Security
The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) applies in respect of the Federal Court of Australia (the Court) only in relation to an act done or a practice engaged in in respect of a matter of an administrative nature (see paragraphs 7(1)(a) and (b)). Nevertheless, in relation to court documents (which are exempt from the Privacy Act) the Court is sensitive to the need to protect personal information and will make arrangements that are consistent with all legal requirements and which balance appropriately the principle of open justice and interests of individual privacy. The Court is committed to protect privacy on this website and seeks to adhere to the Guidelines for Federal and ACT Government Websites developed in March 2003 by the Australian Privacy Commissioner.
This page explains the type of information that is collected by the Court when users access its websites, how such information is used, under what circumstances and to whom it may be disclosed, and describes security measures in place on the website.
If you have any privacy concerns about the website, you should direct them to the Webmaster by emailing query@fedcourt.gov.au or by writing to:
Web Manager
Federal Court of Australia
Corporate Services
Locked Bag A6000
Sydney South NSW 1235
Clickstream and site visit data
A record of your visit to the main pages of this site is made and the following information is logged for statistical purposes - the user's server address, the user's top level domain name (e.g. com., gov., au., uk., etc.), the date and the time of the visit to the site, the type of browser used, the operating system, the screen resolutions and screen colours, the previous site visited, and the search engines and queries used to access this site. No attempt will be made to identify individual users or their browsing activities except, in the unlikely event of an investigation, where a law enforcement agency may exercise a warrant to inspect the log file.
Links to other sites
This site contains links to other sites. The Court is not responsible for the content and the privacy practices of other 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.
Cookies
A cookie is a small piece of information that is placed on the user's hard drive while navigating a website. The main pages of the Court’s website are cookie-free. However cookies are used for form identification and for browser preferences for display of results on the eLodgment pages on this site. None of these pages contain user information.
Email management
The Court offers two email subscription services - Daily Court Lists and Practice News. When you subscribe to either service, the Court collects your name, email address and, in the case of Daily Court Lists, any other information you choose to enter.
The Court will also record your email address if you send it an email message. So it or its hosting partners can provide any support required, the Court also records email addresses of users of the Court’s eServices (online) websites.
Any information you provide will only be used by the Court for the purpose for which it was provided. Information in relation to a proceeding in the Court will be deal with as required by legislation (principally the rules of the Court) as well as any orders and directions made in those proceedings. Many documents filed or lodged in a proceeding may be disclosed to any interested member of the public. You can find more information about public access to court documents under Court Documents.
The Internet is an insecure medium however, and users should be aware that there are inherent risks in transmitting information across the Internet. Information submitted unencrypted via email may be at risk of being intercepted, read or modified. If you do not want your message sent by email you can post it to the above address.
Data security
The Court takes steps to protect the personal information it hold against loss, unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure and against other misuse. These steps include storing electronic files in secure facilities, encryption of data, regular backups of data we hold, audit and logging mechanisms and physical access restrictions.
Search service
Search terms are stored for reporting and service improvement purposes. Your searches are not linked to an identifier or your IP address.
Privacy in the eLodgment and eCourtroom sections of the site
In order to lodge case-related documents on-line or to participate in eCourtroom, you must supply some personal information - such as your name, mailing address, phone numbers and email address. This information is only used to enable you to eLodge documents and/or contribute to an eCourtroom discussion through the eLodgment application and will not be disclosed to any third party unless required by law. The following information is recorded for the purpose of providing you with support if required:
- major and specific activity under a user name, e.g. Login, Create Template, Save Incomplete Lodgement, contribute to an eCourtroom discussion, Log out etc
- uploaded documents as part of the lodgement process and failed attempts to upload documents are logged in error logs
- as previously noted, cookies are used for form authentication and for browser preferences for display of results, i.e. show/hide a column, resize of columns. None of these cookies contain user information
- browser, operating system and compilers information is recorded for troubleshooting
- email address information is only used for the purposed for which you provided it.
Security in the eLodgment section of the site
The electronic filing section of the Court's website (eLodgment) uses the Australian banking and electronic commerce industry standard Secure Socket Layer (SSL) security technology. SSL is cryptography technology that uses special codes - 128 bit keys - that encrypt messages sent over the Internet. SSL encryption turns a message into an unintelligible string of characters and symbols and makes it virtually impossible to decipher. In addition, if a message is somehow tampered with, SSL technology will detect the tampering and reject the message.
Users who lodge documents on-line enter their credit card details into an electronic form with are encrypted by SSL technology. This is then securely transmitted via the Court's eLodgment service provider (Creative Digital Technology) to the Court’s merchant facility provider (the ANZ Bank). Neither the Court nor its technology service provider store users credit card details at any time during this process. This facility provides users with the same level of security as if they were using an automatic teller machine (ATM) or performing an EFTPOS transaction.
A user may, however, choose to save their credit card details within a template. If so, those details are stored in the eLodgment application. Security of this information is maintained in line with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards.
Security alerts in eServices (online) pages of this site
The eServices (online) pages of this site have been secured for your privacy and protection. As you move about these secure areas your browser, depending upon your personal settings and options, might present you with a security alert. Security alerts differ depending on browsers and their configuration but their purpose is simply to alert you to the fact that you are entering, or leaving a secure area. You should not be alarmed by the appearance of these alerts. To ascertain that you are in a secure session check the status of the "security" padlock on your browser. The session is secure only when the padlock icon shows a closed padlock.
"Thawte Server CA" issues a certificate securing the site. You can verify the source of the certificate by viewing it.
Alternatives to the eServices (online) pages of this site
If you do not wish to provide personal information via the eServices (online) pages of the website, documents can be filed and paid for by personal presentation, Post or fax to the registry.
September 2012
