Privacy Policy
About this privacy policy
This document sets out the policy of Taxcor Business Accountants (Taxcor) ABN 88 406 199 592 relating to the privacy of your personal information (Privacy Policy).
Taxcor is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information it collects and receives. Taxcor is bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (APP) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
This Privacy Policy applies to all your dealings with the Taxcor whether at Taxcor’s office/s, via the Taxcor’s websites or with an Taxcor advisor (in person or over the phone).
This privacy policy seeks to explain:
- the kinds of personal information that Taxcor collects and holds;
- how Taxcor collects and holds your personal information;
- why the Taxcor collects, holds, uses and discloses your personal information;
- how you may access and seek the correction of your personal information as held by Taxcor;
- how you may complain about a breach of the APPs or a registered APP code (if any) that Taxcor are bound by, and how Taxcor will deal with such a complaint; and
- if Taxcor is likely to disclose your personal information to overseas recipients and the countries in which such recipients are likely to be located (if it is practicable to specify those countries in this policy).
- You accept this Privacy Policy and expressly consent to Taxcor’s collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy by using the Taxcor websites www.Taxcor.com.au or using services provided by Taxcor.
Your personal information
Taxcor only collects personal information (being information that identifies or could reasonably identify an individual) where Taxcor considers it to be reasonably necessary for Taxcor functions and activities.
Taxcor collects personal information to service the needs of its clients and to carry out its professional duties. Information includes:
- name, D.O.B, gender, Tax File Number and address details;
- work history, current employment and position;
- contact details (including phone, fax and e-mail);
- details of family members;
- details of financial information and so on.
Your Sensitive Information
Sensitive information is information about you that reveals your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs or affiliations, membership of a professional or trade association, membership of a trade union, details of health, disability, sexual orientation or criminal record.
It is Taxcor policy to only collect your sensitive information where it is reasonably necessary for Taxcor functions or activities and either you have consented or the Taxcor are required or authorised under law to do so.
How taxcor collects your personal information
Taxcor will solicit your personal information by lawful and fair means directly from you unless it is unreasonable or impracticable to do so.
Taxcor will collect directly personal information:
- by email;
- over the telephone;
- by written correspondence (such as letters, faxes);
- on hard copy forms (including registration forms, competition entry forms and surveys);
- in person (at meetings, job interviews, or seminars); or
- through the Taxcor website (online purchases, subscription to newsletters, web form submission, online polls and surveys or participate in a live chat);
- at seminars and functions (if you fill out an assessment form or leave your business card);
- electronic systems such as online forms and so on.
Taxcor may collect your personal information from third parties including:
- your legal representatives;
- employers;
- bank or financial institutions;
- accountants;
- direct marketing database providers;
- the Australian Tax Office (ATO);
- the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC);
- professional indemnity insurance providers; and
- public sources (phone directories, membership lists, professional and trade associations, ASIC, bankruptcy or court registry searches).
Unsolicited personal information
Unsolicited personal information is personal information Taxcor receives that Taxcor has taken no active steps to collect (such as a job application sent to Taxcor by an individual on their own initiative, rather than in response to an advertisement).
Taxcor may keep records of unsolicited personal information if the information is reasonably necessary for one or more of Taxcor functions or activities. If not, it is Taxcor policy to destroy the unsolicited information or ensure that the information is de-identified, provided it is lawful and reasonable to do so.
Using your personal information
The main purposes for which Taxcor collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information are to provide services offered by Taxcor.
Taxcor may also use your data to monitor for any unauthorised use of the Taxcor’s website, content or material to Taxcor’s services.
Purpose of collection
If Taxcor collects personal information for a purpose (the primary purpose), Taxcor will not use or disclose the information for any other purpose (the secondary purpose) unless:
- you would have consented to the use or disclosure of the your personal information; or
- in relation to the use or disclosure of your personal information:
- you would reasonably expect Taxcor to use or disclose your information for the secondary purpose and the secondary purpose is directly related to the primary purpose (sensitive information) or related to the primary purpose (not sensitive information);
- use or disclosure is required or authorised under Australian law or a court/tribunal;
- a permitted situation exists in relation to Taxcor’s use or disclosure of the information;
- a permitted health situation exists in relation to use or disclosure of the information; or
- Taxcor reasonably believes that the use or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary for one or more enforcement related activities conducted by, or on behalf of, an enforcement body.
If Taxcor uses or discloses your personal information because Taxcor reasonably believes that the use or disclosure of your information is reasonably necessary for one or more enforcement related activities conducted by, or on behalf of, an enforcement body, Taxcor will make a written note of the use or disclosure.
Do you have to provide personal information?
You can refuse to provide personal information. However, a refusal may mean that the service you requested will not be provided.
Sharing your personal information
Taxcor may use and disclose personal information for related purposes to third parties. Types of organisations to whom Taxcor may disclose your personal information includes:
- government bodies such as ATO, ASIC, Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority and the police or courts (as required by law);
- professional or government organisations; and
- Taxcor’s contracted service providers including:
- information technology service providers;
- planning research and development providers;
- publishers of Taxcor’s newsletters;
- conference organisers;
- marketing and communications agencies, call centres and call training centers;
- mailing houses, freight and courier services;
- printers & distributors of marketing material; and
- external advisers (recruiters, auditors & lawyers).
Taxcor does not provide, rent, sell or exchange your personal information to third parties without your prior approval.
Government Identifiers
Taxcor does not adopt, use or disclose government related identifiers as Taxcor’s own identifier for you unless:
- it’s required/authorised by law or court/tribunal order;
- it’s reasonably necessary for Taxcor to verify your identity;
- it’s reasonably necessary to fulfil Taxcor’s obligations; or
- Taxcor reasonably believes it is reasonably necessary for one or more enforcement related activities.
Cookies
To improve Taxcor’s services, Taxcor sometimes collects de- identified information from web users. Although the information collected does not identify an individual, it does provide Taxcor with useful statistics that permits Taxcor to analyse and improve its web services.
When you visit the Taxcor website, a record of your visit is logged and the following data is supplied by your browser:
- your IP address and/or domain name;
- your operating system (type of browser & platform);
- the date, time and length of your visit; and
- the resources you accessed or downloaded.
Taxcor uses this information to customise information for website visitors and to collect aggregated data for the purposes of analysis, quality control, administering and improving the website. It is not used for any other purpose.
Aggregated data may be shared with third parties. You can stop your browser from accepting new cookies or disable cookies altogether by changing your browser preferences.
Links to other websites
Links to third party websites that Taxcor does not operate or control are provided for your convenience. Taxcor is not responsible for privacy practices of websites not covered by this Privacy Policy. Third party websites should have their own privacy and security policies which Taxcor encourages you to read before supplying any information to them.
Direct marketing
If Taxcor holds your personal information, Taxcor may use or disclose that personal information (other than sensitive information) for direct marketing if:
- Taxcor collected the information from you; and
- you would reasonably expect Taxcor to use or disclose the information for that purpose; and
- Taxcor provided you with a simple way to opt out of receiving direct marketing from Taxcor; and
- you have not made such an opt out request to Taxcor.
Taxcor may also use or disclose your information (other than sensitive information) for direct marketing if:
- Taxcor collected the information from you and you would not reasonably expect Taxcor to use or disclose the information for that purpose or someone other than you; and
- either:
- you have consented to the use or disclosure of the information for that purpose; or
- it is impracticable to obtain that consent; and
- Taxcor provided you with a simple way to opt out of receiving direct marketing from Taxcor; and
- in each direct marketing communication with you:
- Taxcor includes a prominent statement that you can request to opt out; or
- Taxcor otherwise draw your attention to the fact that you can request to opt out; and
- you have not made such a request to Taxcor.
Taxcor can use or disclose your sensitive information for the purpose of direct marketing if you have consented to the use or disclosure of that information for direct marketing.
Taxcor may also use or disclose your personal information for direct marketing if:
- Taxcor are a contracted service provider for a Commonwealth contract; and
- Taxcor collected your information in order to meet an obligation under that contract; and
- the use or disclosure is necessary to meet (directly or indirectly) such an obligation.
If Taxcor has collected the personal information that Taxcor used to send you direct marketing material from a third party, you can ask Taxcor to notify you of its source of information. It is Taxcor’s policy is to do so unless it is unreasonable or impracticable.
How to opt out of direct marketing
If Taxcor uses or discloses your personal information for the purpose of direct marketing, you may request not to receive direct marketing communications from Taxcor.
If Taxcor uses or discloses your personal information for the purpose of facilitating direct marketing by other organisations, you may request that the Taxcor does not use or disclose your information for this purpose.
Taxcor will give effect to your request not to receive direct marketing from Taxcor or an entity facilitated by Taxcor free of charge within a reasonable time after the request is made.
Collection notices
At or before the time of collection of personal information from you, or as soon as practicable afterwards, Taxcor will take reasonable steps to notify you or to otherwise ensure that you are aware of:
- Taxcor’s contact details;
- the fact that Taxcor collects, or has collected, your personal information and the circumstances of that collection (if collected from someone other than you);
- if the collection is required or authorised by law or a court/tribunal order;
- why the personal information was collected by Taxcor;
- the consequences to you if Taxcor does not collect all or some of your personal information;
- any other entity, body or person, or the types of any other entities, bodies or persons, to which Taxcor usually disclose personal information;
- if Taxcor is likely to disclose your personal information to overseas recipients and if so, the countries in which such recipients are likely to be located (if it is practicable to specify those countries or to otherwise make the individual aware of them); and
- this privacy policy and that it explains how:
- you may access personal information held by Taxcor and seek the correction of the information;
- you may complain about a breach of the APP, or a registered APP code (if any) that Taxcor is bound by & how Taxcor will deal with a complaint.
Taxcor will generally include these matters in a collection notice. For example, where personal information is collected on a paper or website form, Taxcor will include a collection notice, or a clear link to it, on the form.
Collection notices may provide more specific information than this Privacy Policy in relation to particular collections of personal information. The terms of this Privacy Policy are subject to any specific provisions contained in collection notices and in terms and conditions of particular offers, products and services. Taxcor encourages you to read those provisions carefully.
Protecting your personal information
Taxcor stores information in different ways, including paper and electronic form. Taxcor takes reasonable steps to protect it from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure including:
- secure password protected databases for storage;
- confidentiality requirements of staff;
- security measures for access to Taxcor’s systems including firewalls;
- servers kept at a secure location with limited access;
- document storage security requirements;
- access granted only those verified to receive personal information;
- limited the provision of personal information to third parties and subject to guarantees about use; and
- Taxcor’s staff are trained to deal with the information.
Taxcor cannot guarantee that personal information will be protected against unauthorized access or misuse and Taxcor does not accept any liability for the improper actions of unauthorised third parties.
Taxcor will retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil Taxcor’s obligations to you, to protect Taxcor’s legal interests, to comply with an Australian law or as otherwise stated to you when Taxcor collected your personal information.
Disclosing your personal information overseas
Taxcor may disclose your personal information to other third party service providers operating outside Australia who work with Taxcor or one of Taxcor’s suppliers, agents, or partners. Taxcor may also store your personal information on servers based overseas or in the “cloud” or other types of networked or electronic storage.
Before disclosing your personal information to an overseas third party, Taxcor will first take reasonable steps to ensure that the overseas recipient:
- does not breach the APPs in relation to your personal information; or
- the recipient of the information is subject to a law, or binding scheme, that has the effect of protecting your personal information in a way that is substantially similar to the way in which the APPs protect the information.
To make it easy for you to deal with Taxcor and provide you with a more personal and consistent experience, Taxcor may exchange and combine personal information with related entities for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
If your personal information is collected using a document that references this Privacy Policy, you are taken to consent to the disclosure, transfer, storing or processing of your personal information outside of Australia.
You acknowledge and understand that by providing such consent:
- Taxcor will not be required to take steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure that such third parties comply with the APPs;
- if the overseas recipient handles your personal information in breach of the APPs:
- Taxcor will not be liable under the Act; and
- you will not be able to seek redress under Act.
- the overseas recipient may not be subject to any privacy law or principles similar to the APPs;
- you may be unable to seek redress overseas;
- the overseas recipient is subject to a foreign law that could compel the disclosure of personal information to a third party, such as an overseas authority.
If you withdraw consent, Taxcor will not rely on this consent when dealing with your information going forward.
Anonymity
You have the option of not identifying yourself or using a pseudonym when dealing with Taxcor provided that is it lawful and practicable.
Taxcor will try to accommodate a request for anonymity if possible. However, your right to anonymity does not apply in relation to a matter if:
- Taxcor is required or authorised by or by law or a court/tribunal order to deal with individuals who have identified themselves; or
- it is impracticable for Taxcor to deal with individuals who have not identified themselves.
It is Taxcor’s policy to enable you to access Taxcor’s website and make general queries without having to identify yourself and to enable you to respond to Taxcor’s surveys anonymously.
In some cases however, if you don’t provide Taxcor with your information when requested, Taxcor may not be able to respond to your request or provide you with a service.
Accessing to your personal information
You have the right, upon request, to access any of Taxcor’s records containing your personal information.
To request access to your information please contact Taxcor’s privacy officer. Taxcor will respond to your request to access your information within a reasonable period of time.
On the basis that it is reasonable and practicable to do so, Taxcor will give you access to the information requested.
If Taxcor refuses your request to access personal information, Taxcor will provide a written notice setting out the reasons for the refusal. Reasons for a refusal may include if it:
- poses a serious threat to the life, health or safety;
- would have an unreasonable impact on others’ privacy;
- would be unlawful, frivolous, vexatious or relates to legal proceedings;
- reveals Taxcor’s intentions or prejudice any negotiations;
- is required or authorised by law or court/tribunal order;
- would be likely to prejudice enforcement related activities; or
- relates to commercially sensitive decisions and so on.
When you make a request to access personal information, Taxcor will require you to provide some form of identification (such as a driver’s licence or passport) so Taxcor can verify that you are the person to whom the information relates.
Help us to keep your personal information accurate
Taxcor will take reasonable steps to ensure Taxcor’s records of personal information are accurate, up to date and complete.
The accuracy of information depends to a large extent on the information you provide. If you do not give Taxcor all the information Taxcor may require, or the information provided is inaccurate or incomplete, then the services and information Taxcor provide may be affected.
If you think there is something wrong with the information Taxcor holds about you please contact Taxcor’s privacy officer to:
- let Taxcor know if there are any errors; and
- keep Taxcor up-to-date with any changes; and
- Taxcor will try to correct your personal information.
Taxcor will respond to your request to correct your information in a reasonable period of time (Charge may apply). If Taxcor refuses, Taxcor will give you a written notice setting out the reasons for the refusal.
If Taxcor does correct your personal information and Taxcor has previously disclosed your personal information to a third party, upon your request, Taxcor will notify that third party of the correction unless it is impracticable or unlawful to do so.
Dealing with spam and do not call register
Taxcor will not send you any commercial electronic messages unless it is permitted by the Spam Act. Any commercial electronic message that Taxcor sends will identify Taxcor as the sender and will include relevant contact details and an unsubscribe facility.
Taxcor will not call you on a number listed on the Do Not Call Register unless it is permitted under the Do Not Call Register Act and related instruments.
If you do not wish to receive commercial electronic messages from Taxcor or do not wish Taxcor to call you on a particular number, please contact the privacy officer.
Resolving your privacy issues
If you have any issues you wish to discuss with Taxcor or if you’re concerned about how Taxcor has collected or managed your personal information please contact the privacy officer.
For information about privacy or if your concerns are not resolved to your satisfaction, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au and on 1300 363 992.
Changes to this privacy policy
Taxcor may, from time to time, review and update this privacy policy to take account of new laws and changes to Taxcor’s operations. Changes to this Privacy Policy will not affect Taxcor’s use of previously provided information.
How to access this privacy policy
A printed copy of the privacy policy can be obtained free of charge by contacting Taxcor’s Privacy Officer.
Taxcor privacy officer
Taxcor’s privacy officer can be contacted at:
- Email: advice@taxcor.com.au
- Telephone: 02 4303 7802
- Fax: 02 8208 3242
- Post: PO Box 182, Wyong, NSW 2259.