Privacy Policy - Landscaping Victoria

This Privacy Policy explains how Landscaping Victoria collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with its services. It applies to all Landscaping Victoria customers in the area, including individuals, household representatives, property owners, tenants, and business clients who engage with our landscaping services, request quotations, book work, or otherwise interact with us.

We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This policy is intended to help you understand what we do with your personal data, why we process it, and what rights you have.

1. Information We Collect

We collect personal data that is necessary to provide landscaping services, manage customer relationships, fulfil legal obligations, and improve our operations. The data we collect may include:

Identity information such as your name, title, and business or household details.
Contact information such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Property and service information including site access details, service preferences, garden or outdoor area requirements, and project specifications.
Payment information necessary for invoicing, payment processing, and record keeping.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, and service feedback.
Technical information such as basic website or device data where applicable, for example IP address or browser type if submitted through our digital systems.
Photographs and site images used to assess work requirements, document completed projects, or support quotations and planning.

We may also receive personal information from third parties where it is necessary for our services, such as a property manager, contractor, or another person authorised to act on your behalf.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data only for legitimate business purposes and where we have a lawful basis to do so. Typical uses include:

Providing landscaping, maintenance, design, and related services.
Preparing quotations, estimates, invoices, and service agreements.
Scheduling visits, managing projects, and coordinating staff or subcontractors.
Communicating with customers about enquiries, appointments, changes, or service updates.
Processing payments and maintaining financial records.
Meeting legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations.
Handling complaints, disputes, and service quality issues.
Improving our services, internal processes, and customer experience.
Protecting our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud, misuse, or other risks.

We do not use personal data for purposes that are incompatible with those listed above unless we have a valid lawful basis or your consent where required.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must identify a lawful basis for each processing activity. Landscaping Victoria relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing quotations, booking services, carrying out landscaping work, invoicing, and responding to service-related requests.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include maintaining service records, improving operations, preventing fraud, managing customer communications, and ensuring site safety.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain personal information where required to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, employment, health and safety, and record-keeping requirements.

Consent

In certain situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is needed for optional communications or specific uses of data not otherwise covered by another lawful basis. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before withdrawal.

4. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, contractual, accounting, insurance, or reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the purpose of processing.

Customer and service records are retained for the duration of the working relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and invoicing records are retained for the period required by applicable tax and accounting laws.
Project documentation and site images may be retained to support service records, quality assurance, and dispute resolution.
Communication records are kept as long as needed to manage enquiries, resolve issues, or evidence agreements.

When data is no longer required, we will delete it securely, anonymise it, or archive it where appropriate. We do not retain personal data indefinitely.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to operate our business and deliver our services. These third parties may act as data processors or independent controllers depending on the context.

Processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers that store or manage data systems.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers supporting invoicing, payments, and tax compliance.
Payment service providers that facilitate secure transactions.
Professional advisers such as legal, insurance, or compliance advisers.
Subcontractors or specialist service partners involved in carrying out landscaping work.
Website, scheduling, or communication tools used for operational purposes.

Where processors handle personal data on our behalf, they are required to process it only under our instructions, apply appropriate security measures, and protect the confidentiality of the information. We may also disclose data where necessary to comply with a legal request, enforce our rights, protect the safety of others, or respond to a lawful authority.

We do not sell personal data.

6. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, restricted permissions, staff awareness, and retention controls. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to reduce risks and address incidents promptly.

7. Your Rights Under GDPR

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

Right of access – to request confirmation of whether we process your data and to obtain a copy.
Right to rectification – to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain cases.
Right to restrict processing – to request limited processing in specific situations.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

To exercise these rights, you may need to provide sufficient information to verify your identity and describe your request clearly. We will respond within the time limits set by law unless an extension is permitted.

Please note: some rights may not apply in all situations, and we may continue to process data where we have a lawful reason to do so, such as compliance with legal obligations or the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are generally intended for adults acting on behalf of homes, properties, or businesses. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental to providing services and only where appropriate legal basis exists. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child inappropriately, we will take steps to delete it.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review the policy periodically so they remain informed about how personal data is processed.

10. Our Commitment

Landscaping Victoria is committed to using personal information responsibly and transparently. We aim to collect only what is necessary, keep it secure, retain it for no longer than needed, and respect the rights of the individuals whose data we hold. By using our services or engaging with us, you acknowledge that this policy applies to your personal data and that we will process it in accordance with GDPR and other applicable laws.