Privacy Policy

Effective date: 18 October 2026

1. Who we are and what this policy covers

Veterinary Nurse Solutions Pty Ltd (ACN 155 687 906, ABN 88 155 687 906), trading as the Australian College of Veterinary Nursing (ACVN), Australian College of Animal Care (ACAC), and operating related learning services, manages personal information as described in this policy. It covers information we collect through our college websites, vetnurse.com.au, animalcarecollege.com.au, vetnurse.study, learn.vetnurse.study, enrolment and student administration systems, and associated services we operate. Some programmes also have specific privacy notices, consent forms or legally required collection notices. If these apply to you, we will provide them at the relevant point.

2. Contacting us

If you have a privacy question, would like to access or correct personal information, or wish to make a complaint, email [email protected] or use the contact details published on our websites. You can write to Veterinary Nurse Solutions Pty Ltd, PO Box 4208, Hoppers Crossing VIC 3029, Australia. Please do not send passwords, full payment-card details or sensitive medical documents in an ordinary email unless specifically requested through an appropriate secure channel.

3. Information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect your name, contact details, account credentials or identifiers, billing and transaction information, courses and products purchased, employment or placement information, previous education, qualifications, and information supplied in enquiries or enrolments. When you use learning services, we may record course enrolments, module access, activity and quiz results, learning submissions, educator feedback, assessment outcomes, webinar completion, CPD points, certificate details, and dates of participation. We may also hold communications, support requests, permitted workplace verification details, and records necessary to meet educational, regulatory, financial or contractual obligations. The information collected depends on the particular service; not every category applies to every customer.

4. Sensitive and regulated student information

Some enrolment or training activities may require additional information, such as health, disability or reasonable-adjustment details, demographic information, or information required for education reporting, including AVETMISS where applicable. We will explain the reason for collection and any legal or reporting requirement, and seek consent where required. We limit access to sensitive information to people with a legitimate need to use it. You may be unable to access particular services or adjustments if information genuinely necessary for those purposes cannot be provided, but we will explain your options. Ordinary webinar membership does not, by itself, require you to disclose detailed health information.

5. How we collect information

We collect information directly from you when you register, purchase a product, subscribe, enrol, complete learning activities, communicate with us or request support. We may also receive information from an employer, clinic manager, workplace supervisor, referring organisation, training partner, payment provider or publicly available source where appropriate and lawful. Our websites and services may collect technical information automatically, including IP address, browser and device information, session events, authentication logs, approximate location derived from technical information, and website usage data. We seek to notify you when information is collected from another source where required.

6. Why we use personal information

We use information to provide and administer the services you request; establish accounts and membership entitlements; process payments and refunds; deliver webinars, learning materials and assessments; verify eligibility or workplace evidence; issue certificates and maintain CPD and student records; answer enquiries and resolve complaints; provide accessibility or learning support; secure and improve our systems; maintain accounting and audit records; and comply with education, consumer, tax, privacy and other legal obligations. We may use aggregated or appropriately de-identified information to evaluate learning resources and improve our services. We do not treat your purchase of a product as unrestricted permission to use your personal information for unrelated purposes.

7. Learning platforms, memberships and CPD evidence

Our learning platforms use account and enrolment records to determine what materials you are entitled to access and for how long. A membership or subscription may expire or be cancelled while your completed learning history, assessment evidence and issued certificates remain on record for legitimate educational, compliance and verification purposes. Where supported by the relevant platform, you may continue to access previously issued certificates after your paid access to learning content ends. We may need to retain or export some records separately from your active online account. We will explain any practical limitation if a platform is retired or replaced. Access to content and retention of a completion record are separate matters.

8. Organisational and workplace relationships

If your employer, veterinary practice or another organisation purchases or administers a staff learning programme, authorised administrators may receive information necessary to manage paid seats and monitor staff learning, such as enrolment, progress, completion and certificates, as described in the applicable product or enrolment information. Where training requires placement or workplace sign-off, we may communicate relevant information with authorised workplace supervisors and training partners. We do not give an employer unrestricted access to your personal account, private communications or sensitive information merely because it pays for training. Additional disclosures may occur where required or authorised by law.

9. Payments and online transactions

We use online commerce and payment services to process orders, subscriptions and refunds. We may retain your order details, payment status, transaction references, tax information and limited payment-method identifiers provided by processors. Full payment-card details entered into a payment provider’s secure process are handled by that provider under its own security and privacy arrangements; we do not claim that no payment-related data is ever stored by our systems. Where recurring billing applies, relevant payment and subscription information is used to administer renewal, cancellation and billing communications. You can review the applicable payment provider’s privacy information at checkout.

10. Service providers and disclosures

We may share relevant information with providers who help operate our websites, learning management systems, membership and commerce tools, payment processing, hosting, cloud storage, video delivery, email communications, analytics, customer support, security and backups. Depending on the product, systems may include WordPress, WooCommerce, WishList Member, Academy LMS, Moodle and associated third-party services. We provide access only to information reasonably needed for the relevant function and use appropriate contractual, technical or organisational controls. We may also disclose information to professional advisers, auditors, regulators, government bodies, insurers, education partners, or others where lawfully required or authorised. We do not sell personal information to advertisers.

11. Overseas processing and disclosure

Some providers, support personnel or cloud infrastructure may be located outside Australia, and information may be accessed, processed or stored overseas. The countries involved can vary with the providers and services in use. We will take reasonable steps required by applicable law in relation to overseas disclosures, including considering the privacy protections applying to recipients, and provide further information about relevant destinations where it is available or required. We will not assert that every record is stored in Australia. If we materially change overseas disclosure arrangements, we will update our disclosures as appropriate.

12. Marketing communications

We may contact you with service messages relating to your account, purchases, learning access, security, assessments and other administrative matters. These are distinct from promotional messages. We send commercial electronic marketing only where permitted by Australian law, including where the necessary consent exists, and provide a clear way to unsubscribe from marketing. You may opt out of promotional messages without losing access to essential account and course communications. We do not provide your personal information to another organisation for its independent direct marketing without a lawful basis and any consent required.

13. Cookies, analytics and tracking

Our websites may use necessary cookies and similar technologies for login, checkout, security and session management. Analytics, embedded video, social media or advertising tools may also collect information where enabled. Their operation and any available controls depend on the particular website and provider. You can manage cookies using your browser and any preference controls offered on the relevant website, although disabling essential cookies may prevent login or checkout. We will maintain and update separate cookie information to reflect actual tools in use.

14. Security and data breaches

We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect personal information against misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Measures may include access restrictions, authentication controls, encrypted connections, security monitoring, backups and staff access management, as appropriate to each system. No online platform can guarantee absolute security. If a data breach occurs, we will investigate, contain and assess it and notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner where required by the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme or other applicable law.

15. Retention, completion records and account closure

We keep personal information for as long as reasonably needed to provide services, maintain legitimate learning and CPD evidence, meet contractual commitments, resolve disputes or satisfy applicable legal, financial, educational and regulatory recordkeeping requirements. Retention periods differ by record type and programme. We aim to maintain useful completion and certificate records after individual webinar access or a membership expires, subject to applicable retention requirements and the continued availability of our systems. Where appropriate we may provide a copy or export of records rather than keeping online access indefinitely. We may review or deactivate long-inactive accounts in accordance with applicable membership terms, but closing an account does not necessarily remove records we must or are entitled to retain. When information is no longer needed for a permitted purpose, we take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it, except where retention is required by law or other applicable exceptions apply. We do not promise indefinite retention of every account or record.

16. Access and correction

You may request access to personal information we hold about you and ask us to correct information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. Contact us using the details above. We may need reasonable identity verification before disclosing records. We will respond within a reasonable time and explain any lawful reason for refusing or limiting access or correction. If we refuse a correction request, you may be entitled to have a statement associated with the disputed information. Access and correction rights under other applicable laws may also apply.

17. Complaints

If you believe we have mishandled your personal information, please contact us in writing and describe your concern. We will investigate and respond within a reasonable time. If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may be able to complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au, or another relevant regulator. We will not prevent you from exercising any legal privacy right.

18. Additional rights under overseas privacy laws

If an overseas data-protection law applies to our handling of your information, you may have additional rights or receive additional notices, including rights relating to access, correction, deletion, objections or restrictions. Their availability depends on the applicable law and circumstances. Please contact us with your request. We will not assume that a particular overseas regime applies to every Australian customer or claim a transfer mechanism is in place without checking it.

19. Policy updates

We may update this policy when our services, technology, providers or legal obligations change. The current version will be available on our websites or linked from them. For material changes to our information-handling practices, we will provide additional notice where appropriate or required. This privacy policy explains our practices; it does not replace any separate consent or collection notice legally required for a particular activity.