Terms of use and privacy
These Terms of Use (the terms) are between Council and you. By using the site, you agree to be bound by these terms. If you do not wish to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you must not access the site. You may use the site as set out in the terms.
From time to time, Council changes or adds to the site, including these terms, without notice. Any change to these terms will be effective as soon as they are published on the site. You should review these terms regularly to check for updates. By using the site, you accept the terms in force at the time of accessing the site.
On this webpage, the following meanings apply:
- ‘Council’ means the Sunshine Coast Regional Council.
- ‘Material’ on the site includes any text, symbol, logo, image, video, audio, links and other items.
- ‘Post’ and ‘Posted’ means adding information such as text, audio, video and images, etc., to the site that has been submitted by a registered user.
- ‘Site’ means the Sunshine Coast Regional Council website and/or its sub-sites having the domain name www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au and all sub domains, i.e. name.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au.
- ‘User’ or ‘you’ or ‘your’ means any person using the site.
- ‘Applicant’ means an individual, company or organisation conducting the business and undertaking online interactions and lodgements with Council.
Supporting documents
These terms are to be read in conjunction with Council’s Privacy and Copyright Notice (the notice). The terms include the notice and your agreement to the terms means that you agree to the notice. In the case of a conflict between the notice and the terms, these terms prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
There may be additional terms and conditions that apply in order to access specific parts of the site (the additional conditions). In the event of any inconsistency between the terms and any additional conditions, the additional conditions prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
Disclaimer
Council publishes the information on the site as a general reference. You should not act on anything contained on the site without first obtaining specific professional advice. The information on the site is not comprehensive and is a summary of the subject matter covered. You should not rely on the information in the site when considering issues relating to real estate (for example, purchase, sale, leasing, development). Persons wishing to make enquiries with Council when considering such issues should do so by phone or in writing. Information that Council is required to provide under legislation, such as, for example, a planning and development certificate referred to in S 737 of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (Qld), must only be sought and obtained through the applicable search – do not try to obtain some or all of that information from the site. You must make your own assessment of the information on the site, and if you rely on it, you do so wholly at your own risk.
Council makes no statements, representations, or warranties about the accuracy, completeness or reliability of any information contained on the site. Some information, such as information supplied by third parties, has not been assessed for its accuracy. You should make your own enquiries and obtain advice specific to your particular circumstances.
Council expressly disclaims all responsibility and all liability (including without limitation, liability in negligence) for all expenses, losses (including direct and indirect losses), damages and costs you may incur as a result of your use of the site or intended use of the site including:
- the information on the site being inaccurate or incomplete in any way, for any reason
- the information on the site or the site itself being subject to infection by computer viruses or other contamination
- lack of availability, interruption, delay in operation, internet access difficulties, or equipment malfunction in relation to the site
- any failure to provide the site or any part of it either temporarily or permanently.
The information on the site is subject to change without notice. If you print information, you should check regularly for updates on the site. This includes PDF and other files linked to on the site. Check the Last Updated date at the top of the webpage.
The views, opinions and findings in any articles, news items or other publications on the site are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or findings of Council.
This general disclaimer is not restricted or modified by any specific warnings and disclaimers contained in these terms or located elsewhere on the site.
Terms and conditions
Linking to the site
Council gives permission for you to create a link to the site. If you do create a link to a page on the site, you do so at your own risk and the exclusions and limitations set out in these terms will apply to your use of the site by linking to it.
Using the site
By using the site, you agree that you will not:
- tamper with or do anything that could hinder the proper operation of the site; upload viruses or other malicious code, transmit a virus or other disabling feature to the site
- collect users’ material using automated means (such as harvesting bots, robots, spiders, or scrapers)
- collect or solicit material about others, including email addresses, without their consent
- use the site, or use any service provided on the site, to conduct surveys, contests, pyramid schemes, or send chain letters, junk email, spam or any other duplicative or unsolicited messages (commercial or otherwise)
- attempt to gain unauthorised access to the site or use another person’s name, registration account or password
- except to the extent permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), use, copy, modify, transmit, store, publish or distribute the material on the site, or create any other material using material on the site, including posts made by registered users, without obtaining the prior written consent of the owner of the information
- collect or solicit login information or access an account belonging to someone else
- use the site for any activity which breaches any laws, infringes a third party’s rights, is unlawful, or breaches the terms
Registered users – generally
Council allows individuals and representatives of groups to register as a user on the site.
By registering on the site, you:
- agree that Council reserves the right to remove or reclaim a user name if it believes, in its absolute discretion, that the user name is inappropriate (such as the user name offends the rights of another party, or is offensive), and
- warrant that you are at least 15 years of age.
By registering on the site, you agree that you will not:
- provide any false personal information, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission
- create another account, if Council closes your account, without Council’s written permission
- use your personal profile for commercial gain (including the sale of your status update to an advertiser)
- allow your contact information to be inaccurate or out-of-date
- use the site to link your registration to other users through the site or through a third party website without their consent
- impersonate any person or entity or create a false identity to mislead others as to the identity of the sender or the origin of material you post on the site, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity
- engage in any other conduct that Council considers (in absolute discretion) breaches these terms or is otherwise inappropriate for the site
- promote business interests, unless linked specifically to the development of professional artists based on the Sunshine Coast or for the commercial business of Sunshine Coast based not-for-profit groups
- share your password, let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardise the security of your account
- transfer your account outside of the correct process within the site to anyone without first getting Council’s written permission.
Intellectual property rights
Logos and trade marks (whether registered or unregistered) appearing on the site must not be used or modified in any way without obtaining the prior written consent of the owner. The material on the site or the products, technology and processes contained in the site may be the subject of other intellectual property rights owned by Council or by third parties. No licence is granted in respect of those intellectual property rights. If you want a licence, you must specifically contact the owner of those rights. Your use of the site must not in any way infringe the intellectual property rights of any person or organisation.
Registered users and posting
The site uses and will display the real names of registered users, in the interests of transparency and community participation.
Registered users may:
- submit material to Council to be posted on the site. Posting is only allowed by registered users
- respond to posts made by other registered users.
This enables an online version of the communication that local community groups are involved with on a daily basis in the real world.
When you post material, a Council officer may review the material before it is posted. This may result in a delay in the material being posted on the site. Council appreciates your patience with this. If your material is reviewed, it will generally take two working days, but it may take longer.
You continue to own the material that you post on to the site. If you post material owned by a group or other entity, any such material that you post remains the property of the group or other entity.
When you submit material for posting, you agree that:
- you specifically give Council a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, irrevocable worldwide license to use any material that you post on or in connection with the site
- Council will identify you publicly as the party responsible for posting that material. This may include a photo, email address and your real name. Council will publish material that you nominate and will not publish material that you do not nominate to be published
- any material you submit for posting or that is actually posted will comply with the terms
- Council may decline to post or delete material that has been posted, that in its absolute discretion it does not consider appropriate for the site, or that does or may infringe the rights of any other person, or that does not comply with these terms
- Council may edit posts that comply with the terms to correct spelling and similar mistakes, or for the purposes of readability
- Council may limit the amount, length, or size of the material that you can post
- decisions to not publish a post, to delete a post, or to edit a post are final, and Council will not engage in any discussion or correspondence in relation thereto
- if you post material (or take any other action) that infringes or may infringe the rights of any other person, Council may at any time remove the material, remove your registration and refuse further access to registration on the site as an individual or part of any group
- you indemnify Council and its officers, employees and agents from any damage or loss made against or suffered by any of those indemnified arising, in whole or in part, as a result of the publication by Council of your material on the site
- you warrant that you own all rights in and to the material, and that you have the express written permission of any person identifiable within the material to post that material
- if you submit material on behalf of a group, you warrant that the material is owned by the group and that you have written permission from the group to post the material
- nothing contained within the material you submit requires Council to seek permission of a third party to use the material as you have allowed Council to do in these terms
- you understand that when you use an application, your content and material is shared with the application. Council requires applications to respect your privacy, and your agreement with that application will control how the application can use, store, and transfer that content and material
- you understand that once material is posted on the site, it will be stored by Council until deleted by Council. Material may be deleted from the site at any time without prior notice
- you understand that any other individual can interact with that material and link that material to themselves through third party websites (such as Facebook and Twitter), and that Council is not responsible for the use of this material by any third party.
When you submit material for posting, you agree that you will not:
- use the site to post or transmit any material (or a link to any material) unlawfully, or which is false, misleading or deceptive, unlawful, obscene, indecent, contains nudity, uses offensive language, defames, abuses, incites or demonstrates violence, bullies, harasses, stalks, threatens, menaces, offends or restricts any person, or which prevents any other user from using or enjoying the site or the posting of which will result in the breach of any law
- submit any material (or a link to any material) which is untrue or in any way which violates, plagiarises or infringes the Council’s or a third party’s rights, including but not limited to any copyright or trademark rights, privacy or other personal or proprietary or moral rights
- use the site to promote an individual politician’s interests or that of any political party
- provide or post material that is not suitable for all age groups
- re-post material that has been removed or deleted from the site
- provide material that contains language that is inappropriate.
External websites
The site may contain links to, or frame, websites other than the site (external websites). Links to, or framing of, external websites should not be construed as an endorsement, approval, warranty of accuracy, recommendation or preference by Council of the external websites, or for any information, products or services referred to on the external websites, unless expressly stated otherwise.
Council makes no warranties and accepts no liability in relation to Material contained on external websites, nor to your use of external websites, and it disclaims all responsibility and all liability (including without limitation, liability in negligence) for all expenses, losses (including direct and indirect losses), damages and costs you may incur as a result of using any external website or software that may be associated with it.
A registered user may be able to link applications (such as Facebook), to its account within the Site. When you use an application, your information is shared with that application. Your agreement with the entity that controls that application will control how the application can use, store, and transfer that information.
External websites and software, such as group email software, may be promoted within the Site. By choosing to use external websites and software, you will conduct your own assessment of the worthiness, cost, safety or otherwise of this software.
By using external websites linked to the site, you understand that you may be bound by the term of use for these external websites. This may include issues such as storage of your information on overseas servers or granting ownership of your information to these websites. You must read any terms governing the use of any external websites before using it.
Other matters
- The terms and the use of the site are governed by, and construed in accordance with the law in force in Queensland, Australia. The parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of courts exercising jurisdiction in Queensland for proceedings in connection with the terms or the use of the site.
- Headings in the terms are for convenience only, and to not limit interpretation.
- The entire agreement between the parties regarding the use of the site is made up of the terms, and any additional conditions.
- The terms and any additional conditions cannot be varied accept by prior written agreement signed by an authorised Council officer.
- If any part of the terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining portion will remain in full force and effect.
- If Council fails to enforce any of the terms, it will not be considered a waiver. Any waiver of the terms must be made in writing and signed by an authorised Council officer.
- You will not transfer any of your rights or obligations under the terms to anyone else without our prior written consent.
- All of Council’s rights and obligations under the terms are freely assignable by Council in connection with an amalgamation or sale of assets, de-amalgamation or division of assets, or by operation of law or otherwise.
- You will comply with all applicable laws when using or accessing the site.
Terms of business use
Agreement
Council has established and maintains a system/database (‘the system’) for the lodgement of online applications.
The applicant wishes to obtain a non-exclusive, non-transferable right from Council to lodge applications online using the system.
Council is prepared to grant this right subject to these Terms of Use and the terms and conditions set out below.
Indemnity
The applicant agrees to indemnify Council in respect of all claims for loss, damage or injury which may be suffered by any person arising directly or indirectly from the fraudulent, malicious or negligent activity in the applicant’s use of the system.
The applicant agrees to indemnify Council and not raise any claim against Council in respect of any loss, damage or injury which may be suffered by Council, the applicant or any third party as a result of the applicant granting higher level access to any of its employees, servants, contractors or consultants which may result in the deletion or amendment of any of the applicant’s or Council’s details, files, information and material.
Both parties shall indemnify the other against any loss or damage that may be sustained or incurred as a result of the failure by a party to perform its obligations under this agreement.
Obligations of applicant
The applicant will notify Council as soon as practicable if the applicant becomes aware of any unauthorised use of the whole or any part of the system.
The applicant will use its best endeavours to promptly bring to the attention of Council the unethical or dishonest activity in relation to the use of the system that the applicant may discover.
The applicant will give Council such assistance and cooperation as it reasonably requires in connection with the operation of this agreement.
The applicant will use its best efforts to ensure that any lodgement performed by any of its employees, servants, contractors or consultants does not involve or cause any corruption of, introduce any errors into or make any amendments or changes to the documents lodged.
The applicant will ensure that any form comprising part of the document lodged under this agreement is the original form completed and signed (where applicable) and not a copy of the original form.
The applicant will ensure that any images of documents transmitted under the system are of a standard and in a format approved by Council. Prior to lodging, the applicant will use its best efforts to ensure all form types and fees entered during the process of any lodgement are correct.
The applicant will notify Council of any change in business name, contact details or cessation of its business within seven days of the occurrence of the change.
Security
The applicant will apply to Council for the ability to lodge documents on the system and nominate the employees that will have access to the system.
The applicant will be solely responsible for the conduct of its employees, servants, contractors and consultants in their use of the system.
Where a security violation is detected by Council, the applicant will be deemed to have breached this agreement and Council may take whatever action is necessary in respect of any such breach.
The applicant acknowledges that:
- this is a service for the applicant, its employees, servants, contractors and consultants who need such access for the purpose of the applicant exercising its rights under this agreement
- unauthorised or attempted unauthorised use of the system is prohibited and may constitute an offence under federal, state and local laws
- access privileges to the system may be revoked at any time without notice if there is a breach of the provisions of this agreement, in particular if there is a security violation and
- access will be logged and may be monitored at any time.
In addition:
- The applicant will ensure that the password is changed whenever requested to do so by Council.
- Failed login attempts may be monitored to determine if security is being compromised.
- The applicant shall take all reasonable steps to maintain and safeguard the security of access to the system and take all reasonable steps to ensure that its employees, servants, contractors and consultants maintain the security of the system.
Applicant’s acknowledgements
The applicant acknowledges and agrees that:
- Council has no control over the speed of transmission of the data when using the internet to access the system.
- Council will use its best efforts to provide access to the system but does not warrant that access to the system will be uninterrupted. For example, access may be interrupted to facilitate urgent maintenance.
- Council will not be liable to the applicant or to third parties for any interruptions to the system beyond its control including but not limited to problems with the applicant’s:
- telecommunications services
- Internet service provider, or
- hardware or software.
The applicant acknowledges that this agreement does not otherwise override or amend any obligation, time period or requirements otherwise set down by law, regulation or contained in any Council application forms.
Privacy and copyright notice
Website privacy and security statement
Sunshine Coast Regional Council Privacy Policy [2987KB]
Council is committed to protecting user privacy. Council understands and appreciates that visitors to, and users of, this website, are concerned about their privacy and the confidentiality and security of information they provide.
Council’s policy is to respect and protect the privacy of its website users and, as a general rule, Council does not collect personal information about you when you visit this site. You are able to visit this site without revealing any of your personal information. Some elements on Council’s website (such as online forms and the linking of email addresses) require Java scripting enabled on your browser for full functionality. You will only need to manually turn scripting on if you are experiencing difficulties, as most browsers will have it enabled by default. Scripting has been used on Council’s website as a security measure against software applications that run automated tasks over the Internet.
Recording your visit
When you visit Council’s website, Council makes a record of your visit and logs the following information for statistical purposes:
- your server address
- your top level domain name (for example, .com, .gov, .edu, .net, .org, .au, .nz etc.)
- the date and time of your visit to the site
- the pages you accessed and documents downloaded
- the previous site you visited
- the type of browser you used.
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 computer logs.
Some sites use cookies to track a particular user’s access to a site. Cookies are not used on this site to gather personal information about users except when they are used within a specific web-based application for session management purposes.
Recording your email address
Council will only record your email address if you authorise Council to do so. It will only be used for the purpose for which you have provided it and will not be added to a mailing list unless you authorise Council to do so. Council will not use your email address for any other purpose, and will not disclose it, without your consent.
Council may also record the email addresses of nominated contact persons for organisations listed in the Community Group directory. These email addresses will enable all users of the site to contact your organisation directly by email. These email addresses may also be included in shortlists of groups created by users, which can then be printed or downloaded. Council will make reasonable attempts to reduce harvesting of email addresses by incorporating security measures in the exporting process.
Collecting personal information
From time to time, Council will use electronic forms on this site to gather personal information for purposes directly related to a function or activity of Council. When Council does this, you will be notified of the purpose for which the information is being collected (including if the information is to be published), and the legal authority for the collection if it is authorised or required, by or under law.
Council will not collect or solicit personal information via this site which would be unlawful, unnecessary or unrelated to the functions or activities of Council, or unfair or unreasonably intrusive.
Because there are risks associated with using the Internet as a transmission medium, when Council use electronic forms to collect information you will be provided with other options for providing the information – for example, a paper form and mailing address and a telephone contact.
Publishing personal information
Council will only publish personal information on this site if it has been collected for this purpose with your knowledge or if you have consented to the disclosure. When giving such consent you should be aware that information published on this site is accessible to millions of people from all over the world, that it will be indexed by search engines and that it may be copied and used by any Web user. This means that, once the information is published on this site, Council will have no control over its subsequent use and disclosure.
Copyright
© Sunshine Coast Regional Council 2009-current.
Sunshine Coast Council™ is a registered trademark of Sunshine Coast Regional Council.
All content on the site, regardless of origin, is generally protected by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).
Council supports the sharing of information and the use of site content as permitted under Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), for example for private study, research, criticism or review. Except to the extent permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) or in this notice, you must not use, copy, modify, transmit, store, publish or distribute the content on the site, or create any other material using material on the site, without obtaining the prior written consent of the owner of the information.
Council grants you a non-exclusive licence to reproduce the contents of the site onto your Web browser (and any cache file produced by your Web browser) for the sole purpose of viewing and/or hearing the content of the site.
Logos and trade marks (whether registered or unregistered) must not be used or modified in any way without obtaining the prior written consent of the owner. The products, technology and processes contained in the site may be the subject of other intellectual property rights owned by Council or by third parties. No licence is granted in respect of those intellectual property rights other than as expressly set out in the terms. Your use of the site must not in any way infringe the intellectual property rights of any person or organisation.
If you would like permission to use any of the materials on the site, please contact Council’s customer service centre.
Social Media
Guidelines for management and use (External guidelines)
Emerging platforms for online collaboration are fundamentally changing the way we work, offering new ways to engage with customers, colleagues, and the world at large.
These are the official guidelines for users (External) of the Sunshine Coast Council Facebook page.
The principles for online participation are the same as those that apply to using other forms of social media.
Related polices and guidelines
Find Council on Facebook
Through Facebook, Council aims to you keep you up to date on all the latest news, events as well as other Council initiatives and activities. Posts will include:
- upcoming events and activities happening on the Coast
- important news updates
- links to interesting and useful information about the Sunshine Coast published on Council’s website and the internet
- replies and direct messages.
Posts and replies
Please use Council’s Facebook page to respond to Council posts only. Council will reply to you as quickly as possible, however staff are available during business hours only – 8.30 am to 4.30 pm Monday to Friday. If you have a formal request or enquiry, a complaint or a submission for a community engagement program, visit the Contact Council page for a range of contact options. Please note that Council’s Facebook page is moderated and any vexatious, defamatory or malicious comments will be removed.
Do not:
- post anything that could be considered prejudicial, racist, off-topic, inflammatory, repetitive, vexatious, offensive or otherwise inappropriate.
- swear. We want everyone to be comfortable visiting here to get the information we try to provide.
- harass or make personal attacks against other users, Councillors or Council staff. Please be respectful of others and their opinions.
- repost other people’s appeals, requests or offers, or anything else that could be considered spam.
- link to other Facebook pages, any non-government or off-topic page.
- report any offensive material on Facebook to this page, or post a link to it. Complaints about offensive material should be made directly to Facebook.
During an election period
Council’s social media channels shall continue to provide regular communication with residents, including service requests that align with Customer Contact procedures, event information, program initiatives and general day-to-day Council business that is of public interest during the caretaker period.
Council shall not respond to any political comments made or posted during the caretaker period and Council shall maintain the right to remove messages which contravene caretaker principles, whether from members of the public or councillors, or which are off-topic as per these Guidelines.
A notice shall be posted on Council’s social media channels before the start of the caretaker period, which outlines that Council shall not respond to any political comments made, or posted during the caretaker period.
All social media undertaken during the caretaker period shall continue to be in accordance with the Sunshine Coast Council Social Media Guidelines.
Disclaimer
Although Council takes care in producing the content for Facebook, it does not guarantee that the information is accurate, complete, and current or that the data is free from defects or malicious code such as viruses. Council does not accept any responsibility if you incur any loss or damage (however it was caused) in connection with the use of Facebook or any website to which it links. Council may not endorse content contained on other websites linked to its Facebook page.
Privacy collection notice
Your profile name from Facebook is collected by Council for the purposes of addressing your enquiry, maintaining a record of correspondence and managing its Facebook page. No other personal information is collected by Council from Facebook.
Council’s Facebook page includes the following collection notice, in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009:
This Facebook page is for the purpose of providing updated details on Sunshine Coast Council news and events across the region. You are invited to participate on this Facebook page by giving us your views, opinions or comments on these posts via a submission to Facebook.
As part of the submission process, you agree to your submissions being made public through this social networking site immediately upon submission. You also agree that your submission will be transferred outside of Australia to Facebook servers located outside of Australia.
The Sunshine Coast Council is subject to the Information Privacy Act 2009, and is committed to respecting your privacy. If you have any privacy concerns or questions, please view Council’s privacy policy or contact Council on (07) 5475 7272.
If you make a contribution to this social networking site including personal information you should also be aware that, despite the terms and conditions of use of Facebook, the following possibilities exist:
- Although you may request that your personal information is removed from the website, it is possible that third parties may store or cache parts of this website containing your personal information so that your personal information will be available after deletion from this website.
- Third parties may locate your personal information through internet search engines. It is possible that third parties may collect and use your personal information for inappropriate and potentially illegal purposes.
- The moderator may reject your submission or remove your personal information from the contribution if the moderator believes that the publication of the personal information is inappropriate.
Your information will not be given to any other person or agency unless you have given your permission or Council is required to do so by law.
Please also refer to Facebook’s Privacy Policy.