Last updated: 9 July 2026
AustralianSecret (“we”, “us”, “our”) operates australiansecret.com.au, an independent Australian travel discovery directory edited by Pavan Kumar. This policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. We handle personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, and we extend equivalent care to visitors from other regions, including the EU/UK.
Information we collect
- Contact & enquiry forms. When you use our contact, advertising or listing-enquiry forms we collect the details you submit — typically your name, email address and message — so we can respond.
- Newsletter. If you subscribe, we collect your email address to send you our updates. Every email includes an unsubscribe link.
- Contributor accounts. If you apply to become a contributor, we collect your name, email, and the profile details you choose to provide (bio, location, profile photo, social links). Your display name, bio and photo appear publicly on your author profile and articles.
- Comments. If you comment, we collect the name, email and content you submit, plus your IP address to help detect spam.
- Automatic data. Like most websites, our server and caching layer (LiteSpeed) log basic technical data such as IP address, browser type and pages visited, used for security and performance.
Analytics
We use Google Analytics (via Google Site Kit) to understand how the site is used — for example, which guides are most read. Analytics data is aggregated and does not identify you personally. You can opt out with the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.
Cookies
We use cookies for core functionality (such as keeping contributors logged in and remembering comment details), performance caching, and analytics as described above. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; core parts of the site will still work, though logged-in features may not.
Third-party content
Some content on our pages is loaded from third parties, and viewing those pages connects your browser to their servers under their own privacy policies:
- Google Maps / Google content. Venue photographs in our guides are served from Google’s servers, and “View Location” links open Google Maps.
- YouTube. Some listings embed YouTube videos.
- External websites. Our guides link to venues’ own websites and to official visitor information. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of external sites.
Advertising & affiliate links
We do not currently run third-party advertising networks. If we introduce advertising or affiliate links in future, we will update this policy and clearly disclose them; third-party ad vendors (such as Google) may then use cookies to serve ads based on prior visits, which you can manage at Google’s advertising policies page.
How we use your information
- To respond to enquiries and provide the services you request;
- To publish contributor profiles and articles you submit;
- To send the newsletter you subscribed to;
- To moderate comments and keep the site secure;
- To understand and improve how the site is used.
We do not sell personal information. We share it only with service providers needed to run the site — our web host (Hostinger) and Google for the analytics described above — or where required by law.
Retention & security
We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes above — for example, enquiry records are kept while we handle your request, and contributor accounts for as long as the account is active. The site is served over HTTPS and access to administration is restricted.
Your rights
You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information, unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time, or ask us to close a contributor account. Contact us via the contact page and we will respond within a reasonable time. If you are unsatisfied with our response you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
Children
Our site is not directed at children under 16 and we do not knowingly collect their personal information.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The “last updated” date above reflects the current version, and material changes will be noted on this page.
Contact
Privacy questions: use our contact page. Publisher: AustralianSecret — about us · Editor: Pavan Kumar.