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    Privacy at the University of Sydney

    In this Privacy and Collection Notice for the website or app, 'us', 'we' and 'our' means the University of Sydney and ‘you’ or ‘user’ means you as an individual or other legal entity that accesses or uses the website or app.

    General information about the University of Sydney, ABN 15 211 513 464, our Privacy Policy 2017 (and Privacy Procedures 2018), Privacy Statement and other important information about our obligations to you and how we collect, use, store and may disclose your personal information is publicly available on the University of Sydney website (access our Privacy Policy and Privacy Statement here).  You can also access this information by contacting us.

    We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).  As a NSW public university, our primary privacy obligations are set out in the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW) (‘Privacy Laws’).  

    We have security measures in place to safeguard personal information from misuse, and unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure, including those in our Cyber Security Policy 2019 (pdf, 218KB) and the Acceptable Use of ICT Resources Policy 2019 (243KB). We retain your personal information in accordance with our Recordkeeping Policy 2017 and any applicable data management plans for this website or app.  We assess and respond to privacy/security incidents and notify affected individuals and regulators where required under applicable schemes (including NSW’s Mandatory Notification of Data Breach Scheme and, where appropriate, the federal Notifiable Data Breaches scheme). (‘Data Security’)

    We reserve the right to update this Privacy and Collection Notice to reflect changes in the law or to the content and resources made available on our website or app. The “Last updated” date of this Privacy and Collection Notice appears below.

    Last updated:  1 October 2025

    How to Contact Us

    To contact us about our Privacy and Collection Notice for this website or app, to ask us a question, provide feedback, make a complaint, or unsubscribe from a mailing list, you can contact us by:

    Please do not contact us in an emergency or if you need emergency support. 

    • In an emergency call triple zero (000) immediately for an ambulance or the police.
    • If you need emergency support, please call Lifeline (13 11 14) or 13 YARN, which are free and confidential 24-hour crisis helplines.

    IMPORTANT: You have the right to complain if you think we have breached your privacy in the way we have handled your personal information. Complaints, also known as applications for internal review, should be made in writing to us within six (6) months from when you first become aware of the breach.

    Collection Notice: Data and Personal Information

    The Cracks in the Ice website or app aims to provide evidence-based information and resources about crystal ('ice') for the Australian community.  The website and app is free to access and available 24/7, anywhere in Australia and are intended for community members, families & friends, people who use ice, health workers, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (the ‘website’ or ‘app’). 

    The website or app, has been created by the Cracks in the Ice team based at The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, a Centre of the University of Sydney with funding from The Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Its creation was informed by input from from over 500 members of the Australian community (including people with lived experience and health workers), and was developed in collaboration by researchers from: The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, at the University of Sydney (formerly known as the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Mental Health and Substance Use, at the University of New South Wales); The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), University of New South Wales; and The National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University.

    The website is owned and managed by the University of Sydney.  We may rely on third-party service providers to assist us with the website or app or its resources.  If we rely on third-party service providers, we will let you know in this Collection Notice.

    This Collection Notice applies to all users of the website or app.  It explains how we collect, use, store, and may disclose, your data and personal information when you use our website or app, and its resources.  When we refer to ‘data’, ‘personal information’ and ‘resources’ we mean the following:

    • Data means data, datasets, databases, results, and other information.
    • Personal information is understood by referring to the Privacy Laws. It means any information or an opinion about a person whose identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained from the information or opinion.  It includes health information and genetic information and may be in various formats (e.g. text, numbers, sound, image, video). 
    • Resources includes any content that we may make available to you via our website or app such as e-newsletters, electronic or hardcopy mail outs of educational materials, webinars, forms, messaging platforms, online forums and communities.

    When you access and use our website or app and its resources, you consent to us collecting, using, storing and disclosing your data and personal information as set out in this Collection Notice.  If you do not consent, please do not access or use this website or app, and its resources.

    IMPORTANT:

    • We will disclose your data or personal information if it is required by law or regulators, but only to the extent necessary to comply with the law or a regulator’s request. We may also disclosure your data or personal information to third party service providers and our professional advisors (e.g. legal, ICT, cybersecurity) if reasonably necessary for them to provide their services or advice.
    • We may report website usage and reach metrics to the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing as the funder of the website or publish these metrics on our website (these metrics are de-identified and aggregated i.e. not able to identify you personally);
    • We do not use your data or personal information for commercial (for profit) purposes.
    • We do not use your data or personal information for our research purposes without your express written consent. Any research that uses your data or personal information is subject to human research ethics committee approvals, is governed by strict research protocols and requires your express written consent for us to use your data or personal information if you chose to participate in one of our research studies.

    Disclaimer

    This website or app and its resources are designed for use in Australia.  Users that are in countries outside of Australia who access and use this website or app, and its resources, do so at their own risk and acknowledge that this Collection Notice applies to their access and use.  We may refuse to provide you with access to our resources, or may grant access subject to certain conditions, if you are in a country outside of Australia.

    Data

    You will automatically generate website analytics data when you access or use our website or app.  We use website analytics data to understand how people navigate our website or app and use the resources available.  Website analytics data helps us to improve our website or app for users.  This data is only analysed and used by us in an aggregated form (not individual level) and does not include personal information. 

    This website or app may collect the following website analytics data:

    • via cookies (a small data file stored on your device which allows us to recognise your browser on subsequent visits, you can adjust your browser settings to block or delete cookies), analytics and online tracking tools that log technical data like IP addresses, pages viewed, documents downloaded, and timestamps; and
    • by our third-party service providers to assist us with the website or app or its resources (for more information see about our third-party service providers below).

    As at the last update of this Privacy and Collection Notice, this website or app automatically collects the following data:

    • IP address, data and time of visit to the website or app, the pages on the website or app that are visited and the documents that are downloaded, and type of browser used

    Personal Information

    It may be necessary to provide your personal information so we can engage with you or provide you with access our resources.  Providing us with your personal information is voluntary.  

    • If you do provide us with your personal information, it must be accurate (and not misleading or false). 
    • You may interact with us anonymously or use a pseudonym if we consider it is feasible in the circumstances. 
    • If you do not provide your personal information, we may not be able to communicate with you or provide you with access to our resources.

    • Why and how do we collect your personal information?

      That depends on how you engage with us or access our resources. 

      We may collect the following personal information about you:

      • First name, last name, email address, phone number, street address (for mail out of hard copy resources only), organisation, occupation/profession, country and postcode of residence and the username entered if applicable.

      This type of personal information is defined as ‘Highly Protected’ according to the University of Sydney’s Cybersecurity Standard – Data Classification (2020).

      We will collect your personal information if you provide it to us for the following purposes:

      • Ordering hard copy resources;
      • Subscribing to our mailing list;
      • Registering for our webinars;
      • Submitting questions, complaints or feedback if you Contact Us (including via our website contact form); and
      • Registering for webinars and surveys.

    • How do you use my personal information?

      We will use your personal information for the following purposes:

        • For mailing out hard copy resources (if you order them);
        • For our e-mail outs (if you subscribe to our mailing list or register for our webinars, you can unsubscribe via the link at the bottom of emails or by Contacting Us);
        • For responding to your questions, complaints or feedback if you Contact Us; and
        • For our webinars (if you register for them).

    • How long do we keep your personal information?

      We will keep your personal information using a layered security approach that includes:

      • storage on the University’s Research Data Store (‘RDS’) with restricted role based-access and access protocols (multi-factor authentication, staff ID and password controls); and
      • governance and oversight by the responsible website or app project team (informed by a privacy impact assessment and managed according to a current data management plan & protocol).

      We only keep your personal information for as long as reasonably necessary according to the purpose for which it was collected and the following retention schedule:

      • Three (3) years for personal information stored in our RDS; and
      • Unlimited for de-identified/aggregate data which may be used for our general purposes such as website or app reporting metrics.

      IMPORTANT:  Please note that we do not control (and are not responsible for) the security and data retention policies of our third-party service providers.  Our third party service providers may store or process information in countries outside Australia.  We take reasonable steps to ensure we use reputable third-party service providers that manage and protect your information to the same or similar standards as the Privacy Laws in Australia.  For information about third party service providers that we use for this website or app, please see the details below.

    • Do you share my personal information?

      We will disclose your personal information if required by law or regulators, but only to the extent necessary to comply with the law or a regulator’s request.  We may also disclose information to our third-party service providers.  

    • How do I access or correct my personal information?

      You can request access to, or correction of, your personal information by contacting us (see How to contact us). We will endeavour to acknowledge your request within two (2) business days (for non-urgent requests) and respond within a reasonable timeframe, typically within 30 days. If we refuse a request (e.g., due to legal reasons), we’ll inform you of the reason and provide instructions on how to file a complaint.

    • Do you use third-party service providers?

      For this website or app, we use the following third-party service providers and depending on your interactions with us, your personal information may be stored or processed by:

      • University of Sydney Research Data Store (RDS): For secure data processing and storage in the University of Sydney’s servers located in Australia, of project files up to a maximum of 3 years unless otherwise notified (including the Quality Improvement Register (QIR), webinar registration details exported from Zoom, webinar feedback, Qualtrics surveys, booklet orders);
      • Netfront: Website hosting, managing website usage data collected by Google Analytics for the Cracks in the Ice team’s reporting purposes (to assess website usage and reach metrics which may be reported to the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing as the funder of the website or published on the website) and booklet order details (storage for 3 years). Netfront’s servers for data processing and storage are located in Australia.
      • Zoom: For webinar registrations/hosting (registration data retained by Zoom up to 180 days before export/deletion). Zoom users complete their registration in a customised Zoom online page and data managed in line with Zoom’s privacy statement (https://www.zoom.com/en/trust/privacy/privacy-statement/). Zoom’s servers for data processing and storage for the University of Sydney’s licence are located in Australia;  
      • Qualtrics: For online surveys is managed in line with Qualtrics’ privacy statement (https://www.qualtrics.com/privacy-statement/) and deleted from Qualtrics after exporting to the RDS. Qualtric’s servers for data processing and storage are located in Australia;
      • Mailchimp: E-newsletter subscriber lists and mail-outs. MailChimp’s servers are located in the United States of America and data is retained in accordance with their Privacy Statement: https://www.intuit.com/privacy/statement/) ;
      • Rothfield: Distributor for managing hard copy booklet order details (storage for a maximum of 5 years) in accordance with their Privacy Policy (https://rothfield.com.au/privacy-policy/) including as needed to the distributor. Rothfield’s servers for data processing and storage are located in Australia; and
      • Google Analytics: Website usage data for reporting purposes (managed by Netfront, see above). Google Analytics 4 (or GA4) collects website usage data in accordance with Google’s Privacy Policy. This data is stored by Google on servers located in the United States of America and the European Union. Website user data is retained for a default period of 2 months and is limited to a maximum period of 14 months, after which it is automatically and permanently deleted (more information here). Google Analytics 4 does not collect or store any personally identifiable information (PII) such as email addresses, mailing addresses, phone numbers, full names or usernames which is under Google’s Terms of Service.

      Please note that if you engage with our website or app through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky and/or X, the privacy policies and data collection of those platforms will apply.

    Summary of updates - October 2025

    • We updated the How to Contact us section to clarify how you to ask us a question, provide feedback, make a complaint, or unsubscribe from a mailing list.
    • We provided more general information about Privacy at the University of Sydney, as the website has been created by the (project) team based at The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, a Centre of the University of Sydney
    • We provided definitions of what we mean by ‘data’, ‘personal information’ and ‘resources’
    • We included a Disclaimer that the website and resources are designed for use in Australia.
    • We included more details in Personal Information about why and how we use your data, your rights to access or correct personal information and how we share data with third-party service providers.
    Page last reviewed: Friday, 10 October 2025