Privacy policy & website terms OF USE

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 20/10/2025

1. Who we are

Journey Chinese (“we”, “us”, “our”) provides Mandarin language lessons and cultural travel content/experiences for learners in Australia via our website at journeychinese.com.au (the “Site”), online booking tools (e.g., Calendly), an online store, and event registrations.
You can contact us here.

2. Scope & application

This Policy applies to all personal information collected by us through the Site, our online store, booking tools, events, and other related services. It covers how we collect, hold, use, disclose and otherwise manage personal information.
We are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988.
By using our Site or engaging in our services, you accept the practices described in this Policy.

3. What personal information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following types of personal information (as relevant):

• Name, email address, telephone number, mailing address.

• Booking details via Calendly or other scheduling service, including preferences or notes that help us plan lessons.

• Payment information (via our online store or event registration) such as billing address, credit card or payment gateway details (though we rely on secure third-party payment providers and we do not retain your full payment card details ourselves).

• Purchase history (products, services) from our online store.

• Event registration information, including dietary or other special requirements, attendance preferences.

• Website usage data (e.g., IP address, browser type, pages visited, referring URL, timestamps) collected via cookies, analytics and similar technologies.

• Affiliate referral and commission data: when you click affiliate links on our Site and make purchases via our affiliate partners, we may receive and track attribution data.

• Marketing/remarketing data: if you subscribe to our newsletter, or opt in to receive marketing communications, we may collect preferences or segmentation data to help tailor our communications.

We collect this information either directly from you (when you fill in forms, make purchases, book lessons) or automatically (via website analytics, cookies, affiliate tracking). We will tell you at or before the time of collection the purpose of collection, and whether any disclosure will occur.

4. Why we collect your personal information (Purpose)

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

• To provide and deliver our Mandarin lessons, including scheduling, lesson planning, preparation, and follow-up communications.

• To process purchases in our online store and event registrations, including billing, fulfilment, customer service and support.

• To administer and manage our relationship with you (e.g., authenticate you as a student or customer, communicate with you, manage your account).

• To send you newsletters, marketing communications, offers or event information (provided you have given your consent or where the law permits direct marketing).

• To improve our services, our Site, user experience and our communications (for example through analytics, feedback, remarketing).

• To manage our affiliate programme and track commissions/income from affiliate links.

• For legal, regulatory or auditing purposes, risk management, and maintaining the security of our systems.

We will only use your personal information for purposes compatible with those for which it was collected, unless you consent or it is otherwise permitted under the APPs.

5. Use and disclosure of personal information

Your personal information may be used or disclosed for the purposes set out above. The key points are:

• We will not sell your personal information to third parties.

• We may share your personal information with trusted third-party service providers who help us operate our business, such as payment processors, IT/hosting providers, analytics services, marketing platforms, scheduling tools (e.g., Calendly). These providers will only use your information to provide the relevant service and we require them to handle it in accordance with this Policy and applicable privacy laws.

• For marketing/remarketing: if you have consented, we may share limited information (or rely on anonymised/aggregated data) with advertising platforms (e.g., Facebook, Google) to enable tailored remarketing campaigns. You may opt out at any time (see Section 8).

• For affiliate tracking: where you have clicked an affiliate link on our Site and made a purchase via a partner, we may share attribution or tracking data with our affiliate partner to validate commissions.

• We may disclose your personal information when required or authorised by law (such as a subpoena, court order, or regulatory requirement) or to protect our rights, your safety or the safety of others.

• We only disclose personal information for cross-border transfers in accordance with the APPs.

6. Cookies, analytics and tracking technologies

Our Site uses cookies, web beacons, analytics tools (such as Google Analytics), advertising pixels and other tracking technologies to:

• Understand how people use our Site (pages visited, time spent, referring site);

• Improve our Site and user experience;

• Support marketing and remarketing campaigns (subject to user consent where required);

• Manage affiliate link tracking and commissions.

You can control cookies at the browser level (for example by disabling or deleting cookies). However, disabling cookies may affect your ability to use some features of our Site.

7. Overseas disclosure / cross-border data transfers

Some of our service providers may be located overseas (for example payment gateways, cloud hosting, analytics platforms, marketing/advertising platforms). When we disclose personal information to recipients overseas, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the overseas recipient will handle the information consistently with the APPs. We will also ensure you are informed at or before collection if your information may be transferred overseas.

8. Direct marketing and your choices

If you have subscribed to our newsletter or opted in to receive marketing, we may use your personal information to send you promotions, offers, news or upcoming events.
If at any time you no longer wish to receive marketing communications, you may unsubscribe via the link provided in our email communications or by contacting us (see Section 10).
Remarketing: if you prefer not to be part of our remarketing campaigns, you may disable or opt out via your advertising platform settings or by letting us know.

9. Data security and retention

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. This includes implementing organisational and technical measures such as staff training, secure servers, encryption where appropriate, regular backups and secure payment processes. OAIC+1
We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected or as required by law. When information is no longer needed, we take steps to destroy or de-identify it.

10. Access and correction of your personal information

You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you and to request its correction if you believe it is inaccurate, incomplete or out-of-date. We will respond to your request within a reasonable time.
If we refuse your request we will provide you with a written notice that explains the reason for refusal and the mechanisms to complain.

11. Complaints and enquiries

If you believe we have breached any of our obligations under privacy laws or this Policy, please contact us first at the details in Section 1. We will respond within a reasonable time.

12. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time (for example to reflect changes in law or our practices). The “Last updated” date at the top indicates when the current version became effective. We encourage you to check this Policy periodically. Continued use of our services after a change signifies your acceptance of the updated Policy.

13. Additional notes for our business context

• Booking via Calendly: When you book lessons via scheduling tools such as Calendly, you will provide certain personal details (name, email, phone, scheduling preferences). We use those details to plan and deliver your lesson and communicate with you.

• Online store & events: If you purchase through our online store or register for events, we will collect payment and registration information so that we can fulfil your purchase/attendance, provide you with customer service, send you receipts, and manage communication related to your purchase. We may also use this information to send you related offers (see Section 8).

• Affiliate commissions: We participate in affiliate programmes, meaning if you arrive at a partner’s website via a link on our Site and purchase from that partner, we may receive a commission. We may collect attribution/tracking information (such as click-through data, referral codes) associated with your activity. We treat all tracking data in line with this Policy.

• Remarketing: We may use remarketing/retargeting technologies (for example via Google Ads, Facebook) to show advertisements about our services to you after you have visited our Site. If you do not wish to be targeted, you may disable relevant cookies or opt out of adverts via your browser or advertising platform settings.

14. Disclaimer regarding children

Our Site and services are intended for adult learners. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16 without verified parental/guardian consent.

15. International users and visitors

If you are visiting our Site from outside Australia, your personal information will be processed in Australia (or by our Australian-based service providers), and you should be aware that Australian privacy laws may differ from those in your country. By using our Site or providing personal information, you consent to the transfer, storage and processing of your personal information in Australia and in accordance with this Policy.