Aged Care Costs privacy policy

Version: full-2.

1. Who we are

This site is run by A.C.N. 662 869 614 Pty Ltd trading as Aged Care Costs (ABN 44 662 869 614), an Australian company ("we", "us"). We run agedcarecosts.com, which provides aged care cost estimates, reports and general information for families.

Contact for privacy questions: support@agedcarecosts.com, or brucevr@yandex.com.

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

2. What we collect

Account details

Your email address, which you use to sign in with a one-time email link. We don't use passwords.
Your name, if you give it.
Your sign-in history: when you signed in, and the session records that keep you signed in.

Household and financial details you enter. To produce an estimate or report, you may enter details about the person going into care and their partner, if any. These include:

age, relationship status and state;
income, such as pensions, and assets, such as bank balances, shares and property;
the family home and who lives in it;
room prices and payment choices.

Some of this is sensitive and personal to your family. Please enter only what the calculator asks for. You don't need to give names, addresses, Medicare numbers, Centrelink reference numbers or health details. Please don't type them into free-text boxes.

The free estimate doesn't save your answers: they stay in your browser for up to an hour. When you start buying a report, we save the answers it's based on to your account. If you don't finish paying, we delete them within 24 hours.

Payment details. Payments are processed by Stripe. We receive the payment result, the amount, the date, a Stripe reference, and the email and billing details you give at checkout. We don't receive or store your full card number.

Messages. Emails and support requests you send us, and our replies.

Technical and usage information

Our web server keeps a short technical log for security and troubleshooting. It records your IP address, browser type, the pages requested (without any campaign tag or other extra details from the page address) and the time. It's deleted after 14 days at most.
We count visits, and which channel or campaign link brought people to us (for example "facebook" or "newsletter"), using our own visitor cookie (ac_vid) and measuring and ad tools from Meta and Google. Section 3A explains what they collect and how to limit them.
If you arrived through a campaign link, the campaign tag (for example "google, cpc, gads-syd-uns") is kept in your browser, in the calculator cookie described in section 3, with your calculator answers for up to one hour. If you go on from your results to a walkthrough and a report, the tag is also carried in the page address through sign-in to checkout, so it can stay in your browser history after the hour. At checkout it's passed to Stripe, our payment provider, with your order. We use it only to keep weekly counts of estimates, checkouts and purchases for each tag, with no personal details. We don't save the tag with your calculator answers or your account. If our visitor cookie is in use (section 3A), the referrer site name and the campaign tag are also kept with its random code, for 13 months.

Marketing preferences. If you agree to marketing emails, we keep a record of your consent: the wording, its version, and the date and time.

3. Cookies

We use three cookies that the site needs to work. We also use our visitor cookie, which runs from the first page you open, and the Google tools' cookies. On most pages the Google tools run from the first page you open. On the pages where you enter details about your parent's health and money, they wait until you choose "Allow" (section 3A). Meta sets no cookie on your device: our server shares data with Meta instead (section 3A).

Needed for the site to work

A sign-in session cookie, which keeps you signed in after you click your email link. It's set to be secure, isn't readable by scripts on the page, and lasts 7 days. It's renewed while you keep using the site, and ends if you sign out. Without it, you can't use the signed-in parts of the site.
A calculator cookie (calc_input), which holds your calculator answers between steps, and the campaign tag if you came through a campaign link. It lasts one hour, is used only on the calculator pages (/au/calculator) and then expires. The calculator can't work without it.
A cookie-choice cookie (ac_consent), which remembers whether you chose "Allow" or "No thanks" in the note on our form pages. It holds only your choice and the date, and lasts 12 months. We set it without asking, because it's how we remember your answer, including a no.

Measuring and ad cookies (section 3A)

Our visitor cookie (ac_vid): a random code, 13 months.
Cookies set by the Google tools, such as _ga and _ga_* (Google Analytics) and _gcl_* (Google Ads). Their lifetimes are set by Google.

3A. Our visitor cookie, and measuring and ad tools

What runs when a page loads. On most pages, such as our guides and FAQs, our visitor cookie, Google Analytics, Google Ads and Meta (Meta is connected from our server, not your browser) run from the first page you open, until you choose "No thanks" (or switch them off in "Cookie settings").

Pages where you enter details. On the pages where you enter details about your parent's health and money (the calculator and your results, the walkthrough, checkout and your report pages), Google and Meta don't run until you choose "Allow". Our visitor cookie still works there, but it only counts visits to our own site. Nothing linked to it goes to Google or Meta from those pages before you choose "Allow".

A tool runs only once we've added our account ID for it.

Saying no never blocks the site. A short note at the top of those pages lets you choose "Allow" or "No thanks". Whichever you choose, every page and form keeps working. "No thanks" only stops the tracking described above.

If you choose "No thanks". We stop these cookies and tools straight away, on every page from that moment, and remove our visitor cookie (ac_vid) at once. Google's tools are told you said no, and Meta stops. Your choice is stored in the ac_consent cookie (12 months, strictly necessary; see section 3). We also keep a record of each choice on our server, with the date and time, the version of the note you saw, the options shown and your yes or no to each, the random visitor code, and your account id if you're signed in. It holds no IP address, browser details or name, and we delete it after 24 months, so we can show what was agreed. Data already sent to Meta or Google isn't recalled. Every page and form keeps working while your answer is no. You can change your mind at any time with "Allow" on a form page or through the "Cookie settings" link at the bottom of every page.

Visitor cookie (ac_vid). Our own cookie. It holds a random code and nothing else: no name, email, phone number or calculator answers. With it we keep the name of the site that sent you (not the full address) and the campaign tag, if any, from your first and latest visits. We use this to count, in totals, which links and campaigns lead to estimates and purchases. The code isn't linked to your calculator answers, your account or your purchases. The cookie and these records last 13 months.

Measuring and ad tools. They fall into two groups:

Visit statistics: our visitor cookie (ac_vid) only. It counts visits and which pages are used.
Advertising: Google Analytics and Google Ads, from Google LLC in the USA, and Meta (Facebook and Instagram ads), from Meta Platforms, Inc. in the USA. Google Analytics is linked to Google Ads so we can measure how our ads perform, so it counts as an advertising tool. Like the other tools, it runs from the first page you open (on the pages where you enter details, only after you choose "Allow") and stops if you choose "No thanks" or untick Advertising in "Cookie settings". Data already sent isn't recalled. These tools show our ads and measure whether they lead to visits or purchases. We keep Google Signals turned off.

What they receive from us. Only a generic event name ("estimate completed", "checkout started", "report bought", "walkthrough started" or "walkthrough bought"), a general product code, the price and currency for a purchase, and a random reference so the same purchase isn't counted twice.

What they never receive from us. Your calculator answers, any figure from your estimate or report, health or care details, your name, email, phone number, suburb, postcode or age, anything you type, or page addresses, page titles or links that could name a type of care or a health topic.

What our server sends Meta. Meta is connected from our server, not your browser. For each visit or purchase event, our server sends Meta only the event data: the event name, the time and, for a purchase, the product and amount. From your first visit, until you choose "No thanks", our server sends Meta this event data plus your IP address and browser details (user agent), so Meta can match it to ad activity. On the pages where you enter details about your parent's health and money, our server sends Meta nothing, not even this matching data, until you choose "Allow". This is on by default; you can switch it off with "No thanks" or by unticking Advertising in "Cookie settings". Data already sent isn't recalled. We never store your IP address or browser details ourselves for this.

What they collect themselves. Google's tools run in your browser, so Google also collects technical details there, such as your IP address, device and browser type, and reads its own cookie codes. Only Google reads cookies in your browser. Meta doesn't run in your browser: it gets only what our server sends it (see "What our server sends Meta" above). Meta and Google may link this to an account you hold with them, and they handle it under their own privacy policies.

Overseas. Meta Platforms, Inc. and Google LLC are based in the United States and may process this information there and in other countries. Privacy laws there differ from the Australian Privacy Principles.

How long Meta and Google keep it. Meta says it may keep event data for up to 2 years. Google keeps data under its own settings and policies. Not yet checked

What we store ourselves. We never store IP addresses, full browser (user-agent) strings or full referrer addresses for this purpose, including the IP address and browser details our server passes to Meta. (Our short web server log in section 2 is separate, and is deleted after 14 days at most.)

How you can limit it.

No thanks or Cookie settings: choose "No thanks" in the note on a form page, or use "Cookie settings" at the bottom of every page (see above). This stops the tools straight away, and every page and form keeps working.

Browser settings: you can block or delete cookies, including ac_vid and the Google cookies, in your browser's settings. Meta sets no cookie on your device, so for Meta use "No thanks" or Cookie settings.
Ad preference pages: Meta and Google let you control the ads you see and how your activity is used, at accountscenter.facebook.com/ad_preferences and myadcenter.google.com.
Google Analytics opt-out: Google offers a free browser add-on that stops Google Analytics on every site, at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Private browsing: a private or incognito window deletes its cookies when you close it, so ac_vid doesn't carry over to your next visit. The tools still run while the window is open.

The calculator and cookies. Technically, the calculator doesn't need ac_vid or the Meta and Google tools: it needs only its own short-lived calc_input cookie (section 3) to remember your answers between steps, so blocking all cookies stops it working. On the calculator, Google and Meta wait until you choose "Allow", and the calculator works whichever you choose.

4. Why we use it

To create and secure your account and sign you in.
To calculate estimates and produce the reports you ask for, and to keep your saved scenarios so you can come back to them.
To take payment, issue tax invoices and handle refunds.
To answer your questions and give support.
To send service emails, such as sign-in links, receipts and "your report is ready".
To send news about Aged Care Costs, but only if you agree. Every marketing email has an unsubscribe link.
To keep the service secure, prevent misuse, and meet our legal obligations, for example tax records.
To improve the service, using totals or de-identified information.
To count which links and ads lead to estimates and purchases, and to measure our ads, using the visitor cookie and the tools described in section 3A.

We don't sell or rent your personal information, and we don't share it with aged care homes, advisers or advertisers. Meta and Google receive only the limited details set out in section 3A. If you ask us to connect you with a financial adviser, we'll tell you what we'll share before we share it, and only with your agreement.

5. Who we share it with (our service providers)

We use these providers to run the service. They handle information only on our behalf.

Provider	What it does	Where
Amazon Web Services (AWS Lightsail)	Hosts our website and database	Sydney, Australia
Amazon Web Services (Amazon S3)	Stores report files and encrypted backups	Sydney, Australia
Amazon Web Services (Amazon SES)	Sends our emails, including sign-in links	Sydney, Australia
Stripe	Processes card payments	Stripe Payments Australia Pty Ltd; data is also processed in the United States and India.
xAI (Grok)	Answers questions you type and writes plain-English explanations	United States (see section 6)
Our support email provider	Our support email	To be confirmed
Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta ads)	Runs from the first page you open (on the pages where you enter details, only after you choose "Allow"): measures which ads lead to estimates and purchases (section 3A)	United States and other countries
Google LLC (Google Analytics; Google Ads)	Run from the first page you open (on the pages where you enter details, only after you choose "Allow"): Google Analytics and Google Ads are linked to measure which ads lead to visits, estimates and purchases (advertising, section 3A)	United States and other countries

We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect someone's safety.

6. Overseas disclosure: our AI assistant (xAI, United States)

Our calculations, and your household's financial details, stay on our own systems in Australia (Amazon Web Services, Sydney).

Some features use an AI service provided by xAI (Grok), a company based in the United States. When you use them, we send xAI:

the questions you type to our assistant; and
requests to explain a result or a step in plain English, which describe the concept or step to be explained.

We don't send xAI your household's financial figures: income, assets, the home's value, room prices or the estimates we calculate. Those are worked out by our own calculator, in Australia, and the AI never produces a dollar figure.

Because xAI processes this information in the United States, any personal information included in what you type may be processed in the United States. To limit this:

please don't type names, addresses, phone numbers, Medicare or Centrelink numbers, health details or financial figures into the assistant;
before sending, we automatically remove email addresses, phone numbers, street addresses, Medicare and Centrelink numbers, and similar identifiers that we can detect;
we send only what's needed for the answer.

Privacy laws in the United States differ from the Australian Privacy Principles. We take reasonable steps, including through our contract terms with xAI, to make sure it handles the information consistently with the APPs.

Read aloud. The Listen button on reports uses the voice built into your own browser. We don't send the report text to xAI.

Meta Platforms, Inc. and Google LLC (United States). The measuring and advertising tools in section 3A send information to these two companies, which may process it in the United States and other countries. Section 3A sets out what they receive.

AI-written openings in reports. When we switch this on, some report sections start with a few sentences written by xAI. For these, our server sends only the section's title and purpose, our standard wording with the amounts left blank, and two general facts: whether the lower-means rules apply, and which room payment choices are shown. It doesn't send names, ages, where you live, health or care details, anything you typed, or any amount. Every figure in a report comes from our own calculator. You can use the calculator and get a report's figures without using the AI assistant chat.

7. How we protect it

We use encrypted connections (HTTPS), encryption for stored backups, restricted staff access, one-time sign-in links, and regular security updates. Only our small team can access personal information, and only when needed. No system is perfectly secure. If a data breach is likely to cause serious harm, we'll tell you and the OAIC as the law requires.

8. How long we keep it

Information	How long
Account, saved scenarios and reports	While your account is open. Deleted within 30 days of you closing your account or asking us to delete it
Payment and tax invoice records	5 years after the transaction, as tax law requires
Answers saved with a Full report (used for the free updated report)	Until 13 months after purchase, then deleted automatically. We keep them so we can send the free updated report, and the extra month lets us finish an update for a rate change late in the 12 months. Your reports stay in your account. Closing your account or asking us to delete your information deletes the answers sooner, and the free updates then stop
Questions our guide couldn't answer from its approved sources (kept so we can add better sources), with names, contact details and other personal details removed	90 days, then automatically deleted
Web server logs (including IP addresses)	14 days at most
Your cookie choice (`ac_consent`, strictly necessary)	12 months, then we ask again
Our record of each cookie choice (date and time, note version, options and answers, random visitor code, and your account id if you're signed in; no IP address)	24 months, then automatically deleted
Visitor cookie `ac_vid`, and the referrer site name and campaign tag kept with it	13 months, then automatically deleted (or sooner if you delete the cookie in your browser)
Our records of estimates, checkouts and purchases by channel and campaign (no names or answers)	13 months, then automatically deleted
Details held by Meta Platforms, Inc. and Google LLC	Under their own policies. Meta says up to 2 years for event data Not yet checked
Database backups	Up to 35 days, then automatically deleted
Support emails	To be confirmed
Marketing consent and unsubscribe records	As long as needed to prove consent and to honour an unsubscribe
Waitlist sign-ups	As set out in the waitlist notice, unless you became a customer

Deleted data can stay in backups until those backups expire.

9. Access, correction and deletion

You can ask what personal information we have about you, have it corrected, or have your account deleted. You can also ask for a copy of your information, including your saved scenarios and reports, through our Contact page. We'll put it together and send it to you. Email support@agedcarecosts.com. We'll respond within 30 days, at no cost. If we can't do what you ask, we'll explain why in writing.

10. Marketing emails

We send marketing emails only with your consent. Every email has an unsubscribe link, and we'll stop within 5 working days, usually much sooner. Service emails, such as sign-in links and receipts, are part of using the service.

11. Complaints

Please contact us first at support@agedcarecosts.com. We'll reply within 30 days. If you're not satisfied, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC): www.oaic.gov.au, phone 1300 363 992.

12. Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll update the date and version above. We'll tell you before using your information in a materially new way, such as a new overseas provider.