HEQS LOGO

HEQS Wholesales Privacy Policy

This policy was last updated 26 August 2024

HEQS Wholesales Pty Limited (ABN: 618 350 388) (HEQS) is committed to the protection and privacy of any personal information that you may give us. We comply with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles.

In this Privacy Policy, we explain how we handle your personal information. We try to be clear in our explanation, but if you have any questions after reading it, please contact our Data Privacy Officer.

1. What is personal information and why do we ask for it?

'Personal Information' and 'Sensitive Information' have the same meaning as in the Privacy Act 1988. Personal information includes any information that can be used to personally identify you.

Personal information is used by HEQS to sell our goods and services, to improve our range, offerings, and employment opportunities. HEQS will link the personal information you provide across our digital services in order to provide you with a personalized experience.

We will also use your information to track your behavior on the HEQS website. This may include the products or pages you have viewed and/or the products in your online shopping cart. By doing this, we can provide a browsing experience that is relevant to you, provide stock availability, and, when you have provided consent, send you marketing communications or specific offers based on your interests or online behavior.

Sensitive information is collected by HEQS in specific situations such as employment background checks or to manage incidents like injuries. We will always securely handle and store this information when collected.

If we receive personal information that HEQS has not asked for or we decide is not reasonably needed, we will aim to de-identify or delete this information to protect your privacy.

You are able to create a profile which enables you to purchase HEQS products and services without having to provide your personal information every time you shop online or in-store with us.

If you have agreed, we will send you information about products, services, and offers that we think may be of interest to you. The methods of communication we offer are via email, SMS, phone calls, mobile applications, web, social media, or via post. If you have told us that you prefer a way of us contacting you, we will try to use that method wherever possible.

Changing your preferences

You can "opt-out" of marketing communications at any time by replying in the same way that you received the communication, updating your HEQS Account online, or by contacting the Data Privacy Officer (contact details below).

2. What personal information we collect?

HEQS collects personal and sensitive information in the course of its everyday activities. HEQS will only collect such personal and sensitive information when necessary for one of our functions or activities.

Some examples of the types of information we collect include:

  • names;
  • addresses;
  • telephone numbers;
  • email addresses;
  • dates of birth;
  • transaction history;
  • If you are a candidate for employment, we may collect your resume and other information as set out in our application or during our recruitment process. This data can include information relating to your employment history, working eligibility rights, and your referee details.
  • Device identification information when you use a computer, mobile phone, smartphone, tablet, or other device to access our HEQS digital services. This information can include session cookies, your device IMEI number, IP address, or MAC address.
  • Demographic data from a third party that we use to add to your HEQS account and online HEQS profile, and thereby learn more about your possible interests and tailor our communications to you accordingly.

3. How we collect your personal information

Personal information can be collected when you:

  • Register your details on our website via creating a HEQS Account, apps;
  • Complete purchase orders, requests, or applications for our products or services (by phone, in person, or electronically);
  • Communicate with us directly via our customer service center, or via employees within our stores in relation to our products and services (in person, by email, telephone, direct mail, or any other means);
  • After contacting our customer service center, we send you a survey to gather feedback based on your experience and help with our employee training program. The survey will be linked to the interaction you had with the customer service center.

Use our services such as:

  • Home delivery;
  • Conduct certain types of transactions such as purchases, refunds;
  • Enter or interact with us during promotions, competitions, special events, or by using devices within our stores;
  • Subscribe to any of our membership programs, such as HEQS Family, HEQS for Business;
  • Participate in surveys and other types of research;
  • Are a candidate for employment and complete forms in relation to recruitment and selection. We also collect information about you from your nominated referees where you have authorized us to do so.

When using the HEQS website, we use 'cookies' to ensure that it acts as you'd expect. Cookies are small text files sent by us to your computer which we can refer to later. They can be eithersession' or 'persistent' cookies and may use either JavaScript or Flash. Cookies help us make your website experience smooth and as relevant to you as possible.

4. Disclosure of information

HEQS will sometimes share relevant information with other companies that need to carry out a service requested by you, i.e., furniture delivery, benchtop services, warranty issues, etc.

When we share your information, the other company is only allowed to use your information to carry out the service you have requested. They are required to follow the privacy laws and privacy guidelines and to take reasonable measures to ensure your personal information is secure.

HEQS does not sell personal information to any individuals, companies, or groups. Personal information we collect is only used for the purposes described in this privacy policy.

Personal and sensitive information is not disclosed to any other person except with your consent, at your direction, where we are required to by law, or to any person authorized by such law (this may include the police service, or government departments or regulators within Australia in connection with law enforcement activities).

5. Third-party websites

Links to other companies' websites are provided to make things easier for you. If you use these links, you will leave the HEQS site. HEQS is not responsible for any of these sites, their content, or their usage of your personal information.

6. Anonymity

HEQS respects the right for you to deal with us without identifying yourself and understands that you don't have to give any information requested by us.

If you choose not to give us the information we have asked for, we will not be able to provide you with the goods or carry out services, particularly if the information is required by law.

7. Storage of information and cross-border data flows

Personal and sensitive information you provide is stored in both hard (i.e., paper-based) and soft formats (i.e., IT-based). Information is kept securely either on HEQS sites or on HEQS IT systems and is only accessible by authorized staff.

HEQS makes reasonable efforts to destroy or de-identify personal information that is no longer needed.

Your personal information is sent to other companies within our group (and their employees), our trusted third-party service providers, and our franchisor (and their employees) who provide data storage and processing services, based in Australia. Where this happens, HEQS takes reasonable measures to make sure your personal information is secured in a way that complies with strict privacy and security standards, both while being sent and when it reaches its destination. We are committed to ensuring your personal information is secure and protected from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorized access, modification, or disclosure.

8. Access, correction, and sensitive information

You have the right to request access to all personal information that HEQS has about you. Access may be refused as per the exceptions outlined in the Australian Privacy Principles.

HEQS makes reasonable efforts to destroy or de-identify personal information that is no longer needed.

HEQS's Data Privacy Officer should be contacted if you wish to access your information. HEQS will have to confirm your identity before allowing access to the information. Access will generally be granted within 30 days of a written request being received by the Data Privacy Officer. This information will be provided free of cost.

You can also access your personal information by editing your online membership profile.

If you become aware of any errors or missing information in your personal information once you have access, you should contact the Data Privacy Officer so that it can be corrected.

9. Retention of your personal data

HEQS will only retain your personal information when there is a business purpose. This means that the retention periods will vary according to the type of information and the reason that we have the information in the first place. In some instances, the Terms & Conditions in applications for our products or services will detail how long the personal information you provide will be retained.

If you decide to engage with home delivery, click & collect, or other services in-store or online (as a guest) without a HEQS Account, the personal information you provide will only be kept for a period of 2 months.

10. Changes to this statement

HEQS will continue to use new technologies and improve the services and features we provide. As a result, this Privacy Policy is subject to change. If there are changes to this Privacy Policy, we will post them here or in other formats for you to view.

11. Contacting HEQS

If your details change at any time, you have questions regarding this Privacy Policy, or you would like more information about the way HEQS manages your personal and sensitive information, you should contact the Privacy Officer.

HEQS has a Data Privacy Officer who you can contact to:

  • Update your personal information (i.e., if you have moved to a new apartment or have changed your phone number).
  • Solve any questions about our Privacy Policy.
  • Get more information about how HEQS manages your personal information.

12. Complaints

If you feel your privacy has been breached, please contact us using the contact details above, informing us of the circumstances and reasons for your complaint. We will review any complaints and respond to them within a reasonable period of time.