Privacy Policy

 

  1. Privacy Policy

1.1 O’Brien Accountants & Advisors (Company) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting
your privacy. The Company understands the importance you attach to information that identifies you
(your ‘personal information’) and we want to help you protect it.
1.2 We are bound by and committed to supporting, applicable privacy legislation including the Privacy
Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). This Privacy Policy explains how we
collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information that we may obtain when you submit
information to us in person, by mail or email or by visiting our website.

  1. How do we collect and hold personal information from you?

2.1 We collect personal information from you in a variety of methods. Examples of the way we collect
personal information include:

  • through communications between you and our representatives or your adviser or accountant;
  • your use of our website;
  • you completing application forms in relation to products and services;
  • through other avenues, where required to meet regulatory requirements and comply with the law;
  • you apply for employment with us, and
  • through marketing activities which request information from you, such as surveys.

2.2 Because our products and services are often offered by intermediaries such as financial planners,
solicitors or accountants, we may collect personal information about you from these third parties.

2.3 You are able to deal with us anonymously or by pseudonym unless it is impractical for us to deal with
you where you have not identified yourself or have used a pseudonym. We require certain personal
information to be able to provide you with services and information. If you do not provide us with
certain personal information, we may not be able to provide you with access to those services or
respond to your request for information.

2.4 We will only collect personal information from you where it is reasonably necessary for us to provide
our services to you or to perform our functions or activities.

2.5 We will only collect sensitive information from you with your consent, except in permitted general
situations which include:

  • the collection of the information is required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a
    court/tribunal order;
  • the collection is necessary to address a threat to an individual’s life, health or safety; and
  • permitted health situations.

2.6 We may hold your information electronically or physically and have in place appropriate data and
physical security measures and protocols to protect that information from loss or from disclosure not
contemplated by this Policy.

2.7 Compliance with our obligations under the Anti Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 and rules (AML/CTF Laws)

  1. What type of personal information do we collect?

3.1 The type of personal information we may collect from you includes (but is not limited to):

  • names, address, email, phone numbers and job titles;
  • information in identification documents such as your passport or driver’s license;
  • tax file numbers (TFNs) and other identification numbers such as Medicare number;
  • date of birth and gender;
  • financial information;
  • details of superannuation and insurance arrangements;
  • sensitive information (with your consent), such as health information or membership details of professional or trade associations or political parties;
  • bank account details, shareholdings and details of investments;
  • educational qualifications, employment history and salary;
  • visa or work permit status; and
  • personal information about your spouse and dependents.
  • information about ownership, control and beneficial ownership structures, and source of funds or source of wealth information where relevant to the services we provide or required by law.
  1. How do we use your personal information?

4.1 The Company will use the information you supply for the purpose of providing you with the service(s)
agreed under our engagement and related services, such as accounting or business advisory
services or to meet obligations we may have at law, including in relation to health and safety.

4.2 The Company may also use the information we collect for our internal business and management
processes (for example, accounting or auditing purposes), monitoring and improving our website,
keeping you informed about our services and company news, and for any other purposes that would
be reasonably expected by you and to allow us to comply with our obligations under the law.

4.3 The Company may also use personal information we have collected from you for the purpose of
marketing our services. If you do not want to receive marketing material from us, you can
unsubscribe by contacting us as detailed below:

  • For electronic communications, you can click on the unsubscribe function in the
    communication;
  • For hard copy communications, you can email the Company via obrien@obbc.com.au
    informing us that you wish to unsubscribe.

4.4 Where we provide designated services to you (as defined in the Anti Money Laundering and Counter- Terrorism Financing Act 2006) we may collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information to comply with those requirements.

This may include collecting, using and disclosing personal information to identify and verify you and your associated entities, beneficial owners, controllers and other relevant parties. It may also include undertaking initial and ongoing due diligence and complying with reporting requirements.

The kinds of personal information we collect for these purposes will depend on the designated service being provided and will be limited to the information reasonably necessary to comply with AML/CTF laws.

Identity verification may be undertaken electronically using third-party verification providers and government data sources where permitted by law.

We will only use  information for the purpose for which it was collected, unless you consent to another use or the use is otherwise permitted under the law.

If sufficient information is not provided, we may be unable to commence or continue providing services.

4.5 Job applicants and employees:

If you apply for employment with us, or are employed or engaged by us, we may collect, hold, use and disclose personal information about you to undertake reasonable identity, background, qualifications, compliance and regulatory checks (including criminal history, sanctions and politically exposed person (PEP) screening, and any fit-and-proper or suitability checks required under Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 and rules (AML/CTF laws) that we consider necessary to meet our legal, regulatory and professional obligations.

  1. How do we disclose your personal information?

5.1 Your personal information will only be disclosed:

  • to our employees, contractors, consultants, dealers, agents or advisors as required to provide our
    services to you or for related purposes.
  • to suppliers and service providers (for example accounting or auditing service providers or our
    website hosting service providers) in connection with our provision of services to you;
  • where you have consented to the disclosure;
  • where required or authorised to do so under an Australian law, court or tribunal order, or other
    governmental or regulatory body or agency;
  • in permitted health situations;
  • if we believe that the use or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary for enforcement
    related activities conducted by, or on behalf of, an enforcement body; or.
  • in connection with an actual or proposed sale, reorganization or transfer of all or part of our business,
    including as set out in clause 16.1.

5.2 We may use, store, process or backup your personal information on servers that are located
overseas (including through third part service providers). The privacy laws in other countries might not be the
same as in Australia. However, where we provide your personal information to third parties overseas, we will
take such steps as are reasonable to ensure that your information is handled and stored in accordance with

5.3 We may disclose information to:

  • electronic verification providers
  • regulatory authorities, including AUSTRAC
  • courts, tribunals or law enforcement agencies where authorised or required by law
  1. Access to your personal information

6.1 You can request us to provide you with access to personal information we hold about you by sending
us an email: obrien@obbc.com.au (no spam please) or writing to us at Suite 2, 50 Upper Heidelberg
Road, Ivanhoe, Victoria, 3079.

6.2 We may allow an inspection of your personal information in person, or provide copies or a summary
of relevant documents, depending on what is the most appropriate in the circumstances. Any charge
we make for providing access will be reasonable and will not apply to lodging a request for access.
Your request to access your personal information will be dealt with in a reasonable time.

6.3 Note that we need not provide access to personal information if a request is frivolous, or where to
provide access would pose a threat to health or public safety, unreasonable interference with
another person’s privacy, or be a breach of the law. If we refuse access, we will provide you with
reasons for doing so.

  1. Accuracy and correction

7.1 To enable us to keep our records properly, please notify us if you believe that any information we
hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date and we will take reasonable steps, in the
circumstances, to ensure that it is corrected. You can notify us by sending us an email:
obrien@obbc.com.au (no spam please) or writing to us at Suite 2, 50 Upper Heidelberg Road,
Ivanhoe, Victoria, 3079.

  1. Our security procedures

8.1 The Company takes your privacy and the privacy of our associated entities and their clients very
seriously. We will take reasonable steps in the circumstances to protect any personal information
you provide to us from misuse, interference or loss and unauthorised access, modification and
disclosure.

8.2 We will also deidentify and destroy the personal information we hold about you once our legal
obligations cease. Our security procedures are reviewed from time to time and we update them
when relevant.

8.3 Please be aware that the transmission of data over the internet is never guaranteed to be completely
secure. It is possible that third parties not under the control of the Company may be able to access
or intercept transmissions or private communications without the Company’s permission or
knowledge. The Company takes all reasonable steps, in the circumstances, to protect your personal
information. However, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to
us. Such transmissions are done at your own risk.

  1. Data breach notification

9.1 The Company is required to give notice to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
(OAIC) and affected individuals of an “eligible data breach”. This means that if we hold personal
information about you, and there is unauthorised access to or disclosure of your personal information,
and if you, as the “affected individual” would be likely to suffer serious harm from this access or
disclosure, we must notify both you and the OAIC.

9.2 “Serious harm” could include identity theft, threats to physical safety, economic and financial harm,
harm to reputation, embarrassment, discrimination or harassment. The test is whether a
“reasonable person” would expect you to suffer serious harm.

9.3 If you are likely to suffer serious harm from a data breach, we will notify you of:

  • the nature of the eligible data breach (i.e. how the information was accessed or disclosed);
  • the type of information that was accessed or disclosed;
  • the steps that we have taken to control or reduce the harm, and those that we plan to take;
  • any assistance we can offer you, such as arranging for credit monitoring;
  • anything that we can suggest you can do to assist yourself or mitigate the harm;
  • whether the breach has also been notified to the OAIC;
  • how you can contact us for information or to complain; and
  • how to make a complaint with the OAIC.

9.4 We will notify you using the same method that we usually use to communicate with you. If it is not
practicable for us to notify you personally, we will publish the notification on our website.

9.5 There are some circumstances in which we do not have to notify you of a data breach. These
include:

  • where we have taken remedial action before any serious harm has been caused by the
    breach;
  • if you have been notified of the breach by another entity;
  • if notification would be inconsistent with Commonwealth secrecy laws; or
  • where the OAIC declares that notification does not have to be given.

9.6 Depending on the nature of the breach and the harm, we may voluntarily, inform other third parties
such as the police or other regulators or professional bodies.

  1. Identifiers

10.1 We will not adopt as our own, any government identifiers you may provide to us such as TFNs and
will not store these identifiers on any information.

  1. Links to other sites

11.1 The Company’s website may provide links to other sites for you to access. You should be aware
that these other sites are not subject to this Policy or our privacy standards and procedures. You will
need to contact them directly to ascertain their privacy standards.

  1. Cookies

12.1 The Company’s website may deposit “cookies” in a visitor’s computer. Cookies are pieces of
information that a website transfers to an individual’s hard drive for record keeping purposes.
Cookies are only sent back to the website that deposited them when a visitor returns to that site.

12.2 Cookies make it easier for you by saving your preferences while you are at our site. We never save
personal identifiable information in cookies. Most web browsers are initially set up to accept cookies.
You can, however, reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent.

  1. Changes to our Privacy Policy

13.1 From time to time, we may vary this policy for any reason. We will publish any changes on this website.

13.2 By continuing to use our website and continuing to provide us with your information, you confirm
your acceptance of these changes. This policy was last updated June 2023.

  1. Complaints resolution

14.1 The Company is committed to providing a fair and responsible system for the handling of complaints
from parties whose personal information we hold. If you have any concerns regarding the way we
have handled your privacy, please send us an email at obrien@obbc.com.au or write to us at Suite 2,
50 Upper Heidelberg Road, Ivanhoe, Victoria, 3079. We will address any concerns you have
through our complaints handling process and we will inform you of the outcome of your complaint
within a reasonable timeframe.

14.2 If after receiving our response, you still consider that your privacy complaint has not been resolved,
you may refer your concerns to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at
www.oaic.gov.au

  1. Disclaimer

15.1 By using the Company’s website, you signify your understanding and agreement to comply with all
terms and conditions and confirm your acceptance of the terms of this Policy and consent to the use
of your personal information as set out in this Policy.

15.2 If you do not agree with the terms of this Policy, please do not use the website or otherwise provide
us with your personal information.

  1. Business Assignment

16.1 In the event of a sale, reorganisation or transfer of all or part of our business (Business Assignment),
you agree to the transfer of your personal information to the purchaser of the business, as
reasonably required for the ongoing provision of services to you, and consistent with the terms of this
Policy (unless otherwise permitted or required by law).

16.2 In the event of a Business Assignment, to the extent reasonably practicable, you will be notified of
the transfer of your personal information.