Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Effective date: 23 July 2026
Site: coota.au (formerly mallacoota2020.com.au)
Operator: Colin Dixon, Sole Trader, ABN 68 758 286 944, trading as coota.au (“we”, “us”, “our”)

1. Introduction

coota.au is your guide to the Mallacoota region — its natural beauty, community and local services. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information.

This policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use and protect it, and the choices you have. We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and, where it applies, the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

This site was previously published at mallacoota2020.com.au. That domain now points to coota.au and the same policy applies.

2. What this policy covers

This policy covers the website coota.au and any forms, comment areas, newsletters or accounts offered through it. It does not cover Facebook, YouTube or other third-party platforms we also use — those are governed by the privacy policies of the platforms themselves.

3. Personal information we collect

We collect only the information we need to run the site and respond to you. Depending on how you use coota.au, this may include:

  • Contact details you give us — your name and email address (and any message content) when you use a contact form, leave a comment, or email us.
  • Newsletter details — your email address if you subscribe to updates.
  • Account details — a username and email if you register for an account.
  • Technical information collected automatically when you visit — your IP address, browser type, operating system, the pages you view, and the date and time of your visit. This comes from our server logs and analytics tools (see section 5).

We do not deliberately collect sensitive information (such as health, racial, political or religious information). Please do not send us sensitive information through the site.

4. How we collect information

We collect personal information:

  • directly from you — when you fill in a form, comment, subscribe, register, or contact us; and
  • automatically — through cookies, server logs and analytics tools when you browse the site (see section 5).

5. Cookies and analytics

A cookie is a small file stored on your device that helps a website work and remember your preferences. coota.au uses cookies and third-party analytics to keep the site working and to understand how it is used.

We use:

  • Essential WordPress cookies — needed for the site to function, and, if you comment or log in, to remember you.
  • Google Analytics 4 — Google measures how visitors use the site (pages viewed, time on site, approximate location, device type). This helps us improve the content. Google may process this data outside Australia. See Google’s privacy policy at policies.google.com/privacy, and opt out of Google Analytics across all sites using Google’s browser add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
  • Meta (Facebook) Pixel — measures visits that come from, or lead to, our Facebook Page and helps us understand the reach of our posts. Meta may process this data outside Australia. See Meta’s privacy policy at facebook.com/privacy/policy and manage your ad preferences at facebook.com/adpreferences.

Your choices. You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings, and you can turn off most cookies entirely. Blocking essential cookies may stop parts of the site working. The opt-out links above let you opt out of Google and Meta analytics specifically.

6. How we use your information

We use personal information to:

  • respond to your enquiries, comments and requests;
  • provide and maintain the website and its features;
  • send you updates or newsletters you have asked for;
  • understand and improve how the site is used; and
  • meet our legal obligations.

Where the GDPR applies, we rely on these lawful bases: your consent (for newsletters, non-essential cookies and comments), our legitimate interests (running and improving the site securely), and legal obligation (where we must keep or disclose information by law).

7. Disclosure and third parties

We do not sell your personal information. We may share it with:

  • service providers who help us run the site — our hosting provider, email service, and the analytics providers named in section 5 — who may only use it to provide their service to us;
  • professional advisers (such as accountants or lawyers) where reasonably necessary;
  • authorities, where required or authorised by law.

Some of these providers (including Google and Meta) are based overseas, so your information may be stored or processed outside Australia, including in the United States. Where we transfer information overseas we take reasonable steps to ensure it is handled consistently with this policy and applicable law.

8. Direct marketing

If you subscribe to updates we may email you about the site and the Mallacoota region. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can opt out at any time by using that link or by emailing us.

9. Security

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure — including secure hosting and HTTPS encryption. No method of transmission or storage over the internet is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. How long we keep information

We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purposes in this policy, or as required by law. Server logs and analytics data are kept for a limited period and then deleted or anonymised. Comments and subscriptions are kept until you ask us to remove them or you unsubscribe.

11. Your rights

You have the right to:

  • access the personal information we hold about you;
  • ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or out of date;
  • ask us to delete your information, or restrict or object to how we use it;
  • withdraw consent at any time (for example, unsubscribe or turn off cookies); and
  • where the GDPR applies, request a copy of your information in a portable format (data portability).

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in section 14. We will respond within a reasonable time and may need to verify your identity first. These rights are provided under the Australian Privacy Principles and, where applicable, the GDPR.

12. Children

coota.au is a general-audience community site and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe a child has given us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

13. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first (section 14) and we will try to resolve it.

If you are not satisfied, you can complain to:

  • Australia — the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), oaic.gov.au, 1300 363 992.
  • European Union / EEA — your local data protection supervisory authority.

14. Contact us

Colin Dixon — coota.au
ABN 68 758 286 944
Email: col@coota.au
Post: PO Box 327, Mallacoota, Victoria 3892, Australia

15. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always posted on this page, with the effective date at the top. Significant changes will be highlighted on the site. Please check back occasionally.

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