Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2 July 2026

Southern Plants respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you choose to share with us. This Privacy Policy explains, in plain English, how we collect, use, store and protect information through the Southern Plants website and digital platform.

This policy is not formal legal advice. It is intended to clearly explain how the website handles information across the public website, Trade Portal, Home Gardener Portal, Employee Portal / Company Hub, Sales Rep Portal / Customer Workspace, Portal Admin and related website services.

Information We Collect

We collect personal information only where it is reasonably needed to provide, secure, improve or administer our website and services. The information collected depends on how you use the website.

Website accounts and login details

If you create or activate a website account, we may collect and store your name, email address, phone number where supplied, password credentials in protected encrypted form, email verification status, account status, portal permissions, password reset records, login history and security audit records.

Trade Portal access

For Trade Portal access, we may collect information used to verify or administer your website access, including your name, business contact details, email address, linked customer account details, portal activation records, order request activity and account-related communications. The website may display or use information synchronised from Southern Plants' internal business systems. Those internal systems remain the authoritative source for customer accounts, product information, stock availability and pricing.

Home Gardener Portal

If you use Home Gardener features, we may collect and store website-owned garden information such as saved plants, garden areas, plant notes, wishlist items, diary entries, reminders, photos, growing location details such as country, state, city/suburb and postcode, and other information you choose to add. Growing location is general garden context and is not intended to be a street address.

Employee Portal / Company Hub

The Employee Portal / Company Hub is designed as a staff information hub, not as a payroll or HR record system. The website may store basic website account, access and activity records needed to provide staff access to the Company Hub and related portal links.

The website is not intended to replace Southern Plants' employment management systems. Payroll, leave, employment records, superannuation and other sensitive employment-related information should be accessed through the appropriate employment management platform or internal process.

Southern Plants does not intend the website to store sensitive employment records such as payroll records, superannuation details, medical information, emergency contact details, visa or right-to-work documents, licence copies, employment contracts or confidential HR records unless a specific secure process has been approved.

Sales Rep Portal / Customer Workspace

Staff using the Sales Rep Portal / Customer Workspace may create visit reports, call notes, follow-up tasks, customer communications and customer file records. These records are website workflow information used to support customer service and internal follow-up. Uploaded customer files are intended to be protected by access controls and served only through permission-validated website endpoints.

Careers applications

If you apply for a role through the Careers page, we may collect your name, email address, phone number, position of interest, message and optional resume or supporting document. Resume uploads are stored outside the public website area where relevant and are used only for recruitment-related purposes.

Garden Ideas, Community Plants and submitted content

If you submit Garden Ideas photos, Community Plant information, comments or other content, we may collect your name, contact details, submitted text, uploaded images or files, consent records, review status and related admin notes. Submitted content may be moderated before it appears publicly.

Feedback, forms and communications

If you submit website feedback, contact forms, account requests, trade applications, photo submissions or other forms, we may collect the information you provide, the page URL, browser information, IP address, referrer, timestamps, logged-in user details where available and internal review notes.

Cookies, sessions and basic analytics

The website uses cookies or similar session technology where needed to keep you logged in, protect forms, remember session-based actions such as Trade Portal carts, and secure the website. We may also use basic analytics or server logs to understand website performance, diagnose issues and improve the user experience.

How We Use Information

We use personal information to:

• provide access to the Southern Plants website and customer portals
• create, verify, secure and manage website accounts
• process Trade Portal activation, Trade Account applications and Trade Order Requests
• operate Home Gardener tools such as My Garden, Plant List, Wishlist, Diary, Photos and Reminders
• support Employee Portal / Company Hub access and Sales Rep Portal customer workflows
• process careers applications and respond to recruitment enquiries
• review and moderate Garden Ideas, Community Plant and other submitted content
• respond to enquiries, website feedback and support requests
• send account, verification, password reset, invitation, submission, application and system notification emails
• maintain website security, access controls, audit records and abuse prevention
• improve our website, customer experience and internal workflows
• meet legal, business, accounting, compliance and operational obligations.

Storage, Security and Access Controls

Southern Plants uses reasonable technical and organisational safeguards to protect personal information from unauthorised access, misuse, interference, loss or disclosure. No online service can guarantee absolute security, but we work to keep information protected and access-controlled.

Where appropriate, sensitive uploaded files are stored outside the public website area and accessed only through protected website processes. Public content, such as approved plant information or approved Garden Ideas photos, may be displayed publicly after moderation or approval.

Website access is controlled by account permissions. Users should only be able to access the portals and records relevant to their approved access. Admin and staff tools are permission-protected.

The website may provide links to other Southern Plants systems but does not automatically copy sensitive records unless needed for a specific website service.

Sharing Information

We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

We may share information where reasonably necessary with trusted service providers who help us operate the website or business, such as website hosting providers, email delivery systems, IT support, secure internal systems, employment management platforms, professional advisers or other suppliers who support Southern Plants operations.

We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect our legal rights, to investigate suspected misuse, or to protect the safety, security or integrity of our website, users, staff or business.

Submitted Photos, Files and Public Content

Some website features allow users to submit photos, plant information, garden ideas, comments, files or other content. By submitting content, you confirm that you have the right to submit it and that it does not infringe another person's rights.

Approved submitted content may be displayed on the website or used by Southern Plants for promotional, educational, social media and marketing purposes, unless we agree otherwise in writing. Not all submitted content will be published.

Access, Correction and Deletion Requests

You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information we hold about you. Some information may need to be retained for legitimate business, security, legal, accounting, audit or operational reasons.

To make a privacy request, contact admin@southernplants.com.au. For Trade Portal or account assistance, you can also contact trade@southernplants.com.au.

External Links

The Southern Plants website may link to other websites or systems. Those websites are operated by their own providers and may have their own privacy practices. Southern Plants is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of third-party websites.

Changes To This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as the Southern Plants Digital Platform changes. The updated version will be published on this page with a revised date.