Our Privacy Policy
1. PURPOSE
Hall Chadwick Melbourne Pty Ltd trading as Hall Chadwick Melbourne and S.L.A. Financial Services Pty Ltd trading as all Chadwick Melbourne Financial Services (referred hereon as Hall Chadwick Melbourne) understand the importance of keeping your personal information secure. Due to our nature as an accounting firm, Hall Chadwick collects and holds a large range of confidential personal and commercial information. That is why we place a high priority on the security of information held by our firm. This policy has been put in place to inform you of what personal information Hall Chadwick Melbourne collects, and how we manage it and maintain its integrity and security.
Hall Chadwick Melbourne is bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and must comply with the National Privacy Principles (NPP). To find more information about the Privacy Act and the NPPs, please visit www.oaic.gov.au.
We do not acknowledge the recently adopted General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) regulations applicable to certain types of personal information of individuals residing in EU countries applies to us. Hall Chadwick does not have an office in the EU and we do not conduct business or offer services in any EU country. Nonetheless, Hall Chadwick does have EU clients with business interests in Australia. For residents of the EU who provide us with personal data that directly or indirectly makes them identifiable in our records as a natural person, including but not limited to the name, address, personal mobile and/ or office telephone number, personal or business email address, passport data, personal data, driver’s licence data, a personal identification number, location data, an online identifier or one or more other factors specific to physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity, please be advised our existing Privacy Policy applies.
While Hall Chadwick Melbourne makes every effort to keep your personal information highly secure, we also believe that you have the right to be informed about how we handle your information. If, after reading this policy, you are unclear on any of the matters, or simply want more information, please do not hesitate to contact our Privacy Officer.
2. COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
Hall Chadwick Melbourne aims to only collect the information that is necessary in providing the service you have requested from us. If you do not provide us with the personal information we have requested, we are unable to provide those services with efficiency and accuracy.
Generally and adhering to Know Your Customer (KYC) information relating to Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules, Hall Chadwick Melbourne collects and holds the income tax records including:
- Name, address, contact details and job titles
- Date of birth
- Tax File Number
- Australian Company Numbers and Australian Business Numbers
- Bank account details
- Certified photo identification as per 100 Point Check criteria
- Details of your income, expenses, assets and liabilities.
Naturally we collect and hold a broad range of personal information gathered during the course of providing our services. However, Hall Chadwick Melbourne strives to ensure that we collect and hold only that personal information which is relevant and necessary to advise on the specific matters you have requested us to address.
Hall Chadwick Melbourne will collect personal information only by lawful and fair means. The personal information will usually only be collected from you, your authorised representatives or from publicly available sources. We will only collect personal information from a third party if you have consented to such collection or you would reasonably expect us to collect the personal information in this way.
3. PURPOSES OF COLLECTION
We primarily collect information to allow us to provide the services you have requested.
However, Hall Chadwick Melbourne may also use the information to send newsletters concerning various financial and taxation matters, invite you to seminars or events, and to inform you of developments at the firm. If you would like to opt out of receiving this type of information, please contact us. Our contact details are listed at the end of this document.
We will never sell, rent or trade any of your personal information to a third party.
Unless you have given us prior consent, or it is required or authorised by law, we will never disclose information about you to a third party.
4. THIRD PARTIES
You should be aware that Hall Chadwick Melbourne may have to disclose information to the following third parties: the Australian Taxation Office, ASIC, Centrelink, your solicitors, your bank and financial institutions, any related corporations or affiliate practices and any other organisations to which you normally disclose information of this kind.
In addition to the above-named parties, there are other third parties which may, on occasion, have access to your personal information, such as IT technicians working onsite, or potential buyers carrying out due diligence on our practice.
5. PERSONAL INFORMATION QUALITY
Our aim is to ensure that at all times your personal information is accurate, complete and current. In order for us to accomplish this, you need to provide true, accurate, up-to-date and complete information about yourself where requested and inform us of any changes.
If you discover any inaccurate or incomplete information, please contact us so that we can correct the information.
6. SECURING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Hall Chadwick Melbourne is committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of the data you provide us and we will take all reasonable precautions to protect your personal information from unauthorised disclosure, use or alteration.
Your personal information will be held either physically in our offices or electronically. In order to keep your information secure, we have a number of systems in place. All computers in our office are password-protected, internet access is provided through a firewall, and all computers run anti-virus software. Our offices are supplied with secure shredding bins, and outside normal working hours our offices have restricted access.
There are inherent risks in transmitting information across the internet and we do not have the ability to control the security of information collected and stored on third party platforms. In relations to our own servers, we take all reasonable steps to manage data stored on our servers to ensure data security.
7. DATA BREACH REPORTING
Hall Chadwick Melbourne is subject to Australian Privacy Principles (APP) and accordingly, must comply with the National Data Breach (NDB) scheme. If we discover or suspect that a data breach has occurred, we will immediately take action to limit the breach. In the event the breach is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify individual(s) and the Office of the Australian Commissioner (OAIC) and fully satisfy the requirements of the NDB.
8. DISCARDING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Hall Chadwick Melbourne will hold any personal information used in the provision of your services for up to seven (7) years after completion of those services, after which all physical files will be destroyed securely. Digital data will be retained for period of time.
9. ACCESSING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
You can ask Hall Chadwick Melbourne to provide you with access to all personal information that we hold about you. You will never be charged a fee for submitting a request to access to your personal information, though we may charge you a fee for the access itself.
If, after you ask to see your personal information, we refuse your request, we will give you a reason for this decision.
Hall Chadwick Melbourne do not have to provide access where the personal information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings between Hall Chadwick and an individual, and the information would not be accessible by the process of discovery in those proceedings; where denying access is required or authorised by law; or when providing access would be unlawful.
To submit a request for access to your personal information, please contact us. Our contact details are listed at the end of this document.
10. GOVERNMENT IDENTIFIERS
At times, Hall Chadwick Melbourne may ask you to provide details regarding certain government assigned identification numbers (e.g. Medicare numbers) to assist us in providing your agreed services. We will only use these government identifiers where it is necessary and lawful to do so, and we will not use these identifiers within our own organisation.
11. TRANS-BORDER DATA
From time to time during the completion of your work, Hall Chadwick may engage various staff and / or contract personnel who we consider appropriate for the completion of your work. This personnel will have access to your accounting and taxation records only for the purpose of completing the accounting and taxation engagements agreed. In all cases this personnel will be subject to our supervision and control.
12. SENSITIVE INFORMATION
Occasionally, Hall Chadwick Melbourne may collect and hold sensitive information; this includes information or an opinion about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, membership of a professional or trade association, membership of a trade union, sexual preferences or practices, or criminal record.
Sensitive information is subject to a higher level of privacy protection than other personal information, and may only be collected with consent, except in specified circumstances. Consent is generally not required to collect personal information that is not sensitive information. Sensitive information must not be used or disclosed for a secondary purpose unless the secondary purpose is directly related to the primary purpose of collection and within the reasonable expectations of the individual, and it cannot be used for the secondary purpose of direct marketing.
13. COMPLAINTS
If you have any complaints about the information we hold or the way that we manage it, please get in touch with us. Our contact details are listed below.
14. CHANGES TO THIS STATEMENT
This privacy policy is not a static document and we may make changes from time to time, for any reason. An up-to-date copy of our privacy policy can be found at www.hallchadwickmelb.com.au.
15. PRIVACY OFFICER
If you would like to contact us with requests for access, or questions or complaints about our privacy policy, please send an email to privacy@hallchadwickmelb.com.au or write to us at
Privacy Officer
Hall Chadwick Chartered Accountants Melbourne
Locked Bag 777 Collins Street West
Melbourne 8007
This Privacy Policy was reviewed in June 2018.