Privacy statement.

This statement outlines how the City of Karratha (the City), collects, uses, discloses and protects personal information. It sets out the kinds of personal information collected, why it is collected, and how it is managed once it is collected. It also explains how to access and request the correction of your personal information.

In addition to its obligations under the Privacy Statement, the City is subject to a number of legal requirements that affect how it collects, uses and discloses personal information. These include the Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Act 2024 (PRIS Act), the Freedom of Information Act 1992 (FOI Act) and the State Records Act 2000.

Information We Collect and How it is Collected

We only collect personal information for purposes reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, one or more of our functions or activities, or when the information is knowingly or voluntarily provided by an individual. Generally, you will know if we are collecting your personal information, as we will request it directly from you. For example, if you submit an online form to contact us or subscribe to receive newsletters, we will ask you to provide your name and contact details. We may also collect personal information from you through the following methods.

Automatically Collected Information

When you visit our website, the web content management system and our Internet Service Provider automatically records your visit and logs the following information for content personalisation and statistical purposes:

Your IP address;
The date and time of your visit to the site;
The pages accessed and documents downloaded;
Time spent on individual pages;
Time spent overall on the site;
Browser type and version;
Device type;
Internet Service Provider;
Search words entered; and
Referring site and media asset (e.g. search engine or display advertisement).

This information is analysed regularly to monitor our website usage, support content personalisation and assess service performance. No attempt will be made to identify users or their browsing activities unless required by law.

Cookies and Analytics

The City uses website monitoring and analytic tools (cookies) to help improve usability and the experience for our website customers. Cookies are small files that store information on your computer or mobile phone. They enable us to recognise you across different websites, services, devices and/or browsing sessions.

The City may utilise tools by third parties to collect and view website traffic information, including the type of device being used to access the website, browser version and how you navigate to and on the website. The providers of these tools will have their own privacy policies that may differ from the privacy position of the City. No information collected using these techniques will contain personally identifiable information.

Social Media

We may also use third-party websites and platforms for interactive sharing and to connect with you. This includes social media platforms, including but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

When you browse and use our social media platforms, you are using an external site and are therefore subject to the privacy policies and practices of those platforms. These third-party sites may collect and use your personal information in ways that differ to how we use and handle your personal information. If you have any questions or concerns regarding that site’s privacy policies and practices, you should review the privacy statement of the relevant site. We do not exercise any control over the management of those sites and do not endorse, and are not accountable for, any content or views expressed by third parties using or providing those sites.

We may record and monitor information posted on our social media channels and use that information for purposes including administration of the channels, record keeping, considering and/or addressing any comments made, direct marketing and the management of competitions and campaigns.

In some circumstances, we may ask you to provide personal information through social media direct messages, such as your name, contact details or other information relevant to an enquiry, request, complaint or service matter. Any personal information you provide will be used by the City to respond to and manage your enquiry or complaint and may be shared with authorised City officers where necessary to investigate, action or resolve the matter. Information provided through social media may also form part of the City’s official records and be retained in accordance with applicable recordkeeping requirements.

We use Meta/Facebook to gather information. It collects data that helps us track conversions from Facebook ads, optimise ads, build targeted audiences for future ads, tailor content and remarket to people. By engaging with us via Facebook, you acknowledge and agree that you also comply with terms and conditions of use of Facebook and that you consent to this use. You can choose to opt out from tailored content through your Facebook settings. However, if you change your settings and are following us on Facebook, you may still see our organic posts.

Information You Provide Voluntarily

You may choose to provide personal information when you:

Request services, make enquiries, provide feedback, or otherwise communicate or interact with us in person, online, or over the phone;
Register for our website or join mailing lists;
Participate in surveys or questionnaires
Complete applications, forms and bookings
Make payments or apply for services that require financial details, including credit card or debit account information;
Use our facilities or interact with our staff or Rangers, including where CCTV systems, body-worn cameras, or other surveillance devices are in operation;
Participate in site inductions or undertake work on our property; and
Enter into leases, licenses, access agreements, or other arrangements with us.

This information is used only for the purpose for which it was supplied.

We may also collect your personal information from publicly available sources, or from third parties who have disclosed that information to us.

Examples of the types of personal information we may collect include:

Personal and contact details, including a person’s name, address, contact details, date of birth, and other identifying information (such as passport, driver’s license, birth certificate details, portrait photographs, and government identifiers including Tax File Numbers);
Demographic and personal status information, including cultural or gender identity and marital status;
Financial and payment information, including bank account details, cardholder data, credit check information, financial position, and insurance details;
Employment, education and professional information, including occupation, employment history, remuneration, referee comments, educational qualifications, and organisation details;
Sensitive information, including medical information (where required to meet our duty of care), criminal history and working with children checks;
Regulatory and administrative information, including public interest disclosure applications, security incident details, and records relating to agreements or compliance activities;
Vehicle and asset information, including vehicle registration numbers;
Communications and interaction records, including the content of email messages, email addresses of senders and recipients, telephone and audio recordings, and social media posts;
Surveillance and monitoring data, including CCTV footage, body-worn camera recordings, and livestream recordings of council meetings.

Collection Notices

The City will issue collection notices when collecting your personal information as part of our commitment to openness, transparency, and privacy-by-design. This means you will be informed, at or before the time of collection, about how your personal information will be handled including:

purpose of collection;
authority to collect the information;
consequences of not providing the information; and
rights of access or correction.

How We Use & Disclose Your Information

The City will generally only use and disclose personal information for the primary purpose for which it was collected. For example, we may use your personal information to provide and administer our services, manage our relationship with you, improve our services, respond to enquiries or feedback, process transactions, support planning and research activities, or send you newsletters, updates and notifications.

We may also use or disclose your personal information for a secondary purpose where permitted under the Information Privacy Principles, for example where:

you have consented;
you would reasonably expect us to use or disclose your personal information for the secondary purpose, and that purpose is related to the primary purpose, or, in the case of sensitive information, directly related to the primary purpose;
required or authorised by or under a Western Australian or Australian law (including the FOI Act) or a court/tribunal order;
we reasonably believe that the use or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary for one or more enforcement related activities conducted by, or on behalf of, an enforcement body;
necessary to prevent or lessen a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual, or to public health or safety;
taking appropriate action in relation to suspected unlawful activity or serious misconduct;
locating a person reported as missing;
asserting a legal or equitable claim or defence;
for marketing (including direct marketing) purposes; or
for research or planning purpose.

We will use CCTV and body camera recordings to:

support the safe and secure delivery of our services;
deter, detect, prevent, investigate and respond to safety or security incidents on or at our facilities, and any land we own or control;
investigate and respond to liability claims on or at our facilities and any property we own or control;
investigate and prosecute breaches of law, fraudulent activities, wrongdoing or infringements on or at our facilities and on any property we own or control.
We will disclose CCTV and body camera recordings to:
law enforcement bodies (and their contractors) for their enforcement and investigation activities; and
legal advisers, insurers and courts for liability claims and prosecutions.

Your personal information will be managed in accordance with the applicable legislation in Western Australia and retained in accordance with any legal obligation (including the State Records Act 2000).

We may also disclose your personal information to other entities including:

contractors and service providers who support the delivery of our services. These may include, but are not limited to information technology manufacturing, supply, maintenance and support, electronic funds transfer services, credit card account processing and related services, call centre support, security services, property management, debt collection, review and disclosure of CCTV feeds and recordings and body camera footage, marketing, research and planning;
Ministers and other government departments, agencies or entities;
our internal and external auditors;
law enforcement agencies (and their contractors) or regulatory bodies;
emergency services providers;
research and marketing entities for the purposes of research, marketing and planning; and
investigators and other entities engaged to identify, investigate or prevent unlawful activities or fraud.

Quality of your Information

The City takes reasonable steps to ensure that personal information we collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete and up-to-date.

Security of Your Information

We have taken all reasonable steps to implement the appropriate security policies, rules, measures and patches to protect personal information under our control from misuse, interference and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Personal information is securely stored by us and by third parties acting on our behalf. For example, safeguards such as firewalls and virus protection software are in place to protect our systems and data.

The retention and disposal of personal information held by Western Australian local governments is governed by the State Records Act 2000 and supporting policies and procedures. We take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify personal information when it is no longer required to be retained.

Access to Your Information

You may request access to documents that contain your personal information which are in our possession. You may also request the correction of documents which we hold that contain your personal information if you believe that personal information is inaccurate, irrelevant, misleading, incomplete or out of date. In some cases, your request will be dealt with in accordance with the FOI Act.

Please contact us via the details below for further information.

Unique Identifiers

The City does not assign unique identifiers to individuals unless it is necessary to do so to perform our functions or activities efficiently. We also would not require an individual to provide us with a unique identifier in order to access our services unless:

it is required by law for us to make a record of the unique identifier; or
the provision is in connection with the purpose for which the identifier was assigned or a directly related purpose.

The City will not use or disclose a unique identifier assigned to an individual by another IPP entity unless you consent to the disclosure or it meets an exemption under Principle 7 of the PRIS Act.

Anonymity

When interacting with the City, you will have the option of not identifying yourself unless:

we are required or authorised by or under law to deal with individuals who have identified themselves in relation to that matter; or
it is impracticable for the City to deal with individuals who have not identified themselves in relation to that matter.

Disclosure of Your Personal Information Outside of Australia

In limited cases, we may share personal information (such as contact details and subscription preferences) with trusted contractors and service providers located outside Australia to support our services.

When you provide your personal information to us, you consent to the disclosure of your information outside of Australia. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that any overseas recipient will deal with such personal information in a way that is consistent with this Privacy Statement and the Australian Privacy Principles.

When you communicate with us through a social media network service such as Facebook or Instagram, the network provider and its partners may collect and hold your personal information overseas.

Automated Decision Making

The City does not use automated decision making as part of delivering its services or performing its functions.

External Links

Please note that the City website contains some links to external websites because they contain material related to the City's activities or are of a benefit to users. When a user has clicked on a link to another site, they leave the City’s site and are no longer protected by these conditions.

The City takes no responsibility for the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of any information included in the data provided by third parties, nor for the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of links or references to information sources (including Internet sites) outside of this website. These external information sources are outside the control of the City, and it is the responsibility of all internet users to make their own decisions about the accuracy, reliability and correctness of information found on those external Internet links.

The City is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of the linked websites and encourages you to examine each site's privacy policy and make your own decisions regarding the accuracy, reliability and correctness of material and information found.

Notifiable Breaches

The City maintains information breach response procedures. From 1 January 2027, where an information breachis likely to result in serious harm, we will notify the WA Information Commissioner and affected individuals in accordance with the PRIS Act. Until that date, we continue to meet any other applicable notification duties.

Complaints pathway

If you have a complaint about how your Personal Information has been handled by the City, you should make initial contact with the Privacy Officer at the City.

How to make a Privacy Complaint

Complaints may be lodged via phone, email, or post:

City of Karratha – Privacy Officer

By hand: Welcome Road, Karratha

Postal address: PO Box 219 Karratha WA 6714

By email: enquiries@karratha.wa.gov.au

Information to be provided by Complainants

Complainants should be prepared to give their name and contact details for the complaint to be investigated and responded to.

Anonymous complaints will be recorded, referred to the appropriate division, and investigated at the receiver’s discretion.

Information that should be provided when making a privacy complaint includes:

Name and contact details (e.g. email address, phone number and postal address).
Details of the alleged interference with privacy including:

o What happened;

o What personal information was affected;

o Who did it (if known);

o When it happened (if known);

o How and when you discovered the alleged interference with your privacy;

o What outcome you’re seeking as a result of making the privacy complaint;

o Any additional details or relevant supporting documents.

Confidentiality and Privacy

Any Personal Information collected during the Complaints process shall only be used to help investigate and close the complaint for which the Personal Information has been collected.

All Personal Information must be managed in accordance with the City of Karratha Privacy Policy.

Handling of your complaint

All privacy complaints will be acknowledged. The acknowledgment will provide the expected timeframe for dealing with the complaint.

If the complaint is not resolved by the City, you have the right to escalate your complaint to the Information Commissioner.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement or how your information is handled, please contact the City using the details provided below:

Main administration

Phone: 08 9186 8555

Email: enquiries@karratha.wa.gov.au