Privacy
Policy.

In plain English: we collect the details we need to book, quote and do your plumbing job, and the details you give us when you respond to one of our ads. We use them to do the work, keep in touch about it and, if you are happy for us to, tell you about offers. We do not sell your information. You can ask to see it, fix it or have it deleted, and you can opt out of marketing at any time. Nothing here takes away your rights under the Privacy Act or Australian Consumer Law.

Who We Are

This Privacy Policy is issued by Essential Trades Group Pty Ltd (ACN 679 680 543) trading as Wollongong Plumbing and Hot Water (we, us, our). We are a NSW-licensed plumbing, drainage and gas fitting business (NSW Licence No. 489163C) serving Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama. Our handling of personal information is guided by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), and the rights described in this policy apply where the law requires them.

This policy covers personal information we collect through this website, by phone, through our online booking system, through advertising on Google, Facebook and Instagram (including Meta lead forms), and in the course of doing plumbing work.

What We Collect

The kinds of personal information we collect and hold depend on how you deal with us. They typically include:

• Contact details: your name, phone number, email address and the address of the property needing work.
• Job details: what the problem is, the type and age of your hot water system, drains or fittings, access instructions, photos or videos you send us, and notes and photos our plumbers take on site.
• Property and tenancy details: whether you own or manage the property, and the name and contact details of the owner, property manager or strata manager who authorises the work (we cannot take bookings from tenants directly).
• Billing details: the name and address for invoicing, and payment records. We do not collect card numbers through this website. If you apply for a payment plan, the finance provider will collect what it needs under its own privacy policy.
• Call details: when you phone us, the number you call from, the time and length of the call, and what you tell us so we can book the job. If a call is recorded, you will be told at the start of the call.
• Advertising lead details: if you fill in a Facebook or Instagram lead form (a Meta Instant Form) for one of our ads, the details you enter on that form, which Meta sends to us. Meta pre-fills some fields from your profile; you can edit them before you submit.
• Website and device information: your IP address, device and browser type, the pages you view, how you reached the site (for example a Google Ads click ID), and cookie identifiers, as described under Cookies and Advertising below.
• Reviews and messages: anything you post about us on Google or social media, and messages you send us there.

We do not ask for sensitive information (such as health information) and we ask that you do not send it to us. If you mention something sensitive, for example a medical reason a job is urgent, we use it only to do the job safely and we do not record more than we need.

How We Collect It

• Directly from you when you call, book online, reply to a text or email, send photos, or talk with our plumbers on site.
• Through our online booking system, which is provided by ServiceTitan. The booking window on this site is ServiceTitan's and the details you type go to our account there.
• From Meta when you submit a lead form on Facebook or Instagram. Meta passes the details you submit to us so we can follow up your enquiry.
• From Google when you click one of our Google Ads or call the forwarding number Google shows with our ads. Google tells us an ad was clicked or a call was made, and basic details such as call duration, so we can measure the ad.
• From the person who booked on your behalf, such as your landlord, property manager or strata manager, when they give us your name and number so we can arrange access.
• Automatically through cookies and similar technologies on this website, described below.

If you give us personal information about someone else (for example a tenant's phone number), please make sure they know you have done so and that this policy applies.

Why We Collect, Use and Disclose It

We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information to:

• respond to your enquiry, quote the job and book a time;
• turn up, do the work, invoice you and take payment, and provide warranty service afterwards;
• send booking confirmations, arrival updates, reminders, invoices and receipts by SMS, email or phone;
• meet our legal obligations, including issuing gas compliance certificates and keeping records required by NSW licensing and tax law;
• handle complaints, warranty claims, insurance matters and disputes;
• measure and improve our advertising and this website, and understand which ads and pages lead to bookings;
• with your consent or where you would reasonably expect it, tell you about services and offers relevant to you (see Marketing below);
• keep our people safe, for example by noting access hazards at a property.

We will not use or disclose your personal information for any other purpose unless you agree, you would reasonably expect it, or the law allows or requires it.

Marketing and How to Opt Out

When you respond to one of our ads, including through a Meta lead form, we will contact you about the service you enquired about. That is the main reason we collect the lead and it is not a sign-up to ongoing marketing.

We may also send you occasional service reminders or offers by SMS or email, for example a reminder when a hot water system is reaching the end of its typical life, if you have asked for them or we think you would reasonably expect them as a customer. Every marketing message will tell you how to opt out, and you can opt out at any time by replying STOP to a text, using the unsubscribe link in an email, or calling 1300 707 059.

We do not sell or rent your personal information to anyone. We do not share your details with other businesses for their own marketing.

Cookies, Analytics and Advertising

This website uses, or may use, the following services. Some of them set or read cookies or similar identifiers in your browser; the table says which.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; the site will still work, although the Book Online window may not. To opt out of personalised advertising more broadly you can use the Digital Advertising Alliance opt-out, and the Google and Meta links in the table let you adjust ad settings on those platforms. Where the law requires your consent before a particular tool is used, we will ask for it before using it.

Who We Share It With

We disclose personal information only where needed to run the business and do your job:

• Our own people across the Essential Trades Group, including the office team that answers the phone and books jobs for our Wollongong, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast teams.
• Service providers that store or process information for us: ServiceTitan (job management, booking, invoicing and customer messaging), Google (analytics, advertising and call tracking), Meta (advertising and lead forms), Cloudflare (hosting and security), our accounting software, and SMS and email delivery services.
• Finance providers, if you apply for a payment plan, so they can assess and manage it.
• Manufacturers and suppliers, such as Rheem, Rinnai, Dux or Bosch, when we lodge a warranty claim on your behalf.
• The person who booked the job, such as your landlord, property manager or strata manager, so they can approve the quote and pay the invoice.
• Insurers, lawyers and debt collection agencies where there is a claim, dispute or unpaid account.
• Regulators and government bodies such as NSW Fair Trading, the gas network, Sydney Water or a court, where the law requires it.

Overseas Disclosure

Some of the service providers above store or process information outside Australia. We are likely to disclose personal information to recipients in the United States (Google, ServiceTitan, Cloudflare and Meta), and Meta also operates from Ireland. These providers may use data centres in other countries where they operate, and Cloudflare's network routes website traffic through servers around the world. We take reasonable steps to make sure overseas recipients handle your information in a way that is consistent with the APPs, including by relying on their contractual privacy commitments.

How We Store and Protect It

Your information is held in our job management and booking system (ServiceTitan), our phone and messaging systems, our accounting software and our email. These are password-protected cloud services, and we limit access to the people who need it to do their job. Notes and photos taken on site are kept in the job record, not on personal devices any longer than needed.

We keep job records, invoices and compliance certificates for as long as tax, licensing, warranty and other legal requirements oblige us to. Advertising leads that do not become a job are kept only as long as we need them to follow up your enquiry and for our records, and are then deleted or de-identified. Website analytics data is kept for the retention period we have set in Google Analytics. When we no longer need personal information for any purpose, and the law does not require us to keep it, we take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it.

No internet transmission is completely secure. If a data breach is likely to cause you serious harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme requires.

Access, Correction and Deletion

You can ask us at any time to tell you what personal information we hold about you, to correct it, or to delete it. Call 1300 707 059 and ask for the privacy officer, or ask our office team to pass on your request in writing. We will confirm your identity, respond within 30 days, and will not charge you for making a request. If we cannot give you access or delete something, for example because we must keep a job record or compliance certificate by law, we will tell you why and note your request on the record.

Complaints

If you think we have mishandled your personal information or breached the APPs, please tell us first. Call 1300 707 059 and ask for the privacy officer, or ask for the complaint to be put in writing. We will acknowledge your complaint, look into it and reply within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC): online at oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints or by phone on 1300 363 992. The OAIC usually asks that you complain to the business first and give it 30 days to respond.

Changes to This Policy

We will update this policy when our practices change, for example if we add new advertising tools to this website. The current version is always at this address and the date below tells you when it last changed.

Contact

Essential Trades Group Pty Ltd (ACN 679 680 543) trading as Wollongong Plumbing and Hot Water. Phone 1300 707 059 and ask for the privacy officer. NSW Licence No. 489163C.