Privacy policy
AUSTRALIAN COLLEGE OF AROMATHERAPY (ACOA)
PRIVACY POLICY
Last updated: 16 September 2026
At the Australian College of Aromatherapy, trust has always been important to us. When you enquire about a course, become a student, shop with us or simply explore our website, you may share personal information with us. We take the responsibility of looking after that information seriously.
This Privacy Policy explains, in plain language, what information we may collect, why we collect it, how we use it and the choices you have.
When we refer to "ACOA", "we", "us" or "our", we mean the Australian College of Aromatherapy. We manage personal information in accordance with applicable Australian privacy laws, including the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles where they apply to us, together with the laws that govern electronic marketing and communications.
1. THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT
The information we collect will depend on your relationship with us. If you make an enquiry, enrol in a course, purchase something from us or contact our team, we may collect information such as your name, email address, telephone number, postal address and details relating to your enquiry, enrolment or purchase.
For our students, we may also hold information relating to your studies with us, including course progress, assessments, qualifications and certificates, student support and communications with our team.
Where payments are involved, we may hold relevant transaction, billing and payment-plan information. Payments themselves may be securely processed by third-party payment providers.
When you use our website or interact with our emails and advertising, we may also receive technical information such as your device or browser type, IP address and information collected through cookies and similar technologies.
We only seek to collect information that is reasonably useful or necessary for our relationship with you and the services we provide.
2. HOW WE COLLECT YOUR INFORMATION
Most of the personal information we hold comes directly from you. You might provide it when you enquire about a course, speak with one of our course consultants, enrol, make a purchase, contact Student Support, create an account, subscribe to our communications or otherwise get in touch with us.
Some information may also be collected automatically when you use our website, for example through cookies and analytics technologies.
From time to time, we may also receive information from organisations that help us operate our business, such as referral partners, technology platforms, payment providers and advertising platforms, where this is permitted by law.
3. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION
Above all, we use your information to provide you with a good experience with ACOA. That may mean responding to your enquiry, helping you choose a course, processing your enrolment, delivering your studies, supporting you throughout your course, processing a payment or purchase, issuing your certification or simply answering a question.
We also use information to operate and improve ACOA. This can include improving our courses and website, understanding what our students and customers are interested in, providing better customer and student support, keeping our systems secure and meeting our legal and regulatory responsibilities.
We may also use your information to keep you connected with ACOA and let you know about educational content, courses, products, services and offers that we think may genuinely interest you.
4. STAYING IN TOUCH WITH YOU
We love staying connected with our students, graduates and people who have expressed an interest in learning with us.
Where you have asked us to stay in touch, or where we are otherwise permitted to do so by law, we may contact you by email, SMS, telephone or other appropriate channels with course information, educational content, news, special offers and other information from ACOA that we think may be relevant to you. We may tailor these communications based on the courses or subjects you have shown an interest in or your previous interactions with us.
You are always in control of the marketing you receive. You can unsubscribe from marketing emails using the unsubscribe link provided, opt out of marketing SMS messages using the instructions in the message (such as replying STOP), or simply tell our team that you would prefer not to receive marketing calls. We will respect your choice and update your communication preferences in accordance with applicable law.
Choosing not to receive marketing won't stop us from sending you important information relating to an enquiry you've made, a course you're studying, your student account, an assessment, a payment, a purchase or another service you've asked us to provide.
5. WHEN YOU SPEAK WITH OUR TEAM
If you've asked us about one of our courses and provided your telephone number, one of our friendly course consultants may call you to answer your questions, talk through your options and help you decide whether a course is right for you.
Where permitted by law, we may also contact people who have an existing relationship with ACOA about relevant courses, services or offers. If you'd prefer not to receive marketing calls from us, simply let our team know and we'll update your preferences.
6. OUR WEBSITE, COOKIES AND ADVERTISING
We use cookies and similar technologies to help our website work well and to better understand how people interact with ACOA online. They can help us remember preferences, understand which parts of our website people find useful, improve the experience we provide and understand whether our advertising and communications are effective.
We may also work with advertising, analytics and social media platforms to help us show more relevant information and advertising to people who may be interested in ACOA.
You can manage many types of cookies through your browser or device settings. Please keep in mind that disabling some cookies may affect how parts of our website work.
7. WHO WE MAY SHARE INFORMATION WITH
Running an online college involves working with trusted organisations that help us provide our courses and services. These may include organisations that provide our website and hosting, learning platforms, customer management systems, email and SMS communications, payment processing, analytics, advertising, professional advice, fulfilment and other technology or business services.
Where appropriate, information may also be provided to accreditation, certification or professional membership organisations in connection with services or qualifications you've requested.
We may also need to disclose information where required or authorised by law, or in connection with the sale or restructure of all or part of our business.
We don't sell your personal information to other organisations for their own direct marketing.
8. WORKING WITH PROVIDERS OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA
Some of the technology and services that make it possible for us to operate ACOA are provided by organisations located outside Australia or using systems based overseas. This means personal information may sometimes be stored, processed or accessed outside Australia, including in countries such as the United States and the Philippines, as well as other locations used by our technology and service providers.
Where Australian privacy law applies to an overseas disclosure, we take reasonable steps required by that law in relation to the information. As technology providers can change where their services operate, these locations may also change over time.
9. KEEPING YOUR INFORMATION SAFE
We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information entrusted to us from loss, misuse, interference and unauthorised access or disclosure. We use appropriate administrative and technology safeguards and work with reputable service providers to help us do this.
No online system can ever be guaranteed to be completely secure, but protecting the information our students and customers share with us is something we take seriously. If a data breach occurs, we will assess and respond to it in accordance with our legal obligations.
10. HOW LONG WE KEEP INFORMATION
We keep personal information for as long as it is reasonably needed to provide our courses and services, maintain appropriate student and business records and meet our legal obligations.
For example, there are good reasons for us to retain certain student and qualification records so that we can continue to assist graduates with their study history or certification.
When information is no longer reasonably required and we don't have a legal reason to retain it, we will take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify it.
11. ACCESSING OR UPDATING YOUR INFORMATION
We want the information we hold about you to be accurate. If you'd like to access personal information we hold about you, or believe something needs to be corrected, please contact our team.
We may need to confirm your identity before providing access or making certain changes. There may also be limited circumstances in which privacy law allows us to refuse a request, in which case we'll explain this where required.
12. YOUR CHOICES
You can change your communication preferences with us at any time. The easiest way is to use the unsubscribe option in an email, follow the opt-out instructions in an SMS or tell our team that you don't wish to receive marketing calls. You can also contact us directly and we'll be happy to help.
We may retain a limited record of an unsubscribe or opt-out request so that we can make sure we continue to respect your choice.
13. CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Our courses and services are generally designed for adults unless we specifically say otherwise. If we knowingly need to collect information about a child or young person, we'll take appropriate care with that information and obtain parent or guardian involvement where required by law.
14. OTHER WEBSITES
Sometimes our website may link to another organisation's website or service. Once you leave an ACOA website, that organisation is responsible for its own privacy practices. We encourage you to read their privacy information if you're providing personal information to them.
15. TECHNOLOGY AND AUTOMATED SYSTEMS
Like many modern businesses, we may use technology and automated systems to help us with administration, communications, customer service, marketing, analysis and improving the services we provide. Technology helps our team work more effectively, but our commitment to treating your personal information responsibly remains the same.
Where the law requires us to provide more specific information about automated decisions involving personal information, we will do so.
16. IF YOU HAVE A PRIVACY CONCERN
If you ever have a question or concern about your privacy or the way we've handled your personal information, we'd genuinely like to hear from you. Please contact our team and give us enough information to understand your concern. We'll look into it and aim to respond within a reasonable period.
If you're not satisfied with our response, you may also have the right to contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
17. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
From time to time we may update this Privacy Policy as ACOA grows, our technology changes or privacy laws evolve. The latest version will always be available on our website, together with the date it was last updated.
18. CONTACT US
If you'd like to ask a privacy question, update your information or communication preferences, or make a privacy complaint, we'd be happy to help.
Australian College of Aromatherapy
Address: 127 Creek Street, Brisbane QLD 4000
Email: admin@acoa.com.au
Phone: 1300 580 781
Website: https://acoa.com.au