1. About this policy
And Breathe ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of the people who use our services, visit our website, and share their information with us. This policy explains how we collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information, and how you can access it, correct it, or make a complaint.
Because we provide breathwork and clinical hypnotherapy services and hold health information about our clients, we are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), regardless of our size. This policy is designed to meet those obligations.
In this policy:
- And Breathe operates under ABN 39 131 416 786.
- "Personal information" means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.
- "Sensitive information" and "health information" have the meanings given in the Privacy Act, and include information about your health, medical history, and wellbeing.
2. The information we collect
Personal information
Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:
- Your name, email address, phone number, and postal address
- Payment and billing details (processed securely through our payment providers, see section 7)
- Account and login details for our courses and online programs
- Records of the sessions, courses, retreats, and products you have booked or purchased
- Responses you give in our online quizzes, intake forms, and questionnaires
- Your correspondence with us, including emails, messages, and enquiries
- Marketing preferences and how you engage with our emails and content
Sensitive and health information
Our breathwork and clinical hypnotherapy work means we may collect health and other sensitive information, such as:
- Relevant medical history and current health conditions
- Physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing information you share during intake or sessions
- Medications, contraindications, or safety information relevant to your participation
- Session notes and clinical records created in the course of working with you
- Goals, concerns, and personal circumstances you choose to disclose
We only collect sensitive information where it is reasonably necessary for our services and, in almost all cases, with your consent (see section 6).
3. How we collect your information
We collect information:
- Directly from you, when you book a session, buy a product or course, complete an intake form or quiz, join our mailing list, attend a retreat, or contact us
- Through our website and online platforms, including our Shopify store and course platform
- From your interactions with our emails and social media
- From third parties you have authorised, such as a corporate client who books our services on your behalf, or a referrer, where relevant
Where it is lawful and practicable, you have the option of dealing with us anonymously or using a pseudonym, though this may not be possible for hypnotherapy or breathwork sessions where we need accurate health information to keep you safe.
4. Why we collect, hold, use, and disclose your information
We use your information to:
- Provide breathwork, hypnotherapy, courses, retreats, and related services
- Assess your suitability and safety for a session, program, or retreat
- Process bookings, payments, and orders, and deliver products
- Keep accurate clinical and business records
- Respond to your enquiries and provide support
- Send you service-related communications, and, where permitted, marketing (see section 5)
- Improve our services, website, and content
- Meet our legal, insurance, and professional obligations
We will only use or disclose your information for the purpose it was collected, a directly related purpose you would reasonably expect, or where you have consented, or where otherwise permitted or required by law.
5. Direct marketing
With your consent, or where otherwise permitted under the Privacy Act, we may send you marketing about our services, offers, courses, and events by email or other channels.
You can opt out at any time by using the unsubscribe link in our emails or by contacting us using the details in section 13. We will action your request promptly. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not trade in personal information.
6. Consent for sensitive and health information
We collect sensitive information, including health information, only where it is reasonably necessary for our services and generally with your consent. By providing this information through our intake forms or during a session, you consent to us collecting, holding, and using it for the purposes described in this policy.
You can withdraw your consent or ask us to stop using your sensitive information at any time, though this may affect our ability to safely provide certain services to you.
7. Who we disclose your information to
We may disclose your information to trusted third parties who help us run our practice, including:
- Payment processors and our e-commerce platform (for example, Shopify and its payment providers)
- Our email marketing, customer relationship, and membership platform (Ivorey)
- Booking, scheduling, and forms tools we use
- IT, hosting, and data storage providers
- Our professional advisers, such as accountants, insurers, and lawyers, where necessary
- Government agencies, regulators, or others where required or authorised by law
We take reasonable steps to ensure these providers handle your information consistently with the Privacy Act. We do not disclose your clinical or health information for marketing purposes.
8. Overseas disclosure
Some of the platforms and service providers we use store or process data on servers located outside Australia (for example, in the United States or other countries). Where we disclose your information to an overseas recipient, we take reasonable steps to ensure it is handled in line with the Australian Privacy Principles. By providing your information to us, you acknowledge that it may be stored or processed overseas.
If you would like to know which countries your information may be held in, please contact us.
9. Cookies, analytics, and our website
Our website and online store may use cookies and similar technologies to help the site function, remember your preferences, and understand how visitors use our site. We may use analytics tools (for example, Google Analytics or Meta tools) that collect information about your device and browsing activity.
You can usually adjust your browser settings to refuse or delete cookies, though some parts of our website may not work properly if you do.
10. How we store and protect your information
We take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. These steps include secure storage, access controls, and using reputable third-party platforms that maintain their own security measures.
Clinical and health records are treated with particular care and are only accessible to those who need them to provide your care or run our practice.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so while we work hard to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
11. How long we keep your information
We keep your information only for as long as we need it for the purposes described in this policy, or as required by law, insurance, or professional record-keeping obligations. Health records in particular may need to be retained for a minimum period under applicable laws. When we no longer need your information, we take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify it.
12. Accessing and correcting your information
You have the right to ask for access to the personal information we hold about you, and to ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, or misleading.
To make a request, contact us using the details in section 13. We will respond within a reasonable time. In some cases we may need to verify your identity first, and there are limited circumstances where we may not be able to give access, in which case we will explain why.
13. Contact us and making a complaint
If you have any questions about this policy, want to access or correct your information, or wish to make a complaint about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us:
We take privacy complaints seriously. We will acknowledge your complaint, investigate it, and respond to you in a reasonable time, usually within 30 days.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):
- Website: www.oaic.gov.au
- Phone: 1300 363 992
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or the law. The current version will always be available on our website, with the "last updated" date at the top. We encourage you to review it periodically.