About this policy

This policy is for LOANS FOR CHOICE PTY LTD (“we,”, “us”, “our”), who is considered an Australian Privacy Principles (APP) entity, as defined in the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012.

 

This policy outlines the following, including but not limited to:

·         who we are and what our main function or activity is;

·         the kinds of Personal Information (PI) we collect and hold;

• how we collect PI;
• the purposes for which we collect, hold, use and disclose PI;
• how we deal with an individuals who remain anonymous or use a pseudonym;
• how we deal with solicited information;
• how we deal with unsolicited information;
• notification of the collection and use of PI;
• direct marketing and how you can opt out of receiving marketing material;
• cross-border disclosure of PI;
• collection and use of government related identifiers;
• how we ensure your PI is accurate and up to date;
• how we keep PI secure
• how you may access your PI and seek its correction;
• how you can make a complaint if you believe we have breached the APPs and how we handle the compliant;
• changes to this policy; and
• how you can contact us if you have any questions relating to this policy or how we handle personal information.

 

 

 

Who are we and what is our main function or activity?

We are finance brokers. We provide “Credit Assistance” when we:

1.      Suggest or assist you to apply for a particular credit contract with a particular credit provider; or

2.      Suggest or assist you to apply for an increase to the credit limit of a particular credit contract with a particular credit provider; or

3.      Suggest you remain in a particular credit contract with a particular credit provider.

 

You (the customer) engage us (the broker) to arrange a loan on your behalf. You acknowledge that we act as an independent contractor to assist you to obtain and negotiate a loan.

 

We have access to a panel of financiers and offer a variety of finance and insurance products, both consumer and commercial, tailored to suit our customers’ needs and objectives.

 

What is Personal Information (PI) and what kinds do we collect and hold?

PI is information or an opinion about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable. Examples of the kinds of PI we collect include, but are not limited to an individual’s:

·         name, signature, residential, business or e-mail address, telephone number, date of birth, medical records, bank account details and expenditure details;

·         employment details, such as business address, contact details, job title and salary; and

·         credit report information, such as credit history, credit accounts, repayment history information, inquiries, defaults and bankruptcy etc.

 

Sensitive Information is also a form of PI and can include information or an opinion about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, criminal record or health information. Generally, we are not required to collect Sensitive Information as it is not reasonably necessary for our main function or activity.

 

However, if you require information about any insurance products we offer, we may need to obtain health information from you. If this is the case, we will inform you and obtain your consent prior to obtaining the information.

 

How we collect your PI

In the majority of cases, we will collect your PI directly from you when you apply for a finance and / or insurance product and this is referred to as ‘solicited information.’ Where you consent for us to do so, we can also collect your PI from third parties, such as employers, accountants, banks or referrers (who may simply provide us with your contact details.)

Why do we collect your PI and how do we hold, use and who do we disclose it to?

We collect your PI to provide you with finance and / or insurance products you’ve requested.

 

We collect and store information about you subject to Australia’s privacy and credit reporting laws including the Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code 2024 (CR Code). Your credit and personal information will be handled in accordance with the CR Code.

If we proceed with providing finance and / or insurance products to you, we will hold your PI for a period of seven years after the finance contract has ceased. After that period, we will delete the PI we no longer require.

 

We disclose your PI to the following sources, including but not limited to:

·         financiers;

·         insurers;

·         credit reporting bodies in order to obtain credit information about you;

·         your employer, bank, solicitor or accountant to verify the information you’ve provided us;

·         the supplier (e.g. motor vehicle dealership) from where you are purchasing the asset where applicable; and

·         your referees or contacts if we are unable to contact you.

 

How we deal with an individuals who remain anonymous or use a pseudonym?

You have the option of not identifying yourself or of using a pseudonym when dealing with us. For example, if you contacted us with a general enquiry about our products, services or the financiers or insurers we have on our panel, you don’t need to identify yourself.

 

However, if you elect to apply for a finance and/ or insurance product, you will need to identify yourself, as your PI is required to support a finance application.

 

How we deal with solicited information

We will only collect information form you or from a third party with your consent, that is reasonably necessary for our main function or activity, that is, any activity related to a finance and or insurance application. Whilst we generally don’t collect sensitive information, we will only do so if it is related to our main function or activity and we obtain your consent to collect it.

 

How we deal with unsolicited information

If we receive PI about you that you did not solicit, we will determine if we could have obtained this information by lawful and fair means. An example may be where we obtain information about you from your accountant or solicitor. However, if we determine we would be unable to collect the information by lawful and fair means or if the information is not reasonably necessary for our main function or activity, we will destroy or permanently de-identify the information.

 

Notification of the collection and use of personal information

When we collect PI directly from you, we will advise you of the purposes for which it was collected, who it will be disclosed to and why, how you can access your PI and seek its correction or how you can make a complaint if you believe your PI was not handled in accordance with this policy or the APPs.

 

In circumstances where we collect PI from a third party about you, we will inform you of that collection and if the PI is reasonably necessary for our main function or activity, how we intend on using it and who we will disclose it to.

 

Direct marketing and how you can opt out of receiving marketing material

We may use the PI we collected from you for the purpose of marketing about additional products or services available to you, both via our group and third parties. These marketing activities may be conducted via e-mail, telephone, social media platforms, SMS, mail or any other electronic means. We won’t sell your PI to any organization outside our group.

 

If you do not wish to receive marketing material from us, you can opt out and any time but simply sending an e-mail and we will update our records and systems accordingly. Alternatively, you can call us and advise us you no longer wish to receive marketing material. Generally speaking, we will stop sending direct marketing material to you within 30 days of receiving the request.

 

Cross-border disclosure of PI

Our group operates in Australia, however, we may share your information with organisations outside Australia whom we are affiliated and have contractual arrangements with. These countries include, but are not limited to:

 

·         Germany;

·         New Zealand;

·         United Kingdom;

·         Philippines;

·         India;

·         Singapore;

·         Japan;

·         Malaysia;

·         Vietnam; and

·         the United States of America.

 

As electronic or networked storage can be accessed from various countries via an internet connection, it’s not always practicable to know in which country your information may be held. If your information is stored in this way, disclosures may occur in countries other than those listed.

 

Overseas organisations may be required to disclose information we share with them under a foreign law. In those instances, we will not be responsible for that disclosure.

 

Use and collection of government related identifiers

As part of the finance application process, we may collect government related identifiers from you that appear on certain documents. Examples of government related identifiers include, but are not limited to:

·         Driver’s Licence numbers;

·         Passport numbers; and

·         Tax File Numbers.

 

We won’t use a government related identifier to identify you or your application, as generally we will use your name and / or an application number.

 

When providing certain finance and / or insurance products to you, we may be required to disclose certain government related identifies, such as a Driver’s Licence number to a financier or insurer, which forms part of their identification process.

 

However, there are specific requirements relating to Tax File Numbers. Under the Tax File Number Rule 2015, TFNs should only be collected under superannuation, taxation and personal assistance laws. We will take all reasonable steps to permanently de-identify any TFN that appears on a document we have received from you, your employer or accountant.

 

How we ensure your PI is up to date and accurate

We will make every reasonable effort to ensure that the PI we hold about you is accurate, up to date and complete. However, if any of your PI needs to be updated, please contact us (refer to the Contact Us section of this policy) and we will update it for you.

 

How do we keep your PI secure?

We take the security of your PI seriously and as information is stored both electronically and in hardcopy format, we have a variety of safety measures in place to protect your PI from misuse, modification, interference, loss, unauthorized access or disclosure. Some of the safety measures include, but are not limited to:

·         confidentiality agreements requirements of our employees and external representatives;

·         document storage security policies;

·         security measures for access to our systems;

·         only giving access to PI to authorized staff and representatives who require access to such information;

·         premises security; and

·         electronic security systems such as firewalls and data encryption.

 

Where we store PI physically or electronically with third party data storage providers, we have contractual arrangements to ensure those providers take appropriate security measures to protect that that information and restrict those who access it. In the event of a data breach involving your information, we will notify you as soon as practicable in accordance with our obligations under the CR Code.About this policy

This policy is for LOANS FOR CHOICE PTY LTD (“we,”, “us”, “our”), who is considered an Australian Privacy Principles (APP) entity, as defined in the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012.

 

This policy outlines the following, including but not limited to:

·         who we are and what our main function or activity is;

·         the kinds of Personal Information (PI) we collect and hold;

• how we collect PI;
• the purposes for which we collect, hold, use and disclose PI;
• how we deal with an individuals who remain anonymous or use a pseudonym;
• how we deal with solicited information;
• how we deal with unsolicited information;
• notification of the collection and use of PI;
• direct marketing and how you can opt out of receiving marketing material;
• cross-border disclosure of PI;
• collection and use of government related identifiers;
• how we ensure your PI is accurate and up to date;
• how we keep PI secure
• how you may access your PI and seek its correction;
• how you can make a complaint if you believe we have breached the APPs and how we handle the compliant;
• changes to this policy; and
• how you can contact us if you have any questions relating to this policy or how we handle personal information.

 

 

 

Who are we and what is our main function or activity?

We are finance brokers. We provide “Credit Assistance” when we:

1.      Suggest or assist you to apply for a particular credit contract with a particular credit provider; or

2.      Suggest or assist you to apply for an increase to the credit limit of a particular credit contract with a particular credit provider; or

3.      Suggest you remain in a particular credit contract with a particular credit provider.

 

You (the customer) engage us (the broker) to arrange a loan on your behalf. You acknowledge that we act as an independent contractor to assist you to obtain and negotiate a loan.

 

We have access to a panel of financiers and offer a variety of finance and insurance products, both consumer and commercial, tailored to suit our customers’ needs and objectives.

 

What is Personal Information (PI) and what kinds do we collect and hold?

PI is information or an opinion about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable. Examples of the kinds of PI we collect include, but are not limited to an individual’s:

·         name, signature, residential, business or e-mail address, telephone number, date of birth, medical records, bank account details and expenditure details;

·         employment details, such as business address, contact details, job title and salary; and

·         credit report information, such as credit history, credit accounts, repayment history information, inquiries, defaults and bankruptcy etc.

 

Sensitive Information is also a form of PI and can include information or an opinion about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, criminal record or health information. Generally, we are not required to collect Sensitive Information as it is not reasonably necessary for our main function or activity.

 

However, if you require information about any insurance products we offer, we may need to obtain health information from you. If this is the case, we will inform you and obtain your consent prior to obtaining the information.

 

How we collect your PI

In the majority of cases, we will collect your PI directly from you when you apply for a finance and / or insurance product and this is referred to as ‘solicited information.’ Where you consent for us to do so, we can also collect your PI from third parties, such as employers, accountants, banks or referrers (who may simply provide us with your contact details.)

Why do we collect your PI and how do we hold, use and who do we disclose it to?

We collect your PI to provide you with finance and / or insurance products you’ve requested.

 

We collect and store information about you subject to Australia’s privacy and credit reporting laws including the Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code 2024 (CR Code). Your credit and personal information will be handled in accordance with the CR Code.

If we proceed with providing finance and / or insurance products to you, we will hold your PI for a period of seven years after the finance contract has ceased. After that period, we will delete the PI we no longer require.

 

We disclose your PI to the following sources, including but not limited to:

·         financiers;

·         insurers;

·         credit reporting bodies in order to obtain credit information about you;

·         your employer, bank, solicitor or accountant to verify the information you’ve provided us;

·         the supplier (e.g. motor vehicle dealership) from where you are purchasing the asset where applicable; and

·         your referees or contacts if we are unable to contact you.

 

How we deal with an individuals who remain anonymous or use a pseudonym?

You have the option of not identifying yourself or of using a pseudonym when dealing with us. For example, if you contacted us with a general enquiry about our products, services or the financiers or insurers we have on our panel, you don’t need to identify yourself.

 

However, if you elect to apply for a finance and/ or insurance product, you will need to identify yourself, as your PI is required to support a finance application.

 

How we deal with solicited information

We will only collect information form you or from a third party with your consent, that is reasonably necessary for our main function or activity, that is, any activity related to a finance and or insurance application. Whilst we generally don’t collect sensitive information, we will only do so if it is related to our main function or activity and we obtain your consent to collect it.

 

How we deal with unsolicited information

If we receive PI about you that you did not solicit, we will determine if we could have obtained this information by lawful and fair means. An example may be where we obtain information about you from your accountant or solicitor. However, if we determine we would be unable to collect the information by lawful and fair means or if the information is not reasonably necessary for our main function or activity, we will destroy or permanently de-identify the information.

 

Notification of the collection and use of personal information

When we collect PI directly from you, we will advise you of the purposes for which it was collected, who it will be disclosed to and why, how you can access your PI and seek its correction or how you can make a complaint if you believe your PI was not handled in accordance with this policy or the APPs.

 

In circumstances where we collect PI from a third party about you, we will inform you of that collection and if the PI is reasonably necessary for our main function or activity, how we intend on using it and who we will disclose it to.

 

Direct marketing and how you can opt out of receiving marketing material

We may use the PI we collected from you for the purpose of marketing about additional products or services available to you, both via our group and third parties. These marketing activities may be conducted via e-mail, telephone, social media platforms, SMS, mail or any other electronic means. We won’t sell your PI to any organization outside our group.

 

If you do not wish to receive marketing material from us, you can opt out and any time but simply sending an e-mail and we will update our records and systems accordingly. Alternatively, you can call us and advise us you no longer wish to receive marketing material. Generally speaking, we will stop sending direct marketing material to you within 30 days of receiving the request.

 

Cross-border disclosure of PI

Our group operates in Australia, however, we may share your information with organisations outside Australia whom we are affiliated and have contractual arrangements with. These countries include, but are not limited to:

 

·         Germany;

·         New Zealand;

·         United Kingdom;

·         Philippines;

·         India;

·         Singapore;

·         Japan;

·         Malaysia;

·         Vietnam; and

·         the United States of America.

 

As electronic or networked storage can be accessed from various countries via an internet connection, it’s not always practicable to know in which country your information may be held. If your information is stored in this way, disclosures may occur in countries other than those listed.

 

Overseas organisations may be required to disclose information we share with them under a foreign law. In those instances, we will not be responsible for that disclosure.

 

Use and collection of government related identifiers

As part of the finance application process, we may collect government related identifiers from you that appear on certain documents. Examples of government related identifiers include, but are not limited to:

·         Driver’s Licence numbers;

·         Passport numbers; and

·         Tax File Numbers.

 

We won’t use a government related identifier to identify you or your application, as generally we will use your name and / or an application number.

 

When providing certain finance and / or insurance products to you, we may be required to disclose certain government related identifies, such as a Driver’s Licence number to a financier or insurer, which forms part of their identification process.

 

However, there are specific requirements relating to Tax File Numbers. Under the Tax File Number Rule 2015, TFNs should only be collected under superannuation, taxation and personal assistance laws. We will take all reasonable steps to permanently de-identify any TFN that appears on a document we have received from you, your employer or accountant.

 

How we ensure your PI is up to date and accurate

We will make every reasonable effort to ensure that the PI we hold about you is accurate, up to date and complete. However, if any of your PI needs to be updated, please contact us (refer to the Contact Us section of this policy) and we will update it for you.

 

How do we keep your PI secure?

We take the security of your PI seriously and as information is stored both electronically and in hardcopy format, we have a variety of safety measures in place to protect your PI from misuse, modification, interference, loss, unauthorized access or disclosure. Some of the safety measures include, but are not limited to:

·         confidentiality agreements requirements of our employees and external representatives;

·         document storage security policies;

·         security measures for access to our systems;

·         only giving access to PI to authorized staff and representatives who require access to such information;

·         premises security; and

·         electronic security systems such as firewalls and data encryption.

 

Where we store PI physically or electronically with third party data storage providers, we have contractual arrangements to ensure those providers take appropriate security measures to protect that that information and restrict those who access it. In the event of a data breach involving your information, we will notify you as soon as practicable in accordance with our obligations under the CR Code.