Cookie Policy for Gardeners Victoria
Gardeners Victoria (referred to in this policy as Gardeners Victoria or the Gardeners Victoria site) uses cookies and similar technologies to improve your experience. This Cookie Policy explains the types of cookies we use, why we use them, and the choices available to you. It applies to all visitors to the Gardeners Victoria online services and describes how cookies support site functionality, performance and personalised content.
Cookies are small text files stored on your device by your browser. They help the site remember preferences, recognise returning devices, and gather statistical information. Essential, analytics and marketing cookies are the core categories used by Gardeners Victoria to deliver and improve our services.
The main cookie categories used on the Gardeners Victoria cookie policy are:
- Essential cookies: required for basic site operation, security and accessibility.
- Analytics cookies: collect aggregated information about site performance and visitor behaviour.
- Marketing cookies: enable personalised content, social media features and targeted communications.
Essential cookies are strictly necessary for the functioning of the Gardeners VIC digital services. They support core tasks such as navigation, secure areas, and form submissions. These cookies cannot be disabled if you wish to use the full site features, and they do not track your browsing activity for advertising purposes.
Analytics cookies are used for measuring and improving performance monitoring. They collect anonymised or pseudonymised data about how visitors use the Gardeners Victoria website, which pages are most visited, and whether users encounter errors. This performance monitoring helps us prioritise improvements and optimise site speed, reliability and content relevance for gardeners and members.
Marketing and advertising cookies allow partners to display content that may be of interest. These cookies may be set by Gardeners Victoria or third parties and can remember that you visited a page and, with appropriate consent, show you relevant promotions elsewhere. Marketing cookies are not used by the Gardeners Victoria site to infer sensitive information.
User Control and Cookie Choices
You have choices about cookies. Most browsers let you manage cookie preferences via settings to accept, block or delete cookies. Additionally, where applicable, the Gardeners Victoria cookie banner or in-site settings provide options to enable or disable non-essential cookies. Changing settings may affect how features perform.
How to manage cookies
If you choose to limit cookies, you can still read content but some interactive elements may degrade. To change preferences you can use your browser’s privacy controls or the cookie preference centre where available. For analytics, enabling or disabling these trackers will affect the accuracy of the performance monitoring reports used to improve the site.
Retention periods vary: essential cookies are typically session-based or short-lived, analytics cookies may persist for several months, and marketing cookies can remain longer depending on partner services. We do not store personal data in cookies beyond what is necessary for the stated purpose and we combine cookie data with other information only in limited, privacy-respecting ways.
Third-party cookies may be set by external providers such as analytics platforms, advertising networks and social media tools. These third parties have their own cookie practices and privacy notices; controlling third-party cookies can usually be done through your browser or ad preference tools. Gardeners Victoria carefully selects partners that follow industry privacy standards.
We review our cookie use periodically. Changes to this policy may be made to reflect new services, technologies or legal requirements. When we make significant updates, we will note those changes and the effective date within this document.
Summary: This cookie notice describes essential, analytics and marketing cookies, explains user controls and details how performance monitoring supports site improvements for Gardeners Victoria. By continuing to use the site, you consent to cookie use as described, subject to your browser and preference settings.
