AusBarbers

Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 1 March 2025

1. Introduction

Welcome to the Australian Barber Shop Platform ("we", "our", "us"). We are committed to protecting your privacy and complying with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) ("Privacy Act") and the Australian Privacy Principles ("APPs"). This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and manage your Personal Information.

2. Definitions

"Personal Information" has the meaning given under the Privacy Act: information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not, and whether it is recorded in a material form or not.

3. Information We Collect

We collect various types of information, including:

  • Account information: Name, email address, phone number, and physical address.
  • Business information (for merchants): ABN, business name, services offered, and staff details.
  • Transaction data: Payment history via Stripe, booking records, and service preferences.
  • Technical data: IP address, device information, browser type, cookies, and usage data.
  • Location data: Used for directory search and map features.
  • Communications: Chat messages, support tickets, reviews, and feedback.
  • AI-generated data: Scraped business public data for directory listings, and SEO metadata.

4. How We Collect Information

We collect information in several ways:

  • Directly from you when you register, make a booking, claim a business, or contact us.
  • Automatically through our platform using cookies and tracking technologies.
  • From third parties, such as public directories, payment processors, and authentication providers.

5. Purpose of Collection

In accordance with APP 6, we collect, hold, use, and disclose Personal Information for the following purposes:

  • To provide and operate our platform, including facilitating bookings and processing payments.
  • To maintain and update business directory listings.
  • To communicate with you regarding your account, bookings, or support inquiries.
  • To improve our services, analyze usage trends, and enhance user experience.
  • To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

6. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track activity on our platform. This includes session cookies for maintaining state, JSON Web Tokens (JWT) for authentication, and third-party cookies for analytics and advertising (such as Google AdSense). You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies, but doing so may limit your ability to use some portions of our platform.

7. Third Party Service Providers

We may share your information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our platform:

  • Stripe: For secure, PCI DSS compliant payment processing and subscription management.
  • Google: For Maps integration, Google AdSense (advertising), OAuth (authentication), and Gemini AI (content generation).
  • OneSignal: For delivering push notifications.
  • Resend: For transactional and marketing email delivery services.
  • Floot: For secure hosting and backend infrastructure.

8. Disclosure of Information

We may disclose your Personal Information to our employees, contractors, and third-party service providers as outlined above. We only disclose information for the primary purpose of collection or a related secondary purpose as permitted by APP 6, or where required or authorized by Australian law.

9. Data Security

We take reasonable steps to protect your Personal Information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorized access, modification, or disclosure. This includes implementing encryption, secure access controls, and robust JWT session management.

10. Data Retention

We retain your Personal Information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, or as required by law. When no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify the information securely.

11. Your Rights Under Australian Law

Under APP 12 and APP 13, you have the right to request access to the Personal Information we hold about you and to request its correction if you believe it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading. You can manage your information directly via your account settings or by contacting us.

12. Marketing Communications

In compliance with the Spam Act 2003 (Cth), we will only send you direct marketing communications if you have consented or if there is a reasonable expectation. You may opt out of receiving marketing communications at any time using the unsubscribe link provided in our emails or by adjusting your account settings.

13. Children's Privacy

Our platform is not intended for use by individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children. If we become aware that we have collected such information without verifiable parental consent, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

14. Notifiable Data Breaches

We comply with the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme under the Privacy Act. In the event of an eligible data breach that is likely to result in serious harm to any individual to whom the information relates, we will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required by law.

15. Cross-Border Data Transfers

In accordance with APP 8, we may disclose Personal Information to overseas recipients, such as our third-party service providers (e.g., Stripe, Google) who may process data outside of Australia. We take reasonable steps to ensure these recipients do not breach the APPs in relation to your information.

16. Changes to Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date at the top. Significant changes may also be communicated via email or platform notification.

17. How to Make a Complaint

If you believe we have breached the APPs or have concerns about our privacy practices, please contact us first using the details below. We will investigate your complaint and respond within a reasonable timeframe (usually 30 days). If you are not satisfied with our response, you may escalate your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au.

18. Contact Information

For any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy or your Personal Information, please contact our Privacy Officer at:

Email: privacy@ausbarbers.com.au