian Privacy Principles, including mechanisms for enforcement.
• You have consented to the disclosure after being expressly informed that Tourism Australia will not be taking reasonable steps to ensure that the overseas recipient does not breach the applicable privacy and data protection laws.
• It is required or authorised by law.
• It is required or authorised by an international agreement relating to information sharing to which Australia is a party.
• It is reasonably necessary for an enforcement related activity conducted by, or on behalf of, an enforcement body and the recipient performs similar functions.
• An exception applies under the law (for example, the Privacy Act applies such as those contained in Australian Privacy Principle 8 of the Schedule 1 of the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012).

E. How Tourism Australia stores and secures information we collect

Tourism Australia Systems

Tourism Australia takes security of personal information seriously and has implemented a range of physical and electronic security measures to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, use, modification, disclosure or misuse including the implementation of firewalls.

Electronic records of personal information collected by Tourism Australia are stored in databases that are hosted on servers in Australia as well as overseas, primarily in Singapore and the US. Records relating to consumers are stored in databases that are hosted on servers in Tourism Australia’s overseas locations. In each case, Tourism Australia’s IT systems are protected by appropriate IT security measures.

Tourism Australia Websites

Tourism Australia strives to ensure the security, integrity and privacy of personal information submitted to its websites, and periodically updates its security measures in light of current technologies. You need to be aware of inherent risks associated with the transmission of information via the Internet. Tourism Australia cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any personal information you submit to its websites. If you have concerns in this regard, Tourism Australia has other ways of obtaining and providing information. Postal services and phone facilities are available.

Tourism Australia websites may also be linked to websites operated by third parties. These links are meant for your convenience only. Links to third party websites do not constitute sponsorship, endorsement or approval of these websites. Visitors to those websites should refer to their separate privacy policies and practices, e.g. Google Analytics and Adobe packages.

Tourism Australia Staff

Tourism Australia also requires its staff to ensure that digital paper records containing personal information are stored securely. Tourism Australia’s employees are bound by confidentiality obligations as a condition of their employment, and this extends to ensuring that personal information collected by Tourism Australia is kept confidential.

F. How to access and control your information

Australian Privacy Act

Under the Privacy Act, you have the right to seek access to the records of personal information that Tourism Australia holds about you. You also have the right to ask Tourism Australia to alter your personal information if you think the information is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading.

If you wish to access or correct your personal information that Tourism Australia holds, please submit a written request setting out what information you wish to access or correct, your name and a mailing/email address to the Privacy Officer, using the contact details set out at the end of this Policy. Tourism Australia may require you to verify your identity. Tourism Australia will respond to your request within 30 days.

If Tourism Australia refuses to provide you with access to your personal information or to correct that information as you request, it will provide you with reasons for that refusal and information about how to make a complaint is set out below.

If Tourism Australia refuses to correct your personal information, it will take reasonable steps to associate a statement with your personal information that you consider the information to be inaccurate.

You may also request access to and seek correction of personal information under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth).

EU GDPR

Under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR), EU residents may exercise their data subjects rights – for example:

• Right of Access
• Right of Erasure
• Right to Rectification
• Right to Object

If you wish to exercise these rights, you may submit a written request using the contact details set out in this Policy.

DPDPA

Under the DPDPA, Indian residents may exercise their data principal rights – for example:

• Right of Access
• Right of Erasure
• Right to Rectification
• Right to Object

If you wish to exercise these rights, you may submit a written request using the contact details set out in this Policy. Managing your account and subscription

If you wish to delete your registered account or unsubscribe to Tourism Australia communications such as newsletters, publications, and event invitations, you may do so by contacting using the contact details set out in this Policy.  To ensure we have the correct information, please include your registered email address, first name and last name, and requested change.  For example:

Email:  janedoe@email.com
First and last name:  Jane Doe
Requested change:  Please delete my Australia.com account.

We will endeavour to reply to your email request within 30 business days.

Complaints

If you wish to complain about how Tourism Australia manages personal information, you should submit a written complaint by post or email using the contact details set out in this Policy. Tourism Australia will endeavour to respond to your complaint within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with Tourism Australia’s response, you may make a written complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or to government authorities appointed in your jurisdiction under applicable privacy and data protection laws. If you make a complaint directly to the Privacy Commissioner, the Commissioner will likely recommend that you try to resolve the complaint directly with Tourism Australia in the first instance.

For more information about the Australian Information Commissioner or the Privacy Commissioner, you can visit the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s website (www.oaic.gov.au) or phone 1300 363 992 (local call charge).

G. Contact us

If you have any queries in connection with this Policy, please contact the following:

The Privacy Officer

• By email privacy@tourism.australia.com
• By post Level 28, 180 George Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
• By phone +61 2 9360 1111

Approved on 25 October 2023