What we collect
- Listing details you submit, including your email, phone and address. These stay private: guest enquiries are forwarded to your email, and only your town and a map pin are shown.
- Messages sent through contact forms. We forward them by email and do not keep a copy on the site.
- Reports and feedback you send us.
- Basic, cookie-free visit counts (no personal tracking).
- A one-way scrambled version of your internet address to stop spam.
How we use it
Only to run the directory: to review and show listings, forward enquiries, verify owners who claim a listing, and contact you about your listing. We do not sell your data and we do not send marketing emails.
Your choices
You can ask us to update or delete your listing and data at any time by emailing [email protected].
Others
Maps load tiles from OpenStreetMap. YouTube videos load only when you press play, using YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode. Those services have their own privacy policies.
About this site
AusStay (ausstay.app) is a free directory of holiday stays across Australia, where guests contact hosts directly. This page explains, in plain language, what information the site handles and the choices you have. We handle personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Principles.
Cookies, statistics and advertising
We count visits with privacy-friendly statistics that do not use cookies and do not follow you across other websites. If you sign in, the site uses cookies that are needed to keep you signed in and to keep the site secure. No display advertising (such as Google AdSense) is shown on this site today, and we do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. If we ever add advertising, for example Google AdSense, we will update this page before it starts, explain the cookies involved and how to opt out, and ask for consent where the law requires it. Some pages show a clearly labelled affiliate link (for example to Wise). If you choose to follow it, the other company’s own privacy policy applies, and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. You can block or delete cookies at any time in your browser settings.
Children and families
AusStay aims to be family-friendly and suitable for a general audience. It is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and think a child has given us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.
How long we keep information
We keep personal information only for as long as we need it to run the site, answer your request or meet legal obligations, and then we delete or de-identify it. Standard server logs are kept for a short time for security and troubleshooting.
Security and where data is stored
Pages are delivered over encrypted HTTPS connections, and access to our systems is limited. No website can be completely secure, so please do not send sensitive details such as passwords, card numbers or health information through the site. Our server is in Australia. Cloudflare, which protects the site and helps it load quickly, may process technical data such as IP addresses in other countries.
Your rights and complaints
You can ask to see, correct or delete personal information we hold about you. We aim to respond within 30 days and may need to confirm who you are first. If you are not happy with our answer, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.
Contact us
For any privacy question or request, email [email protected] or use the 💬 Feedback button on any page.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version is always on this page. Last updated: 11 November 2026.
Google advertising, cookies and your choices
No display advertising (such as Google AdSense) is shown on this site today. If we add Google advertising in future, Google and other third-party vendors may use cookies, web beacons or similar identifiers to serve and measure ads, including ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. You can manage personalised Google ads at adssettings.google.com, opt out of some interest-based advertising at www.aboutads.info, and read how Google uses information for advertising at policies.google.com/technologies/ads. These controls do not necessarily stop all ads or all cookies. If we add ads, we will update this page before they start and ask for consent where the law requires it.
For privacy questions you can also email support [at] ausstay.app.