Privacy Policy

Overview

Stars Align Academy Limited ("Stars Align", "we", "us", "our") is a global non-commercial education charity registered in Australia (ABN 87 679 742 539). We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website www.stars-align.org and interact with our services.

This Policy applies to all visitors, users, and others who access or use our website. It complies with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and, where applicable to European visitors, with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, EU 2016/679).

Please read this policy carefully. If you do not agree with its terms, please discontinue use of the site.

1 · Information We Collect

Information you provide directly

When you use our contact form or communicate with us by email, we may collect:

• First and last name
• Email address
• Your role or affiliation (e.g. Educator, Student, Partner)
• Message content

Information collected automatically

When you visit our website, certain technical information may be collected automatically, including:

• IP address and approximate geographic location
• Browser type and version
• Device type and operating system
• Pages visited and time spent on site
• Referring URLs

Third-party services

Our website loads fonts from Google Fonts (fonts.googleapis.com). When your browser requests these fonts, your IP address is transmitted to Google's servers in the United States. Please refer to Google's Privacy Policy for details.

Our pages contain links to external social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube). Visiting these links is governed by the respective platform's privacy policies. Stars Align is not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites.

2 · How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To respond to your enquiries and correspondence
• To communicate information about our programmes, events, and mission
• To operate and improve our website
• To process charitable donations (where applicable)
• To comply with our legal obligations

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer your personal information to third parties for commercial purposes. We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling.

3 · Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

For visitors in the European Economic Area (EEA), we process your personal data on the following legal bases under Article 6 GDPR:

• Consent – where you have explicitly consented to the processing (e.g. submitting our contact form with the consent checkbox ticked)
• Legitimate interests – for website analytics and security, where our interest does not override your rights
• Legal obligation – where processing is necessary to comply with applicable law

4 · Cookies

Our website does not currently use first-party cookies for tracking or advertising purposes. However, loading Google Fonts from external servers may result in the use of cookies by Google. We recommend reviewing Google's cookie policy if you have concerns.

You can manage or disable cookies in your browser settings at any time. Disabling cookies will not affect your ability to use the core features of our website.

5 · Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy, or as required by law. Contact form submissions are retained for a maximum of 2 years, after which they are securely deleted. You may request deletion of your data at any time (see Section 7).

6 · Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. All data transmitted via our contact form is sent over an encrypted connection (HTTPS).

However, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7 · Your Rights

Under Australian Privacy Law (APPs) and, where applicable, the GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access – You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction – You may request that inaccurate data be corrected.
• Erasure – You may request that your personal data be deleted ("right to be forgotten").
• Restriction – You may request that we restrict processing of your data.
• Portability – You may request your data in a portable, machine-readable format (GDPR).
• Objection – You may object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Withdraw consent – Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below. We will respond within 30 days.

If you are in the EEA and believe we have not addressed your complaint adequately, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

8 · International Data Transfers

Stars Align is based in Australia. If you access our website from outside Australia, your information may be transferred to and processed in Australia. By using our website, you consent to this transfer. Where required by GDPR, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for transfers to third countries.

9 · Children's Privacy

Our website is not directed at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided us with personal data, we will take steps to delete that information promptly. If you believe we may have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately.

10 · Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically. Your continued use of the website after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

11 · Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact: