Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how personal information is collected, used, disclosed, stored and managed in connection with the Wine Rebels Adventure Lab website at winerebelslab.com.

The website is operated by Nadine Lee Gaffney ABN 44 327 987 415, a sole trader trading as Wine Rebels Adventure Lab (“Wine Rebels”, “we”, “us” or “our”).

We are committed to treating personal information responsibly. Where the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and Australian Privacy Principles apply to us, we will handle personal information consistently with those requirements. We also aim to follow these principles as a matter of good privacy practice where a legal exemption applies.

1. What is personal information?

Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.

Depending on how you use the website, this may include your name, email address, location, photograph, video, IP address, correspondence and information connected with an experiment submission.

Information that has been anonymised so that an individual is no longer reasonably identifiable is not personal information.

2. Information we may collect

We may collect the following categories of information.

Contact information

This may include:

  • your name;
  • email address;
  • general location;
  • display name or contributor credit;
  • social-media details you voluntarily provide; and
  • information contained in messages or correspondence.

Experiment submissions

When you submit an experiment, we may collect:

  • the experiment name;
  • ingredients, quantities and preparation instructions;
  • equipment used;
  • tasting notes, ratings and verdicts;
  • modifications or suggested improvements;
  • safety, allergen or dietary information;
  • photographs or videos;
  • your requested contributor name;
  • declarations and permissions selected on the form; and
  • related correspondence, testing notes and editorial records.

Age and participation declarations

We may record whether you have confirmed that:

  • you are at least 18 and of legal drinking age in your location;
  • you will participate responsibly;
  • you accept responsibility for checking health and ingredient considerations;
  • you understand the experimental nature of the activity;
  • you agree to the applicable submission terms; and
  • you authorise specified forms of publication.

We generally do not require identification documents or a copy of your date of birth. Unless the age-gateway system is later configured differently, it is intended to record or remember age eligibility rather than create an identity-verification record.

Photographs and videos

Where submitted, photographs or videos may include:

  • images of drinks, ingredients and preparation;
  • names, faces, voices or other identifying characteristics;
  • background details that may reveal a location; and
  • technical metadata contained in the uploaded file.

Do not submit photographs or videos showing anyone under 18.

You must have appropriate permission from each identifiable person appearing in submitted media. Permission to publish photographs and videos is obtained separately from the permission to publish written experiment content.

Newsletter information

If you voluntarily join our mailing list, we may collect:

  • your name;
  • email address;
  • subscription date;
  • consent record;
  • email delivery and interaction information; and
  • unsubscribe or preference information.

Submitting an experiment does not automatically subscribe you to marketing communications. Newsletter consent is optional and separate.

Website and technical information

When you visit or use the website, our website, hosting provider and security or analytics systems may automatically process:

  • your IP address;
  • browser and device type;
  • operating system;
  • approximate location derived from technical information;
  • referring page;
  • pages visited;
  • date and time of access;
  • form submission time and status;
  • user-agent information;
  • security and error logs; and
  • cookie or similar technology identifiers.

We do not use Digital ID services to verify visitors’ identities.

3. How we collect information

We may collect information:

  • directly from you through contact, newsletter and experiment-submission forms;
  • when you email or otherwise communicate with us;
  • when you upload a photograph, video or other file;
  • through the age gateway and saved preferences;
  • automatically through website hosting, logs, cookies, security and analytics systems;
  • when you interact with an authorised Wine Rebels social-media account; and
  • from another person where they are authorised to provide the information.

Please do not provide another person’s personal information unless you have their permission or another lawful basis to do so.

If we receive personal information we did not request, we may determine whether it is reasonably necessary for our activities. We may delete, anonymise or securely retain it where appropriate or legally required.

4. Why we collect and use information

We may collect, hold and use personal information to:

  • operate, maintain and secure the website;
  • respond to enquiries and provide requested information;
  • receive and manage experiment submissions;
  • verify that required declarations and permissions were provided;
  • communicate with contributors about their experiments;
  • test, review, classify and edit experiments;
  • create and publish authorised Lab Reports and related content;
  • administer the Recipe Vault, Experiments, Disaster Files and Lab Journal;
  • publish authorised contributor credits, photographs or videos;
  • process newsletter subscriptions and send communications you requested;
  • record and manage unsubscribes and communication preferences;
  • understand website use and improve its content and performance;
  • detect spam, misuse, security threats and technical problems;
  • investigate complaints, safety concerns and rights claims;
  • maintain appropriate consent, moderation and publication records;
  • enforce our Website Terms and Experiment Submission Terms;
  • comply with legal obligations; and
  • establish, exercise or defend legal rights.

We will not use an experiment submission to subscribe you to marketing without separate consent.

5. Information you choose not to provide

You may browse publicly available content without identifying yourself, subject to technical information ordinarily processed when accessing a website.

You may use an approved display name or request anonymous contributor wording for published content. We may still need your real contact information privately to manage a submission.

If required information is not provided, we may be unable to:

  • respond to an enquiry;
  • process or publish an experiment;
  • verify required declarations or permissions;
  • publish an identifiable photograph or video; or
  • provide a requested subscription or service.

6. Sensitive information

Please do not include unnecessary medical histories, identification documents or other sensitive personal information in an experiment submission.

You may need to confirm that you have considered allergies, medications, health conditions or dietary restrictions, but we do not generally require detailed health information.

If you voluntarily provide sensitive information, we will use it only where reasonably necessary, with your consent or as otherwise permitted by law. We may remove unnecessary health details before publishing an experiment.

7. Publication of submitted material

If you give the required permission, we may publish authorised parts of your submission, including:

  • experiment details;
  • tasting observations and ratings;
  • an approved contributor name;
  • authorised photographs or videos; and
  • an edited or adapted version of the experiment.

Publication permissions and intellectual-property arrangements are explained in our Experiment Submission Terms.

Your email address, IP address, consent records and private correspondence will not ordinarily be published.

Once material is published online, other people may copy, download, share or archive it. We cannot fully control third-party use after publication, although you may contact us about unauthorised use or request that we stop future use under the Experiment Submission Terms.

8. When we may disclose information

We may disclose personal information:

  • to website-hosting, email, form, security, backup and technical-service providers;
  • to newsletter or mailing-list providers where you subscribe;
  • to analytics providers where analytics are enabled;
  • to contractors assisting with website administration, testing, editing or publication;
  • to professional advisers such as lawyers, accountants or insurers where reasonably necessary;
  • to regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies or other parties where required or authorised by law;
  • to investigate fraud, misuse, security incidents, complaints or safety concerns;
  • to protect our rights or another person’s safety or rights; and
  • with your consent or at your direction.

Service providers are permitted to process information only for the services they provide or as otherwise allowed by their own disclosed terms and applicable law.

We do not sell personal information.

We do not disclose personal information to third parties for their independent direct marketing without permission.

9. Overseas processing and disclosure

Some providers used to operate the website may store or process information outside Australia. This may include providers involved in:

  • website and data hosting;
  • cloud storage and backups;
  • email delivery;
  • spam and security protection;
  • website forms and notifications;
  • analytics;
  • mailing lists; and
  • social-media publishing.

Depending on the provider and its infrastructure, information may be processed in countries including the United States and other locations where that provider or its subcontractors operate.

Privacy protections in another country may differ from Australian protections. Where required, we will take reasonable steps concerning overseas disclosures and the handling of personal information by overseas recipients.

Because provider infrastructure can change, you may contact us for current information about significant providers and known processing locations.

10. Cookies and similar technologies

The website may use cookies, local storage and similar technologies for:

  • essential website operation;
  • security and fraud prevention;
  • form processing;
  • remembering age-gateway choices or preferences;
  • website performance;
  • analytics; and
  • embedded third-party content.

Some cookies are essential for the website to function. Other cookies may be optional, depending on the services enabled.

Further information will be provided in our Cookie Notice. You can also manage cookies through your browser and, where available, the website’s cookie controls. Blocking essential cookies may affect website functionality.

11. Embedded content and external platforms

Pages may contain embedded or linked content from third-party services, such as video platforms or social networks.

When you load or interact with this content, the third party may collect technical information and use cookies according to its own privacy policy. We do not control the privacy practices of independent third parties.

A link to another website does not mean that Wine Rebels endorses its privacy practices.

12. Direct marketing

We will send newsletters or promotional emails only where:

  • you have requested or consented to them;
  • another lawful basis permits the communication; and
  • the communication complies with applicable marketing laws.

Marketing consent is optional and will not be a condition of submitting an experiment.

You may unsubscribe using the link provided in an email or by contacting us. We may retain a minimal suppression record so that we can respect the unsubscribe request.

Messages necessary to administer an enquiry or experiment submission are service communications and are not treated as marketing merely because they refer to Wine Rebels.

13. Storage and security

Personal information may be stored in:

  • the WordPress website database;
  • Gravity Forms entries;
  • uploaded-media storage;
  • website and email servers;
  • business email accounts;
  • secure working files and records;
  • backups; and
  • authorised service-provider systems.

We take reasonable administrative, technical and organisational measures to protect information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

These measures may include access controls, passwords, software updates, security tools, restricted administrator access and backups.

No internet transmission or storage system is completely secure. If a data incident occurs, we will investigate it and take appropriate action, including notifications required under any applicable data-breach law.

14. How long we retain information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to:

  • manage and document a submission;
  • maintain authorised published content;
  • preserve consent and withdrawal records;
  • respond to enquiries and complaints;
  • maintain security and business records;
  • comply with tax, accounting or legal requirements; and
  • establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Retention periods may vary according to the type of information and whether an experiment remains published.

When information is no longer reasonably required, we will take reasonable steps to delete it or anonymise it, unless continued retention is required or permitted by law. Information may remain temporarily in secure backups until those backups are overwritten through the normal backup cycle.

15. Access and correction

You may ask us to provide access to personal information we hold about you or to correct information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading.

Please contact us using the details below. We may need to verify your identity before providing access or making a correction.

In some circumstances, access may be refused or limited where permitted by law. If that occurs, we will explain the reason where legally appropriate.

You may also ask us to update a contributor credit or correct material connected with your published experiment.

16. Withdrawal of consent and removal requests

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw that consent for future use by contacting us.

You may also request:

  • removal of an identifiable photograph or video;
  • cessation of future publication of a submission;
  • correction of an incorrect attribution;
  • removal of unnecessary personal information; or
  • unsubscribing from marketing.

Withdrawal does not ordinarily invalidate uses or disclosures that were properly authorised before the withdrawal. It may also not require us to delete lawful consent, complaint, business or legal records.

Experiment-publication withdrawals are also governed by the Experiment Submission Terms.

17. Privacy complaints

If you have a privacy question, concern or complaint, contact us and provide enough information for us to investigate.

We will acknowledge and investigate the matter within a reasonable time and advise you of the outcome or any further information required.

If the Privacy Act applies to the matter and you are dissatisfied with our response, you may be entitled to complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

People outside Australia may also have rights under privacy laws applying in their location. We will consider properly made requests in accordance with any law that applies to us.

18. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our website, forms, service providers, business practices or legal obligations change.

The current version will be published on this page with its last-updated date.

If a change materially affects an existing consent or significantly expands how previously collected information will be used, we will take any additional steps required by law.

19. Contact us

Privacy questions, access or correction requests, withdrawal requests and complaints may be sent to:

Nadine Lee Gaffney
ABN 44 327 987 415
Trading as Wine Rebels Adventure Lab
New South Wales, Australia
Email: [email protected]
Website: Contact the Lab

Last updated: 28 July 2026