Information access, governance and feedback
To promote open, accountable, fair and effective government in New South Wales, members of the public have a right to access government information.
Agency guide
The department brings together specialists to protect the state’s environment and heritage. It leads the way on climate change, driving the sustainable transition to a net zero economy, powered by affordable, reliable and clean energy.
Information about the groups and agencies that make up the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water can be found on our home page.
Guarantee of service
The department has a wide variety of services, ranging from water management to, biodiversity, conservation, environment and heritage. The department therefore does not have a single guarantee of service. If you would like to know what the department’s guarantee is for a specific service, you can contact us by visiting the relevant agency website.
Report serious wrongdoing
The department has zero tolerance for fraud, corruption and other forms of serious wrongdoing.
If you suspect fraud, corruption or any other type of serious wrongdoing by an employee or other person working for the department, we encourage you to make a report.
Please ensure you have read and comply with the guidance provided in our Public Interest Disclosures Policy before completing the form.
Public Interest Disclosures Policy (PDF 242.07KB)
Access to information
The department complies with the requirement under Part 3, Division 2 of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) to have a guide that describes:
- have your say on the formulation of government policy
- types of information held by the department
- access to information
- disclosure log.
The department makes most of its open access information publicly available on its website and for free. Depending on the circumstances, there may be a fee to access some information such as formal access applications.
Types of information held
The department holds the following types of information:
- policy documents
- disclosure logs
- contracts register (eTendering website)
- annual reports
- news
- documents tabled in Parliament by or on behalf of the department (other than any document tabled by order of either House)
- documents relating to the administration of the department
- documents relating to appointments to various official positions, such as boards and committees
- correspondence
- public registers under Acts administered by the department
- licensing information
- local, regional and state plan-making information
- spatial information, using LiDAR and/or satellite imagery
- reports, fact sheets, guidelines and manuals
- briefings
- submissions
- grants and agreements
- practice notes
- records of meetings with external stakeholders and community members
- board and committee minutes
- funding programs.
The department makes some of the above information publicly available on our websites. You can request access to information that is held by the department and is not available publicly.
For assistance in finding information, you can contact the specific area you are seeking the information from, or alternatively you can contact the Privacy and Access to Information Unit on 02 8275 1095 or gipa.dcceew@environment.nsw.gov.au.
Major assets and value of property disposed of
Under section 18(g) of the GIPA Act and clause 6(2) of the Government Information (Public Access) Regulation 2016, the department is required to provide open access to the following government information:
- a list of the department’s major assets, other than land holdings, appropriately classified and highlighting major acquisitions during the previous financial year
- the total number and total value of properties disposed of by the department during the previous financial year.
The department has not disposed of major assets or properties to be reported in the previous year.
Register of class 3 government contracts
A list of all contracts entered into by the department worth more than $150,000 can be found on the eTendering website.
A list of contracts the department has entered into that have a value of $5 million or more (minus any confidential information such as commercial-in-confidence provisions of the contract), can be found below.
| Contract number | Contract name | Contractee |
|---|---|---|
If no contracts are listed above, the department does not have any class 3 contracts to declare.
List of open access information not disclosed
Under section 6(5) of the GIPA Act, the department must keep a list of any open access information that it has not made publicly available due to an overriding public interest against disclosure.
To date, the department has not withheld any open access information on the grounds of an overriding public interest against disclosure.
Privacy statement
This website is provided and maintained by the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. This privacy statement sets out the department's practices relating to the privacy of your personal information. The department’s privacy practices are regulated by the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) (PPIP ACT), the department’s Privacy Management Plan (PMP), and the department’s Data Breach Policy.
The department will only collect personal information for a lawful purpose that directly relates to our primary function as a NSW Government agency and for obtaining feedback about our services. The department will not collect any more information than is necessary for it to fulfil these functions.
The department will not disclose your personal information to anyone without your consent, unless legally required to do so.
Anyone engaged to collect, store or use personal information for the department will be required to comply with the PPIP Act and the department’s PMP.
Service NSW provides services to some customers of the department on our behalf, including the National Parks and Wildlife Service. This privacy statement, along with the PMP, applies whether services are provided directly by the department or by Service NSW. For more information about Service NSW, visit the website.
Please note that the department does not have any responsibility for the privacy policies or practices of third-party sites linked to this website.
Complaints
If you feel there has been a breach of your privacy under the PPIP Act, you have the right to make a complaint to the department. For more information about your privacy rights, you can visit the Information and Privacy Commission.
More information
For more information about privacy at the department, please contact:
Information Access & Privacy Unit
Locked Bag 5022 Parramatta NSW 2124
Phone: 02 8275 1095
Email: privacy.dcceew@environment.nsw.gov.au
The department complies with the mandatory notification of data breach scheme, which came into effect on 28 November 2023. Our procedures and practices for complying with our obligations under the scheme are set out in our Data Breach Policy and PMP.
Where a breach of privacy has occurred, and the matter has been assessed as likely to cause serious harm to any individual, the department must notify any affected individuals (an ‘eligible data breach’). Where notification is not possible or practical, a public notice must be published and publicised by the department. Any such public notices will also be listed on our website.
There are currently no public notices of eligible data breaches by the department.
What is personal information?
Your personal information relates to you personally and includes any information or opinion made about you. Personal information includes your name, address, phone number, email address or any information from which your identity can be reasonably ascertained.
Personal information is information that identifies you; some examples include:
- a written record which may include your name, address and other details about you\
- electronic records, photographs, images, video or audio footage
- biometric information such as fingerprints, blood and records of genetic material.
What is not personal information?
The PPIP Act excludes certain information from the definition of personal information. The most significant exemptions are:
- information contained in publicly available publications
- information about a person’s suitability for public sector employment
- information about people who have been dead for more than 30 years
- a number of exemptions relating to law enforcement investigations
- matters contained in Cabinet documents.
Storage of your personal information
We will retain the information you have provided for a period that is appropriate for the purpose for which it was provided. Your information will be archived and disposed of in accordance with the department’s policies, legislative requirements and guidelines based on the NSW State Records Act 1998.
The department takes all reasonable steps to protect the security of any personal information held, be it stored in electronic or hard copy format. Physical measures, such as building and equipment security, are used in conjunction with digital technology, such as data encryption and firewalls, to minimise unauthorised access to information.
Disclosure of your personal information
We will not disclose your personal details unless the disclosure is authorised by the PIPP Act and Regulations. Your consent to disclose information for particular purposes may be sought by us or given by yourself for a specific purpose. If appropriate consent is not provided, we may not be able to provide certain products and services to you or your agents.
The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) confers on the public a right to access information held by a government agency, including electronic information like transactions through the web. If information is sought by a third party under the GIPA Act that affects your research, business, commercial, professional or financial interests or your personal information, we will take reasonable steps to seek your views if you are likely to have concerns about the disclosure of the information, before making any decision about releasing the information.
Right of access to your personal information
Under the PPIP Act you have the right to access your personal information held by the department without excessive delay or expense. You also have the right to have your personal information corrected in certain circumstances (e.g. if it is incorrect). Should you wish to access or correct your personal information contact the department’s designated privacy officer at:
Information Access and Privacy Unit
4 Parramatta Square, Locked Bag 5022, Parramatta NSW 2124
Phone: 02 8275 1095
Email: privacy.dcceew@environment.nsw.gov.au
Website data
To help the department improve its website and provide better services to its users, the agency makes a record of your visit and logs the following information:
- the IP (internet protocol) address of the machine that has accessed it
- your top-level domain name (e.g. .com, .gov, .au, .uk, etc.)
- the address of your server
- the date and time of your visit to the site
- the search engine used to locate the site
- the pages accessed and documents downloaded
- the type of browser and operating system you have used.
The department will not disclose or publish information that identifies individual machines, or potentially identifies sub-groupings of addresses, without consent or otherwise in accordance with the PPIP Act.
Cookies and tracking pixels
Some of the department’s sites use cookies and tracking pixels to collect your data, while others do not.
For information on what cookies are, how they work and how to delete them from your computer, you can visit the All About Cookies website.
When website data may be disclosed
The department will collect, use and disclose more extensive information than stated above in the following circumstances:
- unauthorised attempts to access files that are not published in the department’s pages
- unauthorised tampering or interference with files published on the site
- unauthorised attempts by other sites to index the contents of the site
- attempts to intercept messages of other users of the site
- communications that are defamatory, abusive, vilify individuals or groups that give rise to a suspicion that an offence is being committed
- attempts to otherwise compromise the security of the web server, breach the laws of the State of New South Wales or Australia, or interfere with the enjoyment of the site by other users.
The department reserves the right to make disclosures to relevant authorities where the use of this site raises a suspicion that an offence is being, or has been, committed.
We will take reasonable steps to ensure personal information that we keep is accurate, up-to-date, and relevant to the purposes for which it is to be used.
However, you should note that there are situations where we are required by legislation to disclose your personal information, or may be compelled to provide personal information about you to law enforcement agencies, emergency service agencies and other organisations engaged in the planning and provision of services to the community.
The department may publish aggregated information about feedback, to the extent that it does not identify or cannot be used to identify individual users.
Meta pixel use
The department uses Facebook remarketing pixels to aid in customised, targeted follow-up advertising. The department may display interest-based ads to you when you are using Facebook through Facebook’s Custom Audience Tool. This tool allows us to personalise our ads based on your interests, demographics, location and any previous interactions with us.
This website uses the conversion tracking ‘Meta pixel’ to allow us to follow your actions once you have been redirected to the website via clicking on one of our Facebook ads. This assists us in recording the effectiveness of Facebook ads for reporting and market research purposes.
The data collected through the Meta pixel and provided to us is aggregated and remains anonymous, meaning that we cannot see the personal information of the individual user. However, the collected data is also saved and processed by Facebook and used in accordance with Facebook’s Data Use Policy.
The department may also share information about your use of this website and your interactions with our Facebook ads with our trusted social media, advertising and web analytics partners, including Google Analytics.
Facebook conversion tracking also allows Facebook and its partners to show you advertisements on and outside Facebook. A cookie will be saved onto your computer for these purposes.
Please visit Facebook Ad preferences if you wish to revoke your permission.
Information collected from online forms and services
When you submit a form on this website (such as via Feedback or Contact us), or provide information as part of using an online service, we collect information from this activity. This information may include personal and organisational details such as your full name, phone number, business name and ACN details, email address and street address. This information allows us to properly look into an issue you raise, or to respond to your feedback.
Clicking on the ‘submit’ button on the form acts as your consent for the department to collect the information you have provided. Before you submit this information we will take reasonable steps to inform you of:
- where applicable, any law that requires the particular information to be collected
- which fields are mandatory and which are optional.
Online transactions using credit cards
The department understands the security concerns surrounding online financial transactions and has developed a safe and secure environment to address these concerns.
The department does not store credit card details from the listed websites in its computer systems.
The department uses encryption software to protect credit card information and to provide transaction security. This means that all personal information, including your name, address and credit card number, cannot be read as a transaction travels across the internet from your computer to the department’s computers, or from the department’s computers to a bank.
Email management
If you email the department, we will only retain and use your email address for the purpose for which you have provided it. It will not be added to a mailing list without your consent. These email addresses are stored electronically in accordance with standards and authorities under the State Records Act 1998.
If you subscribe to an electronic mailing list, we will only send you information relevant to the purpose or project for which you have provided it. If you have recently completed a submission we reserve the right to provide you with updates about the project, plan and policy et al for which the submission is for.
If you have subscribed to one of the department's online mailing lists or RSS service, you can easily remove your email details from the list by unsubscribing.
We operate in accordance with the Spam Act 2003 and will not send unsolicited electronic messages unless they are permitted by the Act. Under the Spam Act, a government department may send unsolicited emails if they contain only factual information or if they relate to goods or services provided by the department. For more information about the Spam Act go to the ACMA website.
Personal information
When you make a submission to the department we collect your personal information, including:
- name (including title)
- address
- email (if provided)
- IP address (if the submission is made online)
- any other personal information contained in a political donations disclosure statement (if provided)
- any other personal information contained on your submission.
Making a submission is entirely voluntary and you are under no obligation to provide the department with any of your personal information, except as otherwise required by law.
How will your personal information be used when you make a submission?
We may publish some of your personal information online, including:
- your submission
- your name (unless you state that you want your name withheld)
- your suburb
- any political donations disclosure statement.
We may publish any personal information you have included in your submission on a proposal. Do not include any personal information in your submission that you do not want published.
We will use your contact details to send you notifications; for example, where there is a statutory requirement to notify submitters that an application has been determined.
Your submission may be published in reports, or other documents that are produced following the exhibition period.
We may forward your submission to third parties including other public authorities, government agencies, local government, or to an applicant. There are statutory requirements to forward submissions on some applications to these third parties as part of the assessment process.