Privacy Policy

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China ("the Government") is concerned to ensure that all personal data submitted through the website of the Social Welfare Department ("the SWD website") are handled in accordance with the relevant provision of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance. 
(https://www.pcpd.org.hk/english/data_privacy_law/ordinance_at_a_Glance/ordinance.html)

The Government will record visits to the SWD website without collecting any personal identifiable information of users. Such general statistics are collected for the compilation of statistical reports and the diagnosis of problems with or concerning computer systems to help improve the SWD website.

For different purposes and at different times you may be invited to provide personal data to the Social Welfare Department through the SWD website on a voluntary basis. Personal information may include name, telephone number, mailing address or e-mail address. The Social Welfare Department will specify the collection purpose and intended usage of your data when it invites you to provide such information and advise you on how you may request access to or correction of the personal data provided.

Unless permitted or required by law, the Government will not disclose your personal data to any third parties without your prior consent.

The SWD website uses SSL protocol to encrypt data during network transmission to protect your personal data. All personal data you provide to the Social Welfare Department via the SWD website is secured, and access to it is restricted to authorised personnel only.

The search service on the SWD website is provided by an independent contractor of the Government. We are advised by the independent contractor that it does not collect personal identifiable information while serving search results through the SWD website. The independent contractor will share the anonymous data it collects through the search service with the Government for compiling traffic analysis on government websites. The Government will not match the data obtained from any such search activity with any personal data possibly held by the Government.