Balanced Audit & Assurance respects the privacy rights of our clients and other organisations with whom we deal (“you”). Balanced Audit & Assurance is committed to complying with all applicable privacy laws including the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and Australian Privacy Principles. References to ‘we’, ‘our’, ‘us’ and ‘Balanced Audit & Assurance within this policy refers to all entities in the Balanced Audit & Assurance Group.
What personal information do we collect?
We only collect personal information (including health information if you are a financial planning client) necessary to manage our relationship with you, administer the products and/or services you request, notify you about our products and services and to comply with applicable Laws. Information collected is only used and disclosed in a manner consistent with applicable Laws and this privacy policy. Some of the information we collect about you is required or permitted by the Corporations Act and superannuation and taxation legislation.
The personal information we may collect, hold and/or use about you will depend on the type of product/service you request. Examples of personal information we may collect include, but are not limited to:
We will only collect, maintain and use personal information about you if it is necessary for us to adequately provide you the products and services you have requested, provide you with information about other products and services offered by Balanced Audit & Assurance Group, or to meet our obligations under applicable Laws (e.g. the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Act (2006) (AML Act).
We will at all times seek to ensure that the personal information collected and held by us is protected from misuse, loss, unauthorised access and disclosure. Additional privacy measures are employed to protect sensitive information.
You have the right not to disclose your personal information to us. However, this may limit our ability to provide you with the products and services you have requested.
Where you provide us with unsolicited personal or sensitive information which we do not require to deliver products and services to you (for example on a phone call that is recorded), such information will be subject to our normal security arrangements for client information. Where reasonable to do so, we will not hold unsolicited personal or sensitive information we do not require, however often we are unable to delete such information, particularly where it forms part of correspondence, phone records or other interactions that we do need to retain. Deletion in such circumstances is generally not reasonable or practicable.
Personal information records are held for a period considered appropriate to provide you with the product/service you require and consistent with applicable Laws and the Privacy Act. Should you cease to be a client of Balanced Audit & Assurance, any personal information which we hold about you will be maintained for the relevant periods required by Law.
How do we collect your personal information?
We collect personal information from:
Some examples of where this may occur include:
How do we use your information?
We use your information to primarily manage, deliver and administer the products and services you request. Personal information may also be used so that we can offer products and services to you (including special offers and discounts), to extend our relationship with you and to develop products and services better suited to our customers needs. We also use your personal information to identify you and conduct appropriate checks and to manage, train and develop our employees and representatives.
Your personal information may be used and analysed to meet our obligations under applicable Laws, for example the Know Your Customer requirements of the AML/CTF Act.
We respect the rights of our customers to choose the material they want to receive and how they wish to receive it, including by electronic means. You can therefore choose to receive only the materials you want by writing to PO Box 4323, EAST GOSFORD NSW 2250
Who do we disclose information to?
Your personal information may, on a confidential basis, be shared between entities within Balanced Audit & Assurance, and disclosed as necessary to contractors or third party service providers that provide services to us, such as credit reference organisations, our outsource service providers, regulatory authorities such as the Australian Taxation Office and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, financial advisers, trustees, Powers of Attorney, superannuation funds, bankers, investment bodies and External Dispute Resolution bodies). For legal reasons, disclosure may need to be made to law enforcement agencies, regulators, government agencies, courts or external advisors (e.g. to meet our obligations under the AML/CTF Act).
We will continue to use and disclose your personal information in this way whilst you remain our client, and you agree to us doing so, unless you tell us otherwise.
Balanced Audit & Assurance will only disclose personal information to third parties for the purposes of managing, delivering and administering the product and/or service you require and in accordance with this policy and applicable Laws or with your express consent. We never sell your personal information.
Information Storage & Security
Your personal information may be stored outside our offices within Australia. We will take all reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference and loss, as well as unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We have systems and processes in place for this purpose. Only authorised personnel are granted access your information. We also have in place processes designed to identify you when you deal with us by phone, online or face to face. These processes are designed to ensure we only disclose your information to you, or someone properly authorised by you. You should keep access details like user names, passwords and PINs confidential and not share them or leave them somewhere that’s easy for others to access or find.
Website
Balanced Audit & Assurance believes that the responsible use of personal information collected on its Web site is valuable to its business objectives and reputation being maintained. As part of our commitment to your privacy, we have adopted this Online Privacy Statement.
The type and extent of information we receive from you on our external Web sites depends on the information you provide to us through our contact mailboxes and/or through the registration processes on our sites. We only use your personal information to respond to your requests and to provide you with information about Balanced Audit & Assurance products. For example, if you send us an e-mail message requesting information about Balanced Audit & Assurance and our integrated products, we will use your e-mail address and other information that you supply to respond to your request. If we intend to use your personal information to inform you about other Balanced Audit & Assurance services, we will give you an opportunity to decline to receive such communications each time. If you send us a resume or curriculum vitae (CV) to apply online for a position with Balanced Audit & Assurance, we will use the information provided to match you with available opportunities, this will mean that various people will see and read your (CV).
Our Web site may invite you to register and provide information about yourself. We use the information you provide to personalise your online experience and to deliver the content most suited to your particular needs.
In addition, “cookies” (i.e. small text files placed on your computer when you first visit the site) may be used from time to time on our Web site. Most browsers now recognise when a cookie is offered and permit you to refuse or accept it. If you are not sure whether your browser has this capability, you should check with the software manufacturer, your company’s technology help desk or your Internet service provider.
Cookies are primarily used to enhance your online experience and are not used to track the navigational habits of identified visitors, unless we obtain your permission to do so. If you visit our site to read or download information, such as news stories or articles, much of the information we do collect is statistical only (e.g., the domain from which you access the Internet, the date and time you access our site, and the Internet address of the Web site from which you linked directly to our site) and not personally identifiable. We use this information about the number of visitors and their use of the sites in aggregate form to make our sites more useful and attractive to you.
In addition, Balanced Audit & Assurance has security policies and procedures in place to protect your personal information from loss, misuse, alteration or unintentional destruction. Our personnel who have access to the data have been trained to maintain the confidentiality of such information. Balanced Audit & Assurance understands the importance of protecting children’s privacy, especially in an online environment. Our sites are not intentionally designed for children. It is our policy never to knowingly collect or maintain information about children.
Balanced Audit & Assurance recognises its responsibility for protecting the online privacy of your personal information. If you have questions or comments about our administration of your personal information, please contact us by writing to PO Box 4323, EAST GOSFORD NSW 2250. You should also use this address to communicate any concerns you may have regarding compliance with our Online Privacy Policy.
Any credit card processing facility/company we contract with may also use cookies for identification and anti-fraud purposes.
Our websites contain links to other sites, which are not subject to our privacy standards policies and procedures. You will need to review those websites directly to ascertain their particular privacy policies and practices.
The contents of this statement are subject to change and are not intended to create a contract between Balanced Audit & Assurance and any individual visiting the site or who provides us with their personal information
Access and Correction
You have the right to access and correct your personal information held by us. If you believe it to be inaccurate or out of date we will then amend your records accordingly. If we disagree with the correction, we will advise you of the reasons for doing so and will make a note on your record of this.
If we are unable to provide you with access to your information, we will inform you of the reasons why.
Privacy Enquiries & Complaints
If you have an enquiry or complaint about our information handling practices, please contact us by writing to us at:
Balanced Audit & Assurance
PO Box 4323
EAST GOSFORD NSW 2250
It is our intention to resolve any complaint as quickly as possible and to your satisfaction. If you are unhappy with the response provided by us, you may refer your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner for further consideration.
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Phone: 1300 363 992 Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
Changes and getting a copy of the Policy
We encourage you to review and check our websites regularly for any updates to this Privacy Policy. We will publish the updated version on this website and by continuing to deal with us, you accept this Privacy Policy as it applies from time to time. If you would like a copy of this Privacy Policy, please contact us.
This privacy policy is made on behalf of the Balanced Audit & Assurance Group of companies.
Dated: April 2021
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