We are committed to protecting the confidentiality and security of personal information held by the AEMC. This privacy statement outlines the manner in which we handle personal information and comply with the South Australian Government's Information Privacy Principles Instruction (Privacy Instruction). The AEMC is not subject to the Privacy Act (Cth) or the privacy principles under that Act. But it aims for compliance with these obligations, as a matter of good privacy practice.
What is personal information?
Personal information is any information or opinion (recorded in any form) about a person, whether true or not, from which that person can be identified. The types of personal information which we may collect and hold will depend on the nature of our dealings with individuals. We usually collect the following personal information:
- name, addresses, contact details, occupation and role;
- areas of interest or expertise in relation to our functions; or
- information about dealings with us.
Personal information held by us may also include personal circumstances that individuals disclose in submissions or other communications with us.
Collection of personal information
The AEMC collects personal information from members of the public, employees, consultants, contractors and stakeholders.
We may collect personal information from you when you:
- lodge a submission;
- register to receive AEMC updates;
- send us an email or contact us through our website;
- telephone us with a query, compliment or complaint;
- deal with an AEMC staff member in person;
- attend a meeting or public forum;
- participate in a survey conducted for or on behalf of the AEMC; or
- fill out an AEMC form.
We will not collect any personal information about you without your consent. By emailing or contacting us through our website or registering to receive AEMC updates you will have given your consent.
The specific types of information we collect from time to time and the reasons for collecting it may vary depending upon the particular circumstances. Where practicable, we will state the purpose for which we are collecting personal information, at the time of collection. Any personal information you give us will be used and disclosed only in accordance with this privacy statement.
If we have further dealings with you that require collection of additional personal information, we will offer you more information about privacy then.
Privacy on our website
This privacy statement also applies to any personal information we collect through our website. When you visit our website, our internet service provider automatically makes a record of your visit and logs information, such as your server address, domain name, the date and time of your visit to this website and the pages that you viewed. We will not attempt to identify you from these statistics. We only use this information in anonymous, aggregated form for statistical analysis and website development purposes.
However, we reserve our right to use or disclose this information to try to locate you, if we have reason to believe that you may have engaged in unlawful or inappropriate activity concerning our website.
Cookies: A cookie is a small data file that a website transfers to your internet browser for identification purposes. We only use cookies to maintain session information about you when you log into our website, in order to personalise your experience on it. We do not use cookies to identify you personally.
Most internet browsers are set to accept cookies. If you prefer not to receive them you can adjust your browser to reject cookies, or to notify you when they are being used. You can set your browser to delete or reject cookies. If you do, you might not be able to use our website effectively.
Use of personal information
As a guide, and in addition to any purpose notified to you at the time of collection, we use information (including personal information) that we collect from you:
- to fulfil our functions under the Australian Energy Market Commission Establishment Act 2004 (SA), including our review and rule making functions under the National Energy Laws;
- to respond to individual requests or queries;
- to maintain contact with stakeholders, industry members and interested members of the public;
- for general management and reporting purposes; and
- for other purposes relating to our functions.
If we collect or use personal information in ways other than stated in this privacy statement, we are committed to doing so in accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Instruction.
If you have indicated that you would like us to keep you informed via the AEMC updates, we will also use your details to send you information about our activities. You can let us know at any time if you no longer wish to be contacted for this purpose. Your permission will remain current until you advise us otherwise.
Disclosure of personal information
We may disclose your personal information for the purpose for which it was collected and related purposes, and with your consent. If you do not wish for your personal information to be disclosed, you should expressly state this and we can take steps to redact your personal information before placing your submission on the website. Unless you request us to keep the information confidential, all details included in submissions made to the AEMC on rule changes and reviews under the National Energy Laws (such as names, addresses, contact numbers and other personal information contained in the submission) will be published on the AEMC website as part of our usual processes.
We may also disclose your personal information to our contractors and agents (such as consultants, information technology providers, marketing and communications agencies, conference organisers and printers) where necessary for the purposes outlined in this privacy statement. These parties will have access to only that personal information required by them to perform their functions. They may not use such information for any other purposes or provide your information to third parties without your consent.
Where disclosure is required by law or to protect the rights, property or personal safety of any member of the public or AEMC staff, then we will only disclose necessary information.
We will not disclose any specific personal information that you ask to be kept confidential (unless authorised or required by law). We will not use, share or analyse your personal information other than in accordance with this policy.
Security
We will take reasonable steps to ensure your personal information (whether stored electronically or in hard copy) is safe from unauthorised access, use, modification and disclosure.
We may store some personal information electronically in our Customer Relationship Management database (CRM). Some or all of this information may be available to authorised AEMC staff for use in accordance with this policy and we have taken reasonable steps to ensure that the CRM is secure from unauthorised access.
Access
The AEMC is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1991 (SA) (FOI Act). Information about gaining access to your personal information that may be contained in AEMC documents can be viewed on the Freedom of Information page on our website.
We maintain procedures designed to keep our records accurate, current and complete. We will update, correct or complete any inaccurate personal information if you request this, in order to ensure that it is not misleading.
Queries
Please contact our Privacy Officer on privacy.officer@aemc.gov.au if you have any queries about your privacy or if you would like to update or correct any of your personal information held by us.
Amendments
We may amend this Privacy Statement from time to time by posting the amended version on our website.
Nature of this privacy statement
Please note that this privacy statement is not intended to create a legally binding agreement between us and you. This privacy statement has been created as a guide to our privacy principles, and is not a contractual document. We will act to ensure compliance with the principles it contains.