Privacy Policy

Last updated: February 2026

Disclaimer: This document is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. You should seek independent legal advice from a qualified solicitor regarding your privacy obligations.

1. Introduction

Akima Automations (ABN 80 561 472 069) (“we”, “us”, or “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, hold, use, and disclose personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

2. Our Role in Handling Your Information

Akima Automations acts in different capacities depending on the context in which your information is collected:

  • Website visitors and contacts: When you visit our website, submit a contact form, or book a consultation, Akima Automations is the controller of your personal information. We determine why and how your data is collected and processed.
  • Ahoy AI Voice Assistant — client call data: When our business clients use Ahoy to handle calls from their customers, Akima Automations acts as a processor (or service provider) on behalf of the client. The client is the controller of their callers’ personal information and is responsible for ensuring they have a lawful basis (such as consent or legitimate interest) to collect and process that information through our platform.
  • Our business clients: When we collect information from clients for account management, billing, and service delivery, Akima Automations is the controller of that information.

If you are a caller interacting with an Ahoy-powered phone line, your primary privacy relationship is with the business you called. Please refer to that business’s privacy policy for information about how they handle your data. For questions about how Akima Automations processes call data on behalf of our clients, contact us at hello@akimaautomations.com.au.

3. What We Collect

We may collect the following types of personal information:

Information you provide directly

  • Contact form: Name, email address, company name, and your message
  • Booking form: Name, email address, phone number, company name, service of interest, and preferred date and time

Information collected automatically

  • IP address and approximate location
  • Browser type and version
  • Operating system
  • Pages visited and time spent on our website
  • Referring website or source

Information collected through Ahoy AI Voice Assistant

When you or your callers interact with Ahoy, we may collect:

  • Voice recordings and call transcripts
  • Caller phone number and call metadata (date, time, duration)
  • Post-call analysis data (call summary, sentiment, action items)
  • Information provided verbally during the call (e.g., name, booking details, enquiry details)

Calls from unknown numbers

When calls are received from unknown, withheld, or unrecognised numbers, Ahoy may still collect voice recordings, call transcripts, and call metadata as described above. This data is processed and retained in accordance with the retention periods set out in Section 10 of this policy.

Callers who believe they were recorded in error, or who wish to have their data from such calls deleted, may contact us at hello@akimaautomations.com.au to request data deletion.

4. How We Collect Information

We collect personal information:

  • Directly from you when you submit a contact form, book a demo, or communicate with us via email or phone
  • Automatically through our analytics system and server logs when you visit our website (see Section 13 for details on our cookie-free analytics approach)
  • From third parties such as referral partners or publicly available sources, where you have consented to such disclosure or it is otherwise permitted by law

5. Purpose of Collection

We collect and use your personal information for the following purposes, along with the lawful basis for each:

  • To respond to your enquiries and communicate with you — Basis: fulfilling your request; taking steps at your request prior to entering a contract
  • To schedule and manage bookings and demonstrations — Basis: fulfilling your request; contract performance
  • To provide, maintain, and improve our services — Basis: contract performance; legitimate business interest
  • To operate Ahoy AI Voice Assistant, including answering calls, processing bookings, and generating call summaries — Basis: contract performance (with our business clients); consent (callers are informed at the start of each call)
  • To improve the accuracy and quality of our AI voice assistant responses — Basis: legitimate business interest
  • To send you information about our services that may be of interest to you — Basis: consent (you may opt out at any time)
  • To analyse website usage and improve user experience — Basis: legitimate business interest (using anonymised, cookie-free analytics)
  • To comply with our legal obligations under Australian law — Basis: legal obligation

Annotating lawful bases prepares for anticipated reforms to the Privacy Act 1988 and aligns with international best practice.

6. How We Handle Your Call Data

When a call is answered by Ahoy, it follows this process:

  1. Call answered: The call is received via our telephony provider and connected to our AI voice platform, which processes the caller’s speech in real time to hold a natural conversation.
  2. Transcription & analysis: After the call, the AI platform generates a transcript and a structured summary including the caller’s intent, any actions taken (e.g., appointment booked), and sentiment.
  3. Notification: A post-call summary is delivered to the business owner via their chosen channel (e.g., email, messaging app). This summary includes the caller’s number, call duration, and a brief description of the conversation.
  4. Storage: Call recordings, transcripts, and summaries are stored securely on our cloud infrastructure. Access is restricted to the business owner and our support team as needed.

Our AI voice platform processes call audio in real time using servers located in the United States and Australia. Call recordings and transcripts may be stored overseas in accordance with APP 8 (cross-border disclosure).

AI Model Training: Call data may be used by our AI platform providers in de-identified and aggregated form for the purpose of training and improving AI models and service quality. No individually identifiable call data is shared with or used by third parties for their independent purposes. We take reasonable steps to ensure that any such use by our providers complies with applicable privacy laws.

7. Third-Party Disclosure

We may share your personal information with third-party service providers who assist us in delivering our services. These may include:

  • Artificial intelligence and machine learning platform providers
  • Cloud hosting and infrastructure providers
  • Customer relationship management (CRM) platform providers
  • Telephony and communications providers
  • Analytics and monitoring service providers

We take reasonable steps to ensure that third-party providers comply with the APPs or are subject to substantially similar privacy protections. Some of our service providers may store or process data overseas, including in the United States and the European Union. In accordance with APP 8, we take reasonable steps to ensure that overseas recipients handle your information consistently with the APPs.

A detailed list of our current sub-processors, including the categories of data they process and their country of operation, is available upon request by contacting hello@akimaautomations.com.au. We will notify affected clients of any material changes to our sub-processor list.

We will not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party for marketing purposes.

8. Cross-Border Data Transfers

Some of our third-party service providers are located outside Australia. In accordance with Australian Privacy Principle 8 (APP 8), before disclosing personal information to an overseas recipient, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient handles the information consistently with the APPs. Our safeguards include:

  • Contractual obligations: We enter into data processing agreements with our providers that require them to protect personal information to a standard consistent with the APPs
  • Provider due diligence: We assess the privacy and security practices of overseas providers before engaging them, and conduct periodic reviews
  • Certifications and standards: Where available, we select providers that hold recognised security certifications (e.g., SOC 2, ISO 27001) or are subject to enforceable privacy regulations

The primary countries in which your data may be processed include the United States and the European Union. AI voice processing and cloud hosting services may involve servers in these jurisdictions. Call data processed through our AI platform is subject to the privacy and security obligations of our provider agreements.

9. Data Storage & Security

We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. Security measures include:

  • Encryption of data in transit (TLS/SSL) and at rest
  • Access controls limiting data access to authorised personnel
  • Regular security reviews and updates
  • Secure hosting with reputable cloud infrastructure providers

No method of electronic storage or transmission is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Voice recordings collected through Ahoy may constitute sensitive personal information under Australian Privacy Principle 11. Such recordings are subject to additional protections, including restricted access controls and secure storage.

10. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Specific retention periods include:

  • AI voice call recordings and transcripts: Retained for up to 12 months, then securely deleted
  • Contact and booking form submissions: Retained for the duration of our business relationship and up to 24 months thereafter
  • Website analytics data: Retained in anonymised/aggregated form

You may request deletion of your personal information by contacting us. We will action such requests within 30 days, subject to any legal obligations requiring us to retain certain data.

11. Data Breach Notification

In the event of an eligible data breach that is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as soon as practicable, and in any event within the time periods required by applicable law, in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme under Part IIIC of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

Where a breach relates to call data processed on behalf of a business client, we will promptly notify the affected client so they can fulfil their own notification obligations.

12. Your Rights

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

  • Access your personal information (APP 12): You may request access to the personal information we hold about you. We will respond within 30 days.
  • Correct your personal information (APP 13): If you believe the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date, you may request that we correct it.
  • Make a complaint: If you believe we have breached the APPs, you may lodge a complaint with us. We will investigate and respond within 30 days. If you are not satisfied, you may escalate to the OAIC.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@akimaautomations.com.au.

13. Cookies, Analytics, and Tracking

Cookie-Free Analytics: Our website uses a privacy-focused, cookie-free analytics system. We do not place tracking cookies or use persistent identifiers to monitor your browsing activity. Our analytics collects anonymised, aggregated data — including page views, approximate location (derived from IP address, which is not stored), device type, and referral source — without creating individual user profiles.

Cookies We Use

  • Essential cookies: Strictly necessary cookies that enable core website functionality (e.g., session management, security tokens). These cannot be disabled.
  • Third-party embeds: Embedded content from third-party services (e.g., video players, booking widgets) may set their own cookies. These are governed by the respective third party’s privacy policy and are loaded only when you interact with the embedded content.

You can control cookie settings through your browser preferences. Disabling essential cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

Do Not Track (DNT) and Global Privacy Control (GPC)

We do not track users across third-party websites. Our analytics system does not use cookies or persistent identifiers, so there is no cross-site tracking to disable. We respect Do Not Track (DNT) and Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals as a matter of principle, consistent with our privacy-by-design approach.

14. Automated Decision-Making

We use artificial intelligence to assist in providing our services. Ahoy uses automated processes to understand and respond to caller enquiries, determine appropriate responses, and generate post-call summaries. No solely automated decisions are made that have significant legal effects on individuals. A human review process is available upon request.

15. Email Communications

We may send you the following types of email communications:

  • Service communications: Transactional emails related to your account, bookings, invoices, and service updates. These are essential to the operation of our services and cannot be opted out of while you maintain an active account.
  • Marketing communications: Promotional emails about our services, new features, and industry insights. You may opt out of marketing communications at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any marketing email, emailing us at hello@akimaautomations.com.au, or updating your preferences in the client portal.

We will process opt-out requests within 5 business days. Opting out of marketing communications will not affect your receipt of service communications.

16. Children’s Privacy

Our services are not directed at individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

17. International Users

Our services are primarily designed for Australian businesses. However, if you access our services from outside Australia, please be aware that your information may be transferred to and processed in Australia and other countries where our service providers operate.

Users in the European Economic Area (EEA) and United Kingdom: If you are located in the EEA or UK, you may have additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or UK GDPR, including the right to data portability, the right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”), and the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. To exercise these rights, contact us at hello@akimaautomations.com.au. We will respond within 30 days.

18. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via our website. Your continued use of our services constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

19. Contact & Complaints

If you have any questions, please contact us:

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the OAIC: