About this Privacy Policy
We are genuinely committed to protecting your privacy. Therefore, this policy outlines how the Bankruptcy Advisory Centre (“BAC”) collects, manages, uses, and discloses personal information.
Our commitment in respect of personal information is to abide by the Australian Privacy Principles (“APP”) for the protection of personal data, as set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and any other relevant law.
This privacy policy applies not just to the use of our website but also to personal information that we process through offline interactions with you to run our business and deliver our services. This includes potential and existing clients and people interested in working for or with us.
Information about us
BAC provides bankruptcy, insolvency and liquidation advisory services throughout Australia. As liquidators and trustees, the directors of BAC are also subject to the Corporations Act 2001 and the Bankruptcy Act 1966 provisions concerning the collection, storage, and disclosure of personal information and the requirements of various professional associations.
What is personal information, and why do we collect it?
We collect and use personal information from different categories of individuals and businesses for several other purposes. Personal information is information or an opinion that identifies an individual.
Examples of personal information (non-exhaustive) we collect include:
- your name
- contact details (such as an address, telephone number, or email)
- personal information where relevant (such as date of birth, gender, household information)
- occupation and employment details
- tax and financial records, bank statements
- other correspondence and advice
This personal information is obtained in many ways, including by being provided with information required under the law (such as information provided by a debtor in a statement of affairs), through questionnaires, interviews, examinations, correspondence, fax, email, or telephone from publicly available sources, and through third parties disclosing such information, either voluntarily or under compulsion of law.
The collection of personal information may be required or authorised by the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth) and its associated regulations, rules, and schedules.
We collect your Personal Information for
- identifying or contacting you
- determining and assessing your debt management or insolvency options and providing you with financial services, financial solutions, budgeting, and debt management options
- to obtain your authority to act as your agent and
so that we may comply with any obligation or duty that we may have in relation to the administration of bankruptcy matters and estates under the relevant Acts
We may also use your personal information for secondary purposes closely related to the primary purpose in circumstances where you would reasonably expect such use or disclosure. This includes any sensitive information defined in the Privacy Act, with your consent or required or authorised by law.
Using and Disclosing personal information
BAC will use your information for the following purposes and circumstances, which include but are not limited to:
- Providing an initial consult
- To fulfil any contractual obligations to you
- Third parties where you consent to the use or disclosure on your behalf
- Where required or authorised by law, for example, as required by the Australian Financial Security Authority or if it is required for reporting obligations under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 and its associated Regulations, Rules, and Schedule
- Where we must comply with our obligations and duties in administering bankrupt estates
- To send you any commercial communications
Third Parties
In some circumstances, we may be provided with information by third parties. In such a case, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that you are made aware of the information provided to us by the third party if that does not conflict with or interfere with our obligations or duties under the law, including our responsibilities and duties in administering a bankrupt estate.
Security of Personal Information
Your personal information is stored in a manner that reasonably protects it from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. All employees of BAC are bound to maintain the confidentiality of personal information collected to administer services under BAC. When your personal information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify your personal information. However, we will keep most personal information in client files for at least seven years.
However, we cannot give any guarantees or warranties about the security of your information, and we will not be held liable for any loss or damage that you may suffer as a result of any unauthorised access to your information.
We have no control over websites outside our sites, including third-party links that may appear on our website, and we are not responsible for any companies linked to our website. Before disclosing your personal information via any other website, we strongly recommend that you read the terms and conditions and the privacy policy of those websites.
Access to your Personal Information
You may access the personal information we hold about you and update and correct it, subject to certain exceptions in the APPs and the law relating to bankruptcy. If you wish to access your personal information, please get in touch with us in writing, and we can arrange for the relevant changes to occur. We may require your identification before releasing the requested information to protect your personal information. We will endeavour to respond to your request within 14 business days. You may be charged a fee for access to this information.
Maintaining the Quality of your Personal Information
It is important to us that your personal information is up-to-date. We will take reasonable steps to ensure your personal information is accurate, complete, and up-to-date. If you find that our information is not up-to-date or inaccurate, please advise us as soon as possible to update and correct our records.
Overseas Recipients
We do not routinely disclose personal information to overseas recipients. We will do this if the law requires it or if we have a duty or obligation to administer a bankrupt estate. We will take such steps as are reasonable to ensure the overseas recipient either does not breach Australian privacy principles or is covered by a similar law or scheme.
Commercial Communications
By the terms of this policy, we may communicate with you to provide information about our products, support services, special offers, promotions or other matters that we believe may interest you.
We will not send third-party advertising information to you without first asking you whether you want to receive this information.
If you are receiving communications from us and no longer wish to receive these communications, please get in touch with us and inform us that you want to unsubscribe.
Use of cookies
Cookies are pieces of text transferred into your computer’s memory to store preferences, record session information, and collect information on how you visit and access our website. Using cookies can improve the efficiency of your website’s navigation and generally assist in our quest to provide services to you most conveniently and promptly. The cookies can be rejected or deleted by following the instructions for your browser to clear cookies. Our web server automatically collects IP addresses as part of demographic and profile data known as “traffic data” so that data (such as the Web pages you request) can be sent to you. Third-party vendors, including Google, show our ads on other websites. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user’s prior visits to a website.
Users may opt out of Google’s cookies by visiting the Google advertising opt-out page at http://www.google.com/policies/technologies/ads/.
Changes to the Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to change, modify, or amend our privacy policy at any time by updating this policy on our website or by other means without any other form of notice. If we believe any change to our policy will materially affect our customers, we will provide information about the change(s) that have occurred.
Privacy Policy Complaints and Enquiries
If you have any questions or complaints about our privacy policy, please get in touch with us at:
Bankruptcy Advisory Centre
Suite 7/100 Hay Street
Subiaco, WA 6008
Email: info@bankruptcyac.com.au
Call: 08 6146 5377
We will consider, investigate, and respond to any query or complaint regarding our privacy policy within 28 business days. If we cannot satisfactorily resolve your complaint, it may be referred to a recognised external dispute resolution scheme.
You can also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by visiting the following website and following the steps listed on the website: www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints.