SMSF Audit Services

Privacy Policy

SMSF Audit Services Group Pty Ltd (referred to as ‘SMSF Audit Services’) is committed to the protection of your Personal Information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (‘Privacy Act’).

This Privacy Policy describes the manner in which SMSF Audit Services collects, uses and discloses Personal Information that is covered by the Privacy Act. If you wish to make any inquiries regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact SMSF Audit Services in any of the ways specified in clause 12.

SMSF Audit Services may, from time to time, review and update this Privacy Policy including to take into account new laws, regulations and technology. All Personal Information held by SMSF Audit Services will be governed by our most recent Privacy Policy which can be found on our website (https://smsfauditservices.com.au/) (Website). Our most recent Privacy Policy will apply to our collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information.

What is “Personal Information”?

“Personal Information” is information or an opinion about an identified individual (or an individual who is reasonably identifiable), whether the information is true or not, and whether the information is recorded in a material form or not.

What Personal Information do we collect?

SMSF Audit Services may collect and hold Personal Information about a range of people, including:

  • SMSF Trustees who have engaged SMSF Audit Services for the audit of their Self-Managed Superannuation Fund
  • SMSF Members
  • Current and former clients of SMSF Audit Services and their employees

The Personal Information collected and used by SMSF Audit Services may include:

  • contact information including name, residential and postal addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses;
  • financial information, including bank account details;
  • legal information, such as contracts entered into;
  • government issued identifiers, such as Tax File Numbers and Australian Business Numbers; and
  • other Personal Information relevant to the services which we provide.

Why do we collect Personal Information?

SMSF Audit Services collects Personal Information that is reasonably necessary for us to conduct one or more of our functions or activities, including for the following purposes:

  • providing you with legal services and advice and any related products or services;
  • invoicing, accounting and related administration purposes;
  • maintaining ongoing contact with you as a part of an established commercial relationship;
  • inviting you to events, functions and activities such as Friends of SMSF Audit Services and providing you with legal updates, e-Alerts and articles from time to time; and
  • maintaining audit, financial, and taxation records in accordance with Australian superannuation and taxation legislation including but not limited to s262A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth) and the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth), and related rulings by the Australian Tax Office.

If you choose not to provide your Personal Information to SMSF Audit Services, we may not be able to undertake certain activities for you such as providing you with requested information or services.

When and how do we collect Personal Information?

  • SMSF Audit Services collects Personal Information in a variety of instances, including: when meeting with current, former and prospective clients, in correspondence with clients or third parties (including government agencies); and in court documents and other publicly available sources.
  • At times, it may be necessary for SMSF Audit Services to collect Personal Information about you from a third party. Generally, SMSF Audit Services will only collect your Personal Information from sources other than you if it is unreasonable or impractical to collect Personal Information from you directly.

How do we hold Personal Information?

  • SMSF Audit Services is bound by professional obligations of confidentiality as set out in the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s Regulatory Guide 243 and subsection 114 of the APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. Where these obligations apply, we treat information that we collect and hold (including Personal Information) in accordance with our obligations.
  • SMSF Audit Services will generally hold Personal Information in physical records, electronic records on our servers, and where necessary, electronic records on third party servers located overseas.
  • SMSF Audit Services will take all reasonable steps necessary to ensure that your Personal Information remains secure so that it is protected from misuse, interference, destruction, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. However, in the course of providing services, we may be required to disclose Personal Information to other third parties, including but not limited to: government departments such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Australian Tax Office, State/Territory government revenue offices, and other accountants and lawyers engaged by you.
  • SMSF Audit Services may use and disclose Personal Information about you: for purposes necessary or incidental to the provision of services; whether disclosure is required or authorised by law; where you have given us your consent (either express or implied); or to avoid, prevent, or lessen a serious emergency or crime.
  • SMSF Audit Services will endeavour to destroy or de-identify Personal Information that is no longer required for a valid purpose or under law.

Information collected via our Website

  • SMSF Audit Services will not collect any Personal Information about users of our Website except when they knowingly provide it or as otherwise described below. For example, SMSF Audit Services may collect Personal Information from users of the Website when they:
    • complete an online form; and/or
    • otherwise correspond with SMSF Audit Services.

Server logs and monitoring

  • When you visit and browse our Website, our Website host may collect Personal Information for statistical, reporting and maintenance purposes. Subject to clause 4, the Personal Information collected by our Website host will not be used to identify you. The information may include:
    • the number of users visiting our Website and the number of pages viewed;
    • the date, time and duration of a visit;
    • the IP address of your computer; or
    • the path taken through our Website.
  • Our Website Host uses this information to administer and improve the performance of our Website.

Cookies

  • Cookies are small text files that are transferred to a user’s computer hard drive by a website for the purpose of storing information about a user’s identity, browser type or website visiting patterns.
  • If you access our Website, a cookie is downloaded onto your computer’s hard drive when you first visit our Website. You can adjust your internet browser to disable cookies, however SMSF Audit Services may not be able to provide you with all the service or functionality you require on our Website if you choose to do so.

Web Beacons

  • Web beacons are images that originate from a third party site to track visitor activities. SMSF Audit Services may use web beacons to collect aggregate data and provides this information to our Website host to administer and improve the performance of our Website.

How do we use Personal Information collected about you?

  • SMSF Audit Services uses the Personal Information it collects about you for our business functions and activities, which may include the following:
    • to provide you with information or the services you have requested;
    • to promote and market our services to you;
    • to help SMSF Audit Services research and understand the needs of our clients;
    • to provide you with ongoing information about SMSF Audit Services and its activities;
    • to comply with regulatory or other legal requirements;
    • for purposes related to the employment of our staff; and
    • for any other purpose communicated to you at the time that the Personal Information was collected or for which you provided your consent.
  • SMSF Audit Services may use your Personal Information to provide you with direct marketing materials if you would reasonably expect us to or if you consent to receive direct marketing materials. We will seek your consent to provide you with direct marketing materials if we have obtained your Personal Information from a third party. Direct marketing material may include promotional material about SMSF Audit Services or our services.
  • You may opt out of receiving direct marketing material by contacting us in any of the ways specified in the direct marketing materials or as set out in clause 12.
  • Generally, we will only collect and use your Personal Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. In the event that we collect or use Personal Information in ways other than as stated in this Privacy Policy, we will ensure that we do so in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Disclosure of your Personal Information overseas

Your Personal Information may be disclosed outside of Australia to an entity in a foreign country. It is possible that such entity may be subject to foreign laws that do not provide the same level of protection of Personal Information as in Australia. We take reasonable steps to ensure that these overseas entities are obliged to protect the privacy and security of your Personal Information and use it only for the purpose for which it is disclosed.

Storage and security of Personal Information

  • SMSF Audit Services will take reasonable steps to protect your Personal Information from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
  • SMSF Audit Services aims to keep your Personal Information secure and up-to-date. We will comply with applicable security obligations under the Privacy Act in relation to any Personal Information that we handle, including ensuring only relevant and authorised SMSF Audit Services’ personnel deal with your Personal Information.
  • Personal Information that is held by SMSF Audit Services in hard copy is stored securely on our premises and is only disclosed or used for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

Accessing and correcting your Personal Information

  • SMSF Audit Services will take reasonable steps to ensure that the Personal Information that we hold is accurate, up-to-date, and complete. You can access and update your Personal Information at any time by contacting SMSF Audit Services in any of the ways specified in clause 12.
  • If you request to access or update your Personal Information, we will grant your request unless providing you with access would: unreasonably impact upon the privacy of others; constitute a breach of legal professional privilege; or be otherwise prohibited under the Australian Privacy Principles or at law.
  • Where access is denied to Personal Information, SMSF Audit Services will provide you with written reasons for the refusal of access.

How long will SMSF Audit Services keep your Personal Information?

  • SMSF Audit Services will keep your Personal Information only for as long as required for our functions or activities and otherwise as required by Australian law.
  • Where we no longer need to keep your Personal Information, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify your Personal Information.
  • If you wish to have your Personal Information destroyed or de-identified and SMSF Audit Services is not required to keep it for legal, auditing, or internal risk management purposes, please contact us in any of the ways specified in clause 12 and we will take reasonable steps to comply with your request.

How to contact us and more information

  • If you feel that your privacy has not been respected or that SMSF Audit Services has conducted itself inconsistently with this Privacy Policy, the Australian Privacy Principles, or the Privacy Act in respect of your Personal Information, or for any other queries, problems, complaints or communication in relation to this Privacy Policy, please contact us in any of the following ways:

You can find out more information about the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles from the Australian Information Commissioner. The Information Commissioner may be contacted at oaic.gov.au (email – enquiries@oaic.gov.au).