Privacy Policy - Gardeners Footscray

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Footscray collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal information when providing gardening services to customers in the Footscray area and surrounding local area. It applies to all Gardeners Footscray customers in area, including residential, commercial, and repeat service clients. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable privacy principles.

By engaging our services, requesting a quote, making an enquiry, or otherwise interacting with us, you acknowledge that your personal information may be processed for the purposes described in this policy. We only collect data that is relevant and necessary for delivering gardening services and managing our business responsibly.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect the following categories of personal data:

Identity details such as your name or business name.
Contact details such as email address, phone number, and service address.
Service information including the type of gardening work requested, property access instructions, preferred service times, and project notes.
Billing and payment information where needed to issue invoices, process payments, or maintain financial records.
Communication records such as emails, text messages, phone call notes, quote requests, complaint details, and service feedback.
Technical information that may be collected automatically through our systems, such as device or browser data, if applicable to the tools we use.

We generally do not seek to collect sensitive personal information unless it is necessary and you have provided it voluntarily, or unless required by law. If sensitive data is ever needed, it will be handled with appropriate safeguards and only for a specific lawful purpose.

2. How We Use Personal Data

Gardeners Footscray uses personal information for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotes.
To schedule, deliver, and manage gardening services.
To maintain customer records and service history.
To issue invoices, receive payments, and manage account administration.
To communicate updates about bookings, access requirements, or service changes.
To handle complaints, disputes, and service follow-up.
To comply with legal obligations and maintain business records.
To improve our services, operations, and customer experience.

We only use personal information in ways that are compatible with the purposes for which it was collected. If we need to use data for a new purpose, we will ensure that a valid legal basis exists before doing so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases to process personal data:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to prepare for or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations, confirming bookings, carrying out gardening services, and managing related administration.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include record-keeping, service improvement, fraud prevention, internal operations, and responding to customer queries.

Legal Obligation

Some data must be retained or processed to comply with legal, tax, accounting, or regulatory obligations. Where this applies, we limit processing to what is required by law.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you choose to receive certain communications or where optional information is requested. You can withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before withdrawal.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business. These parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We take reasonable steps to ensure that all processors handle data securely and only in accordance with our instructions or their own legal obligations.

Examples of processors may include:

Payment service providers that process card or electronic payments.
Accounting or bookkeeping systems used for invoicing and financial administration.
IT, cloud storage, and software providers that support scheduling, communication, and data storage.
Customer management tools that help maintain service records and enquiries.
Professional advisers such as legal or tax advisers, where required.

We do not sell personal data. We do not share customer information for unrelated marketing purposes unless you have given permission or it is otherwise lawful to do so.

5. International Transfers

Some processors may store or process data outside Australia or the European Economic Area, depending on the systems used. Where international transfers occur, we take appropriate steps to ensure adequate protection of your personal data, such as relying on recognised safeguards, contractual protections, or providers operating under lawful data transfer mechanisms.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy, including service delivery, legal compliance, dispute resolution, and business administration.

Customer and service records are generally kept for the period needed to manage the ongoing relationship.
Financial and tax-related records are retained for the period required by applicable law.
Communication records may be kept for a reasonable period to support customer service, quality control, and dispute handling.

When data is no longer required, we will delete, anonymise, or securely archive it in accordance with our retention practices and legal obligations.

7. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, disclosure, or alteration. These measures may include access controls, secure storage practices, limited staff access, and use of reputable service providers.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection appropriate to the nature of the data we process and the risks involved.

8. Your Rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right of access to request confirmation of whether we hold personal data about you and obtain a copy.
Right to rectification to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure to request deletion of personal data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction to ask us to limit how we use your data in specific cases.
Right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing, where applicable.
Right to data portability to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where the legal conditions are met.
Right to withdraw consent if we rely on consent for a particular processing activity.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will review your request in accordance with applicable law and respond within the required timeframe. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request to protect your information.

9. Cookies and Similar Technologies

If we use websites, booking tools, or digital forms that place cookies or similar technologies on your device, these may be used to support basic functionality, improve performance, and understand general usage patterns. Where consent is required, we will request it before placing non-essential cookies.

You can usually manage cookies through your browser settings. Disabling some cookies may affect how certain features work.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. The latest version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review it periodically to stay informed about how their information is handled.

11. Applicability

This Privacy Policy applies to every Gardeners Footscray customer in area, regardless of whether the service is a one-time job, ongoing maintenance, or a commercial gardening arrangement. By using our services, you agree that your personal information will be processed in accordance with this policy and the principles described above.

Gardeners Footscray is committed to respecting your privacy, handling data responsibly, and using personal information only where there is a clear and lawful reason to do so. We aim to maintain trust through transparency, care, and responsible data stewardship.