SETTLEU EDUCATION & MIGRATION – PRIVACY POLICY

Last updated: [DD Month 2026]

1. ABOUT THIS PRIVACY POLICY

SettleU Education & Migration (“SettleU”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is a Sydney-based migration and education consultancy. SettleU is a trading name of SettleU Migration Education Pty Ltd (ABN 84 693 819 073).

We understand that the information you share with us, often including your passport, visa history, family circumstances and plans for the future, is deeply personal. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information, and how you can access it, correct it or make a complaint.

We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

This policy applies to personal information collected through our website settleumigration.com.au, our enquiry and booking forms, phone, email, WhatsApp, our social media pages, consultations at our office, and in the course of providing our migration and education services.

By using our website or services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

2. KEY TERMS

Personal information means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information is true or not.

Sensitive information is a special category of personal information that includes health information, criminal record, racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and biometric information. Some visa applications require us to collect this type of information, and we give it extra protection.

3. WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

The information we collect depends on how you interact with us and the service you need.

3.1 Enquiries and consultations

When you submit an enquiry, request an assessment or book a consultation, we usually collect:

• your full name, email address and phone number;
• your country of interest (for example, Australia or New Zealand) and the service you are interested in;
• a summary of your situation, which may include your current visa, study or employment details; and
• any other information you choose to give us during the consultation.

3.2 Clients of our education and migration pathway services

If you engage us, we may need to collect more detailed information to assist you with course and education provider applications, and with your broader migration pathway, including:

• identity details such as date of birth, nationality, passport details, national identity documents and photographs;
• immigration history such as current and previous visas, refusals, cancellations, tribunal decisions and travel history;
• education and English language details such as transcripts, qualifications, Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) and IELTS, PTE or other test results;
• employment details such as CVs, employment references, payslips, skills assessments and occupation information;
• financial information needed to show financial capacity, such as bank statements, sponsorship evidence and tax records;
• family and relationship information about your partner, children, parents or other family members included in, or relevant to, your application;
• sensitive information where required for a visa, such as health information, health insurance details (for example OSHC or OVHC), police clearances and character information; and
• payment information needed to process our fees and government or provider charges.

3.3 Employers and sponsors

If you are an employer or sponsor, we may collect business details (such as ABN, business activity and financial records), and the names and contact details of your representatives, as needed for nomination and sponsorship applications.

3.4 Information about other people

You may give us information about other people, such as family members, referees, employers or education providers. When you do, please make sure they are aware that you are sharing their information with us and that they can read this Privacy Policy.

3.5 Website and technical information

When you visit our website, we and our service providers may automatically collect information such as your IP address, device and browser type, pages viewed, time spent on pages, referring website and approximate location. See section 11 for more on cookies.

4. HOW WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

Wherever reasonable and practicable, we collect personal information directly from you, for example when you:

• complete a form on our website or our online consultation booking form;
• contact us by phone, email, WhatsApp or social media;
• attend a consultation in person or online; or
• provide documents to us for your application.

With your consent, or where otherwise permitted by law, we may also collect information from third parties, including the Department of Home Affairs, the Administrative Review Tribunal, education providers, skills assessing authorities, state and territory nomination bodies, employers and sponsors, your authorised representatives, and people who refer you to us.

5. DEALING WITH US ANONYMOUSLY

You can make a general enquiry without identifying yourself or by using a pseudonym. However, we cannot give personalised advice, assist with applications or act on your behalf unless you identify yourself.

6. WHY WE COLLECT, USE AND HOLD PERSONAL INFORMATION

We collect, use and hold personal information to:

• respond to your enquiry and assess your eligibility for visas and education pathways;
• recommend suitable courses and assist with applications and enrolment with education providers;
• refer you to, and coordinate with, a registered migration agent or Australian legal practitioner for visa advice, applications, reviews and appeals, where you ask us to;
• communicate with you about your matter, deadlines and changes that may affect you;
• issue invoices, process payments and manage our client accounts;
• meet our legal, regulatory, tax and accounting obligations;
• manage complaints and disputes, and protect our legal rights;
• maintain, secure and improve our website and services; and
• send you updates about migration news, services and events, where you have not opted out (see section 10).

If you do not provide the information we request, we may not be able to provide our services, or your application may be delayed or refused.

7. SENSITIVE INFORMATION

We only collect sensitive information where it is reasonably necessary for our services and you consent, or where the law requires or authorises it. For example, health and character information is often needed to meet visa requirements. We only use and disclose sensitive information for the purpose for which it was provided, or as otherwise permitted by law.

8. WHO WE DISCLOSE PERSONAL INFORMATION TO

We treat your information as confidential. We will not disclose your personal information to a third party without your consent unless required or authorised by law. Depending on your matter, and with your consent, we may disclose your information to:

• registered migration agents and Australian legal practitioners we refer you to or work with on your matter;
• the Department of Home Affairs and other Australian government agencies;
• universities, TAFEs, private colleges, English language schools and other education providers;
• skills assessing authorities and state or territory nomination bodies;
• employers and sponsors involved in your application;
• health insurance providers, translators and document verification services;
• immigration authorities and education providers in New Zealand, where you seek a New Zealand pathway;
• our service providers, such as IT, website hosting, cloud storage, email, CRM, form and booking platforms, and payment processors, who may only use your information to provide services to us; and
• our professional advisers, such as lawyers, accountants and insurers.

We may also disclose personal information where required or authorised by law, for example in response to a court order, or where we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to someone’s life, health or safety.

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information.

9. DISCLOSURE OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA

Some of the recipients listed above may be located outside Australia. This may include:

• government authorities and education providers in New Zealand;
• overseas institutions or authorities that issue documents you need (for example, police clearances or academic records); and
• technology service providers whose servers may be located in countries such as [the United States, Singapore, India, and others as applicable].

Where we disclose personal information overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient handles it in a way consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles, except where you have consented otherwise or an exception under the Privacy Act applies.

10. DIRECT MARKETING

We may use your name and contact details to send you information about migration updates, our services and events. We comply with the Spam Act 2003 (Cth), and every marketing email or SMS we send includes a way to unsubscribe. You can also opt out at any time by contacting us using the details in section 18.

Even if you opt out of marketing, we will continue to send you messages that relate to your active matter.

11. COOKIES, ANALYTICS AND ADVERTISING

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies (such as pixels and tags) to make the site work, remember your preferences, understand how visitors use our site, and measure the effectiveness of our advertising.

We may use third-party tools such as . These providers may use cookies to collect information about your visits to our website and other websites, and may show you SettleU ads on other platforms based on your browsing activity.

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings, and you can manage ad personalisation through your Google and Meta account settings. If you disable cookies, some parts of our website may not work as intended.

12. WHATSAPP, SOCIAL MEDIA AND THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES

If you contact us through WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube or LinkedIn, your communications are also subject to that platform’s own privacy policy. We recommend that you do not share identity documents or other sensitive information through public comments or posts.

Our website may contain links to other websites, including government and education provider websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites and encourage you to read their privacy policies.

13. TESTIMONIALS

We only publish client testimonials, names and photos with the client’s consent. If you would like your testimonial updated or removed, please contact us and we will action your request within a reasonable time.

14. HOW WE STORE AND PROTECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

We hold personal information in electronic form (including in secure cloud-based systems) and, in some cases, in hard copy at our Sydney office. We take reasonable steps to protect it from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, including:

• restricting access to staff who need the information to do their work, and who are bound by confidentiality obligations;
• using password protection, multi-factor authentication and encrypted connections (SSL) on our website and systems;
• storing physical files securely; and
• requiring our service providers to protect the information they handle for us.

No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure. If you have concerns about sending documents to us electronically, please contact us to discuss a secure alternative.

Data breaches: If we experience a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm to you, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

15. HOW LONG WE KEEP PERSONAL INFORMATION

We generally keep client records for seven years after our last dealing with you, so we can meet our legal, tax and accounting obligations and respond to any questions or disputes. We may keep information for longer where the law requires it.

Enquiry information that does not lead to an engagement is kept only for as long as reasonably necessary. When personal information is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify it.

16. ACCESSING AND CORRECTING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

You can ask to access the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. To make a request, contact our Privacy Officer using the details in section 18.

We will need to verify your identity before acting on your request, and we will respond within a reasonable time, generally within 30 days. We do not charge for making a request, but we may charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of providing access to large volumes of records. If we refuse your request, for example where an exception under the Privacy Act applies, we will tell you why in writing and how you can complain.

17. CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Some of our clients, such as student visa applicants and dependent children, are under 18. Where we collect information about a person under 18, we will generally do so with the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian, unless we reasonably believe the young person has the capacity to consent on their own behalf.

18. CONTACT US AND COMPLAINTS

If you have a question about this policy, or a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer:

Privacy Officer, SettleU Education & Migration
Suite 4.03, Level 4, 303 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0415 401 935

Please give us enough detail to understand your concern. We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and aim to respond within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

Website: www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: 1300 363 992

19. AUTOMATED DECISION-MAKING

We do not currently use computer programs to make decisions about you, without human involvement, that could significantly affect your rights or interests. Course recommendations and pathway assessments are prepared and reviewed by our team. If this changes, we will update this policy to describe the kinds of personal information used and the kinds of decisions made.

20. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our services or our practices. The updated version will be published on this page with a new “Last updated” date. We encourage you to review this page periodically.