Who We Are and What This Policy Covers
Synclo Automation (ABN 65 723 308 792) builds and operates websites, CRM systems and AI phone answering for trade businesses. We're based in Sandringham, Victoria.
This policy covers three different groups of people, and the rules differ for each:
- Visitors to this website — anyone browsing synclo.com.au or making an enquiry.
- Our clients — trade businesses who subscribe to a Synclo plan.
- Callers and customers of our clients — people who ring, message or book with a trade business that uses Synclo.
An important distinction
Information we control
Data about website visitors and our own clients. We decide how it's collected and used, and this policy governs it in full.
Information we handle for clients
Data about your customers, held inside your CRM and phone system. That's your data. We hold and process it on your behalf, under your instructions.
If you're a customer of a business that uses Synclo and you want your information accessed, corrected or deleted, contact that business first — it's their record and their decision. If you can't reach them, or you'd rather come to us, email [email protected] and we'll help you get it sorted.
A note on the small business exemption
Businesses with annual turnover under $3 million are currently exempt from parts of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Synclo does not rely on that exemption. We handle other people's customer data for a living, so we comply with the Australian Privacy Principles as a matter of policy regardless of whether we're legally required to.
Information We Collect
From website visitors
- Contact details — name, email, phone number and business name, when you submit a form, book a call or message our chat widget.
- Technical information — device type, browser, operating system and IP address, collected automatically.
- Usage information — pages visited, links clicked and how you move through the site.
- Chat messages — anything you type into the chat widget on this site.
From clients
- Business details including ABN, trading name, service area, services offered and pricing
- Contact details for you and anyone on your team who uses the system
- Billing information, processed by Stripe — we never see or store your full card number
- Brand assets you give us: logo, photos and website copy
From callers and customers of our clients
- Name, phone number, email and address where provided
- Job details described during a call, chat or booking
- Call recordings and transcripts (see Section 03)
- Appointment times and booking history
- SMS and email correspondence sent through the client's system
We collect information directly from you when you provide it, automatically through our website's analytics and logging, and — for callers — through the phone and chat systems we operate for our clients.
Calls, Recordings and Transcripts
Where a client uses our AI phone answering, incoming calls to their business are answered by an automated system. These calls may be recorded and transcribed so the system can take job details, book appointments and pass information to the tradie.
- Callers are told at the start of the call that they are speaking with an automated assistant and that the call may be recorded.
- Recordings and transcripts are used to run the client's business — booking jobs, capturing leads and letting the tradie see what was discussed.
- They are stored securely and access is limited to the client and to Synclo staff who need it for support or troubleshooting.
- Call content is never used to train or improve any AI model.
- Recordings are retained for 12 months by default, then deleted. Transcripts and job details are kept in the client's CRM for as long as they remain a client.
Asking for a recording to be deleted
If you called a business using Synclo and want the recording removed, contact that business, or email us at [email protected] with the phone number you called from and roughly when. We'll locate it and delete it, usually within a few business days.
For our clients: recording of private conversations is regulated under the Surveillance Devices Act 1999 (Vic) and equivalent legislation in other states. As the business operating the phone line, you're responsible for ensuring the recording and use of calls to your number complies with the law where your callers are. We provide the caller announcement and the controls; if you're unsure of your obligations, get your own legal advice before going live.
How We Use Your Information
We use personal information only for the purposes it was collected for, and for directly related purposes you'd reasonably expect:
- Building, delivering and maintaining the services our clients subscribe to
- Answering calls, capturing leads and booking jobs on behalf of our clients
- Responding to enquiries and providing support
- Processing payments and managing accounts
- Sending service updates, billing notices and other operational communications
- Improving our website and services, using aggregated and de-identified data wherever possible
- Meeting legal, tax and accounting obligations, and resolving disputes
Marketing
We may send you marketing about Synclo if you've enquired with us or are a client. Every marketing message includes an unsubscribe link, and you can opt out at any time by clicking it or emailing us — it won't affect your service. We never sell your personal information, and we never share it with third parties for their own marketing.
Marketing sent through a client's system — such as review requests or reactivation campaigns — is sent by that business, in their name, using their customer list. They're responsible for holding the necessary consent under the Spam Act 2003 (Cth). To unsubscribe from those, use the unsubscribe option in the message or contact the business directly.
Disclosure and Service Providers
We do not sell or rent personal information. We share it only in these circumstances:
- With the service providers listed below, who help us operate the platform and are bound by confidentiality obligations
- With our client, where the information relates to their business — for example, passing a caller's details to the tradie
- Where required by law, court order, subpoena or a regulator
- In connection with a business sale, merger or transfer, where data forms part of the transferred assets
- Where necessary to protect the security, integrity or legal rights of Synclo, our clients or the public
We may also share aggregated, de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify any individual.
Overseas Disclosure
Synclo operates from Australia, but several of the platforms we rely on store or process data overseas — primarily in the United States. This applies to GoHighLevel, Twilio, OpenAI, BuildMyAgent, Google and Stripe.
This means that personal information you provide to us, including call recordings and CRM records, may be stored or processed outside Australia.
Under Australian Privacy Principle 8, we take reasonable steps to ensure overseas recipients handle personal information consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles. In practice that means we select established providers with published privacy and security commitments, rely on their contractual terms including data processing agreements where offered, and don't use providers who reserve the right to use client data for their own purposes.
You should be aware that overseas recipients may be subject to foreign laws, including lawful access requests by overseas authorities, and that Australian privacy law may not apply to them in the same way it applies to us.
Data Retention and Deletion
We keep personal information only as long as we need it, or as long as the law requires.
| Type of information | How long we keep it |
|---|---|
| Website enquiry & chat records | 24 months from last contact |
| Call recordings | 12 months, then deleted |
| Call transcripts & job details | Held in the client's CRM while they remain a client |
| Client CRM & customer records | Until 30 days after the subscription ends |
| Billing & tax records | 7 years, as required by the ATO |
| Website analytics | 26 months, in de-identified form |
When a client's subscription ends, we provide a full data export (see Section 09) and then delete their CRM data 30 days later, apart from records we're legally required to keep. Once data is no longer needed, we securely delete or de-identify it.
You can request deletion of your personal information at any time by emailing [email protected]. We'll action it within 30 days unless we're legally required to keep the information, in which case we'll tell you what we're keeping and why.
Your Rights
Under the Australian Privacy Principles you have the following rights over the personal information we hold about you:
Access
Ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you (APP 12).
Correction
Ask us to correct anything inaccurate, out of date or incomplete (APP 13).
Opt out of marketing
Withdraw consent to marketing at any time, without affecting your service (APP 7).
Deletion
Ask us to delete your information. Offered as a matter of our policy, subject to legal retention obligations.
Export
Clients can request a full export of their data at any time, free (see Section 09).
Anonymity
Deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym where it's practical to do so (APP 2).
To exercise any of these, email [email protected]. We'll respond within 30 days and won't charge you for making a request. We may need to verify your identity first. If we refuse a request, we'll tell you why in writing and explain how to complain.
Client Data and Exports
If you're a Synclo client, the customer data in your CRM is yours, not ours. That includes contacts, conversation history, call records and booking history.
- You can request a complete export at any time, and we'll provide it in a standard format such as CSV within 10 business days, at no charge.
- We provide the same export automatically when a subscription ends, however it ends.
- We will never withhold your customer data over a billing dispute.
- We don't use your customer data for our own purposes, don't market to your customers, and don't share your data with other clients.
Your website and hosting are a different matter — those remain Synclo's property and are covered in our Terms of Service.
Cookies and Tracking
This website uses cookies and similar technologies to make the site work, remember your preferences, and understand how visitors use it. We use them to:
- Keep the site functioning correctly, including the chat widget and booking form
- Measure traffic and understand which pages people find useful
- Remember settings between visits
- Support advertising and retargeting where we run campaigns
You can manage or block cookies through your browser settings at any time. Blocking some cookies may stop parts of the site — such as the chat widget or booking form — from working properly.
Data Security and Breaches
We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. That includes encryption in transit, access controls limiting staff access to what's needed for their role, and use of established platforms with their own security programs.
No system is completely secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security of information transmitted over the internet.
Data breach response: if a breach occurs that is likely to result in serious harm, we will assess it promptly and notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner in line with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Where the breach affects a client's customer data, we will notify that client without delay so they can meet their own obligations.
AI and Automation
Synclo uses AI to power our phone answering, chat and automation services. Our commitments:
Your personal data and your call content are never used to train, fine-tune or improve any AI model — ours or a third party's. It's used only to perform the task you or your business asked for.
Callers are told at the start of a call that they're speaking with an automated assistant. We don't attempt to pass the AI off as a human being.
We don't use AI for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on individuals. It takes bookings and captures details; it doesn't decide anything consequential about you.
AI systems can make mistakes. If the AI has recorded something incorrectly about you, contact us or the business you called and we'll correct it.
You can always ask to speak with a person. The AI will take a message, book a callback or transfer you, depending on how that business has set it up.
Complaints
If you think we've mishandled your personal information, tell us and we'll take it seriously.
- Step 1 — Email [email protected] with "Privacy complaint" in the subject line and a description of what happened. We'll acknowledge within 5 business days.
- Step 2 — We'll investigate and respond in writing within 30 days, explaining our findings and what we'll do about it.
- Step 3 — If you're not satisfied with our response, you can escalate to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.
Policy Updates
We may revise this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices, technology or the law. When we make material changes we'll update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page, and notify active clients directly by email.
The current version is always available at synclo.com.au/privacypolicy. We'd encourage you to check back occasionally.
Contact Us
Questions, requests or concerns about your personal information — get in touch and a real person will answer.
Synclo — Privacy Enquiries
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +61 439 322 555
Location: Sandringham, Victoria, Australia
Response time: Within 2–3 business days