Privacy Policy

1. Introduction and Scope

Vortex Australia ("we", "our", "us") is committed to protecting the privacy of personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). This policy explains how we manage personal information across our website, retail operations, and customer support channels. It applies to all individuals who interact with our services, including customers, website visitors, warranty registrants, and individuals who contact our support team.

We operate under the corporate entity Camillus Rodrigo, registered in Australia. While our legal domicile is in the UK, our commercial activities are primarily directed at Australian consumers, and we comply with Australian privacy legislation for all data processing activities involving Australian residents.

2. Personal Information We Collect

We collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for our business functions. The types of information we collect depend on how you interact with us. When you purchase a product, we typically collect your full name, delivery address, email address, telephone number, and payment details processed through our payment processors. For warranty registrations, we additionally collect product serial numbers and date of purchase.

Through our website, we may also collect technical information including IP addresses, browser type, device identifiers, referring URLs, and pages viewed. When you contact our support team, we retain records of correspondence including email threads and call notes. We do not collect sensitive information as defined by the Privacy Act unless you voluntarily provide it and consent to its use for the specific purpose.

3. How We Collect Information

We collect personal information directly from you when you place an order through our website, register for warranty coverage, subscribe to product updates, contact our support team, or interact with our social media channels. We may also collect information indirectly through automated technologies such as cookies and similar tracking technologies, as described in our Cookie Policy.

In some circumstances, we may receive personal information from third parties. For example, our delivery partners may share delivery confirmation details with us, and payment processors may provide transaction verification data. Where it is reasonable to do so, we will notify you when we receive your information from a third party and explain why we are collecting it.

4. Purposes of Collection and Use

We use personal information to fulfil orders, arrange delivery, process payments, register warranties, provide customer support, and communicate with you about your purchase. We also use aggregated, de-identified data to analyse website traffic, improve our product range, and develop new features that better serve Australian customers.

From time to time, we may use your contact details to send you information about new product releases, accessory launches, or service updates relevant to your purchased equipment. You can opt out of these communications at any time by using the unsubscribe link in any email or by contacting our privacy officer directly.

5. Legal Basis for Processing

Under the Australian Privacy Principles, we may only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for one or more of our functions or activities. The primary legal bases for our processing activities include: performance of a contract for the sale of goods and associated warranties; compliance with legal obligations including tax and consumer protection legislation; legitimate business interests such as fraud prevention and service improvement; and, where applicable, your express consent for specific uses such as marketing communications.

Where we rely on consent as the legal basis, we ensure that consent is informed, specific, current, and voluntarily given. You may withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

6. Disclosure to Third Parties

We disclose personal information only to trusted third parties who assist us in operating our business. These include payment processors who handle credit card transactions, freight carriers who deliver your order, warranty service providers who fulfil repair obligations, and IT service providers who host our infrastructure. All third-party service providers are contractually bound to use your information only for the purposes we specify and to maintain appropriate security measures.

We may also disclose personal information where required or authorised by law, such as in response to a court order, subpoena, or request from a regulatory authority including the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) or the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

7. Cross-Border Data Transfers

As our parent company is registered in Australia, some of your personal information may be transferred to and processed in jurisdictions outside Australia, including the UK. We take reasonable steps to ensure that overseas recipients do not breach the APPs in relation to your information. Where we disclose information to overseas recipients, we remain accountable under APP 8 for any mishandling by that recipient.

We utilise contractual safeguards including Standard Contractual Clauses and binding corporate rules to ensure adequate protection of your data during cross-border transfers. By providing your personal information to us, you acknowledge that we may transfer it overseas and consent to such transfer for the purposes outlined in this policy.

8. Data Security Measures

We implement robust physical, technical, and administrative security measures to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. Our website uses industry-standard TLS encryption for all data transmission, and payment information is processed through PCI-DSS compliant payment gateways without ever being stored on our servers.

Access to personal information within our organisation is restricted to employees who require it to perform their job functions. We conduct regular security audits and penetration testing to identify and remediate vulnerabilities. When personal information is no longer needed for any lawful purpose, we take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify it.

9. Data Retention Periods

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Customer transaction records are retained for a minimum of seven years to comply with Australian taxation legislation. Warranty records are retained for the duration of the warranty period plus an additional two years to handle any latent defect claims.

Website usage data is retained for up to 26 months for analytical purposes, after which it is aggregated or deleted. Marketing consent records are retained for the duration of your relationship with us plus three years to demonstrate compliance with consent requirements.

10. Your Rights Under the Australian Privacy Principles

Under the APPs, you have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you, request correction of any inaccurate or outdated information, and make a complaint if you believe we have breached the Privacy Act. We will respond to access requests within 30 days and will not charge a fee for making the request, although we may charge a reasonable fee for providing access in specific circumstances.

If you believe the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading, you may request that we correct it. We will take reasonable steps to correct the information unless we have grounds to refuse, in which case we will provide written reasons for our decision and note your request on the record.

11. Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme

We participate in the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme under Part IIIC of the Privacy Act. In the unlikely event that an eligible data breach occurs involving your personal information that is likely to result in serious harm to you, we will notify both you and the OAIC as soon as practicable. Our incident response plan includes procedures for rapid assessment, containment, notification, and remediation of any data security incidents.

12. Children's Privacy

Our products and services are not directed at children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child without appropriate parental consent, we will take reasonable steps to delete it as soon as possible.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or technological developments. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify you via email or a prominent notice on our website. Your continued use of our services after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

14. Contact and Complaints

If you have questions about this policy, wish to access or correct your personal information, or want to make a complaint about a potential privacy breach, please contact our Privacy Officer:

Privacy Officer
Camillus Rodrigo
3150

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44 1922 702365