Privacy Policy Statement
Your privacy is important to us. This statement outlines our policy on how we manage the personal information we hold about our customers and others.
It is our policy to respect the confidentiality of information and the privacy of individuals. We recognise the National Privacy Principles contained in the Commonwealth Privacy Act.
Our Privacy Policy Statement will be reviewed from time to time to make sure it remains appropriate to the changing environment. Any information we hold will be governed by our most current Privacy Policy Statement.
1. Our privacy policy is based on openness
We are committed to being open about how we use personal information. Where we ask for personal information, we will generally make known the purposes for which the information is required and to whom the information may be disclosed.
2. Why do we collect personal information?
An important part of our business is to understand and meet the needs of our customers. In order to do this effectively, at times we need to collect certain personal information.
We also maintain records of our customers and others so that we can keep them informed of our business activities including our range of products and services that are available from time to time. Collecting and retaining personal information may also allow us to meet legal obligations that we might have.
3. What kinds of personal information may we ask for?
We may ask for a range of personal information from our customers and others. This may include (but is not limited to) name, address, contact details and details of your business.
We obtain most of this information directly from our customers through application or other forms and documents, and from maintaining records of information provided in the course of ongoing customer service. We may also obtain information from other sources.
We may ask for other information voluntarily from time to time to enable us to improve our service or consider the needs of our customers or potential customers.
If you choose not to provide information we need to fulfil your request for a specific product or service, we may not be able to provide you with the requested product or service.
4. How do we use this information and who may we disclose it to?
We may send you marketing material from time to time. We will do this when we think that it will be useful to you. However, we are conscious of the need to respect your privacy.
Unless you are informed otherwise, the personal information we hold is used for establishing and managing your products or services, reviewing your ongoing needs, enhancing customer service and product options and giving you ongoing information or opportunities that we believe may be relevant to your needs and circumstances.
We use personal information we collect about our customers to fulfil our legal obligations and to improve and develop the products and services that we provide to our customers.
Depending on the product or service concerned, this means that personal information may be disclosed to:
- other areas within our company that may provide other services;
- our external service providers and specialist advisers who have been contracted to provide us with administrative, financial, research or other services;
- regulatory authorities as required or authorised by law;
- credit reporting or reference agencies;
- anyone authorised by an individual, as specified by that individual or by a contract that we have with you.
Generally, we require that organisations outside our company who handle or obtain personal information as service providers to us acknowledge the confidentiality of this information, undertake to respect any individual's right to privacy and comply with the National Privacy Principles and this policy.
5. Management of personal information
We train our employees who handle personal information to respect the confidentiality of customer information and to respect the privacy of individuals. We regard breaches of privacy very seriously and will impose appropriate remedial action, including dismissal.
How do we store personal information?
Maintaining the privacy of your information is important to us. This applies whether you interact with us personally, by phone, mail, over the internet or by other electronic medium. We hold personal information in a combination of secure computer storage facilities and paper-based files and other records. We take steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We may need to maintain records for a significant period of time. However, when we consider information is no longer needed, we will remove any details that will identify you or we will securely destroy the records.
How do we keep personal information accurate and up-to-date?
We endeavour to ensure that the personal information we hold is accurate and up-to-date. We realise that this information may change with changes of address and other personal circumstances. We can generally update your customer information over the telephone or via written correspondence.
6. You have the right to check what personal information about you is held by us. Under the Commonwealth Privacy Act, you have the right to obtain a copy of any personal information which we hold about you and to advise us of any perceived inaccuracy. The Act does set out some exceptions to this. To make a request, you will need to make application to us verifying your identity and specifying what information you require.
We will acknowledge your request and respond to it promptly. We may charge a fee to cover the cost of verifying your request and locating, retrieving, reviewing and copying any material requested. If the information sought is extensive, we will advise the likely cost in advance and can help to be more specific with your request if required.
7. What if you have a complaint?
If you consider that any action of ours breaches this Privacy Policy Statement or the National Privacy Principles or otherwise doesn't respect your privacy, you can make a complaint. This will be acted upon promptly. To make a complaint please telephone us on + 61 7 3025 3244.
If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint you can telephone the Commonwealth Privacy Commissioner's hotline on 1300 363 992 or contact the Commonwealth Privacy Commissioner through the website www.privacy.gov.au
8. How to contact us
If you want to make a general enquiry about our privacy policy or change your personal information or obtain access to your personal information please telephone us on +61 7 3025 3244.
Privacy: Web supplement
This statement outlines some privacy issues specific to our website.
1. Interactive tools
Our website may provide you with interactive tools designed to help you obtain information our products and services. We may collect personal information you enter when using any interactive tools on our website.
2. What is a Cookie and how do we use cookies?
Cookies are small pieces of text stored on your computer to help us determine the type of browser and settings you are using, where you have been on the web site, when you return to the web site, where you came from, and to ensure your information is secure. The purpose of this information is to provide you with a more relevant and effective experience on our website, including presenting web pages according to your needs or preferences.
We use cookies to give you access to certain pages of the website without having to log in each time you visit. We may also use independent external service providers to track the traffic and usage on the web site.
Cookies are frequently used on many websites on the internet and you can choose if and how a cookie will be accepted by changing your preferences and options in your browser. You may not be able to access some parts of our website if you choose to disable the cookie acceptance in your browser. We therefore recommend you enable cookie acceptance to benefit from all the services on our website.
Technology improvements
We are constantly striving to improve functionality on our website through technology changes. This may mean a change to the way in which personal information is collected or used. The impact of any technology changes which may affect your privacy will be notified in this Web Supplement at the time of the change.
3. Links to third party websites
Our website may have links to external third party websites that may benefit the user.
External websites should contain their own privacy policy statements and we recommend that you review them when using such websites.
Please note, however, that third party websites are not covered by our privacy policy and these sites are not subject to our privacy standards and procedures.