Privacy policy

1. Introduction

Desk & VA (“we”, “our”, “us”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you share with us. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information when you visit our website, enquire about or use our services, apply for a role with us, or work with us.

Desk & VA is a trading name of Prestige United Ventures Pty Ltd (ABN 21 602 137 217), Australia. Our Philippine operations are run by our related company, Prestige United Ventures Inc., Mezzanine, Elle Properties, San Jose Romero Road, Talay, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental 6200, Philippines.

We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and, for information handled by our Philippine operations, the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10173) and its implementing rules.

This policy applies to clients and prospective clients, website visitors, job applicants, and our virtual assistants and other team members. Team members also receive a separate notice about their employment records when they join us.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Clients, enquirers and website visitors

• Name, email address, phone number, company name and job title.
• Details of the role or services you need, and your communications with us.
• Billing details such as your business name, address and ABN. Card payments are processed by our payment provider, Stripe; we do not store your full card number.
• Records of calls, video meetings and bookings you make with us.

2.2 Job applicants and team members

• Contact details, CV, work history, qualifications, skills test results and interview notes.
• Introduction videos and recordings of interviews you agree to.
• Identity documents and references from your referees.
• For team members: government-issued numbers needed for payroll and statutory contributions (for example TIN, SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG numbers), bank details for salary payments, emergency contacts, and employment and performance records.
• Where a client requests it and you consent, background check results such as an NBI clearance.

2.3 Sensitive information

We only collect sensitive information (for example health information needed to manage leave, or criminal record information in an NBI clearance) with your consent, or where it is required or authorised by law. Under the Philippine Data Privacy Act, government-issued identification numbers are sensitive personal information, and we protect them accordingly.

2.4 Website and device information

• Browser type, IP address, device information, pages visited and how you arrived at our site.
• Information collected by cookies and similar technologies (see section 10).

2.5 Dealing with us anonymously

You can browse our website and ask general questions without identifying yourself. To provide our services or consider you for a role, we need your name and contact details.

3. How We Collect Information

We collect personal information directly from you when you complete a form on our website, use our website chat, book a call, contact us by phone or email, meet with us, apply for a role, or sign an agreement with us. We may also collect information from your referees, from job boards and professional networking sites where you have published your profile, from a client who refers a candidate or a colleague to us, and automatically through cookies when you use our website. If we receive personal information we did not ask for, we will destroy or de-identify it if we are not permitted to keep it.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use personal information to:

• Respond to enquiries, scope roles and prepare quotes.
• Recruit, assess and place virtual assistants, including sharing shortlisted candidates’ profiles with the client they are being considered for.
• Employ and manage our team members, including payroll, statutory contributions, supervision and performance management.
• Provide, invoice for and improve our services and website.
• Send you marketing communications, where you have agreed to receive them (see section 11).
• Keep our offices, systems and clients’ information secure.
• Comply with our legal obligations, and establish or defend legal claims.

5. Automated Decision-Making

Decisions that could significantly affect you, such as whether a candidate is shortlisted or hired, or whether a client engagement is accepted, are made by people. We use software to automate routine tasks, such as sending confirmation emails, booking reminders and follow-up messages, and to organise records in our customer relationship management system. These tools do not make decisions about you that have legal or similarly significant effects. If we begin using computer programs to make, or substantially assist in making, such decisions, we will update this policy to describe the kinds of personal information used and the kinds of decisions made.

6. Workplace Monitoring

To keep our offices and our clients’ information secure, our offices use CCTV and controlled entry, and team members’ computers run time-tracking, activity-monitoring and security software. We use this information for security, to verify hours worked, and to report productivity to the client a team member works for. Team members are told about this monitoring before they start.

7. Sharing of Information

We may disclose personal information to:

• Our team and related company: staff in Australia and staff of Prestige United Ventures Inc. in the Philippines who need it to perform their duties.
• Clients: candidates’ profiles, interview recordings and assessment results are shared with the client considering them, and team members’ work and productivity information is shared with the client they work for.
• Service providers that help us run our business, including our customer relationship management, forms, chat, email and SMS platform (LeadConnector/HighLevel), Google (email, file storage and website analytics), Meta (advertising measurement), Stripe (card payments), Xero (accounting), Cloudflare (website security and delivery), HighLevel’s WordPress hosting (our website host, with servers in the United States), and our IT providers.
• Referees and background check providers, with your consent.
• Government agencies, regulators and legal authorities, when required or authorised by law, including Philippine agencies for payroll, tax and statutory contributions.
• Professional advisers such as our lawyers, accountants and insurers.

We will never sell your personal information.

8. Disclosure Outside Australia

Because we operate in Australia and the Philippines, personal information is likely to be disclosed to recipients outside Australia, principally:

• the Philippines, where our related company and our virtual assistants are based; and
• the United States, where our website is hosted and where several of our service providers (including HighLevel, Google, Meta, Stripe and Xero) store or process data.

Xero may also process data in Australia and New Zealand, and Cloudflare delivers our website through a global network, so some website data may pass through other countries. Before disclosing personal information overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient handles it consistently with the APPs, including through contractual confidentiality and data protection obligations and by limiting access to what is needed.

9. Data Storage & Security

• We hold personal information in secure cloud systems and, for some team member records, in secure physical files at our offices.
• We use administrative, technical and physical safeguards, including access controls, two-factor authentication where available, firewalls, CCTV and controlled office entry, to protect information against misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
• Our team members are bound by confidentiality obligations in their employment contracts.

10. Cookies & Tracking

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to:

• Keep the site secure and working properly (for example Cloudflare security cookies).
• Understand how visitors use our site, using Google Analytics.
• Measure and improve our advertising, using the Meta (Facebook) Pixel, which shares limited usage data with Meta.
• Run our website chat and forms, provided by LeadConnector/HighLevel.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, although parts of the site may not work as intended. You can also opt out of Google Analytics with the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on and manage how Meta uses your information in your Meta ad preferences.

11. Marketing Communications

We only send marketing emails and SMS messages with your consent, and every message identifies us and includes a way to unsubscribe. You can opt out at any time by using the unsubscribe link, replying STOP to an SMS, or contacting us. We act on unsubscribe requests within 5 working days. Opting out of marketing does not stop service messages about an engagement or application you have with us.

12. Access & Correction

You may ask to access the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it. There is no charge to make a request. We will respond within 30 days; if we charge a reasonable fee for giving access, we will tell you before we proceed. If we refuse a request, we will explain why in writing and tell you how to complain. You may also withdraw your consent to marketing, or ask us to delete your information, subject to our legal and contractual obligations.

To make a request, contact us at admin@deskandva.com. We may need to verify your identity first.

13. Data Retention

We keep personal information only for as long as we need it, then securely destroy or de-identify it. As a guide:

• Enquiries and marketing contacts: until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete them, or 2 years after our last contact with you.
• Unsuccessful job applicants: 2 years after the application, so we can consider you for future roles, unless you ask us to delete your details sooner.
• Client, contract and financial records: 7 years after the end of the engagement, as required for tax and corporate record-keeping.
• Team member records: for the periods required by Philippine and Australian employment, tax and social security laws.

14. Data Breaches

If a data breach is likely to result in serious harm, we will act in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including notifying affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) where required. For information handled in the Philippines, we will notify the National Privacy Commission and affected individuals within 72 hours of becoming aware of a breach where the Data Privacy Act of 2012 requires it.

15. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first at admin@deskandva.com. We will acknowledge your complaint within 7 days and aim to respond within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:

• Website: oaic.gov.au
• Phone: 1300 363 992 (from overseas +61 2 9942 4099)
• Post: GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001

If your information is handled in the Philippines, you can also complain to the National Privacy Commission at privacy.gov.ph.

16. Your Rights Under Philippine Law

If your personal information is processed by our Philippine operations, including if you are a job applicant or team member in the Philippines, you have the rights given to data subjects under the Data Privacy Act of 2012. These include the right to be informed, to access, to object, to correct, to erasure or blocking, to data portability, to damages, and to lodge a complaint with the National Privacy Commission. To exercise these rights, contact our Data Protection Officer at admin@deskandva.com.

17. Children

Our website and services are intended for businesses and adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18, and job applicants must be at least 18 years old.

18. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of external sites, and we encourage you to read their privacy policies.

19. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last updated” date.

20. Contact Us

For questions about this Privacy Policy or how your information is handled, please contact us:

Desk & VA
Email: admin@deskandva.com
Phone: 1300 802 502 (Australia), +61 2 5701 0097 (outside Australia)
Address: PO Box 3590, Rouse Hill NSW 2155, Australia