We know how important it is in protecting your personal information. This document outlines our privacy policy commitment along with the personal information you disclose to us and what we do with that information.
We acknowledge that any personal information we gather about you will only be used for the purposes we have collected, such as liaising with your creditors and the Australian Financial Security Authority or as allowed under the law. It is important to us that any information we have collected about you be treated in a confident and professional manner.
It is our commitment in respect of personal information, to abide by the Australian Privacy Principles for the protection of personal information, as set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and any other relevant law.
Your Personal information
The kinds of personal information we may collect about you include your name, date of birth, number of dependents, residential address, account details, employment details, proof of your earnings ad expenses, secured and unsecured debts, secured and unsecured assets, debts relating to the Australia Taxation Office, Centrelink and Child Support Agency.
Why do we collect your personal information?
We collect personal information for the following purposes:
- Assessing your financial situation under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth)
- Providing services in relation to Debt Agreements, Bankruptcy, Consolidation Loans, Debt Consolidation Loans, Mortgage Refinance
- Managing our relationship with you and your creditors.
How do we go about collecting your information?
All personal information is obtained directly from you. We may also collect your personal information from finance companies and other people such as accountants and lawyers, your creditors, State Debt Recovery Office and other government agencies.
Who do we disclose your personal information to?
We may disclose your personal information:
- To other organisations that are involved in managing or administering your finance/s such as secured and unsecured creditors
- To associated businesses that may want to market products to you, such as Mortgage Refinance, Mortgage Insurers and Financial Advisors/Planners
- To an individual/company who represents you, such as secured and unsecured finance companies , lawyers, and accountants;
- To specific people where you have provided us consent;
- Where we are required to do so by law, such as under the Bankruptcy ACT 1966 (Cth) and the Anti-Money laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act 2006 or in accordance with a subpoena or summons issued by a court
- To government agencies including the Australian Financial Security Authority, State Trustees, Centrelink, Child Support Agencies or Australian Taxation Office
Before disclosing any of your personal information to an individual/organisations, we will ensure:
- A Letter of Authority is signed by yourself in order for us to liaise with your creditors
- The person or organisation has a commitment to protecting your personal information at least equal to our commitment
Your Credit Information
We may collect the following kinds of credit information and exchange this information with other entities:
- Information about your existing finance/s, which includes the name of the credit provider, the amount owing to your creditors, the type of finance, the day the finance is entered into, the terms and conditions of the finance, the maximum amount of finance available, and the day on which the finance was terminated;
- Information about payments made to your creditor/s and whether you meet your repayments on time;
- Information about the type of finance that you have applied for
- New information that comes to light, where a Variation of a Debt Agreement is to be done
- Personal insolvency information, which is information that is entered into the National Personal Insolvency Index which relate to things such as Debt Agreements, Bankruptcy and Debt Consolidation Loans
We interchange your credit information for the purposes of assessing your application for a Debt Agreement, Bankruptcy, Debt Consolidation Loan under the Bankruptcy ACT 1966 (Cth).
Your personal information may be held electronically and in hardcopy form.
Retrieving, updating and correcting your personal information
You can request your personal information be updated if it is incorrect or inaccurate. We will action your request at the time of the request or within five business days of receiving your request.
The information we hold about you is important to us. It is also imperative that the information we have about you is up to date and accurate. We may ask you to confirm and inform us of any changes of your personal information.
If you wish to make any changes to your personal information, you may contact us. We will generally rely on you to ensure the information we hold about you is accurate or complete.
We can also collect government identifiers, such as your Tax File Number, Centrelink customer reference number, Child Support Agency reference number and driver’s license details. We will not use this information without your consent.
How do we keep your personal information safe?
We take practical steps in protecting your personal information by storing it safely. We can store your personal information electronically and hardcopy format. We will take extra precaution in protecting your personal information from any misuse, loss, disclosure or unauthorised access.
Complaints
If you are not satisfied with how we have dealt with your personal information, or you have a complaint you may contact our complaints officer on 1300 351 008 or write to us at GPO Box 200 Bankstown NSW 1885 or email us at complaints@debtneg.com.au.
We will acknowledge your complaint within five business days. We will provide you with the outcome of your complaint within 45 days.
If you are not satisfied with the response from our complaints officer you may make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service at www.fos.org.au which can be contacted on 1800 367 287 or the Australian Financial Security Authority on 1300 364 785 or www.afsa.gov.au
Change in our privacy policy
This policy may change when applicable.
This Privacy Policy came into existence on 3 November 2015.
