Privacy Policy

The products and services mentioned on our website are managed by Artarmon HomeHQ (‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’). ‘We’ are committed to supporting the ‘Australian Privacy Principles’ and complying with the Privacy Act 1988, which has set clear standards and guidelines for the collection, access, storage and use of Personal Information (‘Personal Information’) which ‘we’ may obtain during the course of ‘our’ dealings with you. ‘Our’ Privacy Policy sets out, in general terms, matters of which you should be aware regarding the Personal Information ‘we’ may collect about you, ‘our’ policies on the management of personal information, how you may access Personal Information that ‘we’ keep or complain about a suspected privacy breach, and generally, what sort of information ‘we’ collect and how ‘we’ hold, use and disclose that information. When you provide ‘us’ with Personal Information (whether via one of ‘our’ websites, in store, through any of ‘our’ promotions, or otherwise), ‘we’ respect your privacy. It is important for you to understand what information ‘we’ collect about you and what ‘we’ do with your information.

1. THE PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT FROM YOU

We do not collect Personal Information about you, except when you provide it to us. We collect and use Personal Information from customers, users or visitors of our websites, social medial channels, app, products or services. The type of Personal Information that we collect and use depends on the type of dealings that you have with us and can include your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, postal or delivery address, date of birth, billing information (such as credit card and bank account details), information about the products and services you have ordered or enquired about. If you would prefer that we do not collect any Personal Information from you, please do not provide us with any such information.

When you submit your Personal Information to us, or by using, browsing or accessing our websites, social media channels or app, you are giving your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your Personal Information as set forth in this Privacy Policy.

Where we have collected Personal Information about you from another source, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that you are made aware of the following:

  • The fact that we have collected Personal Information about you and how you can contact us regarding the collection of such information;

  • How you can gain access to the Personal Information collected;

  • Why we collected the Personal Information;

  • Who we would usually disclose such Personal Information to;

  • Any law requiring us to collect Personal Information

You have no obligation to provide any information requested by us however, we may not be able to provide you with the services you require should the provision of the service depend on the collection of that information, including if the collection of that information is required by law.

2. METHODS OF COLLECTION

We will collect Personal Information about you in a variety of ways, including:

  1. through your use, or orders of, of our services; when you visit or submit information through our website, social media, app or and other online channels, when you attend our events, when you shop in our stores, when you contact us with a query or request information about our products and services, complete any forms or agreements for our products and services, when you participate in competitions, promotions, events, questionnaires or rewards programs

  2. from third parties (including our related bodies corporate, business partners and service providers, credit reporting bodies and government agencies); and

  3. from publicly available sources of information (including, but not limited to, social media sites).

The Personal Information collected by us will track your use, or enhance your use, of the foregoing and assist us in providing a better service. We do not use or share Personal Information for any purpose other than for the purpose for which it was disclosed. By providing your Personal Information to us, you acknowledge that you are authorised to provide such information to us. We may collect Personal Information about you for our related bodies corporate and service providers and when you request information about products and services. We will only collect Personal Information that is necessary for one or more of our functions or for the purpose disclosed to you.

3. HOW YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IS USED

We use your Personal Information for the purposes for which the information is collected. The Personal Information that we collect is generally used to provide our products, services, promotions, website, app and social media channels (including customised online content and advertising displayed on our website or social media channels) to you. We also use it to improve or develop our products, services and website, to operate, maintain and test and upgrade our systems and to notify you of opportunities (whether product, service, recruitment or job opportunity related) that we think you might be interested in. We do not use or share Personal Information for any purpose other than for the purpose for which it was collected and disclosed. We do not provide, trade or sell Personal Information to other organisations without your consent. However we may disclose Personal Information to our related bodies corporate, business partners, third party contractors, agents and suppliers and service providers (as set out in section 8b. below) in connection with providing our product or service to you.

By providing your Personal Information to us, you acknowledge that, and consent to the following:

a) We may collect and use your Personal Information for the purpose disclosed to you.

b) You are authorised to provide such information to us.

c) Any information provided may be disclosed on a confidential basis to our third party contractors, agents or suppliers.

d) Information provided to us in the process of us providing a product or service to you, may be used by us for recruitment or job opportunity purposes.

If you provide your Personal Information to us, whether via one of our websites or social medial channels, in store, through any of our promotions or competition, or otherwise, the information you provide may be used by us to create and deliver to you direct mail, emails, sms, surveys or attend customer research or discussion groups or other communications containing product, services and event information, tips, promotions or competitions. If you prefer not to receive such communications including promotions- see Section 6. below.

We may also contact you to respond to product questions or concerns that you may express. These types of communications are necessary to serve you, respond to your concerns and to provide the high level of customer service that we offer our customers.

4. USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION BY GROUP COMPANIES

When you submit Personal Information to us, the information you provide may be shared with our companies and divisions within our group or any related body corporate (the ‘Group Companies’). Group Companies may use this information, such as to market its products, services or promotions to you.

5. KEEPING INFORMATION ACCURATE AND UP TO DATE

We take all reasonable steps to ensure that all Personal Information we hold is accurate however it is your responsibility to ensure that the information you provide us is accurate and that you advise us of any changes to your details. You may contact us at any time and ask for its correction if you feel that the Personal Information we have about you is inaccurate or incomplete. Alternatively, you can also visit our web site and log on to manage your Personal Information at any time.

If we determine that Personal Information is no longer needed for any purpose, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify that Personal Information, unless we are required by law or a court or tribunal to retain the information.

6. DIRECT MARKETING

Where we have your express or implied consent, or where we are otherwise permitted by law, we may use your Personal Information to send you information about the products and services we offer, as well as other information that may be of interest to you. We may send this information by mail, email, SMS telephone, on or via social media or other online channels (including by customising online content advertised or displayed on our websites or social media channels)

If you do not wish to receive direct marketing communications from us, you may opt-out at any time by: using the unsubscribe facility that we include in our commercial electronic messages (ie email or SMS); or by emailing us at team@vclamedia.com This may not remove you from any customer rewards programs or remove you from receiving any social media or other online channels communications or customised online content advertised or displayed on our website or social media channels.

Data Deletion
In the event you would like Home HQ to delete, stop processing, or withdraw consent for, your personal information on the myHQ Rewards to the extent you are entitled to under applicable law, you can make such a request in writing to team@vclamedia.com. The users’ Personal Data will be deleted upon request.

To opt out of all communications from us, you may opt out by notifying us, that you wish to opt out of all communications, in store or contacting by emailing us at team@vclamedia.com If you opt out of all communications, this will also remove you from receiving any email or direct mail communications from us .

7. KEEPING INFORMATION SECURE

We take reasonable steps to ensure your Personal Information is protected from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, disclosure or alteration, both online and offline. We store Personal Information in different ways, including in paper and electronic form. We use security procedures to protect the Personal Information we hold. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be totally secure, however we will endeavour to take all reasonable steps to protect the personal information you may transmit to us.

Access to and use of Personal Information within our organisation is limited by us to prevent misuse or unlawful disclosure of that Personal Information by others. Our employees, contractors and service providers are obliged to respect the confidentiality of any Personal Information held by us.

8. DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

a. Compliance with laws and fraud protection

We may disclose any information, including Personal Information to law enforcement bodies or regulatory authorities to assist with their functions, courts of law or as otherwise required or authorised by law. We may also exchange information, including Personal Information, with other companies and organisations for credit fraud protection and risk reduction.

b. Service providers

We may retain other companies and individuals to perform functions consistent with our Privacy Policy on our behalf. Examples include customer support specialists, hosting companies, web developers, internet service providers, fulfilment companies (eg. companies that coordinate mailings), marketing, analysis and research and data analysis firms, data centres, cloud based storage providers, customer relationship management providers, email service providers, financial and credit card institutions in order to process any payments, insurers and external business advisors (such as auditors and lawyers). Such third parties may be provided with access to Personal Information needed to perform their functions, but may not use such information for any other purpose. In all circumstances where your Personal Information is disclosed, we will ensure that these third parties undertake to protect your privacy.

These third parties may be located both in and outside Australia. In particular, as at the date this Privacy Policy was most recently updated, your Personal Information may be disclosed to recipients other countries from time to time where necessary. If you subsequently decide that you do not wish to receive information from them you may let us know by contacting us.

Prior to the disclosure of Personal Information to a person overseas, we will take such steps as reasonable in the circumstances to ensure that the overseas recipient treats your Personal Information securely and otherwise complies with the relevant Australian Privacy Principles in relation to the Personal Information.

c. Special events

If you elect to participate in any promotions, competitions, sweepstakes, surveys, questionnaires or other events, the rules or terms and conditions for those events may indicate that your Personal Information will be shared with third parties. By choosing to participate and submitting your Personal Information in that manner, you consent to disclosure of your Personal Information to such third parties.

9. DEALING WITH US ONLINE

We take all reasonable steps to ensure that the Personal Information we collect through any of our websites is protected from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, disclosure or alteration. Our website has electronic security systems in place, including the use of firewalls and advanced security encryption services. All pages that require you to enter your Personal Information or payment details on our site use 128 bit SSL encryption. To ensure that the page you are viewing uses 128 bit SSL encryption, you should look for the padlock icon in your browser.

Despite our reasonable steps, we are unable to ensure or warrant the security of any Personal Information transmitted to us. Accordingly, all Personal Information disclosed by you to us is at your own risk and we are not liable for any unauthorised access to the Personal Information.

10. COOKIES AND IP ADDRESSES

A cookie is a piece of data that enables us to track and target your preferences. We may use cookies to enable us to identify you as a return user and personalise and enhance your experience and your use of any of our sites. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. You can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to warn you before accepting cookies. If you have set your browser to warn you before accepting cookies, you will receive the warning message with each cookie. If you reject our cookies, you may still use our site, but you may be limited in the use of some of the features. We use cookies to help us improve our service to you when you access our site and to ensure that our site remains easy to use and navigate. We may also use IP addresses to analyse trends, administer our sites, track traffic patterns, and gather demographic information for aggregate use, as well as in combination with your Personal Information for credit fraud protection and risk reduction.

11. LINKS TO OTHER SITES FROM OUR WEBSITE

Although our sites may contain links to or from external websites, those websites are not subject to our privacy standards, policies and procedures. We recommend that you make your own enquires as to the Privacy Policies of these third parties. We are in no way responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. This Privacy Policy applies only to the information we collect on our sites.

12. GAINING ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We will use our reasonable endeavours to keep your Personal Information that we collect accurate, up-to-date and complete. Upon your request we will provide you with access to any of your Personal Information we hold (except in the limited circumstances recognised at law).

If you require access to your Personal Information which we have collected from you, please email team@vclamedia.com

Proof of identity is required before such information will be provided. For most requests, your information will be provided free of charge, however it may be necessary to charge a reasonable fee if your request requires a substantial effort on our part.

13. RESOLVING YOUR PRIVACY ISSUES

If you have any issues you wish to raise with us regarding, or would like to discuss any issues about, our Privacy Policy, please email team@vclamedia.com

14. NOTIFICATION OF CHANGES

We may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we decide to change our Privacy Policy, we will post the revised policy here. As we may make changes at any time without notifying you, we suggest that you periodically consult this Privacy Policy. Please note that our rights to use your Personal Information will be based on the Privacy Policy in effect at the time the information is used. Your continued use of our products, services or websites following any such amendment will be confirmation of your acceptance of the amendments. We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please review it frequently.

15. CONTACTING US

We have taken great measures to ensure that your interaction with us is an excellent one and that your privacy is constantly respected. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about our privacy practices, please contact , please email us team@vclamedia.com and please provide our team with full details of your complaint and any supporting documentation.

16. MORE INFORMATION

More information about Privacy law and the Australian Privacy Principles is available from the Federal Privacy Commissioner’s website www.oiac.gov.au.

Our commitment to a better world.

NABERS is Australia’s leading building performance reviewer and HomeHQ has been awarded a 6-star rating for energy efficiency.