The Council for Geoscience website subscribes to and complies with the voluntary privacy principles contained in the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act(no. 25 of 2002).

1. Status, application and amendment

1.1. This privacy policy forms part of the terms and conditions of use of this website and is incorporated in such terms and conditions of use.

1.2. The privacy statement applies to the Council for Geoscience and any legal entity which controls, verifies or makes use of information that may be collected via this site.

2. Collection of personal data

2.1. Where a user submits personal information (such as his/her name, telephone number and e-mail address) to the site, for example by sending an e-mail, subscribing to a service or filling in required fields, the following principles are observed in handling that information:

2.1.1. This website collects, processes and stores only such personal information regarding users as is necessary to provide the services offered. The specific purpose for which information is collected is apparent from the context in which it is requested.

2.1.2. This website will not use the personal information submitted for any other purpose other than the efficient provision of services, including this website and services offered through it by third parties, without obtaining the prior written approval of the user or unless required to do so by law.

2.1.3. This website will keep records of all personal information collected and the specific purpose for which it was collected for a period of at least one year from the date on which it was last used.

2.1.4. This website will not disclose any personal information regarding a user to any third party unless the prior written agreement of the user is obtained or the website is required or permitted to do so by law.

2.1.5. If information is released with the user’s consent, this website will retain a record of the information released, the third party whom the information was released, the reason for the release and the date of release, for a period of one year.

2.1.6. This website will destroy or delete any personal information under its control that has become obsolete.

2.2. Note that, as permitted by the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, this website may use personal information collected to compile profiles for statistical purposes. It will not be possible to link the information contained in the profiles or statistics to any specific user.

3.1. Regarding data messages, including e-mail messages, sent by users to the website owner — in order to provide the best possible and most relevant service, this website may use standard technology such as cookies or web beacons to collect information about the use of this site. This technology is not able to identify individual users, but simply allows this website to collect statistics.

3.2. This website utilises session or temporary cookies. A cookie is a small file that is placed on the user’s hard drive in order to keep a record of his/her interaction with this website. Session cookies are deleted once the user closes the browser.

3.2.1. Cookies from this website allow the website owner to tailor services to users’ displayed preferences.

3.2.2. Cookies by themselves cannot be used to personally identify users but will be used to compile anonymised statistics relating to use of services offered or to provide the Council for Geoscience with feedback on the performance of this website.

3.3. If a user does not wish cookies to be employed to customise his/her interaction with this website, it is possible to alter the manner in which their browser handles cookies. Please note that, if this is done, certain services on this website may not be available.

4. Access to personal data

4.1. If personal information has been submitted to this website, users who wish to review their personal information may do so by requesting such a review by submitting a request to webmaster@geoscience.org.za. Users will then be able to access their user profile, correct and update their details, or unsubscribe at any time.

4.2. Users who experience any difficulty in accessing their profiles, or would like to request a copy of their personal information should contact the Webmaster via webmaster@geoscience.org.za. In all cases, the Council for Geoscience will treat requests to access information or change information in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

5. Links to other websites

5.1. The Council for Geoscience has no control over and accepts no responsibility for the privacy practices of any third party sites to which hyperlinks may have been provided and we strongly recommend that users first review the privacy policy of any site they visit before using it further.

6. No agreement

6.1. Nothing contained herein creates or is intended to create a contract or agreement between the Council for Geoscience and any user visiting the website.

7. Queries

7.1. User queries about this privacy policy can be directed to the Council for Geoscience via info@geoscience.org.za.

Date of last review: 01 December 2010