Effective date: 22 July 2026 Version: 2.0
1. About this Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how AquaNetica handles personal information worldwide. AquaNetica is operated by AquaNetica Pty Ltd of Level 4, 114 William Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia (“AquaNetica”, “we”, “us”, “our”).
We handle personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and, where they apply to you, the laws of your region, including the General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union and the United Kingdom (GDPR and UK GDPR) and United States state privacy laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The region specific sections in clause 16 add to the rest of this Policy for users in those regions.
This Policy works alongside our Terms of Service, our Data Policy and our AquaNetica IQ AI Assistant Terms.
2. What is personal information
Personal information (also called personal data) is information about an identified or reasonably identifiable individual. Sensitive information (called special category data under GDPR) is a subset with extra protection. We do not seek sensitive information, and we do not sell or share it.
3. What we collect
We collect:
(a) account and profile information, including name, business name, role, email, phone, location and profile content;
(b) verification information, where you or your business are verified;
(c) content you provide, including posts, comments, listings, reviews, messages, job posts and applications;
(d) transaction and billing information. Card details are handled by our payment processors and are not stored by us;
(e) AquaNetica IQ interactions, including the questions you submit, the project system profiles you create, and the inputs you enter into the calculators;
(f) files you upload to AquaNetica IQ, including drawings, datasheets and documents, which are handled as described in clause 7; and
(g) usage and device information, including IP address, device and browser details and how you interact with the Services, collected through cookies and similar technologies.
4. How we collect it
We collect personal information directly from you, automatically through your use of the Services, and sometimes from third parties such as your employer, partners, referees, payment processors and analytics providers, where it is reasonable and lawful to do so.
5. Why we use it, and our lawful bases
We use personal information to provide, operate, secure and improve the Services; create and verify accounts; enable the community, marketplace, job board, concierge and AquaNetica IQ features; process payments; communicate with you, including marketing where permitted; provide support; prevent fraud and misuse; produce aggregated and de-identified insights in accordance with our Data Policy; and comply with our legal obligations.
Where GDPR applies, our lawful bases are: performance of our contract with you; your consent, which you can withdraw at any time; our legitimate interests in operating and improving the Services, where not overridden by your rights; and compliance with legal obligations.
6. How we share information
6.1 We may disclose personal information to:
(a) service providers who help us run the Services, including hosting, cloud storage, payment processing, analytics, email, support and artificial intelligence providers, under confidentiality and security obligations;
(b) other users, where you choose to share it, including through your profile, posts, listings and reviews;
(c) suppliers, employers or counterparties, where you enquire, apply or transact;
(d) professional advisers, regulators and authorities where required or permitted by law; and
(e) a successor in connection with a sale or reorganisation of our business, in which case we will take reasonable steps to ensure your information remains subject to protections consistent with this Policy.
6.2 We do not sell your personal information. We do not sell, licence, rent or trade personal information that identifies you, and we do not disclose it to advertisers or data brokers for their own commercial or marketing purposes.
6.3 Aggregated and de-identified insights. We may create and publish aggregated, de-identified insights about how the Services are used and about industry trends. We take reasonable steps to ensure individuals and businesses cannot be re-identified, and we recognise that in a sector with a small number of operators a combination of species, region and scale can identify a business even without a name attached. We will not publish or share aggregated insights where the sample is small enough that re-identification is a realistic risk, and we will not create aggregated data products from member operational data for sale or licensing without giving you notice and obtaining your separate consent. Our Data Policy sets this out in full.
6.4 We do not use your content, questions or uploaded files to train artificial intelligence models, and our artificial intelligence providers process them under commercial terms that prohibit training on customer content.
7. AquaNetica IQ, artificial intelligence and automated processing
7.1 AquaNetica IQ is our artificial intelligence knowledge assistant. When you use it, your question and any attached file are transmitted to a third party artificial intelligence provider so that a response can be generated for you. The AquaNetica IQ AI Assistant Terms explain how the feature works and its limitations.
7.2 Files you upload to AquaNetica IQ are held on your own device. They are transmitted to our artificial intelligence provider only to answer the question you have asked. We do not store your uploaded files on our servers, do not add them to the AquaNetica IQ document library, and do not record their contents in our logs. Detaching a file removes it from the conversation.
7.3 Your questions and uploaded content are processed by our artificial intelligence provider under commercial terms that prohibit their use to train artificial intelligence models.
7.4 Conversations, projects and saved calculations are currently stored in your browser rather than in an account-linked store. They are specific to the device and browser you use, may be cleared automatically after a period of inactivity, and will be lost if you clear your browser data. We do not hold a copy and cannot restore them. If we introduce account-linked storage, we will update this Policy and give you notice beforehand.
7.5 Please do not enter personal information about other people into AquaNetica IQ, and do not upload material you are not entitled to share, including material belonging to your employer or a client.
7.6 Automated processing and automated decision making. We use software and automated tools to help operate the Services, including fraud and security checks, content filtering, usage limits, and matching listings or roles.
AquaNetica IQ produces information, guidance and calculations that may inform decisions you make about your operation. It is a decision support tool. It does not make decisions about you, and we do not use it to make decisions about your rights, entitlements or access to the Services.
We do not make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you using automated processing alone, without human involvement. Where automated tools contribute to a decision affecting your account, such as a suspension for suspected fraud or misuse, a person reviews the matter before it takes effect wherever practical, and you may ask us to review any such decision by contacting our Privacy Officer.
If we introduce automated decision making that significantly affects individuals, we will update this Policy, describe the kinds of personal information used and the kinds of decisions made, and provide the information and rights that the law requires.
8. International data transfers
AquaNetica operates globally. Your personal information may be stored or processed in Australia and in other countries where we and our service providers operate, which may have different data protection laws. Where we transfer personal information across borders, including out of the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we take reasonable steps and use lawful transfer mechanisms, such as Standard Contractual Clauses or transfers to countries with an adequacy decision, to protect it. By using the Services, you acknowledge that your information may be transferred internationally.
9. Direct marketing and your choices
We may send you marketing about the Services where you have consented or where the law permits, consistent with the Spam Act 2003 (Cth) and applicable laws in your region. Every marketing message includes an unsubscribe option, and you can opt out at any time using that option or by contacting our Privacy Officer. We will still send service messages necessary to operate your account.
10. Cookies and analytics
We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the Services, remember your preferences, measure usage and improve performance, and we use third party analytics tools. You can manage cookies through your browser settings, although some features may not work without them. Where the law in your region requires consent for non-essential cookies, we will seek it through a cookie banner or similar tool.
11. Security
We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These include access controls, encryption in transit, supplier due diligence, limiting the personal information we hold, and restricting what is recorded in our logs. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
12. Data breaches
We have processes to detect, assess and respond to data breaches. Where a breach is notifiable under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme in the Privacy Act, the GDPR, or other applicable law, we will notify the affected individuals and the relevant regulator as and when required.
13. Retention
We retain personal information for as long as needed for the purposes in this Policy, to operate your account, to meet legal, accounting and regulatory obligations, and to resolve disputes. When it is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it. Content you posted publicly may remain visible where other users have quoted, copied or replied to it. Our Data Policy explains retention in more detail.
14. Your rights, access and correction
You may request access to the personal information we hold about you and ask us to correct it. You can update much of your information in your account, or contact our Privacy Officer. We will respond within a reasonable time and as required by the law that applies to you. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.
15. Children
The Services are intended for users aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact our Privacy Officer and we will take reasonable steps to delete it.
16. Your rights by region
16.1 Australia
We handle your personal information under the APPs. You may access and correct your information and make a privacy complaint to us. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.
16.2 European Union and United Kingdom
If you are in the EU or UK, you have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict and port your personal data, to object to processing including direct marketing, and to withdraw consent at any time. Where we rely on consent or contract for international transfers we use lawful safeguards as described in clause 8. You may lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority. If we are required to appoint an EU or UK representative, their contact details will be made available here. To exercise your rights, contact our Privacy Officer.
16.3 United States, including California
If you are a US resident, you may have the right to know what personal information we collect, use and disclose, to access and delete it, to correct it, and to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information and of targeted advertising. As set out in clause 6.2, we do not sell or share personal information for those purposes, so there is nothing to opt out of. We do not discriminate against you for exercising your rights. We honour recognised opt-out preference signals where required. To exercise your rights, contact our Privacy Officer.
17. Third party links
The Services may link to third party sites and services we do not control. This Policy does not apply to them. Please review their privacy policies.
18. Complaints
Contact our Privacy Officer with any privacy concern. We will acknowledge, investigate and respond within a reasonable time. You may also complain to the regulator in your region, including the OAIC in Australia, your supervisory authority in the EU or UK, or the relevant US state authority.
19. Changes
We may update this Policy from time to time. The current version is on the platform, with the effective date shown above. We will notify material changes through the Services or by email.
20. Contact
Privacy Officer AquaNetica Pty Ltd Level 4, 114 William Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia info@aquanetica.com
