PART A – PRIVACY POLICY:

Accountants Australia manages your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (“the Privacy Act”). Our Privacy Policy seeks to safeguard the privacy of your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles contained within the Privacy Act.

In addition to this Privacy Policy, we may also have other specific and additional privacy provisions that apply to certain activities and promotions. If there is any inconsistency between the provisions of this Privacy Policy and other specific and additional privacy provisions, the specific and additional privacy provisions will apply.

It is our policy not to pass on any personal information that you have provided to us unless we have your expressed consent to do so. An exception to this is where we may be required by law to disclose certain information.

1. The personal information we collect and hold

The personal information we may collect and hold includes:

  1. Name, date of birth and address including email address;
  2. Tax File Number;
  3. Phone number and mobile phone number;
  4. Occupations, qualifications, memberships and other accreditations;
  5. Financial records;
  6. Insurance particulars and insurance related health information;
  7. Superannuation policy or policies; and
  8. Additional information from you regarding family relationships and other business-related connections.

Accountants Australia may record information about visitors to our website but not the identity of those visitors. We may collect information about the date, time and duration of those visits and which pages of our website are being commonly accessed. We may also use “cookies” that allow an organisation to track websites browsed by you. You may be able to adjust your browser to disable cookies. If you do disable cookies, you may not be able to interact with our website or take advantage of the improved functionality that cookies enable.

1.2 How we collect and hold your personal information

We will usually collect your personal information directly from you. If that is not possible, we may collect your personal information from your personal representative or associate with your expressed consent.

As a general rule, we do not collect any sensitive information about you unless we have your expressed consent and it is necessary to do so to provide the services required in accordance with our engagements.

In some instances, you may provide us with information relating to an associate of yours. Please ensure that you are authorised by the associate to provide the information to Accountants Australia.

1.3 How we use your personal information

Accountants Australia collects and holds your personal information in order to complete the services we are engaged to do or to refer you to other service providers. These services may include audit, accounting, taxation, bookkeeping, financial planning or finance brokering.

We will not sell, transfer, assign or rent your personal information. In the provision of our professional services, we may use third party providers to assist us in the performance of some of the services. The providers have established procedures and controls designed to protect client confidentiality and maintain data security and will be required to abide by Accountants Australia’s privacy policy.

1.4 The circumstances under which we may disclose information about you

We may need to disclose your personal information in certain circumstances, such as when we need to contact the Australian Taxation Office in the performance of our professional services for you.

We may also disclose your personal information with your express consent where disclosure is necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was submitted.

Please note that if Accountants Australia is required by law to release information about you, we are required to cooperate completely.

1.5 What you can do if you believe the information we hold about you is incorrect

If you believe that the information we hold about you is inaccurate or out of date, please contact us and we will review and update as required.

Email: admin@accountantsaustralia.com.au
Phone: (08) 9256 3088
Mail: PO Box 1866, Canning Vale DC WA 6970

2. The storage of your personal information

Accountants Australia stores your personal information in Australia whenever it is possible and commercially feasible. We do use a number of different types of accounting software and online tools in the performance of our services. These software and tools include (but are not limited to) Xero, Quickbooks Online, MYOB Banklink and Reckon. These applications may require the storage of personal data at non-Australian locations. These storage locations may include the United States of America or member states within the European Union such as the Netherlands. These software providers are contracted with Accountants Australia and your personal information remains under the effective control of Accountants Australia. Your personal information will not be released by the third parties listed above.

In addition, we may also use a cloud based tool called Dropbox to share information with you. Dropbox is a contracted service utilised by Accountants Australia for sharing and storage of information and that information remains under the effective control of us and is not released or controlled by Dropbox. Dropbox utilises servers which are located across the United States of America. Accountants Australia and Dropbox have an arrangement where our company retains the sole right of access to the information stored with Dropbox on its secure servers and is password controlled. Dropbox’s terms of use and privacy policy can be accessed here www.dropbox.com/privacy and here www.dropbox.com/privacy#terms.

3. Data Quality and Security

Accountants Australia will take all reasonable steps to keep secure any personal information which we hold about you and to keep this information accurate and up-to-date.

However, as the internet is not a secure environment, any information that you send to us via this method is sent at your own risk.

We strive to ensure the security, integrity and privacy of the personal information we have collected, including server firewalls and secure databases to keep personal information secure from misuse, loss, modification, unauthorised access or disclosure. In addition, we have in place confidentiality agreements with our employees to protect the confidentiality of personal information held by us.

4. Direct Marketing

If you subscribe to receive information from our website, then your email address and other personal information that you provide will be recorded. Your email address will only be used for the purpose for which you have provided it. Accountants Australia may occasionally use your personal information, such as your address or contact details, to provide you with information about other services that we offer.

If at any time you do not wish to receive any information about these services, please feel free to contact us by email at admin@accountantsaustralia.com.au or phone (08) 9256 3088.

5. Complaints about breaches of privacy

If you have any concerns regarding how Accountants Australia has dealt with your personal information and wish to complain, you can direct your complaints to the Privacy Officer at our office at admin@accountantsaustralia.com.au.

We will respond to you within 5 working days and attempt to resolve with you your issues promptly.

If you are still unsatisfied, you may wish to direct your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at https://www.oaic.gov.au/ or alternatively:

By Phone: 1300 363 992
In Writing: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001

PART B – DISCLAIMER:

The Accountants Australia website and the articles on it are a guide only and are not a substitute for independent professional advice. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information or material on this website. All information is subject to change without notice.

Accountants Australia and any associated parties involved in the provision of any material displayed on this website disclaim all liabilities to all persons or organisations in relation to any action(s) taken, any loss or damage suffered based on the information or material contained in this website. You should make your own enquiries before entering into any transactions based of the information or material on this website. It is recommended that you seek our professional advice to determine whether the information provided on this website is applicable to your particular circumstances.

Links to external websites

This website may contain links to other websites which are external to our website. It is the responsibility of the users to make their own decisions about the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of information contained in linked external websites.

Linkage to external websites are not our endorsements or recommendations of any third party products or services offered by virtue of any information, material or content linked from or to this website. Views and recommendations provided by these linked external websites are not to be taken as our views or recommendations. Users of the linked external websites provided by this website bear the responsibilities of vetting the information contained in these linked websites.

Security of our website

Users of our website should note that the World Wide Web is an insecure public network and there is a potential risk that a user’s transactions may be viewed, intercepted or modified by third parties or that files which the user downloads may contain computer viruses or other defects.

Accountants Australia and any associated parties accept no liability for any interference with or damage to users’ computer systems, software or data that may occur in connection with this website. It is recommended that users take appropriate and adequate precautions to ensure that whatever is selected from this website is free of viruses or other contamination that may interfere with or damage the users’ computer systems, software or data.

Security of your personal information

Your personal information is stored on both in-house servers, as well as on third-party servers (which may or may not be located in Australia). As such, your personal information may be transmitted via the Internet. The Internet is an insecure public network and there is a potential risk that your personal information may be viewed, intercepted or modified by third parties.

Accountants Australia and any associated parties accept no liability for any unauthorised viewing, interception, modification, dissemination or other misuse of your personal information.

Security of third-party websites/software

Any links to third-party websites/software available on this website, any third-party websites/software that Accountants Australia uses to deliver services or communicate with you, and any third-party websites/software that Accountants Australia suggest or offer you to use, are provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied and such websites/software are to be used at your own risk.

The use of the aforementioned third-party websites/software (“Websites/Software”) is done at your own discretion and risk and with agreement that you will be solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or loss of data that results from such activities. You are solely responsible for adequate protection and backup of the data and equipment used in connection with any of the Websites/Software, and we will not be liable for any damages that you may suffer in connection with downloading, installing, using, modifying or distributing such Websites/Software. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by you from us or from this website shall create any warranty for the Websites/Software.

Additionally, we make no warranty that:

  • The Websites/Software will meet your requirements.
  • The Websites/Software will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free.
  • The results from the use of the Websites/Software will be effective, accurate or reliable.
  • The quality of the Websites/Software will meet your expectations.
  • If errors or problems occur in connection with a download of the Websites/Software obtained from the links on this website, they will be corrected.

The links to Websites/Software and the related documentation made available on this website are subject to the following conditions:

  • The Websites/Software could include technical or other mistakes, inaccuracies or typographical errors.
  • At any time without prior notice, we may make changes to the links pointing to Websites/Software or documentation made available on the third-party’s website.
  • The Websites/Software may be out of date, and we make no commitment to update such materials.
  • We assume no responsibility for errors or omissions in the Websites/Software or documentation available from its website.
  • In no event shall we be liable to you or any third parties for any special, punitive, incidental, indirect or consequential damages of any kind, or any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, those resulting from loss of use, lost data or profits, or any liability, arising out of or in connection with the use of these Websites/Software.