Privacy policy

Last updated: 17 September 2026

Talking Hens (ABN 38 973 258 298) of 3590 Frankston-Flinders Road, Merricks VIC 3916 ("Talking Hens", "we", "us") sells backyard chickens, feed, coops and poultry supplies through our farm shop, our website talkinghens.com.au and our events.

We are a small Australian business and we take the same care with your personal information that we would want taken with our own. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we hold it, who we share it with, and how you can access or correct it or make a complaint. We follow the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) as a matter of good practice, and the Spam Act 2003 (Cth) for our marketing.

We only sell and deliver within Australia.

What personal information we collect

Depending on how you deal with us, we may collect:

  • Contact details: your name, email address, phone number, and billing and delivery addresses. In our shop, we record your name, email address, and mobile phone number, and your opt-in consent for communication.
  • Order and account details: what you buy, when, order history, delivery instructions, subscription settings, and if you create an account, your login email and a password (which is stored in encrypted form by Shopify and is never visible to us).
  • Payment details: we do not see or store your full card number. Payments are processed by Shopify Payments, PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay online, and by Square in our shop. We receive only a transaction reference, the card type and the last four digits.
  • Chicken purchase and waiting list details: if you buy hens from us or ask to be notified when purebred birds are available, we record your name, contact details, the breed and number of birds, and the date.
  • Event bookings: if you book a workshop or school-holiday activity, we collect the name, email and phone number of the adult making the booking. We do not collect the names or ages of children attending.
  • Communications: anything you send us by email, phone, our contact form, or social media, and our notes of what was discussed.
  • Reviews: after a purchase we may invite you to leave a review. If you do, we hold your name (as you choose to display it), your review and any photo you include, and your review may be published on our website, Google or Facebook.
  • Marketing preferences: whether you have opted in to our newsletter or text messages, and how you interact with our emails (for example opens and clicks).
  • Website usage information: collected automatically when you visit our site, including your IP address, device and browser type, pages viewed and the site you came from, using cookies and similar technologies (see "Cookies and advertising" below).

We do not collect sensitive information such as health, racial or religious information, and we ask that you do not send it to us.

How we collect it

We collect personal information directly from you when you place an order online or in our shop, create an account, sign up to our newsletter, download our free ebook, book an event, leave a review, or contact us. We collect website usage information automatically through cookies and tracking pixels. Occasionally we receive information from third parties you have used to deal with us, such as PayPal or Eventbrite.

If you choose not to give us certain information we may not be able to complete your order, book your event or contact you about hen availability.

Why we collect and use it

We use your personal information to:

  • process and deliver your orders, take payment, issue receipts, and handle returns, warranties and subscriptions;
  • contact you when purebred or hybrid hens you have asked about become available;
  • run our workshops and events and manage attendance;
  • answer your questions and provide customer support;
  • send you our newsletter, tips and offers by email (and text message if you have separately opted in), where you have consented;
  • show you our products in online advertising based on your visits to our website;
  • understand how our website is used so we can improve it;
  • keep breeding and sale records for our hens, which also supports biosecurity traceability;
  • protect against fraud and keep our systems secure; and
  • meet our legal obligations, including tax record keeping.

Marketing and how to opt out

We will only send you marketing emails or text messages if you have asked for them, for example by joining our newsletter, downloading our ebook, ticking the box at checkout, or signing up in our shop. Every marketing message identifies Talking Hens and includes an unsubscribe link or opt-out instructions, and we act on opt-outs promptly. You can also unsubscribe at any time by emailing talk@talkinghens.com.au.

If you unsubscribe we will still send you non-marketing messages you need, such as order confirmations, delivery updates and subscription notices.

Who we share your information with

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with service providers who help us run the business, and only for the purposes above. These include:

  • Shopify (our online store, point of sale, payments and customer messaging platform);
  • Klaviyo (email and text message marketing);
  • PayPal (online payments), Apple Pay and Google Pay (payments);
  • Square (in-store point of sale, card payments and digital receipts);
  • Eventbrite (event bookings);
  • Google (email and file storage, website analytics, advertising and our Google Business Profile);
  • Meta (Facebook and Instagram messaging and advertising);
  • Smartrr (manages recurring subscription orders on our Shopify store);
  • Reviewr (sends review requests after purchase and publishes reviews to our website, Google and Facebook);
  • Australia Post, who receive your name, address and phone number to deliver your order.
  • EasyRoutes Local Delivery, Some local orders are delivered by Talking Hens staff directly.
  • Xero (accounting and invoicing);
  • Our website agency, accountant and other professional advisers, where necessary; and
  • Government agencies or law enforcement where we are required by law to do so.

Overseas disclosure

Many of the providers above are based overseas and store information outside Australia, mainly in the United States and Canada (Shopify, Square, Klaviyo, Smartrr, Eventbrite, Google, Meta, PayPal, Xero and Reviewr, which is a New Zealand company). This means your personal information is likely to be held on servers in those countries. We choose established providers with strong security practices and privacy policies of their own, but they are not bound by Australian privacy law in the same way we are. By providing your information to us you acknowledge this.

Cookies and advertising

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies, including Shopify analytics, Google Analytics, and the Meta (Facebook) Pixel. These help us understand how the site is used and allow us to show Talking Hens advertisements to people who have visited our site. You can control cookies through your browser settings, and you can adjust ad settings directly with Google (adssettings.google.com) and Meta (through your Facebook or Instagram account). Blocking cookies may affect how parts of our website work.

How we hold and protect your information

Your information is held in the systems listed above, each protected by password and, where available, two-factor authentication, with access limited to the people who need it for their role. Payment card data is handled entirely by our payment providers. We keep as little information on paper as possible, and any paper records are kept in our shop office and securely destroyed when no longer needed.

No system is perfectly secure. If we become aware of a data breach that is likely to cause you serious harm, we will notify you and, where required, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

How long we keep it

  • Order, payment and hen sale records: 7 years after the transaction, for tax and traceability purposes.
  • Account details: until you close your account or it has been inactive for 7 years.
  • Marketing profiles: until you unsubscribe, or after 12 months without any engagement.
  • Hen waiting list entries: until we have supplied the birds, or 12 months from when you joined the list.
  • Event booking lists: 3 months after the event.
  • General correspondence: 2 years, unless it relates to a dispute or warranty.

When information is no longer needed we delete it or de-identify it.

Access, correction and deletion

You can ask us at any time to tell you what personal information we hold about you, to correct it, or to delete it where we no longer need it. Email talk@talkinghens.com.au or call 0406 691 231. We may need to confirm your identity first. We will respond within 30 days and there is no charge. If you have an account you can also update your details by logging in.

Shopify also allows you to make privacy requests directly at privacy.shopify.com.

Children

Our website and shop are intended for adults. Bookings for children's activities are made by a parent or carer, and we record only that adult's details. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Complaints

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first using the details below. We take complaints seriously and will acknowledge yours within 7 days and aim to resolve it within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au or 1300 363 992.

Changes to this policy

We review this policy at least once a year and whenever we change how we handle personal information. The current version will always be on our website with the date it was last updated.

Contact us

Talking Hens
3590 Frankston-Flinders Road, Merricks VIC 3916
Phone: 0406 691 231
Email: talk@talkinghens.com.au