The Circle Privacy Policy

Effective 17 July 2026

Your privacy: Trans – Tasman Business Circle (“The Circle”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is committed to protecting your personal information (“information”) and meeting our obligations under applicable privacy laws in each jurisdiction in which we operate. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share and protect personal information across our operations.

Who we are: The Circle operates across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore through the following related entities (together, the “The Circle”):

  • Parrallel Trades Pty Ltd (Australia)
  • Trans-Tasman Business Circle New Zealand Limited (New Zealand)
  • Business Circle Singapore Pte Ltd (Singapore)

Each entity is responsible for compliance with the privacy laws of its own jurisdiction, namely the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles in Australia, the Privacy Act 2020 in New Zealand, and the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (“PDPA”) in Singapore. Because The Circle operates as an integrated business community across all three markets, personal information may be shared and accessed between these entities as described in this Policy.

1. Who does this Privacy Policy apply to

This Privacy Policy applies to:

  • anyone who submits personal information to any of The Circle entites on or through our websites, apps, or when becoming a member of The Circle, sponsor, partner, guest speaker or event attendee;
  • anyone who interacts with us (e.g. in relation to an event, study tour, or on social media);
  • where we have arrangements with a third party (e.g. an event partner, service provider or platform provider) to provide and/or promote any of our services, the information we receive from such third parties; and
  • any information automatically retrieved during visits to our website, or on or through our apps and other channels related to The Circle.
2. Your consent

By accessing and browsing our websites, downloading or using our apps, registering for or attending our events, becoming a member, or otherwise submitting personal information to us, you consent to the collection, use, disclosure, storage and processing of personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy, including the transfer of information between The Circle entities across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore as described below.

3. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time by posting an updated version on our website. Any change will apply from the date we post it.

4. Information we collect

We may collect the following information about you:

  • contact and account-related information such as your name, job title, organisation, contact details and date of birth;
  • details of your membership, event registrations and the devices used to access our services (such as IP address and device type);
  • payment and billing details for membership fees, sponsorships and event tickets;
  • information about how you and your organisation interact with our website, apps, events and communications, including engagement with our various features and functionality;
  • information about how you interact with us and others in relation to our services (including via direct feedback, surveys and social media);
  • recordings of calls, meetings or chats with our team, where applicable and where you have been notified;
  • dietary, accessibility or other relevant information you provide for the purposes of attending an event or study tour; and
  • information we receive from third parties, including event partners, recruiters and referees.
5. How we collect your information

Directly from you

We collect information directly from you when you become a member of The Circle, register for an event or study tour, download or use The Circle app, or otherwise interact with us (e.g. in relation to a promotion, on social media, or in contact with our team).

Indirectly

We may also collect information indirectly, including from event co-hosts, sponsors, recruitment platforms and referees, and from publicly available sources such as LinkedIn.

Providing us with information about somebody else

If you provide us with personal information about someone else (for example, a colleague you are registering for an event, or a referee), it is your responsibility to let them know that you are sharing their information with The Circle, and to direct them to this Privacy Policy.

6. How we use your information

The information we collect is held and used by The Circle entities to:

  • communicate with you about our events, membership, and any contract you have with us, and to seek your feedback on our services;
  • respond to enquiries, claims or complaints made by you or your organisation;
  • cooperate with government, regulatory authorities and law enforcement agencies, and in connection with legal proceedings, crime or fraud prevention, detection or prosecution;
  • provide The Circle services and administer your membership and event registrations;
  • run promotions, study tours and events;
  • market and promote The Circle and/or third party (e.g. sponsor or partner) products and services to you, including through targeted communications. Where we contact you electronically, we will only do so with your consent or another lawful basis, and you can opt out at any time (see clause 11);
  • comply with the law and ensure anyone using The Circle services complies with this Privacy Policy and any applicable terms and conditions;
  • improve our services, carry out research, and generate statistical and reporting information; and
  • carry out activities to secure and protect our systems, platforms, networks and websites, including monitoring and testing their operation, security and integrity.
7. Sharing your information within The Circle

Because The Circle operates as a single business community across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, personal information collected by one entity in The Circle may be shared with, and accessed by, the other entities in The Circle (Parrallel Trades Pty Ltd, Trans-Tasman Business Circle New Zealand Limited, and Business Circle Singapore Pte Ltd) for the purposes described in this Policy, including to administer cross-border memberships and events, deliver a consistent member experience, and for internal reporting and administration.

The Circle entities may provide administrative, technology, CRM, finance, marketing and member services to one another. Where one entity processes personal information on behalf of another, it will do so only for the purposes authorised by that entity, in accordance with this Privacy Policy, applicable privacy laws, and any relevant inter-company data sharing or services agreements.

Each entity in The Circle will only use information shared in this way for the purposes set out in this Policy, and will handle it in accordance with the privacy laws applicable to that entity's jurisdiction, as well as this Policy.

8. Sharing your information with third parties

We will not share your information with third parties outside The Circle entities unless you authorise us to, and except as follows:

  • where disclosure is connected to the purposes for which the information was collected as listed in clause 6;
  • to our service providers, event partners, sponsors, and other selected business partners, where reasonably necessary to deliver our services;
  • to relevant authorities, parties and/or applicable intellectual property rights holders (or their representatives) if we consider that you are in breach of the law or our rights; or
  • where required, or permitted, by law.
9. Opt outs

You may opt out of receiving commercial electronic messages from us by using the unsubscribe facility in the message, or by contacting us using the details in clause 14. We will handle opt-out requests in accordance with applicable law in each jurisdiction, including the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 (NZ), the Spam Act 2003 (Cth) (Australia), and the PDPA (Singapore).

10. Accessing and correcting your information

You can access and update most of your personal information at any time by contacting us using the details in clause 14. You have rights of access to and correction of your personal information under the privacy laws applicable in your jurisdiction, and we will assist you to exercise those rights.

11. Storage and processing, including cross-border transfer

We will store and process your personal information in Australia, New Zealand or Singapore, or in any other country in which we or our selected service providers maintain facilities for doing so. As explained in clause 7, this means your personal information may be transferred between and accessed by The Circle’s entities in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, and may otherwise be transferred outside the country in which it was originally collected. Where required by applicable law, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that any such transfer is made in accordance with that law (for example, in accordance with the requirements of the PDPA in Singapore or Information Privacy Principle 12 under the Privacy Act 2020 in New Zealand).

Our customer relationship management (CRM) and related technology systems may be hosted or administered by one Circle entity on behalf of another. Personal information stored in those systems may therefore be accessed by authorised personnel located in Australia, New Zealand or Singapore solely for the purposes described in this Policy.

12. Retention and use after termination

If you hold membership with us, we may hold and use personal information about you for a period after your membership ends, and we may continue to contact you after that time, as permitted by applicable law. We will only hold and use personal information for as long as we are reasonably required to for the purposes described in this Policy, or as we are legally entitled to.

13. Cookies and automatically retrieved information

You can browse our websites (while not logged in) without providing any personal information. When you enter our websites, your device may automatically be issued with a cookie, which identifies your device to us so that we can track activity and interests, improve the speed and reliability of our websites, and provide more relevant services and content. Cookies do not in themselves identify individual users. Depending on your device, you may be able to change your settings to notify you when a cookie is issued, or to reject cookies, though this may affect your ability to use certain services.

We may also automatically retrieve information such as the features you use, the pages you visit, your IP address, and your device and browser type. This information is used in statistical and aggregated formats to assess and improve our services, and to understand visitor preferences. Although this information may not identify you personally, we may later match it with other identifiable data (e.g. your membership details with The Circle) to make it identifiable, and use it as described in this Policy.

14. Security

To prevent unauthorised access, maintain data accuracy and ensure the appropriate use of any information supplied by you, we have put in place physical, electronic and managerial processes to protect your information across The Circle’s entities. It is your responsibility to keep any login, password or account information relating to your use of The Circle services, websites and apps secure at all times.

15. External links

Our websites may contain links to websites that we do not control. If you access one of these websites, we recommend you check their privacy policy. We are not responsible for the privacy policies of any external websites.

16. Making a privacy complaint

If you wish to make a privacy complaint, please contact us using the details below. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may also have the right to raise a complaint with the relevant privacy regulator, being the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (Australia), the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (New Zealand), or the Personal Data Protection Commission (Singapore).

17. Contact us

For any privacy-related queries, requests or complaints, please contact us at admin@buscircle.com.