Privacy Policy

1. About this policy

This policy explains how Costlabs handles your personal information. We follow the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

 

In this policy, "Costlabs", "we", "us" and "our" means costlabs (ABN 72 204 918 171). "You" means anyone whose personal information we handle, including clients, prospective clients, their staff and visitors to our website.
By using our website, dashboard or services, you agree to us handling your information as described here.

2. What personal information we collect
We only collect what we need to find you savings and run our business. This may include:

• Contact details: name, email, phone number, business address and job title.
• Business details: business name, ABN, industry, number of locations and similar information.
• Bills and account information: supplier invoices, contracts, account and customer numbers, plan details, usage data, and meter identifiers such as NMI or MIRN numbers.
• Dashboard activity: which recommendations you view, which links you click and which changes you mark as complete.
• Payment details: information needed to invoice you and receive payment. Card details are handled by our payment provider, not stored by us.
• Website data: IP address, browser and device type, pages visited and referring site.
• Communications: records of emails, calls, messages and consultation notes.

 

We do not intentionally collect sensitive information (such as health, racial or religious information). If a document you send us contains it, we will not use it and will delete it where practical.
You can deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym when making general enquiries. To review your costs, we need to know who you are.

3. How we collect it
We collect most information directly from you, when you:

• fill in a form or book a consultation on our website
• send us bills, contracts or other documents
• use your Costlabs dashboard
• email, call or message us.

 

We may also collect information from third parties, but only with your permission or where it is reasonable to expect we would. This includes suppliers you authorise us to contact, providers you switch to through our links (for example, confirmation that a switch was completed), and publicly available sources such as the ABN Lookup register.

4. Why we collect and use it
We use your personal information to:

• review your costs and identify cheaper providers, plans or ways to reduce spending
• build and maintain your personalised dashboard, including tailored quote links and step-by-step instructions
• track which savings you have acted on, so we can support you and calculate our fee
• invoice you and manage our client relationship
• respond to enquiries and provide support
• improve our website, dashboard and services
• send you updates and offers, where permitted (see section 8)
• meet our legal, tax and record-keeping obligations.

 

We will not use your information for any other purpose unless you consent, or it is required or authorised by law.

5. Affiliate and referral links
Some links in your dashboard are affiliate or referral links. If you sign up with a provider through one, we may receive a commission from that provider. This never affects which deal we recommend: we recommend the option that saves you the most, whether or not it pays us a commission. When you click an affiliate link, the provider or its affiliate network may use cookies or tracking codes to record that you came from Costlabs. We may receive confirmation that you signed up so we can track your progress and receive any commission. We do not sell your personal information to providers. Once you apply with a provider, your information is handled under that provider's own privacy policy. We encourage you to read it.

6. Who we disclose it to
We may share your personal information with:

• Providers and suppliers you ask us to contact, or that you choose to switch to
• Service providers who help us run our business, such as website and dashboard hosting, email, cloud storage, analytics, accounting and payment processing
• Professional advisers such as our lawyers, accountants and insurers
• Authorities where required or authorised by law.

Our service providers may only use your information to provide services to us.
Overseas disclosure. Some of our service providers store data outside Australia. For example, our website is hosted by Wix, which stores data in the United States and other countries. Other tools we use may store data in [countries, e.g. the United States, the European Union]. We take reasonable steps to ensure these providers protect your information in a way consistent with the APPs.

7. Cookies and analytics
Our website and dashboard use cookies and similar technologies to keep them working, remember your preferences, understand how they are used and track affiliate referrals. We may use analytics tools such as [Google Analytics / Wix Analytics] for this.
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Some parts of the website or dashboard may not work properly if you do.

8. Direct marketing
We may send you newsletters, savings tips and offers where you have consented or would reasonably expect to hear from us. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can also opt out by contacting us. We comply with the Spam Act 2003 (Cth), and we do not share your information with third parties for their own marketing.

9. Security, retention and data breaches
Security. We take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access. These include password-protected dashboards, encrypted storage and transfer where available, limiting staff access to those who need it, and using reputable service providers. No online system is completely secure, so please keep your dashboard login details private.
Retention. We keep your information while you are a client and for as long as needed afterwards to meet legal and tax obligations, generally up to 7 years. When we no longer need it, we securely delete or de-identify it.
Data breaches. If a data breach is likely to cause you serious harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required by the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

10. Access, correction and complaints
Access and correction. You can ask to see the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date or incomplete. Contact us using the details below. We will respond within 30 days. We do not charge for requests, though we may charge a reasonable fee for providing large amounts of information. If we refuse a request, we will explain why in writing.
Complaints. If you think we have breached your privacy, please contact us first so we can try to fix it. We will acknowledge your complaint within 7 days and aim to resolve it within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the OAIC at oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.

11. Changes and contact details
We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on our website, with the date it was last updated. If we make a significant change, we will let active clients know.