Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how aussietradesdirectory.com.au, a service operated under Greenhost (“we”, “us”, “our”), handles your personal information. We are bound by the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) where applicable, and we aim to follow equivalent principles for users outside Australia.

1. Who we are

aussietradesdirectory.com.au is an online directory connecting Australian customers with licensed tradespeople. The service is operated under Greenhost. When this policy refers to “the directory” or “the service”, it means the website at aussietradesdirectory.com.au and any associated features.

2. What information we collect

We only collect personal information we need to run the directory. The categories are:

2.1 Account information

• Your name
• Email address (used for login, verification and account correspondence)
• A hashed password (we never store passwords in plain text)
• The date you registered and your most recent sign-in time

2.2 Business listing information (for tradies)

• Business name, tagline and description
• Contact details you publish (phone, public email, website)
• Trade categories and service areas
• Optional credentials: ABN, licence number and issuing state/territory, public liability insurance confirmation
• Optional media: logo, cover image, portfolio photos
• Hourly rate range and years of experience

2.3 Reviews

• Reviewer name and email address (email is not published)
• Rating, title and written review
• Date the review was submitted and approved

2.4 Technical information

• IP address and approximate location derived from it
• Browser type, device type and operating system
• Pages visited, referring page and timestamps
• Cookies (see our Cookie Policy)
• Logs generated by our servers for security and diagnostics

2.5 Correspondence

If you email us, fill in a contact form or message us through the directory, we keep a record of that correspondence so we can respond and to inform future support.

3. How we collect it

• Directly from you when you create an account, complete a listing, leave a review, or contact us.
• Automatically when your browser interacts with the directory (technical information above).
• From public registers only where necessary to verify an ABN or licence number you have voluntarily supplied.

We do not buy personal information from data brokers and we do not scrape personal information from third-party websites.

4. Why we collect it

We use personal information for the following purposes:

• To create and maintain your account and, if you are a tradie, your business listing
• To verify credentials you have voluntarily submitted
• To display your published listing and any approved reviews
• To send account-related email (verification, password reset, listing status)
• To respond to your enquiries
• To detect fraud, abuse and breaches of our Terms and Conditions
• To improve the directory’s usability and reliability
• To comply with our legal obligations

We do not use your personal information for automated decision-making with legal effects on you, and we do not sell your personal information.

5. Who we share it with

We disclose personal information only to the parties we need to operate the service, and only to the extent required:

• Greenhost — as the operator and hosting provider of the service, Greenhost has access to the infrastructure on which the directory runs.
• Cloudflare, Inc. — we route public traffic through Cloudflare for performance and security. Cloudflare may receive your IP address, request metadata and similar technical information when you access the directory.
• Our email service provider — we use SMTP mail services to send transactional email such as verification and password-reset messages.
• Government and regulators — where we are required by law to disclose information, for example in response to a lawful subpoena or direction by a court or regulator.
• Successors in interest — if aussietradesdirectory.com.au is sold, merged or restructured, personal information may be transferred to the successor organisation on the same terms as this policy.

We do not disclose personal information to advertisers or data brokers.

6. Cross-border disclosure

The directory is hosted in Australia. However, Cloudflare operates a global edge network, which means some request-level information may be processed outside Australia as part of normal internet delivery. We only use service providers who offer appropriate contractual or regulatory safeguards for any international transfer.

7. How we protect it

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification and disclosure, including:

• Encrypting traffic in transit using TLS (HTTPS)
• Storing passwords as one-way cryptographic hashes
• Limiting server access to authorised personnel
• Applying the principle of least privilege in internal systems
• Monitoring logs for unusual activity
• Keeping systems up to date with security patches

No online service can be guaranteed completely secure. If we become aware of a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify affected users and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

8. How long we keep it

We keep personal information only for as long as we need it:

• Account and listing data — for the life of your account, plus a short technical retention window for backups.
• Approved reviews — indefinitely while the reviewed listing is published, unless we remove a review for breach of our Terms.
• Server logs — up to 90 days for security and diagnostic purposes.
• Correspondence — for as long as needed to resolve the matter, plus a reasonable audit trail.

When you delete your account, we remove your account and associated listing immediately. See Your rights below.

9. Your rights

Under the APPs and equivalent laws (including the GDPR for users in the European Economic Area), you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access (APP 12) — you can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. Account holders can also download their data directly from the dashboard at any time.
• Correction (APP 13) — you can ask us to correct information you believe is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date, irrelevant or misleading. Account holders can edit most fields themselves from the dashboard.
• Deletion / erasure — you can ask us to delete your account and associated data. Account holders can self-serve this from the dashboard. Deletion is immediate and not reversible.
• Withdraw consent — where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time, for example by unsubscribing from any optional communications.
• Object and restrict processing — where applicable, you may object to, or ask us to restrict, certain processing of your personal information.
• Complaint — you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au if you believe we have handled your personal information contrary to the APPs.

10. How to request access, correction, or deletion

There are two ways to exercise your rights under APP 12 (access) and APP 13 (correction), plus your right to request deletion. Most requests can be completed without contacting us at all.

10.1 Self-serve from your dashboard (fastest)

If you have an account, the quickest path is through the dashboard:

1. Log in at aussietradesdirectory.com.au/login.
2. Go to your Profile.
3. Under Your data, click Download JSON or Download CSV — you will immediately receive a file containing your account, listing, reviews, categories, service areas and links to any uploaded media. That download satisfies your APP 12 access right.
4. To correct information, edit the relevant fields on the dashboard and save. Changes to your business listing apply immediately; changes to account fields (name) also apply immediately.
5. To delete your account, open the Danger zone tab on your Profile, confirm by typing your email, and your account, listing, reviews and uploaded media are permanently deleted in a single transaction. No recovery.

10.2 By email

If you don’t have an account, or your request can’t be completed from the dashboard, email our Privacy Officer at [email protected]. Please include:

• Your name and the email address associated with any account or listing;
• A description of the information you’re requesting access to, asking us to correct, or asking us to delete;
• Proof of identity sufficient for us to be reasonably confident we’re dealing with you (for example, the email from your account);
• If you’re acting on someone else’s behalf, documentation of your authority to do so.

10.3 Our commitment to you

• Response time. We will acknowledge your request within 5 business days and respond substantively within 30 days, as required by the APPs.
• No fee. We do not charge a fee to make a request for access, correction or deletion.
• If we decline. If we cannot grant access or make a correction (for example, because doing so would impact another person’s privacy or we’re required by law to retain the information), we will tell you why in writing and describe how to make a complaint to the OAIC.
• If something needs more time. If a request is particularly complex or we need additional information to verify your identity, we will tell you before the 30 days are up and explain what’s needed.

11. Cookies and similar technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to keep you signed in, protect the site from abuse, and (if you consent) to measure how the directory is used. For full detail and to change your preferences, see our Cookie Policy.

12. Children

The directory is intended for users aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us, please email [email protected] and we will take reasonable steps to remove it.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The version and effective date are shown at the top of this page. Material changes will be communicated by email to account holders and/or by a notice on the directory. Continued use of the service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

14. How to contact us

For any privacy-related questions, requests or complaints, contact our Privacy Officer:

• Email: [email protected] (monitored for privacy matters only)
• Role: Privacy Officer
• Operator: aussietradesdirectory.com.au (a service operated under Greenhost)

We aim to acknowledge general enquiries within 5 business days, and we commit to responding substantively to formal privacy requests (access, correction, deletion) within 30 days. We do not charge a fee for exercising your rights under the APPs.

If you are not satisfied with how we handle your privacy concern, you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au, telephone 1300 363 992.