Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Apex Balloons and Events (ABN 42 429 771 795), based in Kings Langley, NSW ("we", "us", "our"), operates apexballoonsandevents.com.au ("the Website") and sells personalised balloon products for delivery and collection across Sydney and the Hills District.

2. Our Approach to Privacy

We are a small business. Depending on our annual turnover, we may currently qualify for the small business exemption under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), which can mean the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) do not strictly apply to us as a matter of law. Regardless, we have chosen to handle your personal information in line with the APPs as a matter of good practice, and this Policy is written to reflect that standard.

3. Personal Information We Collect

When you place an order or otherwise use the Website, we may collect:

• Your name: as the person placing the order.
• Email address: for order confirmation, receipts and order-related communication.
• Phone/mobile number: so we can reach you about your delivery or collection.
• Delivery or collection details: your delivery address, or your selected collection time, plus any venue or access notes you provide (e.g. unit number, gate code).
• Recipient contact details: if you add a separate recipient contact (name, mobile, email) for an order that is being sent to someone else.
• Order information: the products, quantities, colours and options you select.
• Personalised wording: any names, numbers, messages or instructions you type in for personalised products.
• Payment information: handled directly by Stripe (see Section 6); we do not receive or store your full card details ourselves.

4. Why We Collect It

We collect this information to:

• process and confirm your order;
• arrange and complete delivery or collection at the correct address and time;
• contact you (or your nominated recipient) about your order if needed;
• produce your order exactly as personalised/requested;
• process payment through Stripe; and
• keep records of orders for our own business and accounting purposes.

5. Recipient Information Supplied by the Purchaser

If you provide details for someone else receiving the order (a recipient's name, mobile or email), you confirm that you are authorised to share that information with us for the purpose of delivering or coordinating that order. We only use recipient details for order fulfilment and delivery-related communication, never for marketing.

6. Payment Information & Stripe

Payments are processed by Stripe, a third-party payment processor. When you pay, your card details are sent directly to Stripe and handled under Stripe's own security standards (PCI-DSS); we do not see, receive or store your full card number. Stripe may hold your payment and contact details as needed to process the transaction, under its own privacy policy.

7. Order Storage & Third-Party Service Providers

We use the following third-party services to run our business and the Website:

• Stripe: payment processing (see Section 6).
• Supabase: our order and booking database, used to store and manage order records.
• Google (Places/Maps): used on the delivery address field so you can search for and select your address; your typed address text is sent to Google to generate suggestions.
• Email delivery: order confirmations and internal booking notifications are sent via our email provider.

We only share the personal information necessary for each provider to perform its function for us. We do not sell your personal information to anyone, and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

8. Storage & Security

Order and booking information is stored in our Supabase database. We take reasonable steps to keep personal information secure, including relying on the security measures built into the third-party platforms we use (Stripe, Supabase, Google). No method of storage or transmission over the internet is completely secure, but we act promptly to address any issue we become aware of.

9. Data Retention

We keep order records for as long as reasonably necessary for business, accounting and legal purposes (for example, to respond to a query about a past order, or to meet tax record-keeping obligations). We do not have a fixed automatic deletion schedule at this time.

10. Access & Correction

You can ask us for access to the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it, by emailing apexballoonsandevents@gmail.com. We will respond within a reasonable time.

11. Privacy Enquiries & Complaints

If you have a question or concern about how we handle your personal information, please contact us at apexballoonsandevents@gmail.com and we will do our best to resolve it. If you remain unsatisfied and the Privacy Act applies to Apex Balloons and Events in the circumstances, you may be able to make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

12. Marketing Communications

We do not currently send marketing emails or newsletters. If this changes in future, we will only do so with your consent and will provide a clear way to opt out of any such communication.

13. Cookies & Analytics

The Website currently does not use advertising or analytics tracking. Your shopping cart is temporarily stored in your browser's session storage so your selections can be retained while you shop.

14. Overseas & Cloud Processing

Some third-party service providers we use operate internationally and may process or store information using infrastructure located outside Australia. Where applicable, information is handled in accordance with the provider's privacy policy and our applicable legal obligations.

15. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices. The version and date at the top of this page will always show the current version.

16. Contact Us

For any privacy question, access request or complaint, contact:

Apex Balloons and Events
ABN 42 429 771 795
Kings Langley, NSW
apexballoonsandevents@gmail.com