Privacy Policy for Sunshine Coast Bus Lines

Sunshine Coast Bus Lines (SCBL) is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the thirteen Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). SCBL is part of the Waggie Group, a family-owned Australian transport company.

1. What Information We Collect

We only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary to provide our charter services. Depending on how you interact with us, this may include:

Contact details — name, email address, phone number, country, postal address
Booking details — pickup and destination locations, dates, group size, vehicle preferences, accessibility requirements
Communication records — emails, phone enquiries, contact form submissions, quote requests
Payment information — processed by our payment partners; we don't store full card details on our systems
Marketing preferences — if you opt in to email updates or our Bus Bucks rewards program
Website analytics — IP address, browser type, pages visited, referring site, approximate location (collected via cookies and Google Analytics)

We don't collect sensitive information (such as health, religion, or political views) unless it's directly relevant to the charter (for example, accessibility needs that you choose to disclose).

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

Prepare and provide quotes for charter services
Communicate with you about your booking, including changes, confirmations, and follow-up
Deliver the charter service you've booked, including coordinating with drivers and partner brands within the Waggie Group when relevant
Send marketing communications — only if you've opted in — about new services, promotions, or the Bus Bucks program
Improve our website, services, and customer support based on aggregated analytics
Comply with legal obligations under Australian transport, taxation, and consumer protection law

3. Cookies and Website Analytics

Our website uses cookies and analytics tools (including Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager) to understand how visitors use the site. Cookies are small text files stored by your browser; they help us measure site performance and improve user experience.

You can disable cookies through your browser settings at any time. Disabling cookies won't prevent you from using the site, but some features (like remembered preferences) may not work as well.

We don't use cookies to identify you personally. The data collected via analytics is aggregated and anonymous unless you've voluntarily logged in or submitted personal information through a form.

4. Who We Share Information With

We don't sell your personal information. We only disclose it to third parties in the following circumstances:

Waggie Group brands — if your booking involves a sister brand (such as Cooee Tours, Byron Bay Buses, or Cairns Bus Lines), relevant booking details may be shared with them so they can deliver the service
Service providers — payment processors, email delivery services, web hosting, and customer relationship tools that need information to perform their functions on our behalf. These providers are contractually bound to use the data only for the purpose we engage them for
Government and regulatory bodies — if required by law (for example, transport regulators, courts, or tax authorities)
Professional advisers — our lawyers, accountants, or auditors, where bound by confidentiality obligations

We don't disclose personal information to overseas recipients except where necessary for service delivery (for example, if a cloud provider hosts data in a different country). When this happens, we take reasonable steps to ensure recipients handle your data consistently with the APPs.

5. Data Security

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. This includes:

HTTPS encryption for all website traffic
Access controls limiting who within SCBL can view customer records
Secure handling of payment information through PCI-compliant payment processors
Regular review of our data handling practices

If we become aware of a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required by the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme.

6. Your Rights

Under the Privacy Act 1988 and the APPs, you have the following rights:

Access — you can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
Correction — you can ask us to correct information that's inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date
Withdrawal of consent — you can unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time using the link in our emails, or by contacting us directly
Complaint — you can lodge a complaint with us first; if unresolved, you can escalate to the OAIC

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details at the bottom of this policy. We aim to respond to access and correction requests within 30 days.

7. Children's Privacy

Our services are typically used by adults arranging group transport. If you are under 18, please obtain consent from a parent or guardian before submitting personal information through our website. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 18 without parental consent. If we become aware we've collected such information, we will delete it.

8. Direct Marketing

We may send you marketing communications about our services if you've opted in or if you're an existing customer and we believe you'd find the communication useful (in line with APP 7). Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link. You can also opt out by replying to any marketing email or contacting us directly. Opting out of marketing won't affect operational communications about an existing booking.

9. International Visitors

If you're located outside Australia and submit information through our website, please be aware that your information will be transferred to and processed in Australia, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country. For visitors from the European Union or United Kingdom, additional rights may apply under the GDPR or UK GDPR — please contact us if you wish to exercise these rights.

10. Updates to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services, or legal requirements. The most current version is always available on this page. Significant changes will be noted by updating the "last updated" date below; material changes affecting how we use existing customer information will be communicated directly via email where practical.