1. About this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how BWI Media Group, Inc., operating Business World Australia (Business World Australia, BWI Media Group, we, us, or our), collects, uses, discloses, stores, and protects personal information in connection with our website, digital magazine, articles, business profiles, interviews, videos, newsletters, forms, advertising services, sponsored content, directory listings, and related business activities.
Business World Australia is currently owned and operated by BWI Media Group, Inc., a corporation incorporated provincially in Ontario, Canada. Our publication is primarily directed at Australian business professionals, and these privacy practices are drafted with Australian privacy, spam, consumer, and digital publishing requirements in mind.
This Privacy Policy should be read together with our Website Terms & Conditions and Cookie Policy.
2. Personal information we collect
We aim to collect only the personal information reasonably necessary for our editorial, publishing, marketing, advertising, sales, customer relationship, payment, analytics, and operational purposes.
Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following types of information.
2.1 Information you provide through forms
When you complete a website form, such as Contact Us, Share Your Story, Get Featured, Get Funded, newsletter subscription, advertising inquiry, sponsorship inquiry, or similar forms, we may collect information such as:
- name;
- email address;
- phone number, if requested or provided;
- job title;
- company or organization name;
- website URL;
- location;
- social media links;
- message content;
- business profile information;
- startup story information;
- interview or feature request details;
- information about your company, project, funding history, growth plans, advertising interests, or publication interests; and
- any other information you choose to provide.
A Get Funded submission is treated as an internal request for editorial consideration, interview consideration, startup storytelling, or a potential article feature. It is not treated as an application for financing, investment, lending, grants, brokerage, or financial services, and we do not share Get Funded submissions with lenders, investors, brokers, funders, or financing partners unless we separately ask for and receive your consent.
2.2 Subscriber and marketing information
If you subscribe to our publication, newsletter, updates, or marketing communications, we may collect your name, email address, subscription preferences, engagement data, and communication history.
2.3 Business, editorial, and feature-related information
If you or your organization is considered for, participates in, or is featured in Business World Australia content, we may collect information from you, your organization, your representatives, interviews, questionnaires, emails, phone calls, video calls, press releases, public websites, government databases, company materials, third-party sources, and publicly available information.
This may include names, job titles, professional biographies, company information, photographs, video recordings, audio recordings, quotes, business history, awards, project information, supplier or partner information, funding history, founder background, and other information relevant to a business profile, interview, startup story, article, video, or feature.
Some of this information may be published as part of our editorial, sponsored, social media, video, newsletter, or magazine content.
2.4 Advertising, directory, and customer information
If you inquire about or purchase advertising, sponsored content, directory listings, content production, or related services, we may collect contact details, billing details, company information, campaign details, advertising materials, communications, approvals, preferences, and transaction records.
2.5 Payment and billing information
Where payment is required, we may collect name, email address, company name, billing address, invoice details, payment status, and transaction records.
Payments may be one-time or recurring, depending on the specific advertising campaign, sponsored content package, directory listing, production service, or commercial arrangement purchased.
We use Stripe or other third-party payment processors where required. We do not intend to collect or store full credit card numbers, debit card numbers, or card security codes on our own servers. Payment processors may collect and process payment details in accordance with their own terms and privacy policies.
2.6 Website, analytics, device, and usage information
When you visit our website, we and our service providers may automatically collect information such as:
- IP address;
- browser type;
- device type;
- operating system;
- pages visited;
- referring URLs;
- time spent on pages;
- clicks, scrolls, and navigation patterns;
- approximate location derived from IP address;
- cookie identifiers;
- form interaction data;
- session and heatmap data; and
- other usage and diagnostic information.
We use tools such as Google Analytics to measure website traffic and Microsoft Clarity to understand website interactions through analytics, heatmaps, and session replay features.
2.7 Social media and third-party platform information
If you interact with us through YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X/Twitter, TikTok, or other social media or third-party platforms, we may receive information made available by those platforms, such as your profile name, handle, public profile information, comments, messages, interactions, and engagement data.
Your use of those platforms is also governed by their own privacy policies and terms.
2.8 Information from third-party sources
For editorial, sales, advertising, business development, research, verification, and outreach purposes, we may collect information from publicly available sources, company websites, professional directories, government databases, press releases, event websites, media coverage, social media, business databases, referrals, contributors, advertisers, featured companies, and other third-party sources.
3. How we use personal information
We may use personal information for the following purposes:
- to operate, maintain, improve, and secure our website and publication;
- to respond to inquiries, form submissions, and requests;
- to assess, research, create, edit, publish, distribute, and promote editorial content, business profiles, interviews, startup stories, videos, and magazine features;
- to manage advertising, sponsored content, directory listings, content production, and related commercial services;
- to manage customer, subscriber, advertiser, sponsor, contributor, and business relationships;
- to send newsletters, publication updates, marketing emails, advertising opportunities, sponsored content updates, event notices, and other communications where permitted by law;
- to conduct limited cold outreach to business professionals to promote magazine subscriptions, content, interviews, features, or commercial opportunities where permitted by applicable spam and privacy laws;
- to process payments, invoices, refunds, credits, recurring billing, and account records;
- to measure website traffic, content performance, reader engagement, and campaign effectiveness;
- to improve our website, content, user experience, forms, marketing, and services;
- to maintain CRM records and communication histories;
- to detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, abuse, spam, security incidents, technical issues, and unlawful activity;
- to enforce our agreements, terms, policies, and legal rights;
- to comply with applicable legal, tax, accounting, regulatory, and recordkeeping obligations; and
- for any other purpose disclosed at the time of collection or to which you consent.
4. Email marketing, cold outreach, and unsubscribe rights
We may send newsletters, publication updates, marketing communications, advertising opportunities, sponsored content updates, event notices, and other commercial electronic messages where we have consent or are otherwise permitted by applicable law.
Our newsletters are intended to be sent to opt-in magazine subscribers and to recipients where there is a legitimate business relationship, inferred consent, or another lawful basis for the communication. We do not treat every prospect, lead, directory contact, or public business contact as automatically subscribed to our newsletter.
We may conduct limited cold outreach to business professionals to promote Business World Australia, invite subscriptions, identify potential interviewees, introduce magazine content, or discuss relevant advertising or partnership opportunities, provided such outreach complies with applicable spam, privacy, and electronic marketing laws.
Commercial emails will identify the sender and include an unsubscribe mechanism where required. You can unsubscribe by using the unsubscribe link included in the email or by contacting us at contact@businessworldaustralia.com.
We may still send transactional, administrative, relationship-based, or service-related communications where permitted by law, such as responses to inquiries, invoice communications, service messages, or communications about a feature, advertisement, listing, or project you are involved in.
5. Cookies and similar technologies
We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the website, measure website usage, understand reader behaviour, improve content, and support analytics and performance measurement.
We do not currently use advertising pixels, retargeting pixels, Meta Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, Google Ads remarketing tags, or similar targeted advertising technologies.
More information is available in our Cookie Policy.
6. When we disclose personal information
We may disclose personal information to the following categories of recipients where reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy:
- website hosting providers, including DreamHost;
- analytics providers, including Google Analytics;
- website behaviour analytics and heatmapping providers, including Microsoft Clarity;
- CRM, email, and communication tools, including Attio and Gmail;
- payment processors, including Stripe;
- contractors, writers, editors, designers, videographers, producers, consultants, sales representatives, and other service providers who support our publication and business operations;
- advertising, sponsored content, directory, or production partners where needed to deliver a product or service you requested or where you have consented;
- professional advisers, including lawyers, accountants, auditors, insurers, and business advisers;
- government authorities, regulators, courts, law enforcement agencies, or other parties where required or permitted by law;
- buyers, investors, lenders, successors, or advisers in connection with a potential or actual merger, acquisition, financing, restructuring, sale, incorporation, reorganization, or transfer of all or part of our business or assets; and
- other parties with your consent or as disclosed at the time of collection.
We do not sell subscriber email lists to advertisers. We do not share your personal information with advertisers for their own direct marketing unless you consent, request that we do so, or the relevant form or service clearly indicates that your information will be shared for that purpose.
We do not share Get Funded form submissions with third-party lenders, investors, brokers, funders, or financing partners unless we separately ask for and receive your consent.
7. International transfers and storage locations
Business World Australia is primarily directed at Australian business professionals, but the current owner/operator, BWI Media Group, Inc., is based in Canada. We also use third-party service providers that may store or process information in Canada, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, or other countries where they or their service providers operate.
For example, Microsoft Clarity indicates that Clarity data is stored in Microsoft Azure data centres in the United States. Other providers, including Google, Stripe, Attio, Gmail, and DreamHost, may process information in multiple jurisdictions according to their own infrastructure, subprocessors, and legal terms.
The privacy laws in those countries may differ from the laws in Australia. Where required by applicable law, we take reasonable steps to ensure that overseas recipients and service providers handle personal information appropriately and use contractual, technical, organizational, and other safeguards designed to protect personal information.
8. Security
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, interference, disclosure, alteration, and destruction.
However, no website, email system, payment system, CRM, hosting provider, analytics provider, or method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.
If we become aware of a data breach affecting personal information, we will assess the incident and notify affected individuals, regulators, or other parties where required by applicable law.
9. Retention of personal information
We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.
Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and context. For example:
- newsletter subscription records may be retained until you unsubscribe, plus a reasonable period to maintain suppression records;
- inquiry and CRM records may be retained for a reasonable period after our last interaction;
- advertising, sponsored content, directory, production, invoice, and payment records may be retained for accounting, legal, tax, audit, and business recordkeeping purposes;
- editorial materials, published content, interview materials, article drafts, recordings, and publication archives may be retained indefinitely as part of our publication record; and
- analytics information may be retained according to the settings and policies of the relevant analytics provider.
10. Access, correction, deletion, and other privacy rights
Depending on where you are located and which laws apply, you may have rights to request access to, correction of, deletion of, restriction of, or portability of your personal information, or to object to or withdraw consent for certain uses of your personal information.
To make a privacy request, contact us at contact@businessworldaustralia.com. We may need to verify your identity before responding.
Some information may be exempt from access, deletion, or correction rights, including information subject to legal privilege, information retained for legal or accounting purposes, information that relates to other individuals, information that forms part of our editorial archives, or information we are otherwise permitted or required to retain.
If you request correction of published editorial content, we will assess the request in accordance with our editorial correction practices and applicable law.
11. Australian privacy rights
Where Australian privacy law applies, individuals may have rights under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, including rights to access and correct personal information and to complain about how personal information is handled.
If you are in Australia and have a privacy complaint, please contact us first at contact@businessworldaustralia.com so we can try to resolve it. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may be able to contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
12. Canadian privacy considerations
Because BWI Media Group, Inc. is currently incorporated in Ontario, Canada, Canadian privacy laws may also apply in some circumstances. Where applicable, individuals may have rights under Canadian privacy laws, including rights to access personal information and challenge our privacy practices.
If you are in Canada and have a privacy complaint, please contact us first at contact@businessworldaustralia.com.
13. Children’s privacy
Our website, publication, and services are intended for business and professional audiences and are not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 16. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us, please contact us so we can take appropriate steps.
14. Public and published information
If you participate in an interview, submit a story, request to be featured, provide company materials, or otherwise contribute to content intended for publication, information about you or your organization may be published publicly on our website, in our magazine, on social media, on YouTube, in newsletters, or in promotional materials.
Published content may be indexed by search engines, shared by third parties, archived, copied, quoted, or redistributed beyond our control.
15. Third-party links and platforms
Our website and content may contain links to third-party websites, platforms, tools, advertisers, sponsors, contributors, social media pages, videos, or embedded content.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, security, or legal terms of third parties. You should review their privacy policies and terms before interacting with them or providing personal information.
16. Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date.
If we make material changes, we may provide additional notice where appropriate or required by law.
17. Contact us
For privacy questions, requests, or complaints, contact:
BWI Media Group, Inc.
Business World Australia
513-30 Hamilton Street South
Waterdown, ON, Canada L8B 1V8
Email: contact@businessworldaustralia.com
Website: www.businessworldaustralia.com
