Privacy policy.

We only collect what we need to run our community, deliver our services, and communicate with you.

Please don’t share sensitive information (such as health details) in community spaces. If you choose to share it with us privately, we’ll only use it for the reason you shared it.

Directly from you — when you sign up for our newsletter, join or pay for a membership, fill in a form or survey, book an advisory session, post in the community, or contact us.

Automatically — through cookies and similar technology when you use our website or Circle community (see section 8).

From third parties (indirect collection) — we also receive some information about you from others. Under information privacy principle 3A, here is what that includes and why:

We use this information only for the purposes in section 4 and share it only as described in section 7. Collecting it isn’t required by any law.

We use your personal information to:

We may use aggregated, de-identified data (for example, the share of members in their first year of business) in reports and content. This won’t identify you.

We will never sell your personal information.

All payments for memberships and services are processed by Stripe, a PCI-DSS Level 1 certified payment provider. When you pay, you enter your card details directly into Stripe’s secure checkout. We never see or store your full card number or security code.

We receive from Stripe your name, email, billing address, the last four digits and expiry of your card, card type, and payment history. We use this to manage your membership, issue receipts, handle failed payments and refunds, and keep tax records.

Stripe also uses your information for its own purposes, such as fraud prevention and meeting financial regulations. That use is covered by Stripe’s Privacy Policy.

You can update your payment method or cancel your membership at any time in the membership portal or by emailing hello@sidehustles.nz.

Our community is hosted on Circle, a US-based platform. Circle stores your account, profile, and community content on our behalf, and also processes some data under Circle’s Privacy Policy.

What other members can see. Your profile (name, photo, bio, and anything else you add) and anything you post in shared spaces are visible to other members. Direct messages are visible to the people in the conversation. SHNZ admins and moderators can access community content, including messages, when needed to keep the community safe or to respond to a complaint.

Please be thoughtful. Don’t post anything you wouldn’t want other members to see, and don’t share other people’s personal information without their permission. Members must not copy or share other members’ information outside the community.

Facebook group. Our free Facebook group is run on Meta’s platform and governed by Meta’s Privacy Policy. We can see your public profile, posts, and answers to membership questions, but we don’t control how Meta handles your data.

Recordings. Some live events and calls are recorded and shared with members. We’ll tell you at the start of any recorded session. You can keep your camera off or ask a question privately if you’d prefer not to appear.

We share personal information only with people and services that help us run SHNZ, and only as much as they need:

We may also share information with our professional advisers (such as our accountant or lawyer), with contractors who support our team under confidentiality obligations, or where required by law.

If SHNZ or its business is sold or restructured, personal information may transfer to the new owner, who must handle it in line with this policy.

Overseas disclosure. Most of these providers store data outside New Zealand. Under information privacy principle 12, we only use providers that are subject to comparable privacy safeguards, such as the EU’s GDPR, or that are bound by contract to protect your information. Where a provider simply stores or processes information on our behalf, we remain responsible for it.

Our website and Circle community use cookies (small files stored in your browser) to:

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, opt out of Google Analytics with Google’s opt-out add-on, and control ad tracking in your Facebook ad preferences. If you block essential cookies, parts of the community may not work properly.

We only send newsletters and promotional emails if you’ve signed up or otherwise agreed to receive them, in line with the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link, and we’ll action your request within 5 working days.

If you’re a paying member, we’ll still send essential service messages (such as receipts and renewal notices) even if you unsubscribe from marketing.

We take reasonable steps to protect your information from loss, misuse, and unauthorised access. These include using reputable providers with strong security, two-factor authentication on our accounts, and limiting team access to what each person needs.

No online system is completely secure. If a privacy breach happens that is likely to cause serious harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner as the Privacy Act requires.

We keep personal information only as long as we need it:

Posts you made in shared spaces may stay visible after you leave unless you delete them or ask us to remove them.

Under the Privacy Act 2020, you can:

To make a request, email our Privacy Officer at hello@sidehustles.nz. We’ll respond within 20 working days and won’t charge you for it. We may need to confirm your identity first.

If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your information, please contact us first so we can try to fix it. If you’re still not satisfied, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner on 0800 803 909.

We may update this policy from time to time. We’ll post the new version here with an updated date, and tell members by email or in the community if the changes are significant.