Privacy Policy

1. Controller and Privacy Officer

1.1  The entity responsible for the processing of personal information within the meaning of the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) is:

Freudenberg Sealing Technologies Pty Ltd

42 Kremzow Road, Brendale QLD 4500, Australia

ABN: 68 161 604 780

Phone: 13 1858

E-mail: sales.au@fst.com

1.2  Freudenberg Sealing Technologies Pty Ltd is part of the Freudenberg group of companies and cooperates closely with Freudenberg FST GmbH (registered office: Weinheim, Germany) in processing personal information. Freudenberg FST GmbH is the controller within the meaning of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for processing activities controlled from Germany.

Local contact (Privacy Officer) – Australia

For enquiries relating to Australian privacy law, please contact:

Charlie Bilek, Vice President

E-mail: charlie.bilek@fst.com

Data Protection Officer – European Union

For enquiries relating to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the external Data Protection Officer of Freudenberg FST GmbH is your point of contact:

legitimis GmbH

Ball 1, 51429 Bergisch Gladbach, Germany

E-mail: dataprivacy-helpdesk@legitimis.com

2. Scope and version

2.1  This Privacy Policy applies to all your dealings with us, whether you use the Freudenberg Sealing Technologies website or contact us in writing or in person.

2.2  This Privacy Policy is published in version 2.0 and is valid as of September 2026. We encourage you to check our website regularly for updates.

2.3  From time to time it may be necessary for us to review and revise this Privacy Policy. The current version is always the one published on our website.

3. Our privacy commitment

3.1  We are committed to managing your personal information openly and transparently and to keeping your personal information safe. We value your privacy and comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (“Privacy Act”), which provides for the fair handling of personal information, and – where applicable – with the GDPR.

3.2  Through this Privacy Policy, we take the necessary measures to:

• comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and the GDPR where applicable;
• manage your personal information in an open and transparent manner;
• only collect personal information that we need to provide our services to you;
• inform you how we use your personal information;
• inform you if and to whom we disclose your personal information;
• keep your personal information secure;
• respond promptly to any request not to receive direct marketing from us;
• keep your personal information accurate and up to date and to properly dispose of personal information that is no longer required; and
• ensure that, where appropriate, you can access and correct your personal information.

4. Disclaimer regarding data transmission over the Internet

4.1  Please be aware that we cannot guarantee that data transmission over the Internet to our website is fully secure. We continuously strive to protect your information; however, we cannot warrant the security of any information you transmit to us over the Internet, and you do so at your own risk.

4.2  Once we receive your personal information, we are required to protect it in accordance with the Privacy Act and, where applicable, the GDPR.

5. What information we collect

5.1  We collect and use personal information exclusively for clearly defined purposes that are made transparent to you. The type of personal information we collect depends on the nature of your dealings with us and the reason for collecting it. We only collect information that is necessary and relevant to our relationship with you.

5.2  Depending on the exact nature of our relationship with you, we may collect some or all of the following information:

• information used to identify you, such as your name and, where required, your date of birth;
• contact information, such as your telephone number, mobile number, e-mail address and postal address;
• information that you provide to us in the context of a business relationship, such as your company name, position and the products or services you are interested in;
• technical information automatically collected when you visit our website (see section 10).

5.3  If you subscribe to our newsletter or mailing list, we additionally collect your e-mail address and the categories of information you have indicated you wish to receive. From time to time, we may also collect additional personal information from subscribers through optional surveys or feedback forms.

5.4  We generally collect personal information directly from you. Should we exceptionally receive personal information from other sources (e.g. publicly accessible directories in the course of business development), we will inform you of this at the earliest opportunity.

6. How we collect your information

6.1  The manner in which we collect your personal information depends on the nature of the interaction. We may collect your personal information:

• directly from you by phone;
• when you contact us via our website (e.g. through the contact form);
• when you interact with our website, including through links from social media platforms or web forums;
• when you send us an e-mail;
• from publicly available sources, for example the electoral roll, the telephone directory or other websites; or
• from other sources in the course of a business relationship.

6.2  If the information we request for the provision of a product or service is not provided to us, this may affect our ability to provide that product or service to you.

7. Purposes of processing and legal bases

7.1  We process personal information for the following purposes:

• responding to enquiries submitted through the contact form or by e-mail to our sales address;
• distribution of newsletters and marketing-related information, provided that you have given your consent;
• maintaining and managing business contacts in our group-wide Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system;
• optimising and improving our online presence on the basis of statistical analyses;
• administrative and operational tasks, including risk management, systems development and testing, staff training and record-keeping;
• preventing fraud and other criminal activities;
• complying with legal and regulatory obligations.

7.2  Where the GDPR applies, we process your personal information on the following legal bases (Article 6 GDPR):

• performance of a contract or pre-contractual measures at your request (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR) – for the handling of enquiries, the management of business relationships and order-related processing;
• compliance with a legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR) – for example, retention and disclosure obligations under tax or commercial law;
• legitimate interests pursued by us (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR) – for the security of our website, statistical analysis and operational administration. Our legitimate interests are balanced against your rights and freedoms; you may object at any time (see section 15);
• consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR) – for newsletter distribution, non-essential cookies and other processing activities for which we specifically request your consent. You may withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future.

7.3  Personal information will not be used for purposes other than those stated above, unless you have expressly consented to such use or the use is required or permitted by law.

8. Sharing your personal information with third parties

8.1  We may share your personal information with third-party service providers who support us in providing our services. These service providers may carry out functions including research, mail and delivery, IT and hosting services, professional advisory services (legal, accounting and auditing), banking and payment processing, fraud prevention and technology services. Where we engage third-party service providers, they are required to safeguard your personal information and may only use it for the purposes for which it was provided.

8.2  We may also disclose your personal information to fulfil legal requirements, for example to law enforcement agencies or courts.

8.3  We do not sell or trade your personal information to non-related companies or individuals for their own marketing purposes.

9. Cross-border disclosure of personal information (APP 8)

9.1  Within the context of group-wide cooperation in the Freudenberg group of companies and through the use of specialised service providers, personal information is disclosed to recipients outside Australia. The following disclosures take place:

9.2  Disclosures within the Freudenberg group of companies

We disclose personal information to affiliated group companies in the following countries:

• Germany (Freudenberg FST GmbH, Weinheim) – in the context of central marketing operations, the group-wide CRM system and the group-wide IT infrastructure;
• United States of America (Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies, Plymouth) – in the context of central marketing operations, the group-wide CRM system and the group-wide IT infrastructure.

Intra-group disclosure of personal information is based on a group-wide data protection agreement (Intra-Group Agreement) which ensures compliance with appropriate protection standards. For transfers from the European Union to the United States of America, the EU Standard Contractual Clauses of the EU Commission and/or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework apply in addition.

9.3  Disclosures to service providers

We use the following service providers, which process personal information outside Australia:

For disclosures to recipients in the United States, we rely on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, the Standard Contractual Clauses of the EU Commission and/or comparable recognised protection mechanisms. We take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information continues to be processed in accordance with a standard of protection that meets the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 and the APPs after disclosure. Detailed information on the respective protection mechanisms is available on request.

10. Cookies, IP addresses and tracking

10.1  When you visit our website, cookies and comparable technologies are used on your end device. Where these are not exclusively technically necessary cookies, they are only set after your express consent. You can review and revoke your consent at any time via the settings of our consent banner.

10.2  A cookie is a small piece of information stored on your end device by your web browser. Cookies allow us to recognise you on subsequent visits to our website and to provide functions that depend on this recognition. You may elect not to receive cookies, however we cannot guarantee that all features of our website will be available if cookies are disabled.

10.3  We also maintain a log of IP addresses for IT systems administration and troubleshooting purposes. IP addresses may also be logged to record the length of a user session. Your browser additionally provides information about the type of device and operating system being used.

10.4  Detailed information on the cookies used, providers, retention periods and purposes can be found in our consent banner.

11. Retention periods

11.1  We retain personal information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or for the duration required by law.

11.2  Unless a longer retention period is required by statutory provisions (e.g. tax or commercial retention obligations), the following standard periods apply:

• Contact enquiries: until the enquiry has been fully processed, generally no longer than 24 months;
• Newsletter subscriptions: until withdrawal of consent;
• CRM data: for the duration of the business relationship and a subsequent period of up to 36 months for legitimate follow-up purposes;
• Server log files (including IP addresses): no longer than 30 days, unless required for security investigations;
• Cookies: in accordance with the retention period stated in the consent banner for each cookie.

12. Data security and Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme (APP 11)

12.1  We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, loss, alteration or disclosure. Our security measures are reviewed regularly and adapted to the current state of the art.

12.2  Access to your personal information is limited to those who specifically need it to carry out their responsibilities.

12.3  Should a data breach occur despite these measures, and is likely to result in serious harm to affected individuals, we will report the incident to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and notify the affected individuals as required under the Australian Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme, provided the legal requirements are met. Where the GDPR applies, we will additionally fulfil our notification obligations to the competent EU supervisory authority and to the data subjects in accordance with Articles 33 and 34 GDPR.

13. Direct marketing (APP 7)

13.1  We use your contact information for direct marketing purposes (e.g. newsletters, product information) only if you have expressly consented or the conditions of a permitted use under APP 7 are met.

13.2  Your personal information will be included in our database only to the extent necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We do not provide your personal information to any other organisation for marketing purposes without your consent and do not share, sell or trade your personal information to non-related companies or individuals.

13.3  You may object to receiving direct marketing communications at any time, free of charge except for any transmission costs at standard rates. You can submit your objection through any of the following channels:

• the unsubscribe link in the respective marketing communication;
• by phone: 13 1858;
• by post: Freudenberg Sealing Technologies Pty Ltd, Head Office Manager – Website Privacy, 42 Kremzow Road, Brendale QLD 4500;
• by e-mail to the local contact named in section 1.

14. Automated decision-making

14.1  We do not use automated decision-making processes on our website which produce legal effects concerning you or which similarly significantly affect you. Should this change in the future, we will update this Privacy Policy accordingly and inform you transparently.

15. Your rights

15.1  Rights under the Australian Privacy Act

Under the Australian Privacy Act 1988, you have the following rights:

• right of access to the personal information held about you (APP 12);
• right to correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information (APP 13);
• right to object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing purposes (APP 7);
• right to lodge a complaint with the responsible supervisory authority.

15.2  Rights under the GDPR

Where the GDPR applies, you additionally have the following rights:

• right of access (Article 15 GDPR);
• right to rectification (Article 16 GDPR);
• right to erasure (Article 17 GDPR);
• right to restriction of processing (Article 18 GDPR);
• right to data portability (Article 20 GDPR);
• right to object (Article 21 GDPR);
• right to withdraw consent at any time with effect for the future (Article 7(3) GDPR);
• right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (Article 22 GDPR).

To exercise these rights, please contact the contacts named in section 1. We will respond within a reasonable period of time and take the necessary steps where the request is justified.

15.3  Right to lodge a complaint

If you believe that the processing of your personal information violates the Privacy Act 1988 or the APPs, you may lodge a complaint with the responsible Australian supervisory authority:

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)

GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001, Australia

Phone: 1300 363 992

Website: www.oaic.gov.au

Where the GDPR applies, you may additionally lodge a complaint with the competent EU supervisory authority. The supervisory authority responsible for Freudenberg FST GmbH is:

Der Landesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit Baden-Württemberg (LfDI BW)

Lautenschlagerstraße 20, 70173 Stuttgart, Germany

Website: www.baden-wuerttemberg.datenschutz.de

16. Links to third-party websites

16.1  This website may contain links to websites that are owned or operated by other parties. You should make your own enquiries as to the privacy policies of these parties. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such websites.

17. Changes to this Privacy Policy

17.1  From time to time it may be necessary for us to review and revise this Privacy Policy. The current version is always the one published on our website. The date of the current version is set out at the beginning of this document.

18. Contact

If you wish to update any personal information we may hold about you, or if you have any concerns, questions or comments in relation to this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

Freudenberg Sealing Technologies Pty Ltd

Head Office Manager – Website Privacy

42 Kremzow Road

Brendale QLD 4500, Australia

E-mail: sales.au@fst.com