House Sitting Australia, Privacy Policy July 2026
We respect your privacy
House Sitting Australia respects your right to privacy and is committed to safeguarding the privacy of our customers and website visitors. This policy sets out how we collect and treat your personal information.
We adhere to the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and, to the extent applicable, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
“Personal information” is information we hold that is identifiable as being about you. This includes information such as your name, email address, phone number, identification number, or any other type of information that can reasonably identify an individual, either directly or indirectly.
You may contact us in writing at PO Box 327, Mallacoota, Victoria, 3892, or by email at hsa@oze.au, for further information about this Privacy Policy.
What personal information is collected
House Sitting Australia will, from time to time, receive and store personal information you submit to our website, provided to us directly, or given to us in other forms.
Through this website we may collect:
- Your name, phone number, email address, and any message you send via our contact form
- Information you provide when subscribing to updates, responding to surveys, or giving feedback
- Technical information such as browser type, device, and general usage data (via cookies and analytics, where used)
If you use the HSA member app at https://hsa.oze.au we also collect:
- Account details (name, email, phone number, role as homeowner or sitter)
- Profile information (bio, photos, verification badges, availability summary)
- Location data shown publicly as suburb and state only, full street addresses are stored privately and are not displayed on public listing or profile cards
- Messages between members, applications, invitations, and sit agreement records
- Payment and membership information processed via Stripe (we do not store full card numbers)
- Optional identity verification data processed by Stripe Identity (third-party provider)
How we collect your personal information
House Sitting Australia collects personal information from you in a variety of ways, including when you interact with us electronically or in person, access our website, register for or use the HSA app, and engage in business activities with us. We may receive personal information from third parties (such as payment and identity providers), and if we do, we will protect it as set out in this Privacy Policy.
By providing us with personal information, you consent to the supply of that information subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
How we use your personal information
House Sitting Australia may use the personal information collected from you to:
- Provide our website, the HSA app, and related products or services
- Administer accounts, memberships, listings, applications, and messaging
- Communicate with you by telephone, email, SMS, or mail
- Send information about our products, services, and opportunities (where you have agreed)
- Maintain safety, prevent fraud, and enforce our Terms of Service
- Investigate complaints and improve our services
If you withhold your personal information, it may not be possible for us to provide you with our products and services or for you to fully access our website or the HSA app.
We may disclose your personal information to comply with a legal requirement, such as a law, regulation, court order, subpoena, warrant, legal proceedings, or in response to a law enforcement agency request.
If there is a change of control in our business or a sale or transfer of business assets, we reserve the right to transfer our user databases, together with any personal and non-personal information contained in those databases, to the extent permissible by law.
Public profiles and messaging
On the HSA app, your first name, general location (suburb/state), bio, and verification badges are visible to other logged-in members. We facilitate messaging between users and may monitor these systems for safety, fraud prevention, and to enforce our Terms of Service.
Disclosure of your personal information
House Sitting Australia may disclose your personal information to our employees, officers, insurers, professional advisers, agents, suppliers, or subcontractors (including hosting, payment, and identity verification providers) insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.
If we do disclose your personal information to a third party, we will protect it in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Data retention and deletion
We retain your profile and account data while your account is active. If you request deletion of your HSA app account, contact hsa@oze.au from your registered email address. We will purge your data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain records for disputes, payments, or legal compliance.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Where the GDPR applies, House Sitting Australia will comply with the principles of data protection set out in that regulation, including lawfulness, fairness, transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, and confidentiality. You may have rights to access, correct, erase, restrict, or object to processing of your personal data, and to data portability, subject to applicable law.
To exercise these rights, contact hsa@oze.au.