Terms of Use

Terms of use

Welcome to the City of Stonnington Connect With Us consultation portal.
This portal intends to facilitate community engagement, discussion and consultation. 

Your use of the Connect With Us portal is deemed to be your acceptance of these Terms of Use. Please read them carefully.

Registration
If you register as a user to comment, you agree to use only true accurate, current and complete information about yourself as requested by the registration process. It is your responsibility to keep this information accurate, complete and up to date.  You must only create one user account.

As part of the registration process, the City of Stonnington requests your name and an email address. If this information in not complete, false or not current, or if we suspect that you have provided such information, we may cancel your account and refuse access or use of the site in the future.  City of Stonnington also has the rights to remove any profile images that are offensive or inappropriate.

Lawful Purposes
You agree to use the Connect With Us website only for lawful purposes, and in a manner that does not infringe the rights of or restrict or inhibit the use and enjoyment of the Connect With Us portal by any third party. This includes conduct which is unlawful or which may harass or cause distress or inconvenience to any person, the transmission of obscene or offensive content or disruption to the Connect With Us portal. You must not post or transmit via the Connect With Us portal any unlawful, defamatory, obscene, offensive or scandalous material, or any material that constitutes or encourages conduct that would contravene any law.  Posts containing unsolicited or unauthorised advertising material, promotional material, junk mail or spam will be immediately removed and the user banned.

Disclaimer
The City of Stonnington website is provided by Council for communication and information purposes.
While every effort is made to ensure that the information contained is correct at the time of publication, details are subject to change.

Council will not accept any liability for any statements, opinions, discussions,errors or omissions on the web site.

The Connect With Us portal is not a substitute for independent professional advice and you should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to your particular circumstances.

Content and Comments
Comments on the Connect With Us portal are provided by, and are the responsibility of, the person or people who made such postings. The City of Stonnington does not endorse, support, or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any the comments posted on the Stonnington website or endorse any of the opinions expressed.

Comments on the website are subject to the Moderation Policy as outlined in these Terms of Use for the Connect With Us portal.

The City of Stonnington takes reasonable care in linking to other websites but the City of Stonnington has no direct control over the content presented in those websites or the availability of those websites.

The City of Stonnington makes no representation that the material on any linked websites does not infringe the intellectual property rights or any other rights of any person. The City of Stonnington does not authorise the reproduction of such material. Links to other web sites or information sources are provided as a courtesy; however we cannot vouch for or take responsibility for the information contained in any links.

Privacy
The City of Stonnington believes that the responsible handling of personal information is a key aspect of democratic governance and is strongly committed to protecting an individual's right to privacy. Accordingly, Council is committed to full compliance with its obligations under the Information Privacy Act 2000 (Vic) (Act). In particular, the City of Stonnington will comply with the Information Privacy Principles contained in the Act. This Privacy Policy explains some of these Principles and how they may apply to you.

Personal Information
This Policy applies to personal information held by the City of Stonnington. Personal information refers to information or an opinion about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion, other than certain health or generally available information.
For example, Council holds personal information on its ratepayers, such as names and addresses, in order to carry out its functions including planning, valuation and property services. The City of Stonnington may also request personal information in order to provide education, welfare and other community services, such as eg child care services. In some instances, personal information may be contained on a public register (register of building permits, food premises and animal registration details).

The City of Stonnington will only collect personal information that is necessary for its functions and activities. In some instances, Council is required by law to collect personal information. Council will only collect sensitive information where you have consented or as permitted under the Act.
If it is reasonable and practical to do so, Council will collect personal information about you directly from you. When doing so, it will inform you of the matters set out in the Act, including the purpose/s for which the information is collected, and will use lawful and fair means. If the City of Stonnington collects personal informational about you from someone else, Council will take reasonable steps to make you aware of these matters.

Use and Disclosure
The City of Stonnington will only use personal information within Council, or disclose it outside Council, for the purpose for which it was collected or in accordance with the Act, for example where you have consented or where you would reasonably expect this to occur.

Where appropriate, Council will take steps to advise the person of the need to disclose their personal information prior to the disclosure of such information.

Access and Correction
Should you wish to access your personal information, please contact Council's Privacy Officer. Access will be provided except in the circumstances outlined in the Act, for example, where the information relates to legal proceedings or where the Freedom of Information Act 1982 applies.

If you believe that your personal information is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, you may request Council to correct the information. Your request will be dealt with in accordance with the Act.

Anonymity
Where lawful and practical, the City of Stonnington will give you the option of not identifying yourself when supplying information or entering into transactions with Council.

External Contractors
While personal information is usually handled by Council staff, the City of Stonnington may outsource some of its functions to third parties. This may require the contractor to collect, use or disclose certain personal information such as garbage collection. Council requires contractors to comply with the Act in all respects.

Complaints
If you feel aggrieved by Council's handling of your personal information, you may make a complaint to Council's Privacy Officer on 03 8290 1333. Your complaint will be investigated within five business days and a written response will be provided. Alternatively, you may make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner (although the Commissioner may decline to hear the complaint if you have not first made a complaint to the City of Stonnington.

Changes
The City of Stonnington may amend this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in legislation.

Further Information
If you have any queries about this Privacy Policy, please contact Council's Privacy Officer on 8290 1333.

Security
The development and management of the ‘Connect With Us’ portal is managed by the City of Stonnington.
The City of Stonnington will endeavour to maintain a secure system for storing personal information. Technological and operational policies and procedures are in place to protect personal information from misuse and loss and from unauthorised modification or disclosure. Council will dispose of personal information where it is no longer necessary to fulfil the purposes for which the information was collected or as required by law.
The City of Stonnington strives to protect comments and information you provide on the portal. The City of Stonnington will use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that your comments and information are not compromised. However, the City of Stonnington cannot guarantee that no Harmful Code will enter the Connect With Us website. You should be aware of the risks associated with using websites.
The City of Stonnington recommends that you use up-to-date firewall and anti-virus software to protect your computer systems.