Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

 MY CHOICE SCHOOLS PRIVACY POLICY

[Last updated: 26 February 2024]

My Choice Schools ABN 59 540 533 081 (MCS) of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, values your privacy and this privacy policy has been created to set out how we handle your personal information. We do our best to comply with the Australian privacy legislation. This privacy policy covers personal information you provide to MCS through this website https://mychoiceschools.com.au or otherwise.

We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information for the purpose of providing the services you have requested. The services we provide are listed on our website and are focussed on providing a range of information and opinions about schools in Australia.

We may update this policy from time to time and the updates will apply from the date the new version is uploaded to our website. We have included a ‘last updated’ date at the top of our policy to help you keep track of any changes. You should regularly check here for any recent changes that are relevant to you and displayed on our website each time you use our website.

This policy is effective from the date above and may be updated by us from time to time.

Information We Collect

Personal information is any information or opinion about you which can be used to identify you. This includes information about you as a person (such as name, address, and date of birth) and payment details. In addition, we may collect data that will not be personal information unless, combined with other information we hold, it can identify you, such as your devices and information about how you use online services.

Sensitive personal information is information or opinion about you which could be used to discriminate against you, or which contains any health or biometric information. We do not actively collect sensitive personal information. There may be an incidental collection of sensitive personal information as part of the delivery of our services to you.

Information we collect falls into one of two categories: “voluntarily provided” information and “automatically collected” information.

“Voluntarily provided” information refers to any information you knowingly and actively provide us when using or participating in any of our services and promotions.

“Automatically collected” information refers to any information automatically sent by your devices in the course of accessing our products and services.

Legitimate Reasons for Processing Your Personal Information

We only collect and use your personal information when we have a legitimate reason for doing so. In which instance, we only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary to provide our services to you.

Collection and Use of Personal Information (voluntarily provided)

We may collect personal information from you when you do any of the following on our website:

  • Register for an account
  • Sign up to receive updates from us via email or social media channels
  • Use a mobile device or web browser to access our content
  • Contact us via email, social media, or on any similar technologies
  • When you mention us on social media

We may collect, hold, use, and disclose information for the following purposes, and personal information will not be further processed in a manner that is incompatible with these purposes:

  • to provide you with our the core features and services we offer
  • to enable you to customize or personalize your experience of our website
  • to deliver products and/or services to you
  • for advertising and marketing, including to send you promotional information about our products and services and information about third parties that we consider may be of interest to you
  • to enable you to access and use our website, associated applications, and associated social media platforms
  • for internal record keeping and administrative purposes
  • to attribute any content (e.g. posts and comments) you submit that we publish on our website

We may combine voluntarily provided and automatically collected personal information with general information or research data we receive from other trusted sources. For example, our marketing and market research activities may uncover data and insights, which we may combine with information about how visitors use our site to improve our site and your experience on it.

User-Generated Content (voluntarily provided)

We consider “user-generated content” to be materials (text, image and/or video content) voluntarily supplied to us by our users for the purpose of publication on our website or re-publishing on our social media channels. All user-generated content is associated with the account or email address used to submit the materials.

Please be aware that any content you submit for the purpose of publication will be public after posting (and subsequent review or vetting process, which we may not apply). Once published, it may be accessible to third parties not covered under this privacy policy.

Use of Cookies (automatically collected)

We use “cookies” to collect information about you and your activity across our site. A cookie is a small piece of data that our website stores on your computer, and accesses each time you visit, so we can understand how you use our site. This helps us serve you content based on preferences you have specified.

You may decline cookies from our site if your browser permits. Most browsers allow you to activate settings on your browser to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. Accordingly, your ability to limit cookies is based only on your browser’s capabilities.

Log Data (automatically collected)

When you visit our website, our servers may automatically log the standard data provided by your web browser. It may include your device’s Internet Protocol (IP) address, your browser type and version, the pages you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on each page, and other details about your visit.

Additionally, if you encounter certain errors while using the site, we may automatically collect data about the error and the circumstances surrounding its occurrence. This data may include technical details about your device, what you were trying to do when the error happened, and other technical information relating to the problem. You may or may not receive notice of such errors, even in the moment they occur, that they have occurred, or what the nature of the error is.

Please be aware that while this information may not be personally identifying by itself, it may be possible to combine it with other data to personally identify individual persons.

Device Data (automatically collected)

When you visit our website or interact with our services, we may automatically collect data about your device, such as:

  • Device Type
  • Geo-location data

Data we collect can depend on the individual settings of your device and software. We recommend checking the policies of your device manufacturer or software provider to learn what information they make available to us.

Security of Your Personal Information

When we collect and process personal information or sensitive personal information, and while we retain this information, we will protect it within commercially acceptable means to prevent loss and theft, as well as unauthorised access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.

Although we will do our best to protect the personal information you provide to us, we advise that no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and no one can guarantee absolute data security.

You are responsible for selecting any password and its overall security strength, ensuring the security of your own information within the bounds of our services. For example, ensuring any passwords associated with accessing your personal information and accounts are secure and confidential. You are responsible for keeping your passwords confidential and secure. You must update your passwords regularly to help prevent potential cyber-criminal activity arising.

How Long We Keep Your Personal Information

We keep your personal information only for as long as necessary. This time period may depend on what we are using your information for, in accordance with this privacy policy. For example, if you have provided us with personal information as part of creating an account with us, we may retain this information for the duration your account exists on our system. If your personal information is no longer required for this purpose, we will delete it or make it anonymous by removing all details that identify you.

However, if necessary, we may retain your personal information for our compliance with a legal, accounting, or reporting obligation or for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific, or historical research purposes or statistical purposes.

Children’s Privacy

We do not aim any of our products or services directly at children under the age of 18 and we do not knowingly collect personal information about children under 18. All users of our website who are under 18 years of age must be supervised by a parent, guardian or caregiver.  

Disclosure of Personal Information to Third Parties

We may disclose personal information to:

  • a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of our company
  • third-party service providers for the purpose of enabling them to provide their services, including (without limitation) IT service providers, data storage, hosting and server providers, analytics, error loggers, debt collectors, maintenance or problem-solving providers, marketing providers, professional advisors, and payment systems operators
  • our employees, contractors, and/or related entities
  • our existing or potential agents or business partners
  • credit reporting agencies, courts, tribunals, and regulatory authorities, in the event you fail to pay for goods or services we have provided to you
  • courts, tribunals, regulatory authorities, and law enforcement officers, as required by law, in connection with any actual or prospective legal proceedings, or in order to establish, exercise, or defend our legal rights
  • third parties, including agents or sub-contractors, who assist us in providing information, products, services, or direct marketing to you
  • third parties to collect and process data
  • an entity that buys, or to which we transfer all or substantially all of our assets and business

Third parties we currently use include:

  • Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Google Workspace
  • Fast Comet, Word Press, Elemental Pro, WP Rocket, and similar associated software or plug-ins
  • Google Maps
  • Third-party links such as schools or other providers or businesses

International Transfers of Personal Information

The personal information we collect is stored and/or processed where we or our partners, affiliates, and third-party providers maintain facilities. Where the disclosure of your personal information is solely subject to Australian privacy laws, you acknowledge that some international third parties may not be regulated by those laws and so you will not be able to seek redress against those third parties under Australian privacy laws. We adhere to the standards outlined in this privacy policy, ensuring we collect and process personal information lawfully, fairly, transparently, and with legitimate, legal reasons for doing so.

Your Rights and Controlling Your Personal Information

Your choice: By providing personal information to us, you understand we will collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information in accordance with this privacy policy. You do not have to provide personal information to us, however, if you do not, it may affect your use of our website or the products and/or services offered on or through it.

Information from third parties: If we receive personal information about you from a third party, we will protect it as set out in this privacy policy. If you are a third party providing personal information about somebody else, you represent and warrant that you have such person’s consent to provide the personal information to us.

Marketing permission: If you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by contacting us using the details below or using the unsubscribe link in any of our communications.

Access: You may request details of the personal information that we hold about you.

Correction: If you believe that any information we hold about you is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading, please contact us using the details provided in this privacy policy. We will take reasonable steps to correct any information found to be inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, or out of date.

Non-discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your rights over your personal information. Unless your personal information is required to provide you with a particular service or offer (for example providing user support), we will not deny you goods or services and/or charge you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties, or provide you with a different level or quality of goods or services.

Notification of data breaches: We will comply with laws applicable to us in respect of any data breach.

Complaints: If you believe that we have breached a relevant data protection law and wish to make a complaint, please contact us using the details below and provide us with full details of the alleged breach. We will promptly investigate your complaint and respond to you, in writing, setting out the outcome of our investigation and the steps we will take to deal with your complaint. You also have the right to contact a regulatory body or data protection authority in relation to your complaint.

Unsubscribe: To unsubscribe from our email database or opt-out of communications (including marketing communications), please contact us using the details provided in this privacy policy, or opt-out using the opt-out facilities provided in the communication. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity.

Business Transfers

If we or our assets are acquired, or in the unlikely event that we go out of business or enter insolvency administration, we would include data, including your personal information, among the assets transferred to any parties who acquire our business. You acknowledge that such transfers may occur, and that any parties who acquire us may, to the extent permitted by applicable law, continue to use your personal information according to this policy, which they will be required to assume as it is the basis for any ownership or use rights we have over such information.

Limits of Our Policy

Our website may link to external sites that are not operated by us.  In the event our site contains links to third-party sites and services, please be aware that those sites and services have their own privacy policies and we have no control over how they may treat your personal information. After following a link to any third-party content, you should read their posted privacy policy information about how they collect and use personal information. This Privacy Policy does not apply to any of your activities after you leave our site.

Changes to This Policy

At our discretion, we may change our privacy policy to reflect updates to our business processes, current acceptable practices, or legislative or regulatory changes. If we decide to change this privacy policy, we will post the changes here at the same link by which you are accessing this privacy policy.

If the changes are significant, or if required by applicable law, we will contact you (based on your selected preferences for communications from us) and all our registered users with the new details and links to the updated or changed policy.

If required by law, we will get your permission or give you the opportunity to opt in to or opt out of, as applicable, any new uses of your personal information.

Do Not Track

Some browsers have a “Do Not Track” feature that lets you tell websites that you do not want to have your online activities tracked. At this time, we do not respond to browser “Do Not Track” signals.

Contact Us

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal or sensitive information, please contact us in writing, and let us know your concerns. We will respond to you within thirty (30) days. You may contact us using the following details for all privacy-related matters:

My Choice Schools

[email protected]

or

enter details in contact form here.

 

 

If you have contacted us first and you are still unhappy with how we manage your concerns, you can contact the Australian Privacy Commission, available at http://www.oaic.gov.au.