Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-05-09

Velvet Paws Cat Grooming Greenvale ("we", "us", "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights under the Australian Privacy Act 1988, including the Australian Privacy Principles (APP).

1. What information we collect

We collect personal information only to deliver our cat grooming services and respond to your enquiries. The categories we collect include:

Contact details — your name, email address, mobile number — when you book an appointment, send us a message, or fill in the contact form.
Pet information — your cat's name, breed, age, behavioural notes, and any health conditions you disclose so we can groom safely.
Booking history — services booked, dates, prices and any notes from previous appointments.
Payment-related information — we accept cash on pickup or bank transfer. If you pay by bank transfer, your bank's reference data is visible to us. We do not store credit card details.
Website analytics — non-identifying browsing data via Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager (page views, device type, approximate region, time on site). See "Cookies and tracking" below.
Communications — copies of WhatsApp, SMS, email or phone-call records related to your booking.

2. How we use your information

To confirm, schedule, change or cancel your appointment.
To send service-specific updates (e.g. text you when your cat is ready for pickup).
To respond to enquiries and follow up on quotes.
To keep notes on your cat's history so future appointments are smoother.
To improve our website and services through anonymous analytics.
To comply with legal, taxation or regulatory obligations.

We do not use your information for unsolicited marketing. We do not sell your information.

3. Who we share information with

We share the minimum amount of information needed with the following service providers, all of whom are bound by their own privacy obligations:

Hosting provider — our website is hosted on a cPanel-managed server in Australia. The host has access to server-stored form submissions only as needed for technical maintenance.
Cloudflare — provides edge security and content delivery. Cloudflare may process limited connection metadata (IP, request path, user agent) under its own privacy policy.
Google Analytics & Google Tag Manager — anonymous analytics. Google may transfer this data internationally under its own privacy policy.
Booking widget provider — our online booking widget is provided by a third-party scheduling platform (CatGroomPro). Booking submissions are processed by that platform.
Maps and routing — Google Maps Platform provides the embedded maps and directions on our pages.
Communications platforms — when you contact us via WhatsApp (Meta), SMS (your carrier), or email, those platforms process the message under their own policies.

We do not transfer personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

4. Cookies and tracking

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies for two purposes:

Essential cookies — keep your booking session and preferences. These cannot be disabled without breaking site functionality.
Analytics cookies (Google Analytics 4 via Tag Manager GTM-MK2P8CMZ) — measure aggregate page views, time on site, geographic region (city-level), and device type. We do not use these for cross-site tracking or advertising.

You can disable analytics cookies in your browser settings or use private browsing mode. Disabling them does not affect our ability to deliver services to you.

5. How long we keep your information

Active customer records — kept while you remain a customer plus seven years after your last appointment, in line with Australian Tax Office record-keeping requirements.
Enquiry-only contacts (no booking made) — kept for up to 12 months, then deleted.
Website analytics data — retained per Google Analytics retention settings (default 14 months).
Communications logs — kept while related to active service delivery, then archived for the same seven-year period.

6. Security

We protect your information through the following measures:

HTTPS encryption on every page.
Modern security headers (HSTS, CSP, X-Frame-Options).
Cloudflare edge protection against bot abuse and DDoS.
Limited staff access — only Natalia accesses customer records.
Encrypted backups stored outside the public webroot.

No system is perfectly secure. We commit to notifying you if we discover a data breach affecting your personal information.

7. Your rights

Under the Australian Privacy Principles, you have the right to:

Ask what personal information we hold about you.
Receive a copy of that information in a usable format.
Correct any information that is wrong or out of date.
Request deletion of your information (subject to our legal record-keeping obligations).
Withdraw consent for analytics tracking at any time (browser settings).
Lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) if you believe we have mishandled your information.

8. Children's privacy

Our website and services are not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has provided information to us, please contact us so we can delete it.

9. International transfers

Some of our service providers (Google, Cloudflare, Meta) operate internationally and may store or process data outside Australia. By using our website you consent to these transfers. These providers are bound by their own privacy commitments and applicable data protection laws.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent change. Material changes will be communicated via a notice on our homepage for at least 30 days.

11. Contact us

If you have a privacy question, want to access or correct your information, or want to make a complaint:

Email: Email…
Phone: 0491 109 240
Post: Velvet Paws Cat Grooming Greenvale, 5 Milestone Street, Greenvale VIC 3059

We will acknowledge your enquiry within 7 days and aim to resolve it within 30 days.