Privacy

 Our Privacy Policy

Peter Vickers Business Group is committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Privacy Act 1998 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. This Privacy Policy contains important information about the type of personal information we collect, the purposes for which it is used, how it is managed and to whom it is disclosed.  It also deals with how you can complain about a breach of privacy laws, how you can access the personal information we hold and how to have that information corrected.

What personal Information we collect

In this policy personal information means information from which an individual is either identified or reasonably identifiable.

Clients or Potential Clients

The personal information we collect and store about you is specific to and required for the particular service that we provide to you.  It comprises your name, address details, date and place of birth, contact details.  This can include, but is not limited to, tax file number, Australian business number, bank account and credit card details, business and financial information and data from previous or current insurance policies.

Sensitive Information is a subcategory of personal information which may include information or opinion about an individual.  The sensitive information we collect about you may include information about your health, occupational information, professional associations, lifestyle information that relates to insurance and any criminal convictions you may have.

Employees and Potential Employees

When recruiting and employing staff, we collect personal information such as your name, address details, telephone numbers, email address and other information specific to the recruiting/ employment activities. This can include, but is not limited to previous work experience, education, references, tax file number and superannuation details.

How we collect personal information

We collect information from you in various ways.

• Face to face meetings;
• Telephone enquiries;
• When you submit an online query form;
• When you subscribe to our newsletters and seminars online  

We may need to collect personal information from another person or entity such as the Australian Taxation Office, ASIC, your bank, your financial adviser, your employer, your lawyer or other sources as required. We do not collect personal information without your consent.

When you provide personal information to us about other individuals, we rely on you to have made them aware that you will or may provide the information to us and the relevant purposes for which we will use this information. You also need to inform them how they can access this information.

Website and Client Portal Users

The information provided on this website does not cover all aspects of the law on the relevant subject matter. Professional advice should be sought before any action is taken based upon the matters described and discussed on this site.

 To the extent permitted by law, we make no representations about the suitability of the content of this site for any purpose. All content is provided without any warranty of any kind. We disclaim all warranties and conditions with regard to the content, including but not limited to all implied warranties and conditions of fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement.

 We will not be liable for any damages or injury caused by, including but not limited to, any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, defect, delay in operation of transmission, computer virus, or line failure. To the extent permitted by law we will not be liable for any damages or injury, including but not limited to, special or consequential damages that result from the use of, or the inability to use, the materials in this site.

 We believe the content of this site to be accurate, complete and current, however there are no warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the content. It is your responsibility to verify any information before relying on it. The content of this site may include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors.

 We reserve the right to modify the content of this site from time to time.

When using our website or client portal you may provide us with personal information. We will use all reasonable measures to protect any such information from being used for any other purpose, other than the purpose for which it was intended.

Forms
Our Website allows visitors to submit information via Self-Service forms (Quotes and Contact request).  The information submitted via the Forms is not encrypted.

Anonymous data
We use technology to collect anonymous information about the use of our website, for example when you browse our website our service provider logs your server address, the date and time of your visit, the pages and links accessed and the type of browser used. It does not identify you personally and we only use this information for statistical purposes and to improve the content and functionality of our website, to better understand our clients and markets and to improve our services.

Cookies
In order to collect this anonymous data we may use “cookies”.  Cookies are small pieces of information which are sent to your browser and stored on your computer’s hard drive. Sometimes they identify users where the website requires information to be retained from one page to the next. This is purely to increase the functionality of the site. Cookies by themselves cannot be used to discover the identity of the user. Cookies do not damage your computer and you can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie so that you can decide if you want to accept it. Once you leave the site, the cookie is destroyed and no personal or other information about you is stored.

 Why we collect personal information

The information collected allows us to:

• Provide accounting services;
• Provide insurance, financial and investment advice;
• Source and facilitate finance;
• Initiate and maintain your and/or your employee’s membership of superannuation funds;
• Arrange and place insurance cover;
• Assess and underwrite risks;
• Administer your claims or claims brought against you.

Marketing

We distribute to our clients and contacts, general information and newsletters regarding services provided by Peter Vickers Business Group. We may also send you information of new services; events or articles we think will be of interest to you.

Direct Marketing Opt Out

If you do not want to receive marketing correspondence from us, you can choose to opt out.  To opt out, you can either:

• Use the unsubscribe function in our emails;
• Contact us using the Contact Details below

How we store personal information

We will store your personal information in a number of ways:

• In firewall and password protected electronic record management systems
• In paper files stored in physically secure premises

The only people who are permitted to access personal information are those employees or contractors who need personal information to do their jobs. All employees and contractors are contractually bound by the confidentially agreements in place on how personal information must be treated.

We take all reasonable steps to ensure that all personal information we hold is secure from any unauthorised access, misuse or disclosure, however we cannot guarantee that unauthorised access will not occur.

Disclosure and exchange of Information with overseas parties

The personal information that we collect from you may be disclosed to other parties who are involved with the provision of our products and services to you.

Such parties include your insurer, any insurance intermediary involved in the transaction, service providers such as claims assessors, investigators or lawyers (should they be required in the event of a claim) and other insurers (for the purpose of seeking claims recoveries or to assist them to assess insurance risks.

Where we have recommended an overseas insurer such as Lloyd’s of London we may be required to disclose the information to them. We will tell you at time of advising you on your insurance if they are overseas and in which country the insurer is located.

The Back Office Shared Services Pty Ltd (BOSS) team of Peter Vickers and Associates Ltd, located in Bangalore India, may access personal information for the sole purpose of performing accounting services.  BOSS abides by The Australian Privacy Principles.

The PVBG directors and team members travel regularly overseas. Conducting work from abroad may require the temporary storage of personal information, accessed from our databases, on the mobile device being used.

Access to and accuracy of personal information

If you wish to access or correct the personal information, we hold about you at any time you can do so by contacting us using the Contact Details noted below.

If we are unable to provide you with the requested information, we will provide you with a written explanation.

We do not charge for receiving a request for access to personal information or for complying with a correction request.  Where the information requested is not a straightforward issue and will involve a considerable amount of time we may charge a reasonable fee.  In such an instance we will advise you of the fee prior to proceeding with the request.

Complaints

We are committed to resolving complaints you may have, please contact us at any time by using the Contact Details below.

We will consider your complaint through our internal complaints resolution process and we will try to respond with a decision within 20 days of you making the complaint.

If we cannot resolve the complaint to your satisfaction within a reasonable time, you or we may refer the complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.