Privacy Policy

D&T Autobody ("we", "us ", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, store and protect your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

1. Who We Are

D&T Autobody is a privately owned autobody repair and paint shop trading as D&T Autobody (ABN 81 202 902 721). We specialise in autobody repairs, refinishing, resprays, cut and polish, detailing, headlight restorations, bumper repairs and replacement panels. We service Horsham & surrounding areas — Horsham VIC 3400 and the wider Wimmera. You can contact us at any time using the details in Section 15.

2. What Personal Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of personal information:

• Identity information: your full name
• Contact information: your mobile or landline phone number
• Vehicle information: the year, make and model of the vehicle you are enquiring about, and any details you provide about the damage or work required
• Service information: the details you provide in your message or quote request, photographs of the damage you send through, and notes from our assessment of the vehicle
• Communication records: records of phone calls, SMS messages, quote-form submissions, chat-widget messages and messages sent via social media
• Technical information: IP address, browser type, device information and usage data when you visit our website
• Marketing preferences: your communication preferences and consent records

We do not request and do not store your email address through our website forms. If you choose to provide an email address by other means, we will handle it in accordance with this Privacy Policy. We do not generally collect sensitive information (as defined under the Privacy Act). If we ever need to collect sensitive information, we will only do so with your express consent and where it is reasonably necessary.

3. How We Collect Personal Information

We collect personal information:

• Directly from you when you submit a quote form on our website, send a message through our chat widget, call us, message us on social media, or speak with us in person or by phone
• From third parties you have authorised (for example, another person booking or dropping off a vehicle on your behalf)
• Automatically when you interact with our website (via cookies and analytics tools)
• From publicly available sources where relevant to our services

If we receive personal information about you that we did not solicit, we will deal with it in accordance with APP 4.

4. Why We Collect Your Information

We collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information for the following primary purposes:

• To respond to your enquiry and provide an itemised quote for autobody repairs, refinishing, resprays or related work
• To carry out and document the repair, refinishing, paint or detailing work you have engaged us to perform
• To communicate with you about your enquiry, booking or repair (confirmations, reminders, work progress, completion and collection notifications, follow-ups)
• To process payments and manage billing
• To support warranty and after-sales service obligations
• To respond to enquiries and provide customer support
• To send you marketing communications where you have consented (see Section 6)
• To improve our services, website and customer experience
• To meet our legal, regulatory and contractual obligations, including under the Australian Consumer Law
• To prevent fraud and protect the security of our workshop and systems

We will only use your personal information for a secondary purpose where you would reasonably expect it, where you have consented, or where it is otherwise permitted by law.

5. Disclosure of Personal Information

We may disclose your personal information to:

• Service providers who help us run our business, including IT and website hosting providers, customer relationship management (CRM) and booking systems, SMS delivery services, social media platforms, payment processors, accounting providers, and cloud storage for records and photographs
• Parts suppliers and panel distributors where necessary to source replacement panels, parts or materials for your repair
• Professional advisors such as lawyers, accountants and auditors
• Government, regulatory or law enforcement bodies where required by law (for example, in response to a lawful subpoena, court order or police request involving a vehicle we have worked on)
• Successors in title in the event of a business sale, merger or restructure
• Any other party with your consent

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We require our service providers to handle your personal information consistently with this Privacy Policy and the Privacy Act.

6. Marketing Communications and Your Consent

By providing us with your phone number and by ticking the relevant consent box (or otherwise expressly agreeing), you consent to us contacting you by SMS and telephone for the following purposes:

• Service-related communications (quote follow-ups, booking confirmations, reminders, in-progress updates, "ready for collection" notifications, invoices, warranty notifications) — these are necessary to deliver our services
• Marketing communications (offers, promotions, seasonal deals, content we think you'll find useful)

All marketing communications we send comply with the Spam Act 2003 (Cth) and, where applicable, the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 (Cth). This means:

• We will clearly identify ourselves as the sender
• Every marketing SMS will contain a functional opt-out option
• You can opt out of phone marketing at any time by telling us, or by registering on the Do Not Call Register at www.donotcall.gov.au
• We keep records of your consent and opt-outs

Withdrawing your consent for marketing will not affect service-related communications that are necessary for work you have asked us to carry out.

7. Photographs of Vehicles

As part of our service we may take photographs of your vehicle before, during and after repair work, for the following purposes:

• to document the condition of your vehicle on arrival and at handover
• for internal quality control and training
• for warranty and dispute-resolution purposes
• if you have given us specific consent, on our website and social media channels (including Instagram and Facebook) for marketing purposes

Where photographs could identify you (for example, by showing the number plate or distinctive personalisations), we will either obscure those details or obtain your separate consent before publishing. You may withdraw consent for marketing use at any time by contacting us — we will remove future use, although we cannot recall material already published or shared on social media.

8. Third-Party CRM and Booking Systems

Information you submit through our quote form and chat widget may be processed through a third-party customer relationship management (CRM) and booking system that we use to manage enquiries, quotes and scheduling. This provider stores and processes your information on our behalf for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We have taken reasonable steps to ensure this provider handles your information securely and consistently with the APPs.

Some of our third-party service providers (for example, cloud hosting, SMS delivery, social media platforms and payment processing) may store or process your personal information outside Australia. Before disclosing personal information overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient handles your information consistently with the APPs, or we rely on a lawful exception under APP 8.

9. Storage and Security

We hold personal information in a combination of secure electronic systems (including our CRM) and, where necessary, physical files at our workshop. We take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, including:

• Encrypted storage and transmission where appropriate
• Access controls and authentication for staff
• Physical security at our workshop
• Confidentiality obligations for staff and contractors

When personal information is no longer needed for any purpose for which it may be used or disclosed under the APPs, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it, unless we are required by law to retain it (for example, for tax records or warranty obligations).

10. Cookies and Website Analytics

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to recognise you, remember your preferences, and analyse how visitors use our website. You can disable cookies through your browser settings, but some features of our website may not function correctly as a result.

We may use third-party analytics tools. These providers may collect information about your use of our website and may set their own cookies. We use this information to understand traffic and improve the website.

11. Your Rights — Access, Correction and Deletion

Under the Australian Privacy Principles, you have the right to:

• Request access to the personal information we hold about you (APP 12)
• Request correction of any information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading (APP 13)
• Request deletion of your personal information, or ask us to de-identify it, where it is no longer needed for any purpose permitted under the APPs and no law requires us to retain it
• Withdraw consent for marketing communications at any time
• Make a complaint about how we have handled your personal information

To make any of these requests, please contact us by phone on 0485 059 254 using the details in Section 15. We will respond within a reasonable period (usually within 30 days). There is no charge for requesting access, but we may charge a reasonable fee for providing access (we will let you know in advance).

12. Complaints

If you believe we have breached the APPs or otherwise mishandled your personal information, please contact us first by phone using the details in Section 15. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and aim to resolve it within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can refer your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

• Website: www.oaic.gov.au
• Phone: 1300 363 992
• Post: GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001

13. Children's Privacy

Our services are directed at vehicle owners, who are generally adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16 without parental or guardian consent. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can review and, where appropriate, delete it.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The updated version will be posted on our website with a new "Last updated" date. Significant changes will be communicated to existing customers where reasonably practicable.

15. Contact Us

If you have questions, requests or complaints about this Privacy Policy or our handling of your personal information, please contact:

This policy is a general template and does not constitute legal advice. D&T Autobody recommends seeking professional legal review to ensure full compliance with applicable laws.