This Privacy Policy explains how The Hills Dance Factory - 36 983 557 418 ('HDF', 'we', 'us', 'our'), located at Unit 19 / 252 New Line Road, Dural NSW 2158, collects, uses, stores, and discloses personal information. We are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

By using our website (hdfonline.com.au), submitting any form, or enrolling at HDF, you consent to the collection and use of your information as described in this policy.

1. Who We Are

The Hills Dance Factory is a family-run dance studio established in 2004, offering dance classes for children and young adults aged 2.5 to 21+ across the Hills District of Sydney, NSW. We are the data controller for the personal information we collect.

For privacy-related enquiries, contact:
Mark Koumantakis — Office Manager
Email: mark@hdfonline.com.au
Phone: 0414 245 665

2. What Personal Information We Collect

We collect only the personal information necessary to operate our studio and provide services to families. This includes:

Information collected via our website forms and trial booking:

•       Parent or guardian first and last name
•       Email address
•       Phone number
•       Student (child) first and last name
•       Student school year

Information collected via our Studio Management System (Studio Pro):

•       Enrolment details and class selections
•       Direct debit and payment information (processed and stored securely by Studio Pro — HDF does not store payment card details)
•       Communication records and notes

Information collected automatically via our website:

•       Website usage data including pages visited, time on site, and device type (collected via Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager)
•       IP address and browser type
•       Cookies and similar tracking technologies

We do not collect sensitive information such as health records, government identifiers, or financial account details directly. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16 without verifiable parental consent — all information relating to students is provided by a parent or guardian.

3. How We Collect Personal Information

We collect personal information through:

•       Our website trial class booking form (hdfonline.com.au/trial-landing)
•       Our website contact form
•       Our online enrolment system (Studio Pro / DanceStudio-Pro)
•       Email, phone, and SMS communications
•       In-person communications at our studio
•       Automated website analytics tools (Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager)

4. Why We Collect Personal Information and How We Use It

We collect and use personal information for the following purposes:

•       To process and confirm trial class bookings
•       To manage student enrolments, class allocations, and timetabling
•       To communicate with families about classes, fees, events, and studio news
•       To send automated email and SMS follow-up sequences relating to trial classes and enrolment (via Brevo, our email marketing platform)
•       To process and manage monthly fee billing (via Studio Pro)
•       To comply with our legal obligations, including child safety requirements under the NSW Child Safe Standards
•       To improve our website and marketing through analytics data
•       To respond to enquiries and provide customer support

We will not use your personal information for any purpose that is unrelated to the operation of our studio without your explicit consent.

5. Who We Share Your Information With

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We share information only with the following third-party service providers, and only to the extent necessary to deliver our services:

•       Studio Pro / DanceStudio-Pro (USA) — our studio management and billing system. Stores enrolment, payment, and communication data.
•       Brevo (France) — our email and SMS marketing platform. Stores contact information and communication history for automated follow-up sequences.
•       Zapier (USA) — our workflow automation tool. Passes form submission data between our website and Brevo.
•       Google LLC (USA) — Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager for website analytics; Google Ads for paid advertising.

All third-party providers are required to handle your information securely and in accordance with applicable privacy laws. Some of these providers are based outside Australia — see Section 6 for details.

6. Overseas Disclosure of Personal Information

Some of our third-party service providers are located overseas, including in the United States, France, and Belgium. By providing us with your personal information, you consent to it being disclosed to these overseas recipients.

We take reasonable steps to ensure these providers maintain privacy and security standards consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles. However, we are not responsible for the privacy practices of overseas providers once data has been transferred. Where possible, we rely on providers who are covered by binding corporate rules, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent frameworks.

7. Cookies and Website Tracking

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to improve your experience and to collect analytics data. This includes:

•       Google Analytics cookies — to measure website traffic, user behaviour, and session data
•       Google Tag Manager — to manage and deploy tracking scripts
•       Google Ads conversion tracking — to measure the performance of our advertising campaigns

You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect the functionality of some parts of our website. To opt out of Google Analytics tracking, you can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on available at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

8. Email and SMS Marketing

By submitting a trial class booking form or enquiry form on our website, you consent to receiving email and SMS communications from The Hills Dance Factory relating to your enquiry, trial class, and potential enrolment. These communications are sent via Brevo and managed by our automated follow-up system.

In accordance with the Spam Act 2003 (Cth), all marketing emails include an unsubscribe link. You may opt out of marketing communications at any time by clicking unsubscribe in any email or contacting us directly at info@hillsdancefactory.com.au. Opting out of marketing communications will not affect transactional communications relating to your child's enrolment.

9. How We Store and Protect Your Information

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification, and disclosure. Our security measures include:

•       Password-protected access to all systems containing personal information
•       Use of reputable, security-certified third-party platforms (Studio Pro, Brevo, Google)
•       Limiting access to personal information to HDF staff who require it to perform their role
•       Regular review of access permissions

Personal information is retained for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Information relating to former students is typically retained for seven years following the end of the enrolment.

10. Data Breach Response

In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm to individuals whose information is involved, we will respond in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

Our data breach response process:

•       Contain the breach — immediately limit any ongoing access or exposure
•       Assess the breach — identify what information was involved, how many people are affected, and the likely harm
•       Notify affected individuals — where required under the NDB scheme, notify affected individuals as soon as practicable
•       Report to the OAIC — notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) where required
•       Review and remediate — identify how the breach occurred and implement measures to prevent recurrence

To report a suspected data breach or privacy concern, contact Mark Koumantakis at mark@hdfonline.com.au immediately.

11. Your Rights

Under the Australian Privacy Principles, you have the right to: 

•       Access the personal information we hold about you or your child
•       Request correction of personal information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, or misleading
•       Request that we delete your personal information (subject to our legal and contractual obligations)
•       Opt out of direct marketing communications at any time
•       Make a complaint about how we have handled your personal information

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at mark@hdfonline.com.au. We will respond to all requests within 30 days. We will not charge a fee for access requests unless the request is complex or resource-intensive, in which case we will advise you of the fee in advance.

12. Complaints

If you believe we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles or mishandled your personal information, please contact us first so we can attempt to resolve the matter directly:

Mark Koumantakis — Office Manager
Email: mark@hdfonline.com.au
Phone: 0414 245 665

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Website: www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: 1300 363 992
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or services. When we make significant changes, we will notify enrolled families by email and update the effective date at the top of this document. The current version of this policy is always available at hdfonline.com.au/privacy-policy.

14. Contact Us

For all privacy-related enquiries, requests, or complaints:

The Hills Dance Factory
Unit 19 / 252 New Line Road, Dural NSW 2158
Email: mark@hdfonline.com.au
Phone: 0414 245 665
Website: hdfonline.com.au

This policy was last updated on 8 April 2026. The Hills Dance Factory — 36 983 557 418.