Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Village Australia (“Village”, “we”, “us”) operates the Village platform at villageapp.au. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

2. Information we collect

We collect information you provide when you create an account or use our services, including:

• Name and email address
• Profile photo and suburb
• Service listings and descriptions you create
• Messages sent through the platform
• Payment information (processed securely by Stripe — we do not store card details)
• Reviews and ratings

We also automatically collect usage data such as pages visited, device type, and IP address to help us improve the platform.

3. How we use your information

We use your information to:

• Provide and operate the Village platform
• Connect families with local providers
• Process payments and send booking confirmations
• Send notifications about your bookings, messages, and account
• Improve and personalise your experience
• Comply with our legal obligations

We will never sell your personal information to third parties.

4. Sharing your information

We share your information only as necessary:

• With other users — your public profile (name, photo, suburb, listings) is visible to other members
• With service providers — we use trusted third parties including Clerk (authentication), Stripe (payments), and Resend (email) who process data on our behalf under strict data agreements
• With authorities — where required by Australian law or to protect safety

5. Data storage and security

Your data is stored on secure servers. We use industry-standard encryption and access controls to protect your information. While we take reasonable precautions, no internet transmission is completely secure.

6. Your rights

Under the Privacy Act, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Request corrections to inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your account and associated data
• Opt out of marketing emails at any time

To exercise these rights, contact us at admin@villageapp.au.

7. Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies to keep you logged in and understand how the platform is used. You can disable cookies in your browser settings, but some features may not work correctly.

8. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We'll notify you of significant changes by email or via the platform. Continued use of Village after changes are posted means you accept the updated policy.

9. Contact us

Questions or concerns about your privacy? Email us at admin@villageapp.au. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).