Privacy Policy
Hedland Accounting & Finance is committed to treating the personal information we collect in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act). This policy sets out how Hedland Accounting & Finance handles personal information.
This privacy policy does not apply to personal information collected by Hedland Accounting & Finance that is exempted under the Privacy Act, for example employee records.
Our privacy policy will be reviewed regularly to take account of changes in legislation, technology, and our operations and practices. We aim to ensure the policy is appropriate to the changing environment. We will inform you of any changes we make to this privacy policy as necessary.
Our privacy policy is based on openness about how we use and protect your information.
1. Purposes for which Hedland Accounting & Finance collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information:
We only collect, hold, use and disclose personal information which is reasonably necessary to ensure that we are able to provide you with the products and services that are appropriate to your needs. We will outline to you when you engage our services the purposes for which we will collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information.
2. Kinds of personal information Hedland Accounting & Finance collects:
Due to the nature of the products and services we provide, and the requirements of legislation and regulations, we ask for a range of personal information from our customers.
The types of personal information we may collect can include details such as:
- Names, employment titles, contact details;
- Date of birth and gender;
- Information in identification documents (e.g. passport, driver’s licence);
- Tax file numbers and other government related identifiers;
- Assets and liabilities;
- Educational qualifications and employment history ;
- Personal income;
- Visa and work permit status;
- Bank account details;
- Shareholdings and details of investments;
- Superannuation details;
- Tax and financial statements;
- Information regarding insurance;
- Personal information about your spouse and dependants.
It may be necessary in some circumstances for Hedland Accounting & Finance to collect sensitive information about you in order to provide specific services. The types of sensitive information we may collect include:
- Health status;
- Ethnic origin;
- Details of any membership/s to professional associations;
- Criminal record.
You have a right to refuse to provide us with your personal information or to anonymity or the use of a pseudonym. However, if you do refuse to provide such information, or request the use of anonymity or a pseudonym we may be unable to complete or fulfil the purpose for which such information was collected, including providing you or our clients with the services we were engaged to perform.
3. Collection, holding, and using of personal information:
(a) Collection – General:
When we collect, hold, use and disclose personal or sensitive information it must be done through lawful and fair means. Consent must be obtained to collect, hold, use and disclose personal information. We are not required to obtain your consent to collect, hold, use of disclose your personal or sensitive information if the collection is required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court/tribunal order. There are other exceptions to the requirement of obtaining your consent in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles. If you would like more information on these requirements, please contact our Privacy Officer.
(b) Methods of collection:
Hedland Accounting & Finance use a variety of formats for the collection of personal and sensitive information. These include:
- Requiring clients to complete a Client Profile or other forms;
- Receipt of emails, letters and other correspondence;
- Telephone calls;
- Appointments in person;
- Publicly available records;
- Through a customer’s personal representative;
- Through use of our website, such as via contact mailboxes or online enquiry forms.
In every circumstance we will attempt to obtain such personal and sensitive information directly from you. If that is unreasonable or impracticable, we will attempt to obtain such information from other sources in accordance with Clause 3(a) above.
(c) Collection of someone else’s personal information:
You should only provide us with someone else’s personal information where you have their express consent to do so and it is for the purpose of us providing services to you. Matters in this policy should be communicated to any person whose information you collect and provide to us. In providing such information you agree that you have obtained the revenant consent and this is authorised to do so.
(d) Unsolicited personal information:
There may be circumstances where we are provided with personal information which we did not actively seek. An example may be misdirected mail, or an excess of documents provided to us by clients.
In such situations, our Privacy Officer will make a determination on whether we could have obtained the information lawfully in accordance with the APPs. If the information was not lawfully obtained it will be destroyed or de-identified. We will try to notify the relevant person, whose information has been mistakenly received, if this situation arises.
4. Security of personal information
Safeguarding the privacy of your information is important to us. We hold personal information in a combination of secure computer storage facilities and paper based files and take steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, loss, interference, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
Hedland Accounting & Finance trains its employees carefully on handling personal information and confidentiality of such information.
Once we have no purpose for holding your personal information, we will take all reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify the information.
5. Disclosure of Personal Information
We will not use or disclose personal information collected by us for any purpose other than:
- the purposes for which it was provided or secondary related purposes in circumstances where you would reasonably expect such use or disclosure;
- where you have consented to such disclosure;
- where the National Privacy Principles authorise use or disclosure where required or authorised under law, in circumstances relating to public health and safety and in connection with certain operations by or on behalf of an enforcement body.
In providing our services, Hedland Accounting & Finance may need to disclose personal information to a third party. This will be done to the extent that it is permitted by law and set out in this Policy.
Examples of the types of third parties we may disclose personal information to include:
- companies or individuals contracted to assist us in providing services or who perform functions on our behalf (such as mailing houses, specialist consultants, barristers and solicitors, contractors or temporary employees to handle peak period workloads, information technology service providers, superannuation fund trustees, insurance providers, fund managers, market research organisations and other product providers)
- courts, tribunals and regulatory authorities, as required or authorised by law and in accordance with the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants
- auditors or compliance officers, as required by Law or Professional Associations
- anyone else to whom you consent, such as banks, accountants and other financial institutions.
The Corporation’s Act has also provided the Australian Securities and Investments Commission with the authority to inspect certain personal information that is kept on our files about you. Where such an inspection takes place, this may involve the disclosure of your personal information to representatives of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Where you engage us to attend to your tax affairs we will assume (unless you advise otherwise) that you have specifically authorised us to deal directly with the Australian Tax Office (the “ATO”), the New Zealand Inland Revenue or other taxation agency in a foreign jurisdiction regarding day to day type matters. If, in the course of our dealings with these bodies, they request information regarding you that we believe is outside of the scope of our authority, e.g., Tax Office audit, we will request your specific authority before complying with the relevant request.
If we are required by law to disclose information about you or your organisation, we must co-operate fully. However, where it is possible and lawful for us to do so, we will advise you that the information has been disclosed
Hedland Accounting & Finance utilises some service providers overseas to process data and help deliver services to you. We may disclose your personal information to these providers from time to time. Such overseas disclosure would be to India or another country as advised. When required, your personal information will only be disclosed to an overseas person or business in the following circumstances:
- Where the overseas recipient has signed a contract with us which creates legal obligations to comply with Australian Privacy Law (i.e. the APPs); or
- If the disclosure is required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court/tribunal order.
Hedland Accounting & Finance maintains effective control of your information at all times, including by ensuring that all third parties are subject to strict controls that limit access and subsequent handling of your information to the extent strictly necessary to perform the relevant function and protect your information from unauthorised use and disclosure.
Hedland Accounting & Finance utilises third party providers (such as IT providers and market researchers) for its business and to deliver services to you. It may be necessary for us to disclose non-sensitive personal information to these providers from time to time. Such disclosure will be in accordance with this Privacy Policy and the APPs.
6. Privacy on our websites
The Hedland Accounting & Finance website uses Google Analytics or other third party software to analyse aggregate user behaviour. Google Analytics and such other software uses first party cookies, which are text files placed on your computer for the purpose of anonymously identifying your session. These cookies are not used to grant Hedland Accounting & Finance access to your personally identifiable information. Non-identifiable information (such as the pages you visit) may be tracked. By directing your browser to delete your cookies, this data will be erased.
The information is collected using first party cookies, meaning that only Hedland Accounting & Finance is able to access your information. Your information may be aggregated with information from other users for the purpose of improving our website and offerings. We will not associate any data gathered from our website with any personally identifiable information, unless you explicitly submit that information (e.g. your email address) via our online information form.
Any links to third party websites on Hedland Accounting & Finance website are not covered by our privacy policy.
7. Direct marketing
Hedland Accounting & Finance may engage in direct marketing to you from time to time.
When required, your personal information will only be used or disclosed for direct marketing where the information is not sensitive information, is collected directly from you and there is an easy means to opt out of such marketing (and such an opt out request has not been made) in the following circumstances:
- Where you would expect Hedland Accounting & Finance to use or disclose the information for direct marketing purposes; or
- You have consented to the use or disclosure of the information for direct marketing purposes.
If you do not wish to receive these materials, please contact our privacy officer.
8. Access to personal information
You have the right to access any personal information regarding you that Hedland Accounting & Finance holds. This is subject to some limited exceptions, which the Privacy Officer can provide further information on.
We will, prior to providing access in accordance with this policy, require you to provide evidence of your identity. We will not provide you access to personal information which would reveal any confidential formulae or the detail of any in house evaluative decision-making process but may instead provide you with the result of the formulae or process or an explanation of that result.
We will not provide you with access to your personal information if:
- providing access would pose a serious threat to the life or health of a person;
- providing access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of others;
- the information related to existing or anticipated legal proceedings between us, and would not be discoverable in those proceedings;
- providing access would reveal our intentions in relation to negotiations with you in such a way as to prejudice those negotiations;
- providing access would be unlawful;
- denying access is required, or authorised by or under law;
- providing access would be likely to prejudice certain operations by, or on behalf of an enforcement body, or an enforcement body requests that access not be provided on the grounds of national security.
We will endeavour to respond to any request for access within 14 to 30 days depending on the complexity of the information and/ or the request. If your request is urgent please indicate this clearly. In the event we refuse you access to your personal information, we will provide you with an explanation for that refusal.
Hedland Accounting & Finance may charge a fee only to cover the cost of locating, retrieving, reviewing and copying any material requested. We will not charge any fee to make the request or to for us to give effect to the request.
9. Responding to your request:
If your request is approved, we will provide you with access to the information in the manner requested if it is reasonable and practicable to do so.
10. Correction of personal information
Hedland Accounting & Finance endeavours to ensure that the personal information it holds is accurate and up-to-date.
You are able to make a request to correct the information by contacting our Privacy Officer, or by telephoning or emailing us with your corrected information. In some limited circumstances your request may be refused or partially refused.
11. Procedure if your request to access or correct is refused
There may be limited circumstances where your request is refused or partially refused.
If this occurs we will give you a written notice that sets out:
- The reasons for the refusal, including the reasons why access cannot be granted in an alternative way (except where it would be unreasonable to provide those reasons);
- How to make a complaint about the refusal;
- Any other matter as prescribed by the regulations.
If your request to correct is refused you have the option of submitting a statement associated with your personal information. For more information contact the Privacy Officer.
12. How to make a complaint
If you consider that any action of Hedland Accounting & Finance breaches this policy or the Australian Privacy Principles, you are able to make a complaint. Once we have received your complaint, it will be assessed and acted upon within a reasonable time.
To make a complaint please contact our Privacy Officer. If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
13. Contact us
If you have any queries in respect of our Policy or to request access to your information or make a complaint, please contact us by email or in writing to our Privacy officer;
Dushyant Gahlaut
Privacy Officer
Hedland Accounting & Finance
PO BOX 320
Port Hedland WA 6721
Ph:08 9173 2060
E: Reception@haaf.com.au