BABO GROUP
1. Introduction
In this Privacy Policy, ‘Babo Group’, ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ refer to Babo Group Pty Ltd and the partnership carrying on business under the name Babo Group, and includes any entity owned or controlled by a Babo Group firm (we, us, our).
Babo Group is committed to protecting and maintaining your personal information and handling it in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), as well as any other applicable law, including our obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (AML/CTF Act).
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, hold, use, disclose and protect personal information, including information used to verify your identity, and how you can access or correct your information or make a complaint.
A current version of this Policy is always available on our website, or may be obtained free of charge by contacting our Privacy Officer using the details in section 15 (How to Contact Us).
2. Open and Transparent Management of Personal Information
Babo Group manages personal information in an open and transparent way, in line with APP 1. We will be clear with you about what personal information we hold, how we collect it, and for what purposes we use and disclose it.
If you have any query or complaint about Babo Group’s compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details in section 15. If you believe Babo Group has breached the APPs, please contact the Privacy Officer in writing. We will respond within a reasonable time and, in any case, no more than 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may take your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) — see section 13.
3. Anonymity and Pseudonymity
Where practicable, you have the option of not identifying yourself, or of using a pseudonym, when dealing with us. However, this may not always be practicable because we need personal information to provide our professional services and to meet our legal and regulatory obligations (including client identification requirements under the AML/CTF Act). If you do not provide the information we request, we may be limited in our ability to act for you.
4. What Personal Information We Collect
The personal information we collect depends on the nature of our engagement with you, but may include:
- Full name, date of birth and gender
- Residential or business address, email address and phone number
- Bank account details
- Employment details and employment history
- Details of your financial circumstances, including assets and liabilities (actual and potential), income, expenditure, investments, insurance cover and superannuation
- Government-issued identification details, such as driver licence, passport, Medicare card, Tax File Number or other ID document numbers
- Biometric information, such as a facial image or short video, used to verify your identity
- Information about the services we provide to you and any related transactions
- Any other information you choose to provide to us
Some of this information is ‘sensitive information’ under the Privacy Act (for example, your Tax File Number, professional memberships, biometric data or health information). We will only collect sensitive information where it is reasonably necessary to provide our services or meet our legal obligations, and, unless the law otherwise provides, only with your consent.
We only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for our functions or activities, and we collect it by fair and lawful means. Wherever practicable, we collect personal information directly from you.
5. Why We Collect, Use and Disclose Your Personal Information
We collect, use and disclose your personal information to:
- Verify your identity
- Provide and manage our professional services to you, including taxation, accounting, business advisory, SMSF and financial services
- Communicate with you about your engagement with us
- Meet our legal and regulatory obligations, including AML/CTF, tax and professional standards obligations
- Detect and prevent fraud, and keep our systems secure
- Improve our services
We will not use or disclose personal information for a purpose other than the primary purpose for which it was collected, unless you would reasonably expect that use or disclosure, you have consented, or an exception under the APPs applies (see section 8). Where we have collected information from you, we may also use it for direct marketing purposes — see section 11.
6. Dealing with Unsolicited Personal Information
If Babo Group receives unsolicited personal information that we could not have lawfully collected ourselves, we will, where lawful and reasonable to do so, destroy or de-identify that information as soon as practicable. Otherwise, we will handle it in the same way as personal information we have solicited.
7. Notification of Collection
Where we collect personal information from a third party rather than directly from you, we will take reasonable steps to notify you of the collection, or otherwise ensure you are aware of the matters set out in APP 5, including the purpose of collection, who we may disclose it to, whether collection is required by law, and the consequences if you do not provide the information. We will also tell you if we are likely to disclose your personal information to overseas recipients, and if practicable, the countries in which they are located.
8. Identity Verification and Government Data Matching (DVS)
As part of our client identification and AML/CTF obligations, we may use electronic identity verification services, including the Australian Government’s Document Verification Service (DVS).
Where you have consented, your name, date of birth and identity document details will be securely sent to the relevant Commonwealth or State authority that issued your document. This may include passport offices, driver licence authorities, the Department of Home Affairs, Births Deaths and Marriages, or other authorised record holders.
These authorities check whether the details you have provided match the records they hold. We do not receive a copy of your government records — the authority returns a match result only, confirming whether your details match (yes or no).
This process may be carried out using our practice management systems (including CAS 360 and BGL Simple Fund 360) and, where applicable, through accredited identity verification providers. More information about the DVS is available at idmatch.gov.au.
9. Biometric Information
As part of identity verification, we may collect biometric information, such as a facial image or a short video of you holding your identification document.
Biometric information may be used to:
- Confirm that you are a real person and physically present
- Match your image to the photograph on your identification document
- Reduce the risk of fraud and identity theft
Biometric information is treated as sensitive information under the Privacy Act. We only use it for identity verification and related compliance purposes, and only with your consent.
10. Consent to Collection and Identity Verification
By providing your personal information and completing our identity verification process, you consent to:
- The collection, use and disclosure of your personal information for identity verification, AML/CTF and related compliance purposes
- The collection and use of biometric information, such as a facial image or video, for identity verification
- Your information being checked against records held by Commonwealth and State authorities through the DVS
- Your information being shared with our authorised service providers and identity verification providers, where applicable
Your consent is voluntary. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us using the details in section 15.
If you do not consent, or do not provide the information we need, we may not be able to verify your identity electronically. In that case, we may need to verify your identity another way, or we may not be able to provide our services to you.
11. Disclosure of Personal Information
We may disclose your personal information to:
- Superannuation fund trustees, insurance providers and product issuers, for the purpose of giving effect to advice or recommendations made by us
- Identity verification providers and Commonwealth and State authorities or official record holders, through the DVS
- Our employees and authorised representatives, on a need-to-know basis
- Our professional advisers and service providers, including for the purposes of audit, peer review, legal advice, consultancy or outsourced administration
- Providers of our practice management systems, including CAS 360, FuseSign, BGL Simple Fund 360 and Xero, to the extent necessary to deliver our services
- Reporting entities and regulators, where required to comply with AML/CTF legislation
- Regulators, law enforcement agencies or other third parties, where required or authorised by law, or reasonably necessary to assist a law enforcement agency
We do not sell your personal information.
12. Overseas (Cross-Border) Disclosure
Babo Group may transfer or store your personal information outside Australia, including where our service providers store or process data overseas.
Where we engage with, or are required to send personal information to, an overseas recipient to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected (or a related purpose), we may seek your consent to that disclosure.
If we disclose personal information to an overseas recipient without your consent, we take reasonable steps to ensure that recipient does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles, or a substantially similar scheme, in relation to that information, including through contractual protections with our providers.
13. Government-Related Identifiers
Babo Group will not adopt, use or disclose a government-related identifier (such as a Tax File Number) as our own means of identifying you, unless required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court/tribunal order.
14. Data Quality, Security and Storage
We take reasonable steps to ensure the personal information we collect, hold, use or disclose is accurate, up to date and complete. If you become aware that any personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, please contact us using the details in section 15.
We take reasonable steps to protect personal information we hold (electronic and physical) from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include secure systems, access controls, and encryption in transit and at rest where appropriate.
We retain personal information only for as long as we need it for the purposes set out in this Policy, or as required by law (including record-keeping obligations under tax and AML/CTF legislation). When we no longer need your information, we take reasonable steps to securely destroy or permanently de-identify it, unless it is unlawful or unreasonable to do so.
15. Access to and Correction of Personal Information
Access
You may at any time request access to the personal information Babo Group holds about you. Where possible, we will provide access by giving you copies of the information, allowing you to inspect it, or providing an accurate summary. If we refuse access, or cannot provide it in the manner you requested, we will give you written reasons (unless it is unreasonable to do so) and details of how to complain about the refusal. We will generally only refuse access where permitted under the APPs or otherwise lawful.
Requests for access should be made in writing to our Privacy Officer. We will respond within a reasonable period, and in any case no more than 30 days. Babo Group may charge a reasonable fee for supplying personal information, but will not charge for making the request.
Correction
If we hold information about you that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading, we will take reasonable steps to correct it, including at your request. If a third party is relying on that information, at your request we will also notify them, unless it is impracticable or unlawful to do so.
If we refuse to make a correction, we will explain why and let you know what complaint mechanisms are available. You may also ask us to associate a statement with the information, noting that you believe it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading.
16. Direct Marketing
Where we have collected your information from you, we may use it to contact you with information about our services or articles that may be of interest to you, where there is a reasonable expectation that your information will be used for this purpose and you have not opted out, or where you have provided your consent.
We will not use sensitive information for direct marketing unless you have provided consent. You can opt out of marketing communications at any time using the unsubscribe link in our messages, or by contacting us using the details in section 15.
17. Privacy Complaints
If you have a complaint about how we have handled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer first, in writing, using the details in section 15. We will acknowledge, investigate and respond to your complaint within a reasonable time, and in any case within 30 days.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may take your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.
18. Privacy on Our Website
When you visit our website, we may collect statistical data about your visit (such as pages viewed and navigation patterns) that is not personally identifiable. We use this information for statistical purposes and to improve our website. We generally only collect personal information from our website when it is voluntarily provided by you.
19. How to Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Policy, wish to access or correct your personal information, or want to exercise any of your privacy rights, please contact our Privacy Officer:
- Business name: Babo Group Pty Ltd
- Privacy Officer: Pat Soldo
- Postal address: PO Box 202, Preston VIC 3072
- Phone: (03) 9466 0200
20. Updates to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, our services, or the law. The latest version will always be available on our website or on request from our Privacy Officer. Where changes are significant, we will take reasonable steps to let you know.