Privacy Policy

Sino Partners Pty Ltd (ABN 72 680 066 817) is committed to protecting your personal information and handling it responsibly. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose and safeguard personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in that Act.

Please read this policy carefully. By using our website or providing us with your personal information, you consent to the practices described here. If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use our website or submit personal information to us.

01Who We Are

Sino Partners Pty Ltd is an Australian and Shanghai-based consultancy firm that helps Chinese companies enter the Australian market and helps Australian businesses source from and partner with Chinese suppliers. We operate across the Australia-China trade corridor with offices and representatives in Sydney and Shanghai.

02What Personal Information We Collect

We collect only the personal information that is reasonably necessary for us to carry out our business functions. The types of personal information we may collect include:

• Identity information: your first and last name
• Contact information: email address, phone number, postal address
• Professional information: company or organisation name, job title, industry
• Enquiry details: the content of messages or enquiries you send to us through our contact form or by direct email
• Website usage data: pages visited, time spent on pages, browser and device type, approximate geographic location derived from IP address (collected via Google Analytics 4 with anonymisation enabled)
• Communication preferences: whether you wish to receive updates or marketing communications from us

We do not collect sensitive information (such as health information, racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, or criminal record information) unless it is directly relevant to a specific consulting engagement and you have consented to us doing so.

03How We Collect It

We collect personal information through the following channels:

• Contact form: when you complete the enquiry form on our website, your submission is processed by Formspree and forwarded to our team
• Direct email: when you send an email to one of our addresses
• Phone: when you call us directly
• Client portal: when you use our client-facing portal to submit project briefs or share documents
• Google Analytics 4: automatically when you browse our website, via cookies and tracking technologies (IP addresses are anonymised)
• Business cards and in-person meetings: when you provide your details at networking events, trade shows or client meetings

Where practicable, we collect personal information directly from you. We will only collect personal information from third parties where you have authorised this or where we are required or authorised to do so by law.

04Why We Collect It

We collect and use personal information for the following primary purposes:

• To respond to enquiries: processing and responding to your contact form submissions, emails and phone calls
• To deliver consulting services: managing and executing client engagements, including sourcing, market entry, compliance and investment advisory work
• To send relevant updates: sharing insights articles, market snapshots and service information that may be relevant to your business (you may opt out at any time)
• To improve our website: using aggregated and anonymised analytics data to understand how our website is used and to improve content, navigation and user experience
• To comply with legal obligations: meeting our obligations under Australian law, including record-keeping and reporting requirements

We will not use your personal information for any purpose that is unrelated to the reasons it was collected without first seeking your consent, unless we are required or permitted to do so by law.

05Storage and Security

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification and disclosure. Our security measures include:

• Our website is hosted on Vercel, which provides HTTPS encryption for all data in transit
• Contact form submissions are transmitted to us via Formspree using encrypted connections
• Email communications are handled through Microsoft 365, which applies enterprise-grade security controls
• Our internal systems use access controls, including role-based permissions, to restrict access to personal information to authorised personnel only
• Devices used by our staff to access personal information are protected by passwords and updated security software

Data retention: We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Contact form enquiries that do not result in an engagement are retained for a maximum of 24 months. Client records relating to completed engagements are retained for seven years in accordance with Australian tax and commercial record-keeping obligations. After the relevant retention period, personal information is securely deleted or de-identified.

06Disclosure to Third Parties

We do not sell, trade or rent your personal information to third parties. We may disclose personal information to the following categories of third parties for the purposes described in this policy:

We may also disclose personal information where we are required to do so by law, court order, or regulatory authority, or where we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to prevent or investigate unlawful activity.

Where we share personal information with service providers, we take reasonable steps to ensure those providers comply with applicable privacy laws and handle personal information appropriately.

07Cross-Border Disclosure

Some of the third-party service providers we use process or store data on servers located outside Australia. Specifically:

• Google LLC (Google Analytics 4) is headquartered in the United States and processes data on servers primarily in the US, with some processing in other countries
• Vercel Inc. is headquartered in the United States and hosts our website on servers primarily in the US and Europe
• Formspree Inc. is based in the United States and processes form submission data there

Additionally, because our consulting services span Australia and China, some client-related information may be shared with or accessible to our representatives and affiliated service providers in the People's Republic of China for the purpose of executing client engagements. This occurs only with client consent or where otherwise necessary to deliver the contracted services.

Before disclosing personal information to overseas recipients, we take reasonable steps to ensure that those recipients are required to handle the information in a manner consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles, or that an exception under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) applies. By providing your personal information to us, you acknowledge that your information may be disclosed to overseas recipients in the circumstances described above.

08Access and Correction

Under the Australian Privacy Principles, you have the right to:

• Request access to the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of personal information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading

To make an access or correction request, please contact us in writing using the details in Section 12 of this policy. We will respond to your request within 30 days. If we are unable to provide access to the information you have requested, we will explain the reason for our decision in writing.

We will not charge you for making an access request, but we may charge a reasonable fee to cover the administrative costs of providing access where the request is complex or requires significant time to process.

If we refuse to correct your personal information, you may request that we attach a statement to the record noting that you believe the information is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. We will take reasonable steps to associate that statement with the relevant record.

09Complaints

If you believe we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles or otherwise mishandled your personal information, you may make a complaint by contacting us in writing at the details set out in Section 12 below.

We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and will endeavour to resolve it within 30 days. If additional time is required, we will notify you of the delay and the expected resolution timeline.

If you are not satisfied with our response, or if we have not responded within 30 days, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

• Website: oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints
• Phone: 1300 363 992
• Post: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001

10Cookies and Analytics

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience and to collect anonymised website usage data.

What are cookies? Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device when you visit a website. They allow the website to recognise your device on subsequent visits and to collect information about how you use the site.

Google Analytics 4: We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to understand how visitors use our website. GA4 collects information such as pages visited, time spent on each page, geographic region (derived from anonymised IP address), browser type and device type. We have enabled IP anonymisation on our GA4 implementation, which means your full IP address is never stored or processed by Google Analytics. The data collected is aggregated and used solely to improve our website.

How to opt out: You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by:

• Installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on
• Enabling the "Do Not Track" setting in your browser (note: not all sites honour this signal)
• Adjusting your browser settings to block or delete cookies

Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of some features on our website. We do not use cookies for advertising, retargeting or profiling purposes.

11Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology or legal obligations. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of our website or services after a change has been posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

This policy was last reviewed and updated in June 2026.

12Contact Us

For any questions, concerns or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal information, please contact us: