Residential Solar Energy T/A Birks Solar and Electrical (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to compliance with applicable privacy laws which apply to its business and set out standards for the management of personal information.

1. Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use and disclose personal information collected by Residential Solar Energy Pty Ltd and its worldwide affiliated group companies when we interact with you and where you visit and use our websites, User Portal, Our App, other application websites, mobile platforms and user Portal (each, a “Service”) as well as Our Social Media Platforms & other marketing materials.

A Service may supplement this Privacy Policy with additional privacy terms or with additional privacy notices in connection with certain features of that Service. We will notify you where a Service you use has additional or altered privacy terms.

2. Collection of Information

Services collect information from you in two ways: directly from your input; and automatically through the Service’s technologies which are capable of collecting information about our customers.

While you do not have to provide us with your personal information, if you do not do so then we may not be able to provide you with our Services, communicate with you or respond to your enquiries.

a. Information provided by you

The types of information a Service collects directly from you may include the following, as well as any other information type that we expressly ask you to provide:

contact information, such as your name, email address, postal address and telephone number;
username and password;
comments and feedback;
interests and communication preferences.
b. Information collected automatically

A Service automatically collects certain information regarding your use of the Service. Examples of information collected automatically include:

Internet Protocol (“IP”) address used to connect your computer to the internet;
computer, device and connection information, such as browser type and version, operating system, mobile platform and unique device identifier (“UDID”) and other technical identifiers;
Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) click stream data, including date and time, and content you viewed on a Service;
location information for location-aware Services to provide you with more relevant content for where you are in the world;
operation and system performance data of Residential Solar Energy products, and other products which operate with our product, connected to a Service (this includes running state of individual components, battery temperature, communication status, uptime);
energy and other electrical data, including usage and production, voltage levels, state of charge of the battery and appliance use;
Service use, including portal and application use.
If we combine any automatically collected information with personal information, the combined information will be treated by us as personal information. Although we may also use aggregated information for any reasonable and necessary purpose, this information does not identify specific individuals.

c. Cookies

We and our third-party service providers may use technologies like cookies and web beacons on our website and Services. A cookie is a small text file that a website places on your device to store information, Cookies and other technology like web beacons may be used for purposes including:

facilitating login processes;
administering, customising and improving Services;
personalising your browsing experience,
advertising, promotions, surveys, and reporting;
tracking and analysing user preferences and trends.
You can refuse to use cookies by selecting the appropriate settings in your browser. However, if you do this, you may not be able to use the full functionality of the website.

d. Third parties

You may be able to access third party websites or services through our website or Services. In all cases, your use of these third-party websites or services will be governed by their own policies. You should make sure you have read and understood these policies.

3. Use of Your Personal Data

We use and disclose your personal information for the reasons we tell you about, and as otherwise permitted by applicable laws. For example, we use the personal information collected through Services to complete various actions including:

to provide, improve and develop the Services;
to provide customer support;
to respond to requests, inquiries, complaints or applications;
to update you on relevant new services and benefits;
to personalise the Services and to select content to be communicated to you or to use features on the Service;
to contact you regarding our products or services or products and services of third parties;
to conduct website administration, such as technical support of our websites and computer systems;
for data analysis, audits, developing new products, enhancing the Services, identifying usage trends, determining the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns;
to prevent and detect security threats, fraud or other malicious activity;
to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements;
in other ways to which you have expressly agreed with us.
We may also collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information for other purposes which are within reasonable expectations or where permitted by law.

We may on occasion also match and combine the personal information that you provide with information that we obtain from other sources or that is already in our records, whether collected online or offline or by predecessor or affiliated group companies, for the purposes described above.

4. Sharing or Disclosing Your Personal Information

In addition to the ways that we may use your information that are outlined in clause 3 of this Privacy Policy, we also share your personal information in the following ways:

a. General sharing activities

Affiliates: Your personal information may be accessible to all Our affiliated companies worldwide for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
Retail Partners: If you request more information on the Our range of products, or if you request a quote, your personal information may be made available to one or more Residential Solar Energy’s installation partners.
Service Providers: Your personal information may be made accessible to our external service providers and suppliers who assist us with producing and delivering our products and Services to you, operating our business and marketing, promotion and communications. These providers and suppliers include, for example, reviewers, customer support, installers and shipping agents.
Sponsors, Business or Joint Venture partners: Your personal information may made be accessible to our agents, representatives, sponsors and other entities for which we are acting as a joint venture or business partner.
Other Third Parties: We may share personal information with other third parties. We will tell you about these potential disclosures before we make them.
Compliance with Applicable Law and Similar Obligations: We may share personal information in order to:
(i) respond to or comply with any law, regulation, subpoena or court order;
(ii) investigate and help prevent security threats, fraud or other malicious activity;
(iii) enforce and protect the rights and properties of Residential Solar Energy or its affiliates; or
(iv) protect the rights or personal safety of our employees and third parties on or using our property.
Change in Corporate Circumstances: If We, a Service or related asset or line of business is acquired by, transferred to or merged with another company, your personal information may be disclosed to prospective and actual purchasers.
b. Additional sharing activities – Third Party Network Operators
We work with third parties who either provide a service to you, or who improve the delivery and function of our Services. With your prior consent, we may share information about your energy and other electrical data, including information about usage, solar production, and voltage levels with these third parties.

If you are a current Residential Solar Energy customer, you can manage which third parties we share your data with and access information about what data is shared by logging into your inverter’s dashboard and clicking on the subscription tab.

5. Cross Border Transfer Data

By using our website or a Service you consent to the transfer of information to countries outside of your country of residence which may have different personal data protection rules that in your country.

Your personal information may be transferred to other countries including the United States for processing, support, storage and other necessary activities.

If we transfer your information outside of Australia in this way, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that your privacy is protected in a manner which is consistent with Australian privacy laws.

6. Children’s Privacy

Our website and Services are not designed for children under the age of 16. If we discover that a child under the age of 16 has provided us with personal information, we will delete that information.

7. Your Choices and Selecting Your Privacy Preferences

You can manage available communications preferences by updating your account preferences, or where applicable, by using “opt-out” or unsubscribe mechanisms or other means that we will provide within the communications that you receive.

You may request that we do not disclose your personal information to other organisations for the purpose of direct marketing. You can also request us to disclose where we obtained your personal information from, if we did not directly collect the information from you (for example through a purchased list).

8. Access to and Accuracy of Your Personal Information

You may request access to personal information about you that you have provided to us through the website or mobile platforms governed by this policy. You may also request to review and correct any of that personal information.

A Service may allow registered users to access their registration information and make correction or updates. The accuracy of such information is solely the responsibility of the user.

To view and change personal information that you provided to us, you can return to the Web page where you originally submitted your data and follow the instructions on that Web page, alternatively, you can contact us at the address listed below in clause 10.

Before we provide you with access to your personal information we may require some proof of identity. We may charge a reasonable fee for giving access to your personal information if your request requires substantial effort on our parts

9. Data Security

While we take reasonable precautions, including use of a variety of data security measures to ensure confidentiality and integrity of your personal information, you should also take your own precautions to protection your information.

10. Contacting Us

If you have comments, requests or questions or complaints about this Privacy Policy or how we collect, use and hold your personal information, you can contact our Privacy Officer using the details below:

Residential Solar Energy
54 Ridge Street
Nambucca Heads NSW 2448
Australia
Email: [email protected]

If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint, you can refer the matter to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner using the details below:
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001.
Telephone: 1300 363 992
Facsimile: +61 2 9284 9666
Website: oaic.gov.au

11. Changes to Privacy Policy

We may modify this Privacy Policy at any time. If we do so, we will post a revised version of this Privacy Policy on our website.

This Privacy Policy is current at 27 October 2021.