1. About this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Australian Car Network Pty Ltd (ABN 96 623 973 679) ("AUCN", "we", "us", "our") collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information when you visit our websites, use our online services, or purchase a vehicle history report ("Report").
We are an independent provider of online vehicle information services. We are not a government agency. We comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) where they apply to our activities.
2. What information we collect
The types of personal information we may collect depend on how you use our services. They may include:
2.1 Information you provide to us
- Contact details such as your name and email address (for receipt delivery, support, account access, or business enquiries).
- Account information if you create an account (for example, login credentials and purchase history).
- Information you submit to generate a Report, such as a vehicle identification number (VIN) and/or registration plate number, and the relevant state/territory.
2.2 Payment and transaction information
Payments are processed by third-party payment providers. We do not store full credit card numbers. Depending on the provider and your payment method, we may receive and store:
- Transaction identifiers, payment status and timestamps.
- Billing details (for example, billing name, billing email, and limited card or wallet details such as last four digits) where provided to us by the payment provider.
2.3 Information we collect automatically
When you visit our websites, we may collect information automatically, including:
- Device and browser information (for example, IP address, device type, operating system, browser type, language settings).
- Usage information (for example, pages viewed, time on site, referral sources, clicks, and interactions).
- Approximate location information inferred from IP address (for example, city/state level).
- Cookies and similar technologies information (see section 8).
2.4 Information from third parties
We may receive information from third parties where relevant to providing our services or improving security, including:
- Payment service providers (transaction confirmations and fraud indicators).
- Analytics and advertising partners (aggregated measurement and attribution signals).
- Service providers that help with security, hosting, email delivery, and customer support.
3. Why we collect, use and disclose personal information
We collect, use and disclose personal information for the following purposes:
- To provide our services, including generating and delivering Reports, processing purchases, and providing customer support.
- To verify, troubleshoot and improve our websites, products and user experience.
- To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, or unauthorised access, and to protect the integrity and security of our services.
- To communicate with you about your purchase, account, updates to our services, or responses to your enquiries.
- To comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests from regulators and law enforcement agencies.
- With your consent or as otherwise permitted by law, to provide marketing communications (you can opt out at any time).
4. How we disclose personal information
We may disclose personal information to the following categories of recipients, only as necessary for the purposes described in this policy:
- Payment processors (for example, to process your payment and manage fraud risk).
- Cloud hosting and infrastructure providers (for example, to host our websites, databases and applications).
- Email and communications providers (for example, to send receipts, account emails, and support responses).
- Analytics providers (for example, to understand how our sites are used and measure performance).
- Professional advisers (for example, auditors, lawyers, or accountants) where needed for our legitimate business purposes.
- Authorities and regulators where required or authorised by law (for example, in response to subpoenas or regulatory requests).
We do not sell personal information. If we recommend or link to third-party products or services, any engagement is between you and that third party.
5. Overseas disclosures
Some of our service providers may store or process information outside Australia (for example, where they operate global cloud infrastructure). Where we disclose personal information overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient handles the information in a manner consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles, unless an exception under the Privacy Act applies.
6. Security
We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Measures may include access controls, encryption in transit, logging, monitoring, and internal policies for secure handling.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. If you believe your account or personal information has been compromised, please contact us promptly.
7. Data retention
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to provide our services, maintain transaction records, resolve disputes, enforce our agreements, and comply with legal and regulatory obligations. When information is no longer required, we take reasonable steps to delete or de-identify it.
8. Cookies and analytics
We use cookies and similar technologies to operate our websites, remember preferences, improve performance, and understand usage. Some cookies are essential for functionality; others help with analytics and measurement.
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.
9. Marketing communications
If you subscribe to updates or if permitted by law, we may send you marketing communications about our services. You can opt out at any time by using the unsubscribe link in the message or contacting us.
We may still send you non-marketing communications that are necessary to deliver the service (for example, receipts and support emails).
10. Access and correction
You may request access to, or correction of, the personal information we hold about you. We will respond within a reasonable time and in accordance with applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before processing a request.
To request access or correction, contact us using the details in section 13.
11. Complaints
If you have a complaint about how we handle personal information, please contact us first and provide details of your concern. We will investigate and respond within a reasonable time.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The latest version will be published on our website. Changes take effect when posted.
13. Contact us
For privacy enquiries, access/correction requests, or complaints, please contact:
- Email: suggestion@aucn.net.au
- Company: Australian Car Network Pty Ltd (ABN 96 623 973 679)