Last updated: January 2025
1. About This Policy
Maitland Tree Service is a tree service business operating across Maitland and the Hunter Valley region of NSW. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
This policy applies to all clients, prospective clients, and website visitors who interact with Maitland Tree Service — whether you contact us from Rutherford, East Maitland, Thornton, Metford, or anywhere else across our Hunter Valley service area.
2. Information We Collect
We collect personal information only when it is reasonably necessary for our tree services business. The types of information we collect include:
- Contact details: Your name, phone number, and email address when you submit a quote request, contact form, or call us directly.
- Property information: Your suburb or property address in Maitland or surrounding areas of the Hunter Valley, needed for site assessment and scheduling.
- Job details: Description of the tree service work required — tree species, access conditions, council permit status, and any relevant details about your property.
- Council permit history: Where relevant to tree removal or arborist work under Maitland City Council requirements.
- Website usage data: Pages visited and time on site through standard analytics. This data is not personally identifiable.
We do not collect sensitive information such as financial account details (payments are processed separately), health information, or government identifiers.
3. How We Use Your Information
The personal information we collect from Maitland and Hunter Valley clients is used solely for the following purposes:
- Responding to your quote requests and service enquiries
- Scheduling site assessments, tree removal, and arborist visits
- Preparing and issuing quotes, invoices, and completion documentation
- Coordinating council permit applications with Maitland City Council where required
- Issuing arborist reports for council, insurance, or property transaction purposes
- Sending service reminders or follow-up communications related to your job
- Improving our website and service quality
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. We will never share your details with unrelated businesses or use them for purposes you haven't consented to.
4. Disclosure of Information
We may share your personal information with trusted third parties in limited circumstances:
- Subcontractors: Occasionally, specialist work (crane hire, traffic management for roadside trees) is performed by carefully selected subcontractors. They receive only the information needed to complete the specific task.
- Software providers: We use standard business tools (scheduling software, email platforms). These providers operate under their own privacy policies and are not permitted to use your data for their own purposes.
- Legal requirements: We may disclose information if required by law or in response to lawful requests by government authorities.
All third parties we work with are required to handle your information in accordance with Australian privacy law.
5. Data Storage and Security
Your personal information is stored securely in our database systems. We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access or disclosure. Our quote and lead data is stored on encrypted servers with access limited to authorised personnel only.
We retain your information for as long as necessary to deliver our tree services and meet our legal obligations. Quote enquiries from Maitland clients that did not proceed to a job are typically deleted after 12 months.
6. Cookies and Website Analytics
Our website uses standard web analytics to understand how visitors find and use our site. This may include pages viewed, referral sources, and device type. This data is aggregated and does not identify individual users. We do not use tracking cookies for advertising or remarketing purposes.
7. Access and Correction
You have the right to request access to the personal information Maitland Tree Service holds about you, and to request correction of any inaccurate information. To make a request, contact us via our contact page. We will respond within 30 days and will not charge a fee for reasonable access requests.
8. Complaints
If you believe we have mishandled your personal information, please contact us first so we can attempt to resolve the matter. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.
9. Contact Us
Maitland Tree Service serves Maitland and the wider Hunter Valley region, including Rutherford, East Maitland, Thornton, Metford. For all privacy-related enquiries, please contact us through our contact page. We take privacy matters seriously and will respond promptly.