How I handle your information

Your Sidekick is run by me, Nikki Monks. I am a sole trader in Canberra, on Ngunnawal Country. ABN 79 402 565 519.

I am a small business, so most of the Privacy Act 1988 does not legally apply to me. I follow the Australian Privacy Principles anyway, because you are trusting me with things that matter.

Contact me: hello@helpsidekick.com · 0449 898 530

What I collect

If you get in touch or book a chat

Your name, email address, phone number if you give it, and whatever you tell me about your business or your situation.

If you become a client

Whatever the job needs. For business work that is usually details about how your business runs, and sometimes access to your systems. For resume and job application work that is your work history, your qualifications, your referees, and the roles you are going for.

If your application involves sensitive information

Some job applications need details the law treats as especially private — a health condition or disability you want taken into account, a criminal history check, your union membership, or your Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander identity where a role is identified.

I only ask for it when your application actually calls for it, and I tell you why before you send it. It never goes into an AI tool, even with the identifying details taken out. It is deleted with the rest of your application material, 12 months after the job is done.

If you give me information about other people

Some jobs mean I see information about your own clients, customers or contacts — your inbox, your quotes, your mailing list. I treat it exactly the same way I treat yours: I only look at what the job needs, I do not use it for anything else, and it goes when your information goes.

If you sign up for my emails

Your email address, and nothing else.

If you pay me

Enough to invoice you. I do not see or store your card details — the payment provider handles that and I never have access to it.

When you visit this website

Nothing. There is no analytics, no tracking, and no advertising on this site.

You do not always have to tell me who you are

Ask me a general question — what something costs, whether I do a particular kind of work, how long something takes — and you can do it without giving your name. Use a first name only, or a nickname, or none at all.

Once there is actual work to do, I need your real details to write a scope, send an invoice, or put your name on a resume. I will say so at that point rather than collecting it quietly beforehand.

Why I collect it

To answer you, to do the work you have asked me to do, to invoice you, and to send you emails if you asked for them. That is the whole list.

I do not sell your information. I never have and I never will.

Where it is kept

I use ordinary business tools, and most of them store data on servers overseas, usually in the United States.

• Google Workspace — email and files
• Notion — my client records and notes
• Calendly — bookings
• Stripe — invoices and card payments
• QuickBooks — bookkeeping and accounts
• Kit — my email list
• Tally — the contact form on this site

Each of these is a well-established provider with its own privacy commitments. But you should know your information leaves Australia, because it does.

Artificial intelligence

I use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to work faster, and I check everything myself before it reaches you. How I use AI sets out how I use them, what I never put into them, and what you can ask me to do differently. If this page and that one ever disagree, this page wins.

If you would rather I did not put your material through an AI tool, tell me and I will not. It will take longer and that is fine.

How long I keep it

• Anything with a financial record attached — five years after the work finishes, because the Australian Taxation Office requires it
• Resumes and job application material — 12 months after the job is done, then deleted
• Enquiries that never became work — 12 months, then deleted
• My email list — until you unsubscribe

If you want your information deleted sooner, ask me. If the law requires me to keep something, I will tell you what and why.

Emails from me, and marketing

You only get my newsletter if you asked for it. Every email has an unsubscribe link, unsubscribing takes effect straight away, and you never have to give a reason.

Enquiring about work is not signing up. I will not add you to my list because you emailed me, booked a chat, or became a client. The information you give me for a job is used for that job, not to market to you later.

If I ever send you something you did not ask for, tell me and it stops. You can also ask me where I got your details, and I will tell you.

Keeping it accurate

Wrong information causes real problems — an invoice to the wrong address, a resume with the wrong dates, an email to someone who has changed jobs. So I check details with you rather than guessing, and I use what you have given me most recently.

If something I hold about you is out of date, tell me and I will fix it. You do not need a reason, and it costs nothing.

Keeping it safe

My accounts have strong passwords and two-factor authentication. I am the only person who works in this business, so nobody else has access. I do not use shared or public computers for client work.

If something goes wrong and your information is exposed, I will tell you, and I will tell you what I am doing about it.

Seeing it, changing it, or complaining

You can ask me what I hold about you, and ask me to fix anything that is wrong. Email hello@helpsidekick.com. I will come back to you within 30 days, usually much sooner, and it will not cost you anything.

If I have got something wrong, please tell me directly first. If you are not happy with how I handle it, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.