Skip to main content Skip to home page
Close menu
  1. Home
  2. Privacy

Privacy

Magistrates’ Court of Victoria (MCV) is committed to protecting your privacy. We handle your personal information in accordance the Magistrates’ Court Act 1989 (the Act), the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (PDP Act), the Victorian Information Privacy Principles (IPP’s) and other relevant legislation relating to MCVs jurisdiction.

This privacy statement only applies to the information automatically collected from you as a result of your visit to our website, www.mcv.vic.gov.au. For information about our broader collection, management and disclosure of personal information, please refer to our privacy policy.

We may update this privacy statement from time to time. Any changes to this privacy statement will be published on this website.

The PDP Act outlines the arrangements to be made for the proper and appropriate handling of private information collected, held and exchanged by certain bodies. The PDP Act prescribes certain exemptions and is without force or effect to the extent of any inconsistency with any other Act.

Exemption – Section 10 of the PDP Act

MCV is generally exempt from the requirements of the PDP and the IPP’s.

Nothing in the PDP Act applies to MCV in respect of collection, holding, management, use, disclosure or transfer of personal information which relates to the judicial or quasi-judicial functions of a magistrate, or any of MCV.

In addition, nothing in PDP Act applies to any registry or office of MCV and the staff of that registry or office, in respect to collection, holding, management, use, disclosure or transfer of personal information which relates to or supports the judicial or quasi-judicial function of MCV.

Personal Information under the PDP Act

The exemption does not apply to administrative functions undertaken by staff which do not relate to or support MCV’s judicial or quasi-judicial function.

Examples of administrative functions include but are not limited to MCV’s human resources and recruitment functions. In compliance with the PDP Act, MCV manages non-exempt personal information in accordance with the 10 IPP’s detailed in Schedule 1 of the PDP Act.

Management of non-exempt Information

MCV is committed to comply with the IPP’s, as stated below, where its exemption under section 10 of the PDP Act does not apply.

Principle 1 – Collection

MCV will only collect personal information where it is necessary for one or more of its functions and activities.

Principle 2 – Use and Disclosure

MCV will not disclose personal information unless by consent, except in circumstances where disclosure is required or authorised by legislation, regulations or rules.

Principle 3 – Data Quality

MCV will make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the personal information it collects is complete, accurate and current.

Principle 4 – Data Security

MCV will take all reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

Principle 5 – Openness

This Privacy Statement will be made available to any person on request and is published on the MCV’s website.

Principle 6 – Access and Correction

MCV acknowledges a person’s right to seek access to personal information held by MCV and to seek reasonable corrections to that information if necessary.

Principle 7 – Unique Identifiers

A unique identifier is usually a number assigned to an individual to identify the person for the purposes of MCV’s operations. MCV will only assign a unique identifier when it is necessary to enable it to effectively carry out a relevant business function.

Principle 8 – Anonymity

MCV gives individuals the option of not identifying themselves when entering into a transaction if such an option is lawful, reasonable and feasible in the circumstances.

Principle 9 – Trans border data flows

Personal information will only be transferred out of Victoria if the recipient protects privacy under standards similar to the Victorian IPPs or for use in that State or Territory according to its laws.

Principle 10 – Sensitive Information

MCV does not collect sensitive information without consent, except where collection is required or authorised by legislation, regulations or rules.

Case listings

Any person may search information on MCV’s website regarding the listing of pending criminal and civil matters. Information maintained for this purpose is deleted at the expiry of the hearing date and is not available for retrospective search. Information held and displayed within the case listing module is not visible and cannot be located using internet search tools.

Collection

You can access and browse our website without disclosing your personal information. MCV does not and will not seek to identify individual users with the information automatically collected by the website.

We collect personal information about you when you:

  • Submit any online application, enquiry, submission, complaint, feedback or electronic communication that you send us
  • Access any of the courts online services including determining your nearest court location 
  • take part in an online survey.

Web analytics data

We use Google Analytics software to collect information about your interaction with our website. When you visit our website, your web browser automatically sends certain information to Google Analytics. The information collected includes:

  • network location
  • your top-level domain name;
  • the date and time of your visit to the site;
  • the pages visited and time spent on each page;
  • documents downloaded and search terms used;
  • forms accessed on our website;
  • referring site details (such as the URL that you came through to arrive at our website);
  • the type of browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari etc) used and operating system (e.g. Windows 10, Mac OS X etc) you are using.

We have enabled IP anonymisation, which means that when Google Analytics receives IP addresses, it is then anonymised.

Use of web analytics data

We use this information for statistical purposes, such as to analyse, measure, and report on data about our website traffic and visits. This information helps us understand general user trends at an aggregate level, and improve our website, content, and user experience.

We may also use this information for security audits to protect against threats from hackers or other security purposes.

We do not use this information to identify you or match it with any other personal information that we may collect from you, unless required to do so as part of an internal investigation or for a law enforcement-related purpose, in accordance with the PDP Act.

Your site visit data is collected under the authority of IPP 1.1 of the PDP Act for the purposes stated above.

Disclosure of web analytics data

We do not disclose your site visit data to third parties without your consent, unless we are required or authorised to do so by law. In the event of an investigation into suspected unlawful or improper activity, a law enforcement or government agency may use its legal authority to inspect our web server’s records (e.g. in relation to hacking or abusive messages).

Use of cookies

Cookies are small files that are transferred to your web browser when you visit a website. These files contain certain pieces of information that help you navigate the website efficiently. Cookies are used to save information about your interaction with a website – for example, your login details, preferences, and how and when you use a website. They cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer.

Our website uses session cookies which are stored in temporary memory and are not retained after you close the browser session. Google Analytics may also set or collect first-party cookies to collect information on website usage statistics.

Can I opt out of the collection of web analytics data?

You cannot opt out of the automatic collection of information that is used for analytical purposes, but you may choose to disable cookies or delete any individual cookie. If you choose to disable cookies, the website may not function fully and your ability to browse, read, and download information contained on our website may be impaired. However, you may still access our services by contacting our office via other methods such as telephone, email, or mail.

Information provided by another party

When personal information is provided to MCV by another party, MCV relies upon them to take reasonable steps to ensure that the person, to whom the information is about, is aware:

  • that such information will or has been provided;
  • how the person can access his or her information;
  • the purpose for which the information was provided;
  • to whom MCV may disclose information of this kind;
  • any law, regulation or rule that requires the information to be collected by MCV.
  • the main consequences (if any) for the individual if all or part of the information is not provided to MCV.

Security of your personal information

Under the PDP Act, we have a responsibility to protect your personal information. We take reasonable steps to make sure that your personal information is protected from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. However, there are risks in transmitting information across the internet. If you are concerned about conveying sensitive personal information to us over the internet, you might prefer to contact us by telephone or mail.

Links to non-MCV websites

This privacy statement does not apply to any external websites that are linked to the MCV website. We are not reasonable for the privacy practices or content of external websites. When you visit other websites, we recommend you read the privacy statement or policies of these websites before providing personal information.

Contact us

For further information about this privacy statement or how we handle personal information, please email mcvweb@courts.vic.gov.au