Last updated: 13 August 2026
Applies to: birchridge.com.au and the services offered through it (tenancy enquiries and applications, email subscriptions, on-site chat).
1. Who we are
Birch Ridge Pty. Ltd. (ABN 93 070 140 475) (“BRG”, “we”, “us”) operates birchridge.com.au and provides student and rental accommodation and related services. Our marketing and website are administered on our behalf by MAWF Group.
We are committed to protecting your personal information and handling it in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and to sending commercial electronic messages only in accordance with the Spam Act 2003 (Cth).
2. What personal information we collect
Depending on how you use the site, we may collect:
- Tenancy enquiry / application form: name, email address, phone number, date of birth, preferred property, move-in and lease dates, and other details you provide to support an application.
- Email subscription: name and email address, together with a record of your consent (date, time, and the wording you agreed to).
- On-site chat (Tidio): name, email address, and the content of your chat messages.
- Automatically: IP address, browser and device information, pages viewed and interactions, collected via cookies and analytics tools (Google Analytics 4), and server logs.
We collect only what we reasonably need for the purposes described in section 3. We do not collect sensitive information through the site.
3. How and why we collect and use it
We collect personal information directly from you when you submit a form, subscribe to our emails, or use the on-site chat. We use it to:
- assess and process tenancy enquiries and applications, and communicate with you about them;
- respond to your enquiries and provide customer support via chat;
- send you marketing or newsletter emails only where you have given express consent (see section 4);
- operate, secure, analyse and improve the website.
We do not use or disclose your information for a purpose unrelated to why we collected it, unless you would reasonably expect it, you consent, or the law requires or authorises it.
4. Marketing emails and the Spam Act
We send marketing or newsletter emails only to people who have actively opted in (express consent). Every subscription is confirmed by a double opt-in verification step, and we keep a record of your consent.
Every marketing email:
- clearly identifies Birch Ridge Pty. Ltd. (ABN 93 070 140 475) as the sender;
- includes our contact details; and
- contains a working one-click unsubscribe link.
You can unsubscribe at any time and we will action your request within five business days.
5. Who we share it with
We use trusted third-party service providers to operate the site and our communications. These providers may store or process your data outside Australia:
| Provider | Purpose | Countries |
|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | Email subscription and delivery | Lithuania / EU (Germany, Netherlands) |
| Tidio | On-site chat | US, EU |
| Google (Analytics 4) | Website analytics | US |
| DreamHost | Website hosting | US |
| Zapier | Routing application submissions | US |
Before disclosing personal information to an overseas recipient, we take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient handles it consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles. We remain accountable if an overseas recipient breaches the APPs in relation to your information.
We do not sell your personal information.
6. Cookies and analytics
The site uses cookies and Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use the site and to improve it. You can control cookies through your browser settings; disabling them may affect some site functionality.
7. Security
We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, and to destroy or de-identify it when it is no longer needed for a permitted purpose.
8. Accessing and correcting your information
You have the right to:
- request a copy of the personal information we hold about you; and
- ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, or misleading.
We will respond to access and correction requests within 30 days. Contact us using the details in section 10.
9. Data retention
We keep personal information only as long as reasonably needed for the purposes described above, or as required by law:
- Application and tenancy data: for the duration of the tenancy relationship plus 7 years (legal and tax record-keeping obligations).
- Email subscriber data: while you remain subscribed. If you unsubscribe, we retain your consent record for 2 years (Spam Act compliance) and then delete or de-identify it.
- Chat transcripts (Tidio): up to 2 years from your last interaction.
- Analytics data: retained per Google Analytics default settings (up to 14 months).
- Server logs: up to 12 months.
When personal information is no longer needed, we destroy or de-identify it.
10. Contact us and complaints
For questions, access or correction requests, or privacy complaints, contact us at:
Email: admin@birchridge.com.au
Post: PO Box 830, North Melbourne VIC 3051
We will acknowledge your complaint within 7 days and respond within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.
11. Automated decision-making
We do not currently use automated decision-making technology that could significantly affect your rights or interests. If this changes, we will update this policy before any such technology is used.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always available on this page.