Privacy information

When you visit this web site, we record 'click-through' data in the form of anonymous information about your visit. We log the following information for statistical purposes - your server address, your top-level domain name (for example .com, .gov, .au, .net), the date and time of visit to the site, the pages accessed and documents downloaded, the previous Customs site visited, and the type of browser used. This information is not specific to an individual and is used for system-administration purposes, as well as statistical analysis. While this anonymous information does not tell us anything about you specifically, it tells us about how you use our site.

Another type of anonymous information shared between your browser and our server is a cookie. A cookie is a small text file that a server places on your hard drive to identify that subsequent requests to a site have come from the same user. The Australian Customs Service uses cookies to 'remember' your browser between page visits. In this situation, the cookie identifies your browser, not you personally. Customs uses cookies on this web site to develop patterns of site usage.

No personal information is stored within Customs cookies. For more information on cookies refer to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/196955 or the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at http://w3c.org where a search on the word 'cookie' will provide current discussions.

Customs uses Javascript to enable the dynamic menus, page-path generation and date inclusion on the Internet site http://www.customs.gov.au/ for Netscape and Internet Explorer browsers of version 4 or greater. No personal information is captured or stored by these scripts, and the script source may be easily viewed by choosing the 'View Source' option in your browser.

No attempt is made by Customs to identify users or their browsing activities except, in the unlikely event of an investigation, where a law-enforcement agency may exercise a warrant to inspect Customs logs.

This site does not collect personally identifiable information, such as your name, address or credit card details.

The information collected via electronic forms or through email will only be used for the purpose for which you have provided it. Your details will not be added to a mailing list and we will not use your email address or other personal information for any other purpose, unless required or authorised by law. We will not disclose your information to any other parties without your consent, unless required or authorised by law.

External sites that are linked to or from the Customs Internet site are not under our control and you are advised to review their privacy statements. Users should note there are inherent risks associated with transmission of information via the Internet. Therefore users should make their own assessment of the potential risks to the security of their information when making a decision as to whether or not they should utilise external sites that are linked to or from the Customs Internet site.