Privacy policy
1. Purpose and Scope
The Whisky Club New Zealand Ltd (NZ Company Number: 9429049284119) (we, our or us) is committed to complying with the Privacy Act 2020 (NZ) (Privacy Act), including the New Zealand Privacy Principles (Privacy Principles), and to respecting and protecting the personal information of our members and website visitors.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information, and how you may access, correct or make a complaint about it. It applies to our website at www.thewhiskyclub.co.nz (Site) and all related services we provide.
This Policy is a standalone document, separate from our Terms & Conditions. Where our Terms & Conditions refer to cookies, your account, cancellations or returns, those sections link to the relevant part of this Policy or of our Terms & Conditions, as applicable.
2. What Personal Information We Collect
We collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for us to provide our services to you. The types of personal information we may collect include:
· your name and date of birth;
· your postal and delivery address;
· your email address and telephone number;
· payment information (processed securely through our payment providers - we do not store full card details);
· your membership account details, and your purchase and subscription history;
· data regarding your engagement with emails we send;
· data regarding your engagement with our website*;
· your sign up source, and the details of any referrer; and
· other information you voluntarily provide to us when registering, ordering, entering a promotion, completing a survey or contacting us.
In respect of suppliers and their representatives, we may collect:
· your contact details, including name, address, phone number, email address and physical address;
· the name and contact details of the entity you represent;
· bank account details;
· details regarding your compliance with any contract with us; and
· other information you voluntarily provide to us when contacting us;
In respect of employees and contractors (including potential employees and contractors), we may collect:
· your contact details, including name, address, phone number, email address and physical address;
· HR records and performance records;
· payroll data and bank account details;
· tax file numbers;
· copies of your resume or CV, and records of any interview with us; and
· other information you voluntarily provide to us when contacting us.
*We collect certain technical data when you use the Site, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, analytic information, device identifiers, session recordings, referring URLs and pages visited. This data is used for site administration, analytics and improving user experience, see section 8, Cookies and Tracking Technologies, below.
Some information we request is mandatory to provide our services. If you do not provide it, we may not be able to fulfil your membership or order. Other information is optional. If you do not provide information that we reasonably require, we may be unable to establish or maintain your Membership, process orders, verify your age, process payments, deliver products, or otherwise provide our services.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from persons under 18 years of age. If we become aware that a minor has provided us with personal information, we will delete it promptly.
3. How We Collect Personal Information
We collect personal information:
· directly from you when you when you register for a membership or create an account, place an order, enter a competition, contact our customer service, submit a review or other content through the Site, or sign up to receive marketing communications from us.
· automatically through cookies and similar technologies as described in Section 8 below.
· In some circumstances from third parties, including payment processors, financial institutions (through card account updater services), delivery providers, identity verification providers, referral partners, competition partners and marketing partners, where permitted by law.
Where we collect personal information about you from a source other than you, we will take any steps that are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure you are aware of the collection, the purpose of collection, the intended recipients, the name and address of the agency collecting and holding the information, any law authorising or requiring the collection, and your rights to access and correct the information, unless an exception under the Privacy Act applies.
4. How We Use Your Personal Information
We use your personal information primarily to provide our services to you, including:
· process payments and fulfil your membership subscription and orders, and deliver products to you;
· verify your age and identity where required by law;
· manage your account and membership, and communicate with you about it;
· conduct and administer competitions and promotions;
· provide customer service and respond to your enquiries;
· improve our website, products and services;
· detect and prevent fraud; and
· comply with our legal obligations.
We may also use your personal information for direct marketing purposes in accordance with Section 5 below.
We will not use your personal information for a purpose other than the purpose for which it was collected unless you have consented to the other use, or the other use is permitted under the Privacy Act.
5. Direct Marketing
We may use your personal information to send you commercial electronic messages about our products, services, events and promotions in compliance with the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 (NZ). We will only send you marketing communications where you have consented to receive them, either expressly at the time of registration or as otherwise permitted by law.
You may withdraw your consent and opt out of receiving marketing communications from us at any time by:
· using the unsubscribe link in any marketing email we send you; or
· contacting our Privacy Officer as set out in Section 15.
We will process unsubscribe requests within 5 business days in accordance with the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 (NZ). Unsubscribing from marketing communications will not affect our ability to send you transactional or service-related messages regarding your membership or orders, including order confirmations, tax invoices and delivery notifications.
6. Who we share your information with
In the course of day-to-day business we may disclose your personal information to third parties where necessary for the purpose for which it was collected to provide our goods and services; for any other purpose you have consented to; or as otherwise permitted by the Privacy Act. Categories of third parties to whom we may disclose your personal information include:
· e-commerce platform and payment processing
· delivery and logistics providers
· customer service and membership platforms
· email and customer communications platforms
· website analytics providers
· digital advertising partners (see also “Cookies and Tracking Technologies” below
· cloud hosting, IT and managed services providers
· our professional advisers (lawyers, accountants), and, if applicable, a prospective purchaser in connection with a sale of our business; and
· government and regulatory bodies, where required or authorised by law.
We may also disclose your personal information to other third parties with your consent and we do not sell, trade or rent your personal information to third parties.
7. Disclosure of your personal information outside New Zealand
Some of the providers listed above are located overseas, or use overseas infrastructure or personnel, namely:
(a) third parties providing marketing and advertising services based in the European Union, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and the United States of America; and
(b) third parties providing security services based in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom;
(c) third parties providing delivery services, based in China, Hong Kong, India and Singapore;
(d) third parties providing help desk and staffing services, based in Brazil, European Union, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States of America;
(e) third parties providing business services, based in Canada, European Union, India, and United States of America.
Where we disclose your personal information to an overseas recipient, we will do so only where we believe on reasonable grounds that a permitted mechanism under Information Privacy Principle 12 applies.
This may include where the recipient carries on business in New Zealand and is subject to the Privacy Act, is subject to privacy laws or a binding scheme that overall provides comparable safeguards, is required by contract or other legally enforceable arrangement to protect the information to a comparable standard, or where you have authorised the disclosure after being expressly informed that the overseas recipient may not be required to protect the information in a way that provides comparable safeguards to the Privacy Act. Where you save a payment card to your account, our payment processor may receive updated card information from your financial institution, including replacement card numbers and expiry dates, through account updater services. We use this information solely to facilitate authorised recurring payments associated with your Membership.
Some overseas recipients, particularly certain digital advertising partners, determine their own purposes for handling your information (for example, to improve their own advertising products), rather than acting solely on our instructions. For these recipients, we rely on your authorisation instead, and you have the right to opt out or with draw authorisation, see Section 8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies. You may withdraw this consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect disclosures already made.
We may share aggregated, de-identified statistical data about Site usage and member activity with third parties for analytical or reporting purposes. Such data does not identify any individual.
We may also be required to disclose your personal information to law enforcement or government authorities pursuant to a court order, subpoena or other lawful requirement. We will cooperate fully with any such lawful request.
You may contact our Privacy Officer for further information regarding the safeguards that apply to overseas disclosures of your personal information.
8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar tracking technologies on the Site for the operation, security and functionality of the Site, as well as to improve your experience, analyse Site usage and deliver relevant advertising. A cookie is a small data file stored on your device by your browser. You may configure your browser to decline cookies, however some parts of the Site may not function properly if you do so.
These cookies may disclose personal information (which may include your IP address, and related device and browsing data) to advertising and marketing partners located outside New Zealand. These recipients determine their own purposes for handling your information, for example, using it to improve their own advertising products rather than acting solely on our instructions.
You may opt out of personalised advertising directly through your browser settings or through the tools each advertising partner provides (for example Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok, Reddit and Criteo each publish their own opt-out or ad-preference pages):
Google Ads Settings: You can opt out of personalised Google ads or adjust your preferences by visiting Google Ad Settings (https://myadcenter.google.com)
Meta/Facebook Ads Settings: You can control how Meta uses data to show you ads by going to the Accounts Center in your Facebook, Messenger, or Instagram settings (https://accountscenter.facebook.com)
Microsoft/Bing Ads Settings: You can opt out of personalised ads from Bing and Microsoft by visiting the Microsoft Opt-Out Page (https://choice.microsoft.com)
TikTok Ads Settings: You can manage personalised ad settings directly within your TikTok app settings or by visiting TikTok Privacy Controls (https://www.tiktok.com/legal/page/row/privacy-policy/en)
Reddit Ads Settings: You can opt out of personalised ads based on your off-site activity by updating your Reddit Safety & Privacy Settings (https://www.reddit.com/settings/privacy)
Criteo Opt-Out: You can stop Criteo from tracking your browser and showing you personalized dynamic remarketing banners by using the Criteo Browser Opt-Out Tool (https://www.criteo.com/privacy/disable-criteo-services-on-internet-browsers)
Browser Settings: You can block or delete cookies entirely by adjusting your internet browser settings (e.g. Chrome, Safari, Edge).
By using the Site, you authorise the use of cookies and tracking technologies as described in this section.
9. How we protect your information
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Personal information is stored in secure computer systems and electronic databases, including via third party data storage providers.
Access to your account is protected by a password you select. We recommend you keep your password confidential and do not share it with anyone.
While we take reasonable steps to secure your personal information, no method of data transmission or storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee the absolute security of information transmitted to or from the Site, and you do so at your own risk to that extent.
In the event of a privacy breach that is likely to cause serious harm to one or more individuals, we will comply with our mandatory notification obligations under Part 6 of the Privacy Act 2020 (NZ), including notifying the affected individual(s) and the Office of the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner as required as soon as practicable after becoming aware that the breach is notifiable. We may provide further information incrementally as it becomes available.
When personal information is no longer needed for any purpose for which it may lawfully be used or disclosed, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify that information, unless we are required or permitted by law to retain it. We maintain retention periods that take into account legal requirements, business needs and the purposes for which the information was collected. For example, account records may be retained while your Membership remains active and for a reasonable period afterwards, transaction and tax records may be retained for accounting and tax compliance purposes, competition records may be retained for prize administration and audit purposes, marketing consent records may be retained to manage opt-outs and compliance, and complaint or dispute records may be retained while the matter is active and for a reasonable period afterwards. Different categories of information may be retained for different periods depending on the applicable legal requirements.
We may assign account numbers, membership IDs, order numbers or other unique identifiers where reasonably necessary to manage memberships, transactions, security, customer support and record keeping. We will not assign, use or disclose unique identifiers except where permitted by the Privacy Act, and we will not require you to disclose a unique identifier assigned by another agency unless permitted by law.
10. Third Party Sites
This Privacy Policy applies only to personal information we collect through our Site. Our Site may contain links to third party websites which have their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third party websites and encourage you to review their policies before providing any personal information to them.
11. Data Quality
We take reasonable steps to ensure the personal information we collect, use, hold and disclose is accurate, up to date, complete and relevant — including by letting you review and update your account details at any time.
12. Access to Your Personal Information
You may request access to the personal information we hold about you at any time by contacting our Privacy Officer as set out in Section 15. We will respond to access requests within a reasonable time (generally within 20 working days as required under the Privacy Act 2020 (NZ)) and provide access in the manner requested where it is reasonable and practicable to do so. We may need to verify your identity before granting access.
If we refuse to grant access, we will provide reasons for our decision as required under the Privacy Act. We may charge a reasonable fee for providing access depending on the nature of the request.
13. Correction of Personal Information
If you believe that personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete, out-of-date, irrelevant or misleading, you may request that we correct it by contacting our Privacy Officer as set out in Section 15. We will respond to correction requests within a reasonable time (generally within 20 working days as required under the Privacy Act 2020 (NZ)) and may need to verify your identity before making any correction. If we decline to correct the information, we will provide reasons for our decision as required under the Privacy Act.
14. Our relationship with The Whisky Club Australia
The Whisky Club New Zealand and The Whisky Club Australia (operated by The Whisky Club Company Pty Ltd, ABN 45 167 309 971) are separate, independently incorporated, sister companies, family owned and operated out of Hobart, Tasmania. The Whisky Club New Zealand owns, and is the ultimate record-holder of, the personal information of its own members and customers.
Our day-to-day business including operations, administration, customer service, marketing and order processing is carried out by staff of The Whisky Club Company Pty Ltd from Australia, under an intercompany operations and services arrangement that binds The Whisky Club Company Pty Ltd to treat your information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and the Information Privacy Principles. Further, Australia has its own comprehensive privacy law (the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, that overall provide comparable safeguards), to which The Whisky Club Company Pty Ltd is separately and directly subject to.
We remain responsible, as the New Zealand agency that owns your information, for the matters described in this Policy. Our intercompany arrangement with The Whisky Club Company Pty Ltd requires it to use your information only to operate our business (not for its own separate purposes), to apply security and confidentiality protections, and to cooperate with us on access, correction and complaint requests and on notifying privacy breaches.
If you make a complaint, or an access or correction request, about how your information has been handled, you can direct it to either company (see “Contact us” and “How to make a complaint” below) — we will coordinate between us to respond.
15. Privacy Complaints and Contact
If you have any concerns about how we handle your personal information, or wish to make a privacy complaint, please contact our Privacy Officer:
Privacy Officer — The Whisky Club New Zealand Ltd
Mail: 132/155 Fanshawe Street, Auckland Central, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
Email: drams@thewhiskyclub.co.nz
We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and respond within a reasonable time. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, or we have not responded within a reasonable time, you may refer your complaint to the Office of the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner:
Telephone: 0800 803 909
Email: enquiries@privacy.org.nz
Mail: PO Box 10094, Wellington 6143
Online: www.privacy.org.nz/about-us/contact-us/
16. Anonymity
Where lawful and practicable, you have the option to interact with us anonymously or using a pseudonym. However, if you choose to do so, we may not be able to provide you with our full range of services.
17. Updates to This Policy
This Privacy Policy was last updated on 12 October 2026. We encourage you to review it periodically. The current version is always available at https://thewhiskyclub.com.au/terms-and-privacy, or on request from our Privacy Officer, see Section 15.
We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time. Material changes will be notified to registered Members by email and the updated Policy will be published on our website. Your continued use of the Site following notification of any change constitutes your acceptance of the updated Policy.