Privacy

University Website and Marketing Privacy Statement

The University of Newcastle is committed to protecting and maintaining the privacy of your personal and health information. Information collected is handled in accordance with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 NSW (PPIPA) and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (HRIPA) and is underpinned by the University’s Privacy Policy and Management Plan. Personal information managed by the University is retained in accordance with the State Records Act 1998 (NSW).

This Website and Marketing Privacy Statement advises visitors of how your information is collected when interacting with the University of Newcastle website and online or external sign up forms, and how this information is respectfully managed.

Artificial Intelligence Visibility

The University of Newcastle uses generative artificial intelligence to provide multi-lingual support, to people outside Australia, enquiring about studying with the University through our Virtual Assistant chatbot. There is no need to provide any of your personal information as the chatbot provides general advice only, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for your convenience. If you would prefer to speak with a person, or have specific questions about your particular circumstances, please contact our AskUON staff during normal business hours.

Collection of Personal Information

Information Provided by You

Personal information you provide online will be used by authorised staff in conducting University business. The University will only collect the information that is necessary to complete the enquiry or service, and will not use the information for other reasons than for the purpose it was collected, in accordance with the University's Privacy Management Plan.

Any information collected via the University website will be delivered to the appropriate University staff member for action as required.

If you are under the age of 16 years—the information should be provided by your parent or guardian.

Please be advised any information you disclose in University online interactive applications, such as online forums or on message boards, becomes public information.

Information Automatically Logged

The University may record data and information through the use of cookies and other automated means, such as server logs. This information is used for statistical purposes and may also be used to enhance your online experience by providing you with relevant content.

Information automatically collected when visiting the University website is aggregated with similar automatically logged information. This aggregated data does not include personal information and does not identify individual users.

Cookies

A cookie is a small data file placed on your computer’s hard disk containing information which enables a website to remember you as a visitor on subsequent visits. . Temporary cookies are used by certain applications of the University website for authentication purposes, to improve security, or to provide specific content to users. Information collected by the University automated means and cookies includes (but is not limited to):

  • Server addresses
  • Domain names
  • IP addresses
  • Date and time of visits to the website
  • Pages accessed
  • Pages downloaded

You can alter your settings so that your browser can reject cookies or notify you when cookies are used. Refer to your browser for instructions.

Please note by rejecting some cookies you may affect the function of, or your access to, certain University applications.

Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

Personal information collected through the University’s website will only be used or disclosed for a directly related purpose for which it is collected, or as stated at the point of collection, to enhance your online experience, and only with your informed consent.

The University will only disclose your personal information without consent in the event of an investigation, or where required or authorised by law.

Access and Correction

You have the right under NSW privacy laws to request access to and correction of personal information about you held by the University.

Contact the University's Privacy Team at privacy@newcastle.edu.au for information on how you may access and correct your personal information.

Visitors to our Website from the European Economic Area

If you are an individual in the European Economic Area (EEA), the University of Newcastle may have collected and processed information about you for purposes such as educational and research interactions, promotional activities, services where you have provided consent, or where necessary to meet obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

As an individual in the EEA, you may have the right to request the restriction of, or objection to, the processing of your personal information, and the portability and erasure of information (subject to the University’s statutory obligations in the retention of public records).

Requests for amendments to personal information under the GDPR should be directed to the Privacy Team at privacy@newcastle.edu.au

Marketing Research and Remarketing

When you opt-in to receive email and SMS updates about the University, your personal information is collected and managed by the University to provide direct marketing information on degrees, events, scholarships, important dates or other information which we think you may find interesting or may help you make decisions about your study options.

We will only ever do this lawfully, and when the collection is reasonably necessary for the stated purpose. If you are under the age of 16 years – the information should be provided by your parent or guardian.

The intended recipients of the information are the University and its contracted service providers. The collection is voluntary, and recipients should be aware that submission of these forms means we will communicate with you. Where there is an option to select ‘no’ to a general marketing opt-in, we will only communicate to you regarding the original reason for your submission; for example, a degree webinar or expression of interest in an entry scheme.

From time to time, we may also use your personal information to contact you by email or phone  to invite you to participate in market research activities to improve our degrees, services, and marketing activities.

We may share your personal information with authorised service providers who perform services on our behalf (including data storage, direct marketing and market research) based on our instructions.

You can ask for access to information we hold about you, or request correct of the information we hold about you, by emailing privacy@newcastle.edu.au. Our Privacy Management Plan contains more information about how we manage personal information.

If at any stage you no longer wish to receive marketing communications from the University, you may choose to opt out / unsubscribe by following the instructions in our communications.

When opting out of receiving SMS communications from the University, you will be globally unsubscribed, meaning that if you are a future student at the point of unsubscribing, when you become a student you will not receive any SMS communications unless you inform the University by reaching out to AskUON.

Remarketing is used to connect with visitors, based on past interactions with the site. The University may remarket information via third-party vendors, including Google. As per the University's agreement with the vendor, this information is used for remarketing purposes only. Information on Google Privacy can be found here.

You may choose to opt out of customised Google Display Network advertisements. To do so, please follow the link here.

Email Tracking Pixels and Link Tracking

For every email communication sent via Oracle Eloqua    by the University, a tracking pixel is automatically embedded. This is a small, invisible image that allows the University to monitor Email Opens, including the time and date the email was opened.

When recipients click on links embedded in an email, each click is tracked and can be associated with the specific recipient. This includes information on which links were clicked and when, and tracking the actions of specific individuals across emails and interactions.

The purpose of collecting this data is to assess the effectiveness of email campaigns, such as report generation on open rates and general performance for optimisation, and to segment email lists based on specific user engagement. The data is collected through tracking pixels managed by Oracle Eloqua and can be accessed for a period of up to 25 months.

AscentOne’s Easy Communicator tool is used to communicate with education agents. The email client can provide general performance metrics, tracking email recipients, email opens, and email bounces. Email lists can be segmented based on country to provide specific country-specific information, but the system does not track link clicks to the individual.

Campaign Monitor is another email client used by certain groups in the University. Metrics provided can include open rate, click rate, click-to-open rate, and link clicks to monitor the performance for optimisation of future email sends.

Website Google Analytics and Tracking Pixels

The University’s website uses a Google Analytics tracking code, utilising Google’s anonymous ‘Client ID’ that is randomised and assigned to each web browser. This allows for the grouping of information on link clicks and other actions performed on the website by user, as well as various device and geographical information. The ID is stored in a first party cookie on the user’s device, and Google retains exclusive access to the identifiable information, preserving the anonymity of users.

The Client ID is generally stored for a maximum of 2 years, with some browsers having a shorter cookie lifespan. Users can also manually delete their cookies. Data in Google Analytics is stored for a maximum of 14 months, but users can also opt out from tracking using their preferred browsers built in controls.

Furthermore, tracking pixels are embedded on our website and are used to send through data to external platforms used for marketing activities. Pixels can track users via their IP addresses as well as collecting a variety of device information and geographics. Data retention for this information would be based on the policies of the individual external platforms.

Our anonymised tracking data is used to understand the ways that our users interact with our website, and measure marketing campaign and other activity effectiveness. We can identify user trends and behavioural patterns for targeted cohorts including how our site is being found externally, how many users are acquired from specific sources or campaigns, and which elements of our website are being interacted with. This information is then used to inform new campaigns and activities, and to guide the continuous improvement and optimisation of our website to provide the best possible experience for our users.

We do not actively capture Personally Identifiable Information (PII) via our marketing campaigns unless we specifically ask (such as signing up to receive a degree guide). Pixels are embedded across a range of social and advertising platforms. Main platforms Google and Meta can auto-collect PII which is part of their own terms of service. Meta collects this information up to 180-days. Google is dynamic based on your own settings (varies from two months to 18 months).

Sending emails to the University

If you send the University an email, the email system will record your email address and other pertinent information related to your query, such as the time you contacted the University  . This information will only be used to respond to your enquiry and will not be disclosed without your consent. Some email communications may be de-identified and monitored for statistical and quality purposes.

Disclaimer

Any provided hypertext links provided by the University of Newcastle on this server to other web sites are provided as a service to users of this Web server. This service does not mean that the University of Newcastle endorses those sites or material on them in any way. The University is not responsible for the use of a hypertext link for which a commercial charge applies. Individual users are responsible for any charges that their use may incur.