Privacy Policy

This policy explains how BIG STEP Migration and Education Consultants Pty Ltd ("we", "us", "our") handles your personal information. We are committed to protecting your privacy and to handling your information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

Because migration assistance involves personal circumstances, the information we collect can be detailed. Depending on how you interact with us, this may include:

• Identity and contact details (name, date of birth, address, phone, email)
• Immigration and personal details relevant to your matter (visa history, nationality, family, qualifications, employment, English ability)
• Answers you provide through our online eligibility check
• Information you provide when you contact us or book a consultation
• Website usage information collected automatically (such as pages visited), where analytics are used

Some of this may be 'sensitive information' (for example, information about your health or background). We only collect sensitive information where it is reasonably necessary for our services and, generally, with your consent.

We usually collect information directly from you - through our website forms, the eligibility check, phone, email, or in person. In some cases we may collect information from third parties (such as a family member or another representative) where you have authorised this or it is otherwise permitted by law.

We use your personal information to:

• Provide migration assistance and related services
• Respond to your enquiries and provide general guidance
• Give you an indication of visa options through the eligibility check
• Communicate with you about your matter
• Send you appointment reminders by text message and email
• Meet our legal and professional obligations

We may disclose your information where necessary to provide our services or where required or authorised by law, including to:

• The Department of Home Affairs and other government agencies in connection with your visa matter
• The Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA), if required
• Service providers who help us operate our business (such as IT, hosting, email, messaging and secure storage providers) - these are listed by name in section 9 below
• Others where you have consented, or as required or permitted by law

We do not sell your personal information.

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. When information is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it, subject to any legal retention obligations.

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to help it function and, where enabled, to understand how the site is used. You can usually control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect some features of the site.

You can ask us for access to the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date or incomplete. Contact us using the details below and we will respond within a reasonable time.

Some of our service providers may store or process information outside Australia. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure your information is handled consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles. The service providers (sometimes called sub-processors) that may handle your personal information on our behalf are:

• Supabase - our database, sign-in system and secure file storage, including for the client portal. It handles the details and documents you give us (such as contact details, matter information and uploaded files). Our data is stored in Sydney, Australia.
• Vercel - hosts this website and runs the website's servers. It handles information sent through the site (such as enquiry and booking forms and technical details like your IP address) while it passes through. Our website servers are set to run in Sydney, Australia, and pages may be delivered to you through Vercel's global network.
• Resend - sends our emails, such as enquiry notifications, auto-replies, booking confirmations and appointment reminders. It handles your name, email address and the content of the email. Emails may be processed in Ireland or the United States.
• Twilio - delivers text and WhatsApp messages on our behalf, such as appointment reminders and replies to your messages. It handles your phone number and the message content. It may process this information in the United States or other countries.
• Meta (WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram) - if you contact us through WhatsApp or our Facebook or Instagram pages, Meta handles those messages and your profile details under its own terms. It may process this information in the United States or other countries.
• Stripe - when card payments for consultation or service fees are switched on, Stripe processes the payment. It handles your name, email and card details (we do not see or store your full card number). It may process this information in the United States or other countries.
• Cloudflare - manages our website's domain name (DNS) and email routing, and, where enabled, provides privacy-focused website statistics (page views and site performance, without cookies). It handles technical details such as your IP address and email addresses on our domain, and may process them in the United States or other countries.
• Google - the map on our Contact page is provided by Google Maps. Google may collect technical details such as your IP address when the map loads, under its own privacy policy, and may process them in the United States or other countries.

Our partners in Pakistan and the Gulf (GCC). If you contact us through our Pakistan partner location in Tehsil Kharian or our GCC representative in Dubai, they act as coordinators: they may collect your contact details and documents, pass them to our Australian office, and follow up with you on outstanding documents. They do not give Australian immigration assistance - that comes only from our registered migration agent in Australia. We send them your personal information only as far as needed to coordinate your matter, and only with your written consent.

These providers are bound by their own terms and privacy commitments, and we only share the information they need to do their job. We keep this list up to date, and we will update this page if we add or change a provider that handles your personal information.

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it. If you are not satisfied, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.

You can choose whether to receive marketing communications from us, such as newsletter updates about visa changes. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can also opt out at any time by emailing us at hello@bigstepmigration.com. Opting out of marketing does not affect our ability to contact you about an active migration matter.

As a registered migration agent, we are required to keep client records for at least 7 years, in line with our professional obligations under the OMARA Code of Conduct. Where we are not under a specific retention obligation, we keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose it was collected, and then take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it.

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on this page.

To make a privacy enquiry or request, contact BIG STEP Migration and Education Consultants Pty Ltd by email at hello@bigstepmigration.com or by phone on +61 423 720 019.