Privacy Policy

Cleared is an Australian service that helps residential builders onboard and verify their subcontractors. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we store and protect it, and the choices you have. We handle personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

In this policy, "we" and "Cleared" mean the operator of the Cleared service. "Builder" means a business that uses Cleared to manage its subcontractors. "Tradie" means a subcontractor who is invited by a builder to complete a profile.

What we collect

We collect only the information needed to verify a tradie and track compliance for the builder who invited them:

• Name and business/trading name
• Mobile number (used to send the invite and to sign in — Cleared uses a one-time SMS code, not passwords)
• Email address (optional — for renewal reminders and copies of records)
• Australian Business Number (ABN), and the business name and GST status returned for it by the Australian Business Register
• Trade licence details (such as a licence number and the trade it covers)
• Documents you upload — public liability insurance and workers compensation certificates of currency
• The declaration a tradie makes about their details, and the date it was made
• Basic activity records — when an invite was sent, completed, approved, shared, or renewed

Why we collect it

We collect this information to provide the service a tradie's builder has asked for: confirming a subcontractor's details against official registers, checking that insurance and (where applicable) workers compensation are current, tracking expiry dates, and sending renewal reminders before cover lapses. A tradie provides this information to become "cleared to work" for the builder who invited them.

How documents are checked

To help flag uploads that are not genuine certificates (for example, a photo that isn't actually a certificate of currency), an uploaded document may be processed by an automated document-reading service (Anthropic) to read the document and check it looks like the expected certificate. This is used only to assist verification. Automated checks are a guide only — a builder makes the final decision, and a person can review any document.

Where your information is stored

Personal information and uploaded documents are stored in Australia, in a database and secure document store hosted in Supabase's Sydney region. Documents are kept in a private store that is not publicly accessible; they are only ever served through short-lived, signed links to people entitled to see them.

Who can see it

A tradie's profile and documents are visible to the builder who invited them, for the purpose of clearing them to work. If a tradie chooses to share their existing "Cleared ID" with another builder, that builder can then see it too — but only builders a tradie explicitly approves. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with anyone else for marketing.

Service providers we use

We use a small number of trusted providers to run Cleared. They only process information as needed to deliver the service:

• Vercel — hosts and runs the Cleared website and application
• Supabase — database and secure document storage (Sydney, Australia)
• ClickSend — sends SMS invites, sign-in codes, and reminders
• Resend — sends email reminders and record copies
• Anthropic — automated reading of uploaded documents to assist verification
• Australian Business Register (ABR) — ABN Lookup, to confirm ABN, business name and GST status
• NSW Government — trade licence verification where applicable

Some providers may process limited data outside Australia in order to deliver their service. We choose providers that handle information securely and only for the purpose we engage them.

How long we keep it (the archive model)

We keep a tradie's records for as long as a builder needs them to manage compliance, and to maintain an accurate history of who was cleared to work and when. When a tradie is no longer active with a builder, their record is archived rather than immediately erased, so the builder retains a compliance history. You can ask us to delete information (see below), subject to any records we're required to keep by law.

Accessing or deleting your information

You can ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it if it's wrong, or ask us to delete it. Email support@clearedid.com.auand we'll respond within a reasonable time. We may need to verify your identity first. If deletion would remove a record a builder is required to keep, we'll explain that when we respond.

Keeping it secure

Access to personal information is restricted, documents are stored privately and served only through signed links, and sign-in uses a one-time SMS code rather than a password. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The version number and effective date at the top of this page will change when we do. Material changes will be reflected here.

Contact us

For any privacy question or request, contact us at support@clearedid.com.au. If you're not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).