Privacy Policy

1. Personal Information We Collect

In the course of providing our services, Green Choice Consulting may collect the following personal information about clients and other individuals connected with a project:

• Full name, business name, postal address, telephone numbers, and email address
• ABN and business details, where relevant to the engagement
• Property and project information, including site address, design documentation, and plans
• Payment and billing details, including credit card and bank account information processed through Stripe
• Feedback, survey responses, and customer support correspondence
• Records of communications, including recorded calls and meetings (see clause 3 below)

We only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for the services we provide. We do not seek to collect sensitive information from clients, and where it is volunteered, we will only use it for the purpose it was provided.

2. How We Collect Information

Green Choice Consulting collects personal information directly from clients, or from third parties, in the following circumstances:

• Direct contact — phone, email, our website, or in person
• Quote requests, engagement agreements, and project documentation
• Our client portal, where clients submit project details and make payment
• Referrals from builders, designers, or other third parties involved in a project
• Cookies and website analytics tools (see clause 9 below)

3. Use of Personal Information

Green Choice Consulting uses client personal information for the following purposes:

• Preparing quotes, engagement agreements, and delivering assessment services
• Communicating with clients about their project, including updates, queries, and revised information requests
• Processing payments through our client portal and Stripe
• Notifying clients of new products, services, or relevant regulatory changes
• Improving our services, including through client feedback
• Meeting our obligations under NatHERS, BASIX, and other applicable compliance schemes
• Internal record-keeping, quality assurance, and reporting

Where we use AI tools (see clause 8 below) or recording tools (see clause 7 below) in the course of providing services, client information processed through these tools is handled in accordance with this Policy.

Clients may opt out of receiving marketing communications about new products or services at any time, using the unsubscribe link included in any marketing message, or by emailing privacy@greenchoiceconsulting.com.au.

4. NatHERS-Specific Data Sharing

In accordance with the data collection and sharing requirements of the NatHERS Technical Note (as amended from time to time), by engaging Green Choice Consulting for a NatHERS assessment, the client acknowledges and agrees to the collection of personal information including their name, email address, phone number, ABN (where applicable), design documentation, and the NatHERS assessment itself. This information may be disclosed to:

• The relevant NatHERS software provider; and
• The NatHERS Administrator and the Applicable Assessor Accrediting Organisation, for the purposes of quality assurance, investigation, and audits — including consent for these organisations to contact the client in relation to any findings relevant to the NatHERS assessment.

5. Disclosure to Third Parties

Green Choice Consulting may disclose client personal information to third parties where this is reasonably necessary for the services we provide, or required by law, including:

• Our employees, officers, insurers, professional advisers, agents, and suppliers, as reasonably necessary to deliver our services
• Subcontracted assessors engaged to assist in delivering an engagement
• NatHERS software providers, the NatHERS Administrator, and Assessor Accrediting Organisations (see clause 4 above)
• Payment processors, including Stripe, for the purposes of processing payments
• Our accounting and business platforms, including Xero
• Debt collection agencies, where recovery of outstanding amounts owed to Green Choice Consulting is required
• Regulatory bodies, courts, or law enforcement agencies, where required by law
• Professional advisers engaged by Green Choice Consulting

Green Choice Consulting engages international contractors to assist with service delivery, including contractors located in the Philippines. Where personal information is transferred to, or accessible by, persons located outside Australia, Green Choice Consulting will take reasonable steps to ensure that those parties handle the information in a manner consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles.

Personal information may also be transferred as part of the sale or transfer of all or part of Green Choice Consulting's business or assets.

Green Choice Consulting will not sell client personal information or disclose it to third parties for unrelated marketing purposes.

6. Security of Personal Information

Green Choice Consulting takes reasonable physical, electronic, and managerial steps to protect client personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. This includes access controls, password protection, secure storage, and confidentiality obligations on staff and contractors who handle personal information.

No method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage, is completely secure. While Green Choice Consulting takes reasonable steps to protect personal information, we cannot guarantee absolute security in all circumstances.

We retain client personal information only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet our legal, accounting, NatHERS compliance, and professional indemnity insurance obligations. Project records are generally retained for a minimum of 7 years from the date of the final report, consistent with industry record-keeping practice.

7. Recording of Communications

Green Choice Consulting may use digital recording tools, including Fireflies, to record telephone calls, video conferences, and meetings with clients for the purposes of quality assurance, record-keeping, and training.

Consent to the recording of communications connected with the services provided is obtained through Green Choice Consulting's engagement agreement, and is confirmed by a verbal notification at the start of each recorded call. Clients must inform their own employees, agents, and representatives who participate in a recorded call or meeting that recording may occur. Any participant may ask, at the commencement of the communication, for recording to be disabled, and Green Choice Consulting will comply with that request.

Recordings are stored securely and handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

8. Use of AI Tools

Green Choice Consulting may use artificial intelligence tools, automated systems, and digital platforms (including Claude) in the delivery of services, including for data analysis, report preparation, and administrative functions. All outputs generated with the assistance of AI tools are reviewed by a qualified assessor before delivery to the client.

Client information processed through these tools is handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy and the Australian Privacy Principles.

In addition to using AI tools to assist with report preparation and administrative tasks, Green Choice Consulting may use information collected through our services — including assessment data, building specifications, and other project-related information — to develop, train, and improve our own internal tools, models, and assessment processes, with the aim of improving the accuracy, efficiency, and quality of the services we provide. Where reasonably practicable, information used for this purpose is de-identified or aggregated. Green Choice Consulting does not permit third-party AI providers to use client Personal Information to train their own general-purpose or publicly available AI models.

9. Website and Client Portal

Our website and client portal may collect browser type, operating system, and referring site information through cookies and similar technologies, for the purposes of website analytics (using tools such as Google Analytics) and, where applicable, targeted advertising (including Google Ads). Clients can adjust their browser settings to manage cookie preferences, and can opt out of personalised advertising using Google's Ads Settings (adssettings.google.com); however, this may affect the functionality of our website or portal.

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. Green Choice Consulting does not endorse and is not responsible for the privacy practices of those third-party sites.

Information submitted through the client portal, including project details and payment information, is collected and used in accordance with this Policy.

10. Notifiable Data Breaches

In the event of a data breach involving personal information that is likely to result in serious harm, Green Choice Consulting will comply with its obligations under the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme in Part IIIC of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including notifying the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and affected individuals as required.

11. Access and Correction

Clients may request access to the personal information Green Choice Consulting holds about them, and may request correction of any inaccurate or out-of-date information. Requests should be made in writing to the contact details below. Green Choice Consulting will respond to access requests within a reasonable timeframe in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). A reasonable administrative fee may apply. We may refuse a request for access in certain circumstances permitted under the Privacy Act.

12. Complaints

If a client has a complaint about how Green Choice Consulting has handled their personal information, they should submit the complaint in writing to the contact below. For the fastest response, please contact us by email.

Privacy Officer, Green Choice Consulting Pty Ltd

Email: privacy@greenchoiceconsulting.com.au

Green Choice Consulting will acknowledge the complaint and respond within a reasonable timeframe. If a client is not satisfied with our response, they may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au.

13. Changes to This Policy

Green Choice Consulting may update this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in legislation, regulatory guidance, or our operations. Where a change materially affects how already-collected personal information is handled, we will give reasonable notice of the change (for example, by email or a notice on our client portal) before it takes effect. This policy will be reviewed at least annually.