Privacy Policy

We are committed to protecting your personal information and handling it responsibly. This Privacy Policy explains how Sharps Australia Pty Ltd ABN 61 614 182 982 (we, us, our) collects, uses, discloses, stores, and otherwise handles personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). 

By using our website, or providing personal information to us, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

WHO WE ARE

Sharps Australia is the national leader in vehicle hazard management, inspecting recovered stolen vehicles on behalf of insurers and related parties to identify and safely remove hazardous materials. As part of our work, we collect personal information about vehicle owners, clients, and others. 

PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

Personal information means information or an opinion about an identified or reasonably identifiable individual.

Information you provide directly to us

Contact and identity information	Name, email address, phone number, postal address.
Account information	Username, password, account preferences.
Payment and financial  Information	BPAY details, billing address (processed via secure payment gateway – we do not store full card numbers).
Enquiry and correspondence details	Content of messages, complaints, or feedback submitted to us.

We may also collect any other information you choose to provide.

Information we collect automatically

When you interact with our website, we may automatically collect:

Technical data	IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device identifiers
Usage data	Pages visited, links clicked, time spent on pages, referring URLs
Cookie data	Session and persistent cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies (see Cookies and Tracking Technologies)

Information from third parties

We may receive information about you from third parties, including:

• Business partners and referrers
• Social media platforms (where you interact with us via social media)
• Publicly available sources, and
• Credit reporting bodies (where applicable, and where you have been notified).

Sensitive information

Sensitive information is a specific category of personal information that attracts higher legal protections under the Privacy Act. Due to the nature of our services, we may collect or generate sensitive information through two distinct operational channels.

Chemical test results	Hazardous substance test results — including methamphetamine contamination findings — may be linked to a registered vehicle and inadvertently constitute sensitive information. Our services are rendered for capturing environmental data in relation to stolen vehicles, to prevent harm to subsequent vehicle handlers and the vehicle owner/operator.
Inspection photographs	We photographically catalogue vehicle contents during inspections for hazard documentation and chain of custody purposes (see Why We Collect and Use Personal Information).

HOW WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

We collect personal information:

• directly from you when you create an account, upon receiving a booking, whilst conducting our inspections (as described in Sensitive Information), submitting an inquiry, signing up to a newsletter, or when you otherwise contact us
• via our website through cookies and analytics tools
• from third parties described above, or
• through publicly available sources.

Where it is reasonably practicable, we will collect personal information directly from you. Otherwise, we collect your personal information from our client or providing a service in accordance with the terms of our client agreement and your insurance policy.

WHY WE COLLECT AND USE PERSONAL INFORMATION

We collect and use personal information for the following primary purposes:

Rendering our products and services	Entity name(s), contact details, payment details, account information, vehicle identifiers, claim number
Processing transactions and payments	Financial information, contact details
Responding to enquiries, requests, and complaints	Contact details, correspondence content
Managing our customer relationships and accounts	Contact and account information, transaction history
Sending service-related communications	Email address, contact details
Sending published communications (with consent)	Email address, contact preferences
Improving our website, products, and services	Usage data, analytics, feedback
Complying with our legal obligations	As required by applicable law
Fraud prevention and security	Technical data, transaction details
Inspection records	Photos of vehicle interior and exterior, close-up images of hazardous material locations, photographic evidence of contamination indicators, and chain of custody.

We will not use or disclose personal information for purposes other than for those which it was collected, except with your consent, or as permitted or required by law.

DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We may disclose personal information to:

Vehicle owners / registered vehicle operators	Upon request, we provide a photographic record of vehicle contents, captured at the time of the inspection. This enables these parties to verify what was present in the vehicle, confirm what items were returned to them, and understand what was disposed of (disposal is undertaken if necessary for health and safety reasons).
Insurers / individual clients	Inspection reports and test results are disclosed to this party for the purpose of supporting insurance claim processing, and vehicle hazard clearance. Where inspection photographs are included in disclosures to third parties, we take reasonable steps to ensure images capturing sensitive information are reviewed before disclosure.
Law enforcement agencies / as required by law	If required or authorised by law, or where we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary for enforcement related activities.
Accredited testing laboratories	Test samples taken from the vehicle are provided to accredited laboratories for confirmatory testing.
Service providers and contractors	This relates to parties who assist us in operating our business, including IT and cloud services, remediation contractors, and operational support providers. This may also include professional advisors.

We require all third-party service providers to only use personal information in accordance with our instructions. All disclosures are controlled and purposive. We do not sell personal information or share it for marketing purposes.

OVERSEAS DISCLOSURE

Some of our contractors and service providers are located overseas. Where we disclose personal information to recipients located outside Australia, we take reasonable steps to ensure those recipients comply with the Australian Privacy Principles or are otherwise subject to similar protections. These recipients may be located in the United States and the Philippines.

DATA SECURITY

We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. Our security measures include:

• Access controls and authentication requirements for internal systems
• Regular security assessments and monitoring
• Staff training on privacy and information security obligations

In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and affected individuals in accordance with our obligations under the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme.

DATA RETENTION

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Once information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify it.

COOKIES AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGY

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience and help us understand how visitors use our site. Cookies are small text files stored on your device.

Types of cookies we use:

Essential cookies	Required for the website to function (cannot be disabled).
Analytics cookies	Helps us understand your usage patterns.
Functional cookies	Remembers your preferences and settings.

Managing cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website. For information on how to manage cookies, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

ACCESS, CORRECTION AND ENQUIRIES

You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you, and to request corrections if the information is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading.

To make an access or correction request, and general privacy enquiries please contact us at:

Email	privacy@sharpsaustralia.com.au
Post	Privacy Officer Sharps Australia 2-4 Hamptons Street, Newtown Vic 3220

We will respond to your request within a reasonable period of time (generally 30 days) and free of charge, unless your request is complex or repeated. If this is the case, we will liaise with you about our reasonable costs.

PRIVACY COMPLAINTS 

If you believe we have not complied with this Privacy Policy or our obligations under the Privacy Act, please contact our Privacy Officer at privacy@sharpsaustralia.com.au. We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 business days and aim to resolve it within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

Website	www.oaic.gov.au
Phone	1300 363 992
Post	GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001

LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites and encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.

CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal obligations. Updated versions will be posted on our website with a revised effective date. Where changes are material, we will notify you by email or prominent notice on our website.