Privacy Policy
All representatives of Australian Private Capital adhere to the company’s Privacy Policy which appears below.
We encourage you to check our website regularly for any updates to our Privacy Policy.
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Please note this policy is also to be read in conjunction with the Privacy Breach Policy and Data Breach Response Plan.
Australian Private Capital (APC) Privacy Policy Statement
Your privacy is important to us. This statement outlines Australian Private Capital’s policy on how we manage the personal information we hold about our clients and others.
Australian Private Capital’s Privacy Policy is based on care and respect for client confidentiality.
Where our documents ask for personal information, we will generally state the purposes for its use and to whom it may be disclosed.
We will generally ask for your written authority to share your personal information with other professional advisers/organisations.
We require that organisations outside of APC who handle or obtain personal information as service providers to APC acknowledge the confidentiality of this information, undertake to respect any individual’s right to privacy and comply with the Australian Privacy Principles and this policy.
- Why does APC collect personal information?
- Personal information is collected in many ways
- What kind of personal information do we ask for?
- How do we use this information and who may we disclose it to?
- Sensitive information is subject to greater restrictions
- Management of personal information
- How do we store personal information?
- How do we keep personal information accurate and up-to-date?
- How can you get access to your personal information?
- What if you have a complaint?
Why does APC collect personal information?
The Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act sets out a number of Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). Our aim is to both support and ensure that we comply with these principles. Further information on privacy in Australia may be obtained by visiting the website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au.
As a financial services organisation we are subject to certain legislative and regulatory requirements which necessitate us to obtain personal information about you, including s961B of the Corporations Act.’
Our business is to understand and meet our clients’ needs for financial advice. To do this effectively, we need to collect certain personal information.
We may provide many financial products and services under the APC brand as authorised by the AFS Licence held by Australian Private Capital Advisory Services Pty Ltd. They include (but are not limited to):
- insurance products protecting against risks
- investment products to build wealth
- superannuation and retirement income products to provide for retirement
- banking and other services to provide deposit and credit facilities
- financial planning advice and other services to help individuals understand their financial needs and make financial and investment decisions
- management of investment assets such as shares, property, fixed interest and cash
Collecting personal information also allows us to meet legal obligations we have under our Australian Financial Services (AFS) license.
Personal information is collected in a number of ways
APC collects personal information in a number of ways, including:
- directly from you, when you attend a face-to-face interview;
- directly from you, when you provide information through a data collection form e.g. Needs Analysis and Risks Profiling forms, etc;
- directly from you, when you provide information by phone;
- directly from you via an email or the internet; and
- directly from fund managers, superannuation funds, life insurance companies and other product issuers once authorisation has been provided by you.
If you provide inaccurate or incomplete information we may not be able to provide you with the products or services you are seeking.
You have a right to refuse us authorisation to collect information from a third party.
We may ask for other information voluntarily from time to time (for example, through market research, surveys or special offers) to enable us to improve our service or consider the wider needs of our clients or potential clients.
While we may send you marketing material from time to time that we think will be useful to you, we are conscious of the need to respect your privacy.
If, at any time, you do not wish to receive this information, you may contact us with this request. We will endeavour to meet your request within 2 weeks.
Transborder Dataflow
Currently there are no known overseas recipients to whom APC discloses your personal information. However some recipients APC disclose your personal information maybe based overseas. It is not practicable to list every country in which such recipients are located. If this occurs we will obtain your specific consent before such information is sent overseas.
Solicited and Unsolicited Information
We don’t usually collect unsolicited personal information. Where we receive unsolicited personal information, we’ll determine whether or not it would have been permissible to collect that personal information if it had been solicited. If we determine that collection would not have been permissible, to the extent permitted by law, we’ll destroy or de-identify that personal information as soon as practicable.
We maintain a Direct Marketing Register for those individuals who do NOT wish to receive direct marketing material.
You will be given the opportunity to “opt out” from receiving communications from us or from third parties that send communications to you. You may “opt out” from receiving these communications, such as newsletters, emails and other marketing and promotional materials, by clicking on an unsubscribe link at the end of an email. We maintain details of the source of your personal information used for direct marketing and you have the right to request these details. We will endeavour to meet any requests within 2 weeks.
What kind of personal information do we ask for?
Because of the nature of the services and products provided, government regulations and taxation laws, we ask for a range of personal information from our clients. The type of personal information we may collect can include (but is not limited to) name, address, date of birth, contact details, income, assets and liabilities, account balances, tax and financial statements and employment details.
In certain circumstances we are required to collect government identifiers such as your tax file number, Medicare number or pension card number. We do not use or disclose this information other than when required or authorised by law, or unless you have voluntarily consented to disclose this information to any third party.
Some insurance products also require us to collect sensitive information. For more details, see the section ‘Sensitive information is subject to greater restrictions’.
If you choose not to provide the information we need to fulfil your request for a specific service or product, we may not be able to provide you with the requested service or product.
How do we use this information and who may we disclose it to?
APC takes its obligations to protect your information seriously.
This includes when we operate throughout Australia and overseas, as part of our operations. Some uses and disclosures of your information may occur outside your State or Territory and/or outside of Australia. In some circumstances we may need to obtain your consent before this occurs.
Unless you are informed otherwise, the personal information we hold is used for establishing and managing your financial services or products, reviewing your ongoing needs, enhancing client service and product options and giving you ongoing information or opportunities that we believe may be relevant to your financial needs and other circumstances.
Depending on the service or product concerned and particular restrictions on sensitive information, this means that personal information may be disclosed to:
- administrators employed within APC
- financial planners who are authorised by APC to review customers’ needs and circumstances from time to time
- service providers and specialist advisers to APC who have been contracted to provide APC with administrative, financial, insurance, research or other services other insurers, credit providers, courts, tribunals and regulatory authorities as agreed or authorised by law credit reporting or reference agencies or insurance investigators.
In the event of that we propose to sell the business, we may disclose your personal information to potential purchasers for the purpose of them conducting due diligence investigations. Disclosure will be made in confidence and it will be a condition of that disclosure that no personal information will be used or disclosed by them
Generally, we require that organisations outside of APC who handle or obtain personal information as service providers to APC acknowledge the confidentiality of this information, undertake to respect any individual’s right to privacy and comply with the Australian Privacy Principles and this policy.
We may disclose your personal information to organisations outside APC. The organisations to which we disclose information may include:
- superannuation fund trustees, insurance providers, fund managers and other product providers in order to manage or administer your product or service;
- compliance consultants to ensure that our representatives are meeting our compliance standards;
- para planning contractors or temporary staff to handle workloads during peak periods;
- mailing houses;
- your professional advisers, including your solicitor or accountant as authorised by you;
- information technology service providers to maintain, review and develop our business systems, procedures and infrastructure including testing or upgrading our computer systems;
- Government and regulatory authorities and other organisations, as required or authorised by law, for example, to government or regulatory bodies for the purposes related to public health or safety, the prevention or detection of unlawful activities or to protect public revenue.
- another representative of APC if necessary;
- a potential purchaser/organisation involved in the proposed sale of our business for the purpose of due diligence, corporate re-organisation and transfer or all or part of the assets of our business.
- Product planning and development advisers
- Where you have given your consent including your legal advisers;
- a new owner of our business that will require the transfer of your personal information.
Note: These organisations will be required to maintain confidentiality.
Sensitive information is subject to greater restrictions
Some personal information we hold is ‘sensitive’. Sensitive information relates to a person’s racial or ethnic origin, membership of political bodies, religions or trade unions, sexual preferences or activities, criminal record, state of health and medical history. The way we use tax file numbers and information received from a credit reporting agency about an individual is also restricted by law. Sensitive information is usually needed for applications for death, sickness and disability insurance and to manage claims on those products. It may also be relevant to credit and other applications.
Without your consent we will not collect information about you that reveals your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs or affiliations, membership of professional or trade association, membership of a trade union, details of health, disability, sexual orientation, or criminal record
This is subject to some exceptions including: the collection is required by law; and when the information is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of a legal claim.
Personal information will be treated as confidential information and sensitive information will be treated as highly confidential.
Management of personal information
APC trains its employees and financial planners who handle personal information to respect the confidentiality of client information and the privacy of individuals. APC regards breaches of your privacy very seriously and will impose appropriate penalties, including dismissal. APC has appointed a Privacy Officer to ensure that APC’s management of personal information is in accordance with this statement and the Privacy Act.
How do we store personal information?
Safeguarding the privacy of your information is important to us, whether you interact with us personally, by phone, mail, over the internet or other electronic medium. We hold personal information in a combination of secure computer storage facilities and paper-based files and other records, and take steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
It is a legislative requirement that we keep all personal information and records for a period of 7 years. Should you cease to be a client of ours, we will maintain your personal information on or off site in a secure manner for 7 years. After this, the information will be securely destroyed.
How do we keep personal information accurate and up-to-date?
APC endeavours to ensure that the personal information it holds is accurate and up-to-date. We realise that this information changes frequently with changes of address and other personal circumstances. We rely on our clients to advise APC that their personal information has changed. APC will request clients to confirm their personal information from time to time and/or at the clients’ regular planning meeting.
How can you get access to your personal information?
You have a right to access your personal information subject to certain exceptions allowed by law. We ask that you provide your request for access in writing (for security reasons) to: The Director(s), Australian Private Capital, Level 11, 379 Collins Street, MELBOURNE VIC 3000, and we will provide you with access to that personal information. Access to the requested personal information may include:
- providing you with copies;
- providing you with the opportunity for inspection; or
- providing you with a summary.
Some exceptions exist where 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 request for access is frivolous or vexatious;
- the information is 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.
If charges are applicable in providing access to you, we will disclose these charges to you prior to providing you with the information.
Should we refuse you access to your personal information, we will provide you with a written explanation for that refusal.
You can deal with us anonymously where it is lawful and practicable to do so. For example, if you telephone requesting our postal address.
Anonymous and Pseudonym dealings.
APC will not deal with anyone on an anonymous or pseudonym basis unless it is lawful and practicable to do so, for example, ‘if you telephone requesting our postal address’.
We shall not provide any personal and private information if the person requesting the information cannot be identified and / or does not that appropriate authority to access such information.
What if you have a complaint?
If you consider that any action of APC breaches this Privacy Policy Statement or the Australian Privacy Principles or otherwise doesn’t respect your privacy, you can make a complaint. This will be acted upon promptly.
To make a complaint, please call APC on (03) 9621 1000.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you are entitled to contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner on 1300 363 992.