Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Ian Bensley ("I", "me", "my") collects, uses, discloses and protects personal information through the website at ianbensley.com and in the course of providing AI, automation and marketing consulting services. I am committed to handling your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and, where it applies, the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for individuals in those regions.

By using this website or engaging my services, you consent to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the website or submit your information.

1. Who is responsible for your information

Ian Bensley, based at 11 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia, is the party responsible for personal information collected through this website and during client engagements. You can contact me at any time at hello@ianbensley.com with a privacy question or request.

2. The personal information I collect

I collect only the information I reasonably need to respond to you and deliver my services. This may include:

• Contact and enquiry information - your name, email address, business name, phone number (if you provide it) and the contents of any message you send through the contact or enquiry forms, by email, or during a call.
• Client engagement information - information exchanged in the course of scoping and delivering a project, which may include details about your business, systems, processes and, where relevant, access credentials you choose to share so I can build or connect systems on your behalf.
• Website usage information - limited, privacy-conscious analytics such as pages visited, approximate location, device and browser type, collected only where you have accepted analytics cookies.
• Technical information - your IP address and standard server log data, used to keep the website secure and operating correctly.

I do not knowingly collect the personal information of children, and I do not collect sensitive information (such as health, biometric or criminal-record data) unless you volunteer it as necessary for a specific engagement and we have agreed how it will be handled.

3. How I use your information

I use personal information to:

• respond to your enquiry and communicate with you about a potential or current project;
• provide, manage and improve the services you engage me for;
• send you information you have asked for, and occasional updates relevant to our work together (you can opt out at any time);
• issue quotes, invoices and manage payments;
• maintain the security, integrity and performance of the website and my systems; and
• meet my legal, tax and record-keeping obligations.

Where the GDPR applies, I rely on the following legal bases: your consent (for example, analytics cookies and optional updates), the performance of a contract (delivering services you have engaged me for), my legitimate interests (running and securing my business), and compliance with legal obligations.

4. What I will never do

I do not sell your personal information. I do not rent or trade it. I do not use the data inside your systems, or data you share for a project, to train machine-learning models or for any purpose other than delivering the work we agreed. I do not send marketing to your customers or contacts.

5. The enquiry form and webhooks

When you submit an enquiry form, its contents are delivered to me so I can respond. Depending on configuration, form submissions may be routed through an automation service (a "webhook") that I control, solely to notify me and record your enquiry. Any such service acts on my instructions and is used only to deliver your message to me.

6. Disclosure to third parties

I keep the number of third parties who touch your information to a minimum. I may share personal information with:

• Service providers that help me operate - for example website hosting, email and, where used, an automation or analytics tool - who are permitted to use the information only to provide their service to me;
• Professional advisers such as an accountant, under confidentiality, where necessary; and
• Authorities or other parties where I am required to do so by law, or to protect my legal rights.

Where a provider is located overseas, I take reasonable steps to ensure your information is handled consistently with this policy and applicable law.

7. Data security

I take the security of your information seriously and apply reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect it against loss, misuse and unauthorised access - including encryption in transit, least-privilege access, secure storage of credentials, and careful handling of any access you grant me for a project. Where a project involves sensitive data, I can implement additional safeguards, including private or self-hosted AI and stricter data boundaries. No method of transmission or storage is ever completely secure, but I work to protect your information and to keep my practices current.

8. How long I keep your information

I keep personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described above, or as required by law. Enquiry correspondence is kept while it may still be relevant to a potential engagement and for a reasonable period afterwards. Records related to a completed engagement are kept for as long as required to meet tax, legal and professional obligations (generally up to seven years), then securely deleted. When you engage me, ownership of the systems, data and deliverables I build for you remains yours.

9. Your rights

You have the right to ask me to access the personal information I hold about you, to correct it if it is inaccurate, to delete it, to object to or restrict certain processing, and (where the GDPR applies) to request a copy in a portable format. You can also withdraw consent - for example to cookies or optional updates - at any time. To exercise any of these rights, email hello@ianbensley.com and I will respond within a reasonable time, and in any case within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with my response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au, or with your local data protection authority.

10. Cookies and analytics

This website uses only the cookies necessary for it to function, plus optional, privacy-conscious analytics that run only if you accept them via the cookie banner. Analytics help me understand how the site is used so I can improve it. You can decline analytics without affecting your ability to use the site, and you can change your choice at any time through the cookie banner.

11. Links to other sites

This website may link to third-party sites. I am not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites, and I encourage you to read their privacy policies.

12. Changes to this policy

I may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in my practices or the law. The current version, with its effective date, will always be posted on this page. For material changes, I will take reasonable steps to make the update prominent.

13. Contact

If you have any question about this policy or how your personal information is handled, please contact me at hello@ianbensley.com or by post at 11 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia.