Privacy
Who does this Privacy Statement apply to and what does it cover?
This Privacy Statement (this Statement) applies to Locus Valuations Pty Ltd (we/us/our) and our Website, at http://locusvaluations.au.
We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information in an open and transparent way.
This Statement explains how we collect, handle, store and protect personal information when we provide professional services to you, to our clients, when you use this Website, or when we undertake any other activities that form part of the operation of our business.
What laws apply to us?
When handling personal information, we will comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (the APPs) of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act) and other applicable legislation, such as the Spam Act 2003 (Cth) and the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 (Cth). When required to do so, we will also comply with data protection laws of other jurisdictions.
The APPs are legally binding principles that are designed to ensure that individuals’ personal information is protected by us, from the time the information is collected by us through to its destruction. The APPs also give individuals the right to access their personal information and have it corrected if it is incorrect in a timely manner.
We take our obligations pursuant to the APPs, Australian State and Territory privacy legislation and other applicable data protection laws seriously. Therefore, in addition to this statement, we also maintain an internal privacy policy and where appropriate, include terms in our agreements with clients that describe how we handle personal information during the delivery of our professional services.
Information we collect when we provide professional services to our clients
We may be provided with personal information directly by our clients to enable us to deliver professional services or to undertake a review before we agree to provide services. This information may relate to clients’ employees, members or customers, or it may relate to third parties (for example, the spouses and dependents of a client’s employees, members or customers).
As part of providing professional services to our clients, we may also collect personal information from other sources, such as from other individuals, from appointed accountants and tax agents, or from publicly available sources.
The types of personal information we may collect or be provided with include but are not limited to contact details, date of birth, gender, employment records and financial records.
We may also collect sensitive personal information (also called ‘special category information’), for example, where we are provided with such information directly by our clients to enable us to provide professional services, or where we collect information directly from individuals with their consent. This sensitive personal information may include government identifiers such as tax file number, drivers’ licence number, passport and Medicare numbers, Information about racial or ethnic origin, or membership of a political association or trade union.
Where we are provided with personal information by a client, we take steps to ensure that the client has complied with the relevant obligations under applicable data protection laws in relation to that information. This may include that the client has obtained any necessary consent for us to collect, use and disclose that information.
Information we collect when we perform any other activities that form part of the operation of our business
We may collect personal information when undertaking other activities that form part of the operation of our business but do not directly form part of providing professional services to our clients. For example, we might collect personal information from suppliers, contractors and third party service providers that we engage to help us operate our business, research on current issues or as part of projects or initiatives we are conducting with other organisations.
The types of information that we collect may vary depending on the nature of the activity. However, we will take reasonable steps to provide clear information about the nature of those activities and the purpose for which we are collecting your information.
Information we collect via this Website, including cookies
We may collect your personal contact details when you use this Website, when you receive promotional material, or when you attend an event sponsored by us.
To improve your experience when you use this Website and to ensure that it is functioning optimally, we also use cookies (small text files stored in a user’s browser) and web beacons (electronic images that allow this Website to count visitors who have accessed a particular page and to access certain cookies). Additional information on how we use cookies and other tracking technologies and how you can manage these can be found in our Cookie Notice.
How do we use personal information collected to provide services to our clients?
We use the personal information that we collect to provide clients with agreed services. We have an agreement with each client that governs the provision of our services and sets out the purpose for which we may use any information that the client provides to us (including personal information). We use that information as permitted by the client agreement and we do not use that information for any other purpose, unless it is necessary to comply with a legal or professional right, obligation or duty that we have.
How we use information collected when we perform other activities that form part of the operation of our business
When we collect personal information as part of performing other activities that form part of our business, we will take reasonable steps to provide clear information about the nature of those activities and how we will use any personal information collected.
We may also use non-personal, de-identified and aggregated information for several purposes including for data analytics, research, submissions, thought leadership and promotional purposes.
How do we use information collected via this Website or through other sources?
We may use personal information that we collect from you via this Website, through your interactions with our staff or through your attendance at events, to provide you with promotional materials, thought leadership or communications about services provided by us that we think may be of interest to you. We may provide these materials to you directly, for example via email, or through third parties who provide us with marketing services, for example via your news feed on professional networking platforms.
We may also use personal information to protect our rights and those of our users or to comply with a legal or professional right or duty that we have.
We will not use your personal information collected via this Website or through other sources to market the goods and services of third parties to you without first notifying you and seeking your consent.
We may also use your personal information collected via this Website to manage and improve this Website. If you do not want to receive marketing materials from us, you can click on the unsubscribe function in the communication or email us via our Contact page.
Additional information on how we use cookies and other tracking technologies and how you can manage these can be found in our Cookie Notice.
When will we disclose your personal information?
We will only disclose your personal information as set out below. Importantly, we will never sell your personal information to third parties for advertising purposes or disclose it for an unrelated secondary purpose without your authorisation.
We may be required to disclose personal information to law enforcement, courts, regulatory or government agencies, or to other third parties to comply with legal or regulatory obligations or requests, or where there is a legal or professional right or duty for us to do so.
We may share non-personal, de-identified and aggregated information with third parties for several purposes, including thought leadership and promotional purposes.
How do we protect your information?
We hold personal information in hard copy and electronic formats. We use a range of physical, operational and technological security measures to protect this information. These measures include:
- Staff education and training to ensure awareness of their privacy obligations when handling your personal information;
- Administrative and technical controls to restrict access to personal information to only those people who need access;
- Technological security measures, including fire walls, encryption and anti-virus software;
- Physical security measures, appropriate security monitoring and clean desk policies.
How can you access your personal information, or seek to have it corrected or deleted?
You may access your personal information, or seek to have that information corrected, if you believe that it is incorrect, at any time. To request access, or to correct your personal information, please Contact us. We will then get in contact with you and will work with you to provide you with access to your information or to determine whether it requires correction.
Who can you contact if you have further questions or if you wish to make a complaint?
If you have any questions, concerns or complaints regarding your privacy, please contact the Managing Director at:
The Managing Director
PO Box 246
Concord NSW 2137
enquiry@locusvaluations.au
We take privacy concerns and complaints that we receive seriously. We will acknowledge the receipt of a complaint promptly and will work with you to resolve it on a timely basis.
What if you are not satisfied with how we have handled your complaint?
If you believe that we have not adequately handled your privacy complaint, you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (the OAIC), whose contact details are as follows:
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5288
Sydney NSW 2001
1300 363 992
www.oaic.gov.au
For further information about privacy and the protection of privacy, visit the OAIC’s website at www.oaic.gov.au.
Changes to this Privacy Statement
We may modify or amend this Privacy Statement from time to time in our sole discretion by posting a revised Privacy Statement on this webpage. Such revisions shall be effective from the revision date. It is your responsibility to periodically review this Privacy Statement to keep informed as to how we are protecting your information.