Dot Auto respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
When we say "we," "us," or "our" in this policy, we mean both:
- Dot Auto Pty Ltd — operating the Truganina, Victoria showroom (LMCT-0012877)
- Dot Auto Brisbane Pty Ltd — operating the Loganholme, Queensland showroom (DL-4734245)
1. The personal information we collect
We collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for our business. This may include:
- Name, contact details, and date of birth
- Driver's licence number (for test drives and identification)
- Address and proof-of-address documents
- Employment and income information (where you apply for rent-to-own)
- Vehicle ownership and trade-in details
- Payment information (where required for transactions)
- Records of interactions with us — phone calls, emails, in-person discussions, online form submissions
- Information about your visit to dotauto.com.au
We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18.
2. How we collect personal information
We collect information directly from you when you:
- Visit one of our showrooms
- Submit a form on dotauto.com.au
- Call or email us
- Apply for rent-to-own finance
- Book a test drive or trade-in appraisal
With your consent, we may also collect information from third parties, including credit-reporting bodies (only where you've explicitly authorised a credit check), insurance providers in the context of an active enquiry, and trade-in valuation services.
3. Why we collect it
We use personal information for the purposes you'd reasonably expect, including:
- Selling or renting vehicles
- Processing rent-to-own applications
- Arranging trade-in valuations and transfers
- Responding to enquiries
- Direct marketing (where you've opted in — see section 8)
- Meeting our legal obligations (motor-dealer licensing, tax, anti-fraud)
4. Who we share it with
We don't sell your personal information. We share it only as needed to do the things above:
- Finance and insurance partners — for rent-to-own contracts and arranged insurance, with your consent
- Service providers — IT systems, payment processors, marketing platforms; each bound by confidentiality obligations
- Government bodies — when required by law (police, courts, the ATO, state transport departments)
- Professional advisers — lawyers, accountants, where reasonably necessary
We may store information in cloud services hosted overseas. Where this happens, we take reasonable steps to ensure overseas recipients handle your information consistently with the APPs.
5. How we store and protect it
We store personal information in secured electronic systems and, where applicable, in physical files at our showrooms. We use reasonable security measures including access controls, encryption-in-transit, and staff training. We retain personal information for as long as it's needed for the purposes above, or as required by law, after which we destroy or de-identify it.
6. Your rights
You can ask us to:
- Confirm what personal information we hold about you
- Provide access to it
- Correct information that's inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date
- Stop sending direct marketing
- Delete information where we no longer have a legal basis to hold it
Send requests to dotauto.au@gmail.com. We'll respond within 30 days. There's no charge.
7. Cookies and analytics
dotauto.com.au currently uses only essential cookies. We do not use third-party advertising trackers. If we add analytics tooling in future, this policy will be updated to describe it.
8. Direct marketing
If we contact you with marketing, you can opt out at any time — reply STOP to any SMS, click "unsubscribe" in any email, or ask us in person at either showroom.
9. Complaints
If you think we've mishandled your personal information, contact us first at dotauto.au@gmail.com with the subject "Privacy Complaint." We'll acknowledge within 5 business days and respond within 30 days.
If you're not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:
- Website: oaic.gov.au
- Phone: 1300 363 992
10. Contact us
For any privacy questions, get in touch with our Privacy Officer:
- Email: dotauto.au@gmail.com
- Phone: (0430) 966 435
11. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects when it was last changed. Material changes will be flagged on our homepage for a reasonable period.