Privacy policy

Introduction

This Privacy Policy applies to all personal information collected by Worsley Consulting Engineers Pty Ltd (we, us or our) via the website located at www.worsleyce.com.au (Website) and and our associated web application, the WC3 Carbon App (Application).

Policy Scope

This Policy informs how we collect and handle Personal Information of our clients, customers, job applicants, third parties and other individuals (“you”, “your”) using our website or our Application.

Types of information

The Privacy Act 1998 (Cth) (Privacy Act) defines types of information, including Personal Information and Sensitive Information.

Personal Information means information or an opinion about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable:

  • whether the information or opinion is true or not; and

  • whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.

If the information does not disclose your identity or enable your identity to be ascertained, it will in most cases not be classified as “Personal Information” and will not be subject to this privacy policy.

Sensitive Information is defined in the Privacy Act as including information or opinion about such things as an individual's racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious or philosophical beliefs, membership of a trade union or other professional body, criminal record or health information.

Sensitive Information will be used by us only:

  • For the primary purpose for which it was obtained;

  • For a secondary purpose that is directly related to the primary purpose; and

  • With your consent or where required or authorised by law.

Collection of Personal Information

The kind of Personal Information that we collect from you will depend on how you use the website. The Personal Information which we collect and hold about you may include:

  • Name

  • Email address

  • Phone number

  • IP address

  • Employer information.

Submission Forms

When you submit information to this website via webform, we collect the data requested in the webform in order to provide a means for prospective clients, employees or the general public to easily contact us. We share this information with Squarespace, our online store hosting provider, so that they can provide website services to us. We also share this information with Google for storage.

Website visitors

This website is hosted by Squarespace. Squarespace collects personal data when you visit this website, including:

  • Information about your browser, network and device

  • Web pages you visited prior to coming to this website

  • Web pages you view while on this website

  • Your IP address

Squarespace needs the data to run this website, and to protect and improve its platform and services. Squarespace analyzes the data in a de-personalized form.

Analytics

This website collects personal data to power our site analytics, including:

  • Information about your browser, network, and device

  • Web pages you visited prior to coming to this website

  • Your IP address

This information may also include details about your use of this website, including:

  • Clicks

  • Internal links

  • Pages visited

  • Scrolling

  • Searches

  • Timestamps

We share this information with Squarespace, our website analytics provider, to learn about site traffic and activity.

Cookies

This website uses cookies and similar technologies, which are small files or pieces of text that download to a device when a visitor accesses a website or app. For information about viewing the cookies dropped on your device, visit The cookies Squarespace uses.

These necessary and required cookies are always used, which allow Squarespace, our hosting platform, to securely serve this website to you.

These analytics and performance cookies are used on this website, as described below, only when you acknowledge our cookie banner. This website uses analytics and performance cookies to view site traffic, activity, and other data.

Fonts

This website serves font files from and renders fonts using Google Fonts and Adobe Fonts. To properly display this site to you, these third parties may receive personal information about you, including:

  • Information about your browser, network, or device

  • Information about this site and the page you’re viewing on it

  • Your IP address

We generally don’t collect Sensitive Information, but when we do, we will comply with the preceding paragraph.

Where reasonable and practicable we collect your Personal Information from you only. However, sometimes we may be given information from a third party, in cases like this we will take steps to make you aware of the information that was provided by a third party.

Application and Account Information

When you register an account for our Application, we collect:

  • Your Email Address, which is used as your unique identifier for login.

  • Your Account Status (e.g., Free Trial, Student Plan, or Pro Plan).

  • We do not collect or store your password, which is managed securely by our authentication provider, Firebase Authentication.

Payment and Subscription Information

When you upgrade to a Pro Plan, we use a third-party payment processor, Stripe, to handle the transaction. We do not ourselves collect, store, or have access to your credit card details or other financial information. We only store a reference to your subscription (a Stripe Customer ID) and your current plan status (e.g., "Pro").

Project Data

While using the Application, you will generate and save project-related data. We collect and store this data on your behalf to provide the service. This includes:

  • Project names, scenario names, and user notes.

  • All calculation inputs (e.g., material types, quantities, distances, energy sources).

  • Custom-defined materials and their associated factors.

  • AI-generated analysis summaries that you choose to save.

WC3 Carbon Application Services

Our Application (wc3.worsleyce.com.au) is a separate service from our main Website and uses a different set of third-party providers to function.

  • Hosting and Database: The Application is hosted on Firebase Hosting and stores all user account and Project Data in a secure Cloud Firestore database. Both are Google Cloud services.

  • Authentication: User login, password management, and password reset services are provided by Firebase Authentication (a Google service).

  • Security: We use Firebase App Check and Google reCAPTCHA to verify that requests to our backend are from legitimate instances of our Application, protecting it from fraud and abuse.

  • Analytics: We use Google Analytics to understand traffic and usage patterns within the Application to help us improve the service.

  • AI Analysis: The "AI Analysis" feature sends your project's anonymized numerical data (such as material quantities and emission totals) to Google's Gemini AI to generate summaries. Your personal information (email) and your specific Project Name are not sent to the AI.

Disclosure of information

We do not sell or rent your Personal Information. We only disclose your Personal Information to the essential third-party service providers required to operate our Website and Application, as described in this policy. This includes disclosure to:

  • Google (Firebase / Google Cloud): For data hosting, database storage, authentication, security, and AI processing.

  • Stripe: For processing payments and managing subscriptions.

  • Squarespace: For hosting our main Website.

We may also disclose information where:

  • use or disclosure is permitted by this Policy;

  • we believe it is necessary to do so in connection with a product or service we are providing;

  • to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of any member of the public or a customer of us or the interests of us;

  • some or all the assets or operations of our business are or may be transferred to another party as part of the sale of some or all of our business;

  • you give your consent; or

  • such disclosure is otherwise required or permitted by law, regulation, rule, or professional standard.

We do not sell Personal Information to third parties.

Security, Access and correction

We store your Personal Information in a way that reasonably protects it from unauthorised access, misuse, modification or disclosure. When we no longer require your Personal Information for the purpose for which we obtained in, we will take reasonable steps to destroy and anonymise or de-identify it. Most of the Personal Information that is stored in our client files and records will be kept for a maximum of 7 years to fulfill our record keeping obligations.

For Personal Information and Project Data you provide via our Application, you can access, review, and delete it at any time by logging into your account and using the "My Projects" and "Scenarios" features. For requests to delete your entire account, please contact us in writing.

Where you would like to obtain such access, please contact us in writing on the contact details set out at the bottom of this privacy policy. We will provide you with access to your Personal Information if you request to correct or update it, except in the limited circumstances in which it is permitted for us to withhold this information (for instance, where granting access would infringe another person's privacy).

When you make a request to access Personal Information, we will require you to provide some form of identification (such as a driver's licence or passport) so we can verify that you are the person to whom the information relates. In some cases, we may also request a reasonable administrative fee to cover the cost of access.

Complaint procedure

If you have a complaint concerning the manner in which we maintain the privacy of your Personal Information, please contact us as on the contact details set out at the bottom of this policy. All complaints will be considered by our Privacy Officer and we may seek further information from you to clarify your concerns. If we agree that your complaint is well founded, we will, in consultation with you, take appropriate steps to rectify the problem. If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome, you may refer the matter to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

We implement industry-standard technical and organisational measures to protect your Personal Information during international transfers, including encryption, secure data transmission protocols, and contractual safeguards with overseas recipients. We conduct regular security assessments of overseas recipients and maintain detailed records of all international data transfers. You may request information about these specific safeguards by contacting our Privacy Officer.

Our primary service providers, including Google (for Firebase and Google Cloud), Stripe, and Squarespace, are based in the United States. As a result, your Personal Information and Project Data will be transferred to and stored on servers located in the United States or other countries where these providers operate. By using our Website and Application, you consent to this international transfer.

Your Personal Information may be transferred to recipients located in the United States of America. The United States of America has data protection laws which protect Personal Information in a way which is at least substantially similar to the Australian Privacy Principles, and there will be mechanisms available to you to enforce protection of your Personal Information under that overseas law. In the circumstances, we do not require the overseas recipients to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles and we will not be liable for a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles if your Personal Information is mishandled.

How to contact us about privacy

If you have any queries, or if you seek access to your Personal Information, or if you have a complaint about our privacy practices, you can contact us through: privacy@worsleyce.com.au.