These terms and conditions apply to any use of the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas website and any associated mobile applications including VBA Go. You are advised to read these terms and conditions carefully. If you do not accept these terms and conditions, you must refrain from using the website.
If you do accept these terms and conditions, click "I Agree" when you login either as a guest or when you register in order to access the website. By doing so, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and accept these terms and conditions of use.
Terminology
In these terms and conditions, the expressions "we", "us" and "our" are a reference to the Government of the State of Victoria, Australia, acting through the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA). A reference to "this web site" is a reference the VBA application that references the DEECA owned and managed Victorian Biodiversity Atlas database.
Use of Information
Public access and use of this data is granted in accordance with the DataVic access policy:
- to enable public access to government data to support research and education, promote innovation, support improvements in productivity and stimulate growth in the Victorian economy
- to enhance sharing of, and access to, information-rich resources to support evidence-based decision making in the public sector
- data will be made available unless access is restricted for reasons of privacy, public safety, security and law enforcement, public health, and compliance with the law.
All material provided on this website is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence, except:
- any images or branding, including the Victorian Coat of Arms and the Victorian Government logo
- content supplied by third parties
Use of the website is open to all. Guest Users, are users who have not registered with this website and will have limited access to the data, being provided with only summary reports (Guest Users). Registered Users are users who have registered with this website and will have full access to all published data and their own unpublished records. Records deemed restricted will have denatured site information unless you have permission to view restricted records (Registered Users).
Restricted records
A number of records are considered sensitive by us. These records have been flagged as restricted, the list of taxa they relate to are within the VBA application’s downloadable Species Checklist, identified in the Restricted_Flag field. Access to these restricted records can be requested from vba.help@deeca.vic.gov.au.
You must not allow the restricted records to be identified to the public. When releasing information products you must aggregate or flag the information product as "confidential" / "sensitive" (or similar), to ensure this information does not go on public display.
Copyright and Intellectual property
All material provided on this website is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence, except:
- any images or branding, including the Victorian Coat of Arms and the Victorian Government logo
- content supplied by third parties
We are responsible for maintaining and updating the database and distributing the data and material through the database. The copyright owners are responsible for maintaining and updating their own data.
Registered Users that upload data and copyrighted material agree to granting the state a flexible licence (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence) which is a non-exclusive, worldwide royalty free and perpetual licence, subject to the attribution requirements applicable to the VBA.
Attribution
Material obtained from this website must be attributed as:
Data Source: 'Victorian Biodiversity Atlas', © Copyright State Government of Victoria, (accessed [month, year]).
Third-party copyright
In some cases, a third party may hold copyright in material presented on this website. Their permission may be required to use the material.
This data is denoted in the VBA as ‘Licenced data’ and is applicable to datasets where there is a distinct contract and conditions of use specific to the copyright owners. Further details about the datasets covered by third party copyright can be requested from vba.help@delwp.vic.gov.au
The user warrants to us that any Intellectual Property provided by the user and embodied in the data is the sole property of the user and the user is legally entitled to use the Intellectual Property.
For the purposes of these terms and conditions, Intellectual property is a term used to describe the results of intellectual activity and creative effort. Intellectual property assets are intangible, and their economic value exists largely in the set of exclusive rights that an owner has in the asset.
Intellectual property may be protected through copyright, trademarks, patents, designs, circuit layouts and plant breeder’s rights.
Disclaimer
We will ensure that the website, information, data and content is valid and verified however, we give no assurances as to the reliability, accuracy, adequacy, completeness or authenticity of the website or to any information, data or content contained in the website. In no event will we, our agents, instrumentalities and employees be liable or responsible for the reliability, accuracy or authenticity of the information, data or content that is contained in or appears on the website.
The content and information is provided on the basis that it is the responsibility of all persons accessing the website to assess and make their own decision about the accuracy, currency, reliability, relevance and correctness of the information, data and content found on the website.
DEECA reserves the right to amend, delete or change the website or any information, data or content contained in the website at anytime at its absolute discretion.
There is no warranty that the site will be free of infections by viruses or any other manifesting, contaminating or destructive properties.
You acknowledge that the website and the data may contain errors and omissions and you use the website and the data at your own risk.
The views, information, data and opinions expressed on this website do not necessarily reflect our views, or have our endorsement, or indicate DEECA's commitment to a particular course of action. This website may be of assistance to you but we and our employees do not guarantee that the website is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes.
We do not guarantee that this website will be available for use at all times. The website may be offline at anytime at our absolute discretion. We reserve the right to shut down this website at anytime, for any reason at our absolute discretion without notice.
DEECA will not be liable or responsible to the user in contract, in tort (including negligence), under statute, by cross claim or otherwise, in respect of any loss, damage, injury, claim, action or expense (including legal expense) or other consequence including but not limited to consequential or indirect loss or damage, loss of profit or anticipated profit, business interruption losses, production losses or loss of revenue which any user suffers as a direct or indirect result of the use of or reliance on the web site, any linked website, the information, data or content contained in or entered into the website, the performance of the website, any delay in performance or its non-performance, any infections by viruses or any other manifesting, contaminating or destructive properties, or any error (whether negligent or not) in connection with the web site.
Warnings
You must take your own precautions to ensure that the process which you employ for accessing this web site does not expose you to the risk of viruses or other form of interference which may damage your own computer system. For the avoidance of doubt, we do not accept responsibility for any interference or damage to your own computer system which arises in connection with your accessing of this website or any linked web site.
You will ensure that the information and data you provide does not contain any viruses, infections, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots any other manifesting, contaminating or destructive properties or other computer programming routines that may damage, adversely interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information. You also must not insert misleading, incorrect, false, obscene, offensive or explicit user names or other information, details or data into the website.
Data in the website is regularly updated. Users should make sure they are using the most up to date information by checking the publication date which is clearly displayed on the website.
These terms and conditions contain the entire understanding between the parties (DEECA and the user) as to the subject matter contained in it. All previous agreements, representations, warranties, explanations and commitments, expressed or implied, affecting this subject matter are superseded by this document and have no effect.
Any provision of these terms and conditions which is invalid or unenforceable is to be read down, if possible, so as to be valid and enforceable, and, if that is not possible, the provision shall, to the extent that it is capable, be severed to the extent of the invalidity or unenforceability, without affecting the remaining provisions.
Linked Web Sites
VBA is accessible to all parties via the following websites:
https://vba.biodiversity.vic.gov.au
Victorian Biodiversity Atlas (environment.vic.gov.au)
These web sites may contain links to linked web sites. Those links are provided for convenience only and may not remain current or be maintained.
We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices associated with linked web sites.
Our links to linked web sites should not be constructed as any endorsement, approval, recommendation, or preference by us of the owners or operators of those linked web sites, or for any information, graphics, materials, products or services referred to on those linked web sites.
How we handle emails
We will preserve the content of any email you send us if we believe we have the legal requirement to do so. Your email message content may be monitored by us for troubleshooting or maintenance purposes or if any form of email abuse is suspected.
Security of Information
Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed as totally secure. Whilst we strive to protect such information, we do not warrant and cannot ensure the security of any information which you transmit to us. Accordingly, any information which you transmit to us is transmitted at your own risk. Nevertheless, once we receive your transmission, we will take reasonable steps to preserve the security of such information.
Data and Systems Integrity
You acknowledge that we will not be responsible for any corruption or failed transmission of any information attributable to your computer system or to the system or any act or omission of your Internet Service Provider.
You agree that you will not use any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the service or this site.
You acknowledge that:
- access to the service or our web site:
may not be continuous, uninterrupted or secure at all times;
may be interfered with by factors or circumstances outside of our control; - the website may be offline at any time at our absolute discretion; and
- we reserve the right to shut down this website at any time, for any reason at our absolute discretion without notice.
Indemnity
You agree to indemnify us including our agents and employees against any claim, demand, costs, losses, expenses (including legal expense) or damages, which we suffer due to, or arising out of or in connection with, your breach or failure to comply with these terms and conditions or your infringement of any rights of a third party.
Termination of Access
We reserve the right to control access to the website. We may refuse any user entry to the website and may terminate any user's access to the website at any time for any reason without notice. Without limiting the foregoing, we reserve the right to cancel the access of individual users who are in breach of any of these terms and conditions, or who refuse to accept any alteration to the terms and conditions (including, without limitation, the reclassification of free reports so that they become the subject of a charge). Our disclaimer will survive any such termination.
Compliance with Laws and Policies
We will comply with all laws applicable to this service.
You will comply with all laws that apply to you in relation to your use of the website or your use of the information, data or content contained in the web site.
Governing Law
These terms and conditions are governed by the laws in force in the State of Victoria, Australia.
Variations
We reserve the right to amend and vary these terms and conditions at our absolute discretion without the need to provide you with any notice.
Privacy and Security Statement
We are committed to protecting your personal information consistently with principles set out in the Victorian Information Privacy Act 2000.
If you have any queries about our privacy policy please contact us at Privacy (deeca.vic.gov.au)
We deliver content and data on behalf of a number of users including members of the public.
Collection of Personal and other information
We collect personal information (such as your e-mail address, name, home or work address or telephone number) that you provide. Personal information supplied by you when registering and entering your records is collected and used for the purposes of validating the records, including sharing to any user of the website your name next to data you have inserted, noting your intellectual property in those records and to allow our expert reviewers and our administrator to validate and verify your records submitted. The system will convey any comments (about unconfirmed records) submitted by you through an automated response using your preferred contact information to ask for further information regarding your record, e.g. if the taxon is new to an area or if further details are required. If you do not provide the required personal information you cannot be a Registered User.
We may also request you to provide certain personal information that is necessary for the function or activity of this website. For example, you will ordinarily be asked for your name and contact information.
Users of the website that upload data into the website agree and acknowledge that their name will be clearly visible and noted as the source of the data, next to the data that they upload into the website, to all users of the website.
Security
We will take all reasonable actions necessary to protect your personal details with respect to confidentiality, misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modifications, disclosure and security of data. Personal details are stored within a secure password protected environment.
As some of the website pages are displayed inside 'web frames', you will not see the closed padlock symbol when using Netscape or the key symbol when using Microsoft Internet Explorer. This is because the independent navigation 'web frames' surrounding the pages do not utilise SSL. This in no way affects the level of security offered by SSL.
Your right to access and correct personal records
Account holders have the opportunity to update and amend information held by us. This information is only accessible through a user-created "User Name" and "Password".
If you believe we hold personal information about you, you can ask for a copy of your personal data by sending an email to vba.help@deeca.vic.gov.au or by writing to us at VBA Help, Biodiversity Division, DEECA, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne VIC 3002. You can ask us to correct, update or amend the information we hold about you. Before we send you any personal data, you will need to provide evidence of your identity. If you do not provide evidence of your identity, we reserve the right to refuse access to the personal information held.
Cookies
This website uses 'cookies' (small data files) that are sent to your web browser. Cookies may give the server information about a computer's identity and website visiting patterns and preferences but do not collect personal information.
Most features of the site can be used without accepting cookies. Some interactive features utilise cookies to establish a unique link between your browser and our service to enable delivery of the service. Once you have finished your visit the cookie is removed from your browser. No personal information is collected or maintained through the use of the cookie.
Page last updated: 21/10/24