Privacy Policy

RefWhistle ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our web application, mobile application, and sports officiating talent management platform (collectively, the "Service").

This Privacy Policy has been prepared in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act).

1. Information We Collect

We collect personal information necessary to provide, manage, and optimize our sports administration and officiating companion platform.

• Account and Profile Data: Full name, email address, phone number, profile image/avatar, digital signatures, role designations (e.g., Administrator, Appointer, Referee, Technical Coach), and accreditation or panel levels.
• Operational and Match Data: Match schedules, fixtures, field and venue details, availability logs, roster allocations, and assignment history.
• Performance and Disciplinary Records: Key Match Incident (KMI) logs, match reports, assessments, grades, feedback, peer reviews, and disciplinary logs (including yellow/red card tallies).
• Compliance and Safety Data: Injury status, availability restrictions, conflict of interest declarations, and club/association affiliations.
• Technical and Usage Data: IP addresses, browser types, device identifiers, app usage statistics, operating systems, and interaction logs collected via web-wrapper platforms or browser sessions.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for purposes strictly connected to our core match-officiating management functions, including:

• Providing, operating, maintaining, and improving the Service.
• Facilitating the scheduling, drafting, and final approval of referee allocations.
• Managing compliance checks, load limits, and conflict-of-interest validation.
• Processing and delivering real-time in-app notifications (e.g., review requests and match updates).
• Aggregating performance insights, historical load statistics, and quality assurance grading for technical coaching.
• Complying with legal obligations and maintaining audit trails for structural administrative actions.

3. Disclosure of Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may disclose your information to third parties only under the following circumstances:

• To Sports Associations and Bodies: Information is shared directly with your governing sports association (e.g., Capital Football and affiliated regional associations) to fulfill scheduling, administrative oversight, and reporting requirements.
• To Appointers and Technical Coaches: Your match history, availability, panel level, and compliance metrics are shared with authorized administrative personnel to facilitate safe and fair allocations.
• To Fellow Officials: Limited profile data (such as your name, role, and avatar) is visible to other members assigned to your specific match crew for operational synchronization.
• To Third-Party Service Providers: Secure cloud storage, real-time database management (e.g., Firebase), system hosting providers, and internal audit logs required to operate the infrastructure.
• Legal Requirements: Where required by law or in response to valid legal requests by regulatory authorities.

4. Data Security and Storage

Your information is stored securely via enterprise-grade cloud hosting environments utilizing industry-standard encryption protocols during transit and at rest. We implement robust access controls, ensuring that personal performance grades, technical notes, and personal contact metrics are only accessible to authorized roles.

We retain data only as long as necessary to fulfill corporate reporting timelines, sports season audits, or legal compliance demands.

5. Access, Correction, and Your Rights

Under the Australian Privacy Principles, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Request Correction of any inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, or misleading information.
• Request Deletion or restriction of your account data, subject to governing sports federation retention policies.

To exercise these rights, please contact your systems administrator or submit a formal request via the platform settings interface. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe (typically within 30 days).

6. Complaints and Contact

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this policy, or if you wish to make a complaint about a potential breach of the APPs, please contact us at:

Email: privacy@refwhistle.app

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a formal complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au.