Virtual Chief Power Officer ("VCPO", "we", "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. We handle personal information in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. This policy explains what we collect, why, how we look after it, who we share it with, and how you can access, correct or complain about it.
You don't have to give us your personal information. If you don't, we may not be able to assess your site, prepare a proposal or provide our services.
What we mean by personal information
Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified person, or a person who is reasonably identifiable — for example your name, contact details, or details on an electricity bill that can be linked to you.
The information we collect
We collect only what we reasonably need to provide our services. Depending on how you deal with us, this can include:
- Contact details: your name, email address and phone number.
- Electricity bills and contracts you send us: these usually show the account holder's name, the business name, supply and billing addresses, the meter identifier, the retailer, charges, rates and usage.
- Usage and metering data: half-hourly electricity usage for your site, once you have signed a metering agreement and asked us to analyse it.
- Booking details: your name and email when you book a call, and anything you choose to add.
- Correspondence: what you tell us by email, phone or in meetings.
We don't ask for sensitive information. If a document you send contains it — for example a note that life support equipment is registered at a site — we use it only to handle your site safely and correctly, and for no other purpose.
How we collect it
- Directly from you: through the bill upload form and booking calendar on this website, by email, by phone and in person.
- From others, with your authority: for example from your electricity retailer or metering company, from someone you have authorised to act for you, or from an adviser (such as your accountant) who introduces you with your consent.
When you upload a bill, you confirm you are authorised to share it on behalf of the business.
How we use it
We use your information for the purpose you gave it to us, for related purposes you would reasonably expect, and as the law permits or requires. That includes:
- reading your bill to assess whether our service suits your site, and preparing a proposal;
- arranging a metering agreement with a metering company, if you choose to go ahead;
- checking your bills, analysing your usage and preparing your monthly report;
- seeking electricity offers from retailers — only when you have given us the go-ahead;
- responding to your enquiries and booking calls with you;
- meeting our legal and contractual obligations.
We never sell your information, and we never use it to market other parties' products to you.
Who we share it with
We only share your information where it is needed for the purposes above, where you have agreed, or where the law requires it:
- Metering companies — to set up and run a metering agreement you have chosen to enter.
- Electricity retailers — to request quotes or arrange a contract, and only with your go-ahead.
- Service providers who help us run the business — for example website hosting and form handling (Netlify), and email and calendar services (Google). They may only use your information to provide their service to us.
- Professional advisers, such as our lawyers or accountants, where needed.
- Government bodies, regulators and law enforcement, where the law requires it.
Information stored outside Australia
Some of our service providers store data outside Australia. Files and details submitted through the bill upload form are handled by Netlify, whose servers are located in the United States. Bookings and email are handled by Google, which may store data in several countries. We take reasonable steps to ensure these providers protect your information in a way consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles.
How we store and protect it
We take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Access is limited to people who need it to do their work. Information sent to us through this website is encrypted in transit (look for the padlock in your browser's address bar). We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purposes above or as the law requires, and then delete or de-identify it.
No system is completely secure. If you think your information has been compromised, please contact us straight away.
This website
This website does not use advertising or tracking cookies, and does not use analytics tools. Our hosting provider keeps standard technical logs (such as IP addresses and browser type) to keep the site secure and running. If you book a call, the booking calendar is provided by Google and is covered by Google's own privacy policy.
Access and correction
We take reasonable steps to keep the information we hold accurate, up to date and complete. You can ask to see the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it, by contacting us. We'll respond within a reasonable time. If we can't give you access or make a correction, we'll tell you why in writing, unless the law prevents us.
Questions and complaints
If you have a question about this policy, or a complaint about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us with enough detail for us to look into it. We'll acknowledge your complaint, investigate it, and respond in writing within a reasonable time.
If you're not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always on this page, with the date it was last updated at the top.
Contact us
Email fabianwschipper@gmail.com with the subject "Privacy enquiry".