Website Information
This section contains information about the use of our website.
If you encounter problems, require assistance, or have suggestions on how we can improve this site please email the Digital Design & Operations Team.
Accessibility
Townsville City Council’s websites aim to be inclusive and accessible, especially with visitors who may use assistive technologies.
Our websites are regularly tested with diagnostic and evaluation tools to continually improve performance across all browser, screen and device types.
Wherever possible, we follow the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Townsville City Council aims to achieve compliance with the current WCAG 2.2 Standards, noting that each individual requirement under Level A, AA or AAA of the guidelines is reviewed and an assessment made of whether they are appropriate or applicable to our content.
Our website provides visitors with PageAssist – a tool that gives users the ability to personally customise the way they experience our website and view content.
With PageAssist, visitors can:
- adjust colours, fonts, font size, cursor size, text spacing, default contrast and formatting
- control animations, videos and audio
- highlight specific elements such as headings
- utilise an AI-powered screen reader and keyboard navigation.
Disability and Languages
Council recommends using a third-party screen reader or translation service for people with a disability or if English is a second language.
PDF Documents
Where possible, Townsville City Council has provided information on the website as HyperText Markup Language (HTML) based content or other equally accessible formats. In some cases, however, we do have a range of resources and documents that are provided most efficiently as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file.
Adobe PDF is a universal file format that preserves all of the fonts, formatting, colours, and graphics of any source document, regardless of the application and platform used to create it. Adobe PDF files are compact and can be shared, viewed, navigated, and printed exactly as intended by anyone with the free Adobe Acrobat Software.
Adobe offers a number of resources to aid in accessing PDF documents including an online conversion of PDF documents to plain text or HTML documents, as well as providing free downloads of Adobe Reader.
Where documents are above a file size of 1MB, the file size will accompany the link to that file. Large files are recommended for download only by a broadband connection. All documents can be viewed in person by contacting Council. Where practical, links to PDF documents will also be accompanied by a file type icon and (PDF).
In some circumstances, maintaining documents in PDF format only has been employed by Council due to the nature of the document, and the requirement for preserving its integrity.
Scanned Acrobat Documents
For technical reasons and to meet some legal requirements, this website provides some PDF documents that cannot be provided in HTML or plain text, and subsequently are not accessible via screen reader software. These are usually scanned hard copy documents that have been submitted to Townsville City Council and may also contain a large number of images and diagrams. In most instances, hard copies of these documents are available from Council and this information is provided on relevant pages.
Online Payments
When you choose to make an online payment on our website, you will be redirected to our payments provider, BPOINT*, for the completion of your transaction. Council does not view, store or retain any of your credit card details.
We do provide alternative methods of payment which may include one or more of the following options; face to face, telephone, mailing or paper forms.
* Internet Browsers
Please note that from 22 April 2018, Internet browsers that use TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 are no longer supported by BPOINT to ensure compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS).
You will need to be using one of the below versions of your preferred Internet browser in order to make online payments via BPOINT:
- Chrome v33 and above
- Firefox v34 and above
- Internet Explorer v11 and above
- Safari v8 and above.
Privacy and Security
Council is committed to protecting your privacy. This notice describes our Information Privacy Policy.
By visiting our website, you are accepting the practices described below.
For the purposes of this notice, personal information is any information or opinion (including information or an opinion forming part of a database) about an individual whose identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained from the information or opinion – whether the information or opinion is true or not, and whether or not the information or opinion is recorded in a material form.
- Information Privacy Brochure (PDF, 184.9 KB)
- Information Privacy – Frequently Asked Questions (PDF, 111.1 KB)
For more information and to access a range of useful privacy protection resources, visit the Office of the Information Commissioner’s website.
Automatic Information (“Cookies”)
To improve your experience on our site, we may use 'cookies'. Cookies are an industry standard and most major web sites use them.
A cookie is a small text file that our site may place on your computer as a tool to remember your preferences. Our website uses Google Analytics, a service which transmits website traffic data to Google servers in the United States. Google Analytics does not identify individual users or associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. We use reports provided by Google Analytics to help us understand website traffic and webpage usage.
Social and ad-serving tracking cookies may also be used to track both members and non-members of social networks for additional purposes such as behavioural advertising, analytics, and market research.
Although most browsers automatically accept cookies, you can choose whether or not to accept cookies via your browser's settings (often found in your browser's Tools or Preferences menu). You may also delete cookies from your device at any time. However, please be aware that if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to fully experience some of our websites' features.
Collection of Personal Information
As a visitor to our website, you will not be required to disclose personal information to visit or browse our site unless you voluntarily choose to do so, for example by making a payment, emailing us or choosing to complete a survey.
When you visit our website, the following information is recorded for the purpose of gathering statistics, in order to monitor usage of the website and provide the optimum online service to our customers:
- your IP address
- your operating system, device type and browser type
- the date and time of your visit
- pages accessed and files downloaded
- the time spent on individual pages and the site overall.
The information gathered by us because of your visit to our website will not be used in any way to identify individual users. The information gathered (outlined above) helps us continually improve your experience while visiting our site.
Any personal information will only be stored in the event that you voluntarily provide it to us, such as making an online payment, the completion of an online survey or form, by submitting an email enquiry or maintenance request. This information will be used for the purpose for which it was provided and will not be disclosed to other persons or organisations without your prior approval or if authorised or required by law.
Pages or applications on our website that require you to voluntarily disclose personal information are governed by the below collection notice, or the collection notice that appears at the point of collection e.g. directly above the ‘submit’ button on a specific form.
Collection Notice
Townsville City Council (Council, we, our, us) collects and manages personal information in the course of performing its activities, functions and duties. We respect the privacy of the personal information held by us. The way in which Council manages personal information is governed by the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld). We are collecting your personal information in accordance with Local Government Act 2009 so that we can provide the services, functions and business of Townsville City Council. Except in specific circumstances, we will not disclose your personal information outside of Council unless we are required to do so by law, or unless you have given us your consent to such disclosure.
Where we collect your personal information you will be provided with a specific collection notice outlining the relevant legislation and the purpose for which we are collecting your details within the scope of the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld). For further information about how we manage your personal information please see our Information Privacy Policy.
Conditions of Use, Notices and Revisions
If you choose to visit our website, your visit and any dispute over privacy is subject to this Notice and our legal information, including limitations on damages, arbitration of disputes, and application of the law of the State of Queensland. If you have any concerns about privacy whilst visiting our website, please send a thorough description to webfeedback@townsville.qld.gov.au or alternatively mail to: Head, Digital Design & Operations, Townsville City Council, 103 Walker St, Townsville 4810.
For further information about your privacy, please visit the Right to Information page.
External Websites
From time to time, our website may direct you to external websites which we believe may enhance your experience or provide additional information. Council may not have control over the content on these sites and advises you to view the relevant privacy and security statements for those sites. Linking to the website does not necessarily mean that Council endorses that site or any of its content or affiliates.
Recognising a Secure Site
A "secure" area is recognised by the closed padlock or an unbroken key coming into view in the bottom status bar in your web browser. You can also check to make sure that a valid site certificate is being used. A site certificate is used to validate a site's authority to use SSL and authenticates the website's state of security. This enables you to check the site's validity yourself. You can do this by double clicking on either the closed padlock or the unbroken key.
Other Legal Information
Contracts
This site may only be used for lawful purposes and Council reserves the right to deal or refuse to deal with any user. No contract will be made or deemed to be entered into unless confirmed in writing by Townsville City Council.
Copyright and Intellectual Property
The information contained herein is the property of the Townsville City Council. Information may be downloaded, displayed, printed and copied in an unaltered form only. It is not to be distributed or used for commercial purposes without the written permission of the Chief Executive Officer or duly appointed delegate of the Townsville City Council. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved.
Trademark
All Trademarks displayed on this site are subject to the legal rights of Townsville City Council or the other Trademark owners and the unauthorised use of any Trademark displayed on this site is strictly prohibited.
Website Disclaimer
Whilst we have made every reasonable effort to ensure all the information contained within this site is both accurate and current, users should contact Council if they have any concern in relation to information presented. Council does not accept any liability for any statements or opinion, or for any errors or omissions contained within this site. All users accessing the site are responsible for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its content. Links to other websites are provided purely for convenience and do not constitute endorsement of any material contained within these sites.
No reliance should be placed on information contained or to be implied or inferred from this website without checking out the details with an authorised officer of Townsville City Council.
We reserve the right to monitor all use of Townsville City Council’s computer systems and communication networks through authorised Systems Administrators.
