Last updated: August 2025

Introduction

This Privacy Statement explains how the Public Transport Authority (“PTA”, “us”, “our” or “we”) collects, uses and discloses information collected by us.

Western Australia’s privacy legislation, the Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Act 2024 (WA), received Royal Assent on 6 December 2024 and it is anticipated that the privacy provisions will commence in 2026. The interim privacy position for the Western Australian public sector is that agencies should ensure their actions are consistent with applicable Australian Privacy Principles, set out in Schedule 1 to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) with primary emphasis upon Principle 6 - “use or disclosure of personal information”.

PTA complies with the State’s interim privacy position when dealing with Personal Information and this Privacy Statement is consistent with applicable Australian Privacy Principles to the extent possible.

The information we collect and how it is collected

We only collect personal information for purposes reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, one or more of our functions or activities, or when the information is knowingly or voluntarily provided by an individual.

Generally, you will know if we are collecting your personal information because we will ask you for it. For example, if you submit an online form to contact us or subscribe to receive newsletters, we will ask you to provide your name and contact details. We may also collect personal information from you through:

• Forms.
• Correspondence or interactions in person, online or over the phone.
• Website registration.
• Participation in surveys or questionnaires.
• Online application forms or bookings, but we will only collect the information contained in that application form if you submit the form to us. If you log out of the website or cancel the application before submitting the form, the information you had entered will be automatically deleted. Collection of credit card or debit account details, depending on the application made, in order to provide you with our goods or services
• The “chat” function on our website or via the Transperth mobile application. We will collect any personal information you provide in the chat.
• Online feedback forms.
• Registration and use of a SmartRider or SmartCommuter card. We will collect information relating to your personal details, location, use of public transport and travel concession details.
• Parking at a public transport parking facility. We will collect information relating to your use of the parking facilities and motor vehicle registration details.
• Use of the Transperth mobile application. We will collect information as to your activity, location, telephone number, IP address and any security incident information.
• Closed circuit television (CCTV) video and audio recordings and body camera surveillance. We collect CCTV recordings and body camera footage (worn by our officers) of you when you use our train, bus and ferry services or attend a train, bus or ferry station or are on any property we own or control or the rail reserve.
• Site inductions and working on our property.
• Entering into leases, licences, third party access or other agreements with us.
• Making applications for consent to undertake various activities on our property.

When you access this website, some technical information is collected about your visit. For example:

• your server address;
• your top level domain name (for example .com, .gov, .au, .uk etc.);
• the date and time of your visit to the site;
• the pages you accessed and documents downloaded;
• the previous site you have visited;
• the type of browser you are using; and
• what devices and operating systems you used to access the site.

We may also collect your personal information from publicly available sources, or from third parties who have disclosed that information to us.

Examples of the types of personal information we may collect include:

• a person’s name, address and contact details;
• information about a person’s identity (e.g. date of birth, passport details, drivers’ licence, birth certificates, ATM cards, portrait photograph);
• gender and marital status;
• travel concession details;
• travel details and location information;
• cardholder data;
• bank account details;
• public interest disclosure applications;
• SmartRider and SmartCommuter number;
• vehicle registration number;
• criminal history and working with children checks;
• employment details (including work history, referee comments and remuneration) and employee health details;
• occupation details;
• insurance details;
• educational qualifications;
• government identifiers (e.g. Tax File Number);
• security incident details;
• financial position, organisation details and credit check information;
• telephone and audio recordings;
• internet site and mobile application chats;
• CCTV video surveillance recordings;
• body camera images and recordings;
• social media posts; and
• content of email messages and email addresses of the sender and recipients.

How we use and disclose your personal information

We will generally only use and disclose personal information for the primary purpose for which it was collected. For example, we may use your personal information to administer our services to you, manage our relationship with you, improve our services, respond to your questions or feedback, process a transaction, assist in planning and research, respond to a security incident or send you newsletters, updates, notifications or other PTA related commuter information.

We may also use or disclose your personal information for another purpose, and for a secondary purpose where permitted under the Australian Privacy Principles, for example where:

• you have consented;
• you would reasonably expect us to use or disclose your personal information for the secondary purpose, and that purpose is related to the primary purpose, or, in the case of sensitive information, directly related to the primary purpose;
• required or authorised by or under a Western Australian or Australian law (including the Freedom of Information Act 1992 (WA)) or a court/tribunal order;
• we reasonably believe that the use or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary for one or more enforcement related activities conducted by, or on behalf of, an enforcement body;
• necessary to prevent or lessen a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual, or to public health or safety;
• taking appropriate action in relation to suspected unlawful activity or serious misconduct;
• locating a person reported as missing;
• asserting a legal or equitable claim or defence;
• conducting a confidential alternative dispute resolution process;
• required to take appropriate action in relation to a reported security incident;
• for marketing (including direct marketing) purposes; or
• for research or planning purposes.

We will use CCTV and body camera recordings to:

• deliver our transport services safely and securely;
• deter, detect, prevent, investigate and respond to safety or security incidents on or at our bus, ferry and train services, carparks and stations, the rail reserve and any land we own or control;
• investigate and respond to liability claims on or at our bus, ferry and train services, carparks and stations, the rail reserve and any property we own or control;
• investigate and prosecute breaches of law, fraudulent activities, wrongdoing or infringements on or at our bus, ferry and train services, carparks and stations, the rail reserve and any property we own or control.

We will disclose CCTV and body camera recordings to:

• law enforcement bodies (and their contractors) for their enforcement and investigation activities; and
• legal advisers, insurers and courts for liability claims and prosecutions.

We will disclose materials (including images and audio) from CCTV and body camera recordings for the above purposes.

Your personal information will at all times be managed in accordance with the applicable legislation in Western Australia and retained in accordance with any legal obligation (including the State Records Act 2000).

We may also provide your personal information to other entities including:

• contractors who provide certain services related to our services.
  These services include, but are not limited to, information technology manufacture, supply, maintenance and support, electronic funds transfer services, credit card account processing and related services, call centre support, security services, school bus services, property management, debt collection, review and disclosure of CCTV feeds and recordings and body camera footage, production of cards, marketing, research and planning;
• Ministers and other government departments, agencies or entities;
• our internal and external auditors;
• law enforcement agencies (and their contractors) or regulators;
• emergency services providers;
• research and marketing entities for the purposes of research, marketing and planning; and
• investigators and entities engaged to help identify and investigate improper activities or prevent fraud.

Your personal information may also be shared within our business areas, including Transperth and Transwa.

Use of cookies

When you visit our websites, some statistical information is collected about how you interact with the website. We use cookies to collect this type of information. Cookies are small files that store information on your computer, TV, mobile phone or other device. They enable us to recognise you across different websites, services, devices and/or browsing sessions. We use cookies to deliver content specific to your interests so you do not have to register each time you use the website. You can disable cookies through your internet browser but if you do so, some of the features on our websites may not function fully and your ability to browse, read and download information may be impaired.

We use online tools to gather information about visitors to our website and to help us improve our website and deliver services. We use software provided by third party vendors for this purpose.

Social media

We may also use third-party websites and platforms for interactive sharing and to connect with you. This includes social media platforms, including but not limited to, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

When you browse and make use of our social media platforms, you are using an external site and are therefore subject to the privacy policies and practices of that site. These third-party sites may allow them to use your personal information in ways that will be different to the way we use and disclose your personal information. If you have any questions or concerns regarding that site’s privacy policies and practices, you should review the privacy statement of the relevant site. We do not exercise any control over the management of those sites and do not endorse, and are not accountable for, any views expressed by third parties using or providing those sites.

We may record and monitor information posted to our social media channels and use that information for the purposes of administering the channels, for record keeping, for considering and/or addressing any comments made, for direct marketing and for running competitions and campaigns.

We use Facebook’s Pixel to gather information. It collects data that helps us track conversions from Facebook ads, optimise ads, build targeted audiences for future ads, tailor content and remarket to people. By engaging with us via Facebook, you acknowledge and agree that you also comply with terms and conditions of use of Facebook and that you consent to this use. You can choose to opt out from tailored content through your Facebook settings. However, if you change your settings and are following us on Facebook, you may still see our organic posts.

Disclosure of personal information outside Australia

We may disclose personal information, including contact information and subscription preferences, outside of Australia to third party contractors and suppliers, including in the United States and European Union.

When you provide your personal information to us, you consent to the disclosure of your information outside of Australia. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that any overseas recipient will deal with such personal information in a way that is consistent with this Privacy Statement and the Australian Privacy Principles.

When you communicate with us through a social media network service such as Facebook or Twitter, the network provider and its partners may collect and hold your personal information overseas.

Use of personal information for direct marketing

We may send you direct marketing communications and information about our services. This may take the form of emails, SMS, telephone, mail, social medial platforms or other forms of communication. We may also undertake direct marketing through our media service providers. By accessing this website or any social media platform, you acknowledge that you would reasonably expect us to use or disclose your information for direct marketing purposes and you consent to receiving such marketing communications. In addition, we will only use your information for marketing purposes when we have provided you with a simple means of opting out of receiving further direct marketing from us, and you have not requested that we cease sending you direct marketing communications.

Links

Our website may contain links to websites operated by third parties. Those links are provided for convenience and may not remain current or be maintained. We are not responsible for, and do not endorse or otherwise approve, the content, privacy policies or practices of third party websites that are linked on PTA websites, and we have no control over or rights in those linked websites. The privacy policies that apply to those other websites may differ substantially from this Privacy Statement. If you follow a link to another website from a PTA website, we recommend that you read the privacy statement or policy of that other website to understand what it does with your information.

Security and retention

We have taken all reasonable steps to implement the appropriate security policies, rules, measures and patches to protect your personal information that we have under our control from misuse, interference and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Personal information is securely stored by us and by third parties on our behalf. For example, fire walls and virus protection software are in place to protect our systems and data.

The retention and destruction of records of personal information held by the Western Australian Government is governed by the State Records Act 2000 and supporting policies and procedures. We take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify all personal information that is no longer required to be retained.

Access and correction

You may request access to documents that contain your personal information which are in our possession. You may also request the correction of documents which we hold that contain your personal information if you believe that personal information is inaccurate, irrelevant, misleading, incomplete or out of date. In some cases, your request will be dealt with in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 1992.

Please contact us via the details below for further information.

Contact us

If you have any questions relating to privacy, please contact us by

• email: Privacy@pta.wa.gov.au; or
• using the Contact Us page on our website.

Terms of use - Transperth website and applications

Your use of the Transperth website or applications constitutes your agreement to these terms of use.

You acknowledge that Transperth’s Online Chat Services is only available to registered Transperth application account holders.

No unlawful or prohibited use

You may not use the Transperth website or applications for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms, in any manner which could damage, disable, overburden, or impair, or interfere with any other party's use and enjoyment of, the Transperth website or applications. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available or provided for through the Transperth website or applications.

Use of communication services

The Transperth website or applications may contain bulletin board services, chat areas, news groups, forums, communities, personal web pages, calendars, and/or other message or communication facilities designed to enable you to communicate with the public at large, with a group, or with Transperth direct (“Communication Services”). You agree to use the Communication Services only to post, send and receive messages and material that are proper and related to the particular Communication Service. By way of example, and not as a limitation, you agree that when using a Communication Service, you will not:

• Defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity) of others.
• Publish, post, upload, distribute or disseminate any false, misleading and deceptive, inappropriate, profane, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent or unlawful topic, name, material or information. Where you have submitted a security incident report, you will not copy or otherwise reproduce any responses received from Transperth, and publish, post, upload, distribute or disseminate those responses, without first obtaining Transperth’s prior written consent, which may be withheld at its absolute discretion.
• Upload files that contain software or other material protected by intellectual property laws (or by rights of privacy of publicity) unless you own or control the rights thereto or have received all necessary consents.
• Upload files that contain viruses, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another’s computer.
• Advertise or offer to sell or buy any goods or services for any business purpose, unless such Communication Service specifically allows such messages.
• Conduct or forward surveys, contests, pyramid schemes or chain letters.
• Download any file posted by another user of a Communication Service that you know, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally distributed in such manner.
• Falsify or delete any author attributions, legal or other proper notices or proprietary designations or labels of the origin or source of software or other material contained in a file that is uploaded.
• Restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying the Communication Services.
• Violate any code of conduct or other guidelines which may be applicable for any particular Communication Service.
• Harvest or otherwise collect information about others, including e-mail addresses, without their consent.
• Violate any applicable laws or regulations.

Transperth has no obligation to monitor the Communication Services. However Transperth reserves the right to review materials posted to a Communication Service and to remove any materials in its sole discretion. Transperth reserves the right to terminate or restrict your access to any or all of the Communication Services at any time without notice for any reason whatsoever.

Transperth reserves the right at all times to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request, or to edit, refuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, in Transperth’s sole discretion.

Materials uploaded to a Communication Service may be subject to posted limitations on usage, reproduction and/or dissemination. You are responsible for adhering to such limitations if you download the materials.