INTRODUCTION
GDS Consulting Engineers (GDS, We, Us, Our) recognises the importance of your privacy, is bound by the Privacy Act 1988, and is committed to protecting any Personal Information We collect about You in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles.
For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, the word “You” includes visitors to the Our website (Website).
The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to inform You about:
- what Personal Information about You is collected by GDS;
- how the information is used;
- with whom the information may be shared;
- how You can access and change any Personal Information GDS holds about You;
- what security procedures are in place to protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of Your Personal Information by GDS; and
- how to contact GDS.
This Privacy Policy applies to any Personal Information You provide to Us:
- when visiting the GDS Website;
- when using GDS’s online services;
- when entering into an agreement with GDS for the supply of goods and/or services; and
- when You correspond or communicate with GDS over the telephone or in any other manner, including by letter, facsimile or email.
In addition to collecting Personal Information directly from You, We may also obtain Personal Information about You from third party sources and other third party service providers.
Failure by you to provide Personal Information when requested by GDS may mean that We are unable to most efficiently provide certain services to You or Our clients.
APPLICATION OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY
What types of information do we collect?
Types of Information
GDS gathers two types of information about you, namely:
- aggregated information generated by Our systems (or third party systems) to track Our Website traffic but that which does not identify You personally; and
- Personal Information about You such as Your name, address, telephone and facsimile number and email address.
The type of information that GDS collects about You is dependent on how You use the services offered on Our Website and services You are interested in purchasing through GDS.
Collection of aggregate data
GDS also collects non-Personal Information in aggregate form to track data such as the total number of visits to Our Website, the number of visits to specific areas of Our Website and the domain names of Our Website visitors’ internet service providers.
We use this information, which remains in aggregate form, to understand how Our Website visitors use Our Website so that We can constantly improve and enhance Our services.
GDS may use independent persons to measure and analyse the internet usage across Our Website. These persons collect the following type of information:
- the number of page views that occur on Our Website;
- the number of unique browsers to Our Website;
- how long these unique browsers (on average) spend on Our Website when they do visit; and
- common entry and exit points of Our Website.
Your Internet Provider (“IP”) address
GDS’s web servers provide Us with your IP address. This assists Us in the diagnosis of problems and/or support issues with Our services.
Cookies and Applets
GDS may use ‘cookies’ and may use ‘applets’ in its Website systems. These enable You to use certain services on Our Website. You can disable cookies and applets via Your computer’s web browser, but this may restrict access to some web pages and services within the GDS Website.
HOW WE COLLECT INFORMATION
GDS may collect Personal Information about You when You visit Our Website, when you use Our on-line services and when You deal with GDS over the telephone or correspond with GDS via facsimile, letter or email or any other mode of communication.
GDS may also collect Personal Information about You from other third party service providers.
HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
GDS may use or disclose (or both) Your Personal Information for one or more of the following purposes:
- to communicate with You, including via email newsletters;
- to facilitate and process contacts between You and GDS and/or third parties;
- to identify the number of people using GDS’s Website services and establish the nature of their interests;
- to conduct GDS marketing activities;
- to provide You with information about GDS and its services;
- to provide our services including undertaking any transaction or providing the engineering services that You have requested;
- for record keeping purposes; and
- for administrative purposes.
DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
TO THIRD PARTIES
GDS will disclose Your Personal Information to third parties in order to facilitate providing goods and services to You or to others with whom you are dealing or have dealt with.
Where Your Personal Information is passed on to third party contractors, GDS will take reasonable steps to ensure that those individuals and/or organisations are bound by confidentiality and privacy obligations in relation to the protection of Your Personal Information.
Other than as outlined above, GDS will not disclose Your Personal Information without Your consent unless disclosure is necessary to prevent a threat to life of health, authorised or required by law, reasonably necessary to enforce the law or necessary to investigate a suspected unlawful activity, or a suspected breach of Our Terms of Use.
USE AND DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA
Depending on the nature of our engagement or the circumstances of the services We are providing to you, We may disclose your Personal Information to entities overseas (for example, other engineering firms, experts or advisers) to provide engineering services to you and as allowed in this Privacy Policy.
The countries to which such disclosures are made, and the nature of the Personal Information disclosed, will depend on the specific circumstances of our engagement to provide engineering services and the instructions you provide.
These countries will have laws relating to the protection, use and disclosure of Personal Information that are different from those that apply in Australia.
We may also store, process or back-up your Personal Information on servers that are located overseas (including through third party service providers). Given the nature of how data is stored, either in the “cloud” or on third party servers located at multiple sites, it is not possible for us to advise you of those countries where your Personal Information may be stored.
ACCESS TO AND CORRECTION OF INFORMATION WE HOLD ABOUT YOU
Upon Your request, GDS will provide You with access to Your Personal Information unless there is an exception which applies under the Australian Privacy Principles. If We deny such access, We will tell You why.
GDS may recover any reasonable costs incurred in providing You access to the requested information. To request access to Your Personal Information, please contact GDS using one of the contact options provided in this Privacy Policy.
KEEPING INFORMATION UP-TO-DATE
GDS strives to ensure that the information We hold about You is accurate, complete and up-to-date at all times.
We will correct any Personal Information that we believe to be incorrect, out-of-date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. This may include taking reasonable steps to notify any organisation or government agency to which information was disclosed about the correction.
If the Personal Information We hold about You is inaccurate, incomplete, or no longer up-to-date, or You wish for Your details to be removed from Our records, please contact Us using one of the contact options provided in this Privacy Policy so that We may take reasonable steps to address this and/or discuss alternative options with You.
STORAGE AND SECURITY OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
GDS takes reasonable steps to protect the security of Your Personal Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Unfortunately, no data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be totally secure.
Whilst GDS strives to protect such information, We cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information You transmit to Us. Accordingly, You use Our Website and provide Personal Information to Us at Your own risk.
Once any Personal Information comes into Our possession, We will take reasonable steps to protect that information from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES
The GDS Website contains links to other websites. Please note that these links are intended for Your convenience and information only.
Links to third party websites do not constitute endorsement, sponsorship or approval by GDS of the content, policies or practices of those third party websites.
If You have any concerns regarding Your privacy when visiting a linked third party website, You should ensure that You check the privacy statement/policies of those websites.
CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY AND THE GDS WEBSITE
From time to time, GDS may make changes to this Privacy Policy. Accordingly, We encourage You to periodically review this Policy to remain informed about how We collect and protect Your Personal Information.
Your continued use of the GDS Website constitutes Your acceptance of the collection, use and disclosure of Your Personal Information to the extent outlined in this Privacy Policy as amended from time to time.
For further information about the protection of Your privacy, please visit the Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner’s website at www.oaic.gov.au.
FEEDBACK
GDS welcomes ideas and feedback about all aspects of the GDS Website. This feedback may be used to administer and refine the services We provide and may be shared with GDS partners either in aggregate form or with specific identifying characteristics removed.
If You have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, practices of the GDS Website or Your dealings with GDS, You can contact Us in the following ways:
Email: [email protected]
MEANING OF WORDS
In this Privacy Policy:
- Words that are defined in Our Terms of Use have the same meaning in this Privacy Policy, unless expressly stated to the contrary.
- Australian Privacy Principlesmeans the Australian Privacy Principles contained in Schedule 3 to the Privacy Act 1988 (or an applicable privacy code approved by the Federal Privacy Commissioner pursuant to that Act).
Personal Information means any information or an opinion about You from which Your identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained. It may include, for example, your name, age, gender, profile picture, contact details, bank account details and financial information.
