Privacy Policy
About this Statement
This Statement explains how SMC handles and protects any personal information provided to it.
SMC is bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). The purpose of this Statement is to ensure that SMC complies with these requirements and that you understand our obligations to you.
What is Personal Information?
Personal information is any information that can be, or likely could be used to identify you.
‘Personal information’ is defined by the Privacy Act as:
Information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not and whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.
Why does SMC collect personal information?
SMC may use personal information to provide its products and services in the following ways:
Services
- Establish the identity of recipients of our services
- Administer and manage the delivery of our services
- Manage our risks and to help identify potentially illegal or fraudulent conduct
- Comply with legal and regulatory reporting obligations
- Appoint our Directors, employees and contractors
We may also use and disclose your personal information for purposes related to those mentioned above, such as arranging for services to be provided by third parties.
How does SMC collect personal information?
SMC will only collect personal information directly from the individual to whom the information directly relates or their authorised agent.
SMC collects personal information through:
- Forms
- Access and use of SMC websites
- Telephone conversations
- Documents provided by service users
- Letters and e-mail correspondence
Third parties
Unless there is explicit written consent SMC will not disclose personal information to third parties. In certain circumstances we may disclose personal information where required or authorised by law, including in emergency situations and to assist law enforcement agencies.
How does SMC protect personal information?
We are dedicated to keeping your personal information secure. We take a number of steps to protect your personal information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include:
- Restricting access to our office space to authorised persons.
- Restricting access to our information technology (IT) systems to authorised users.
- Requiring use of electronic records instead of paper records, where possible.
- Requiring encryption, password protection or secure file transfer protocols for transmission of any files containing personal information.
- Restricting access to personal information saved on our IT systems to only those persons who need to use the information.
- Requiring that personal information not be left unattended.
- Making sure our people understand the importance of protecting the confidentiality of personal information.
- Requiring outsourced service providers and any third party to meet minimum standards.
- We may hold your personal information in a combination of secure computer storage facilities, hard copy documents and other formats.
Does an individual have to provide personal information?
No – An individual can choose not to provide any information. If we are unable to collect personal information or the information is incomplete or inaccurate, we may not be able to provide a service or it may result in a delay of processing requests.
Does SMC use personal information for direct marketing?
No – We will only disclose sensitive personal information where consent has been provided.
Does SMC disclose personal information outside of Australia?
No
How long does SMC keep personal information?
Personal information is destroyed or de-identified when it is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained or when we are no longer required to retain it by law (whichever is later).
How can an individual access and correct personal information?
Under the Privacy Act you have the right to access the personal information we hold about you, with some exceptions. An individual must request access to information in writing and outline why access is required. We will need to verify the identity of the person requesting access before we give access to personal information. We may refuse access to personal information where:
- Access will unreasonably impact the privacy of others
- Access is unlawful or contrary to a court order
- Access is likely to interfere with law enforcement activities
- We have reason to suspect unlawful activity or misconduct of a serious nature that relates to the functions or activities of SMC and access will likely prejudice the taking of appropriate action in relation to that matter
Individuals also have the right to know what information we hold and have it corrected.
What about privacy and the internet?
SMC may collect certain personal information through use of its website. The purpose of collecting this information is to help us secure our online portals and to provide you with more relevant content, including presenting product and service information tailored to your needs or preferences.
Cookies: SMC collects certain personal information when individuals use our websites. This information is collected through the use of Cookies, which are small text files that are transferred to a user’s computer hard drive by a website or application for the purpose of storing information about the user’s identity, browser type or website visiting patterns.
If an individual has concerns about cookies, they may adjust internet browser settings to disable cookies. However, disabling cookies may impact the functionality of the website and we may not be able to provide all services available on the website.
E-mail: If SMC receives an e-mail from an individual, it will use the e-mail address and any personal information contained in the e-mail to respond to any request. SMC must only retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which the information is collected or as required by law.
External Service Providers: SMC may use service providers to track usage on its websites, but personal information should not be collected via this process.
Links to third party websites?
Our websites will contain links to external third party websites.
Please be aware, that third party websites are not covered by this Statement and are not subject to the standards and procedures of SMC. These websites should provide their own privacy statement and we recommend you review them when using their website.
How can you contact SMC about your privacy?
All enquiries or complaints can be directed to: info@smcaustralia.com. Suite 2, Level 18, 150 Lonsdale Street Melbourne VIC 3000.
External Dispute Resolution
If a person is unsatisfied with our dispute resolution process, they can access an external dispute resolution body.
Australian Financial Complaints Authority: Phone: 1800 931 678. Website: www.afca.org.au. Mail: GPO Box 3, Melbourne, VIC 3001
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner: Phone: 1300 363 992. Website: www.oaic.gov.au. Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
You can find out more information about the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. The Information Commissioner may be contacted at www.oaic.gov.au, by email at enquiries@oaic.gov.au or by phone at 1300 363 992.