Commitment
to Privacy and Responsible Use of Information
At
South West Slopes Credit Union, we are committed to ensuring the privacy
of our members’ information. We comply with the Privacy Act 1988 as well
as the National Privacy Principles. The National Privacy Principles came
into effect from 21st December 2001 and aim to ensure that
organisations that hold information about people handle the information
responsibly. Among other things the Privacy Act regulates the collection,
storage, quality, use and disclosure of personal information.
We
have robust systems and procedures in place to protect our members’ private
information.
Furthermore
the Credit Union Code of Practice has been amended in order to include
the recent new National Privacy Principles.
The
South West Slopes Credit Union privacy policy explains how we protect,
collect, store, use or disclose our members’ personal information.
The
policy explains amongst other things the importance of
- the member’s consent before
we disclose their personal information
- how the member’s privacy
is protected when they access our web sites via the Internet
-
how we use the member’s personal information
- our
duty of confidentiality
- direct
marketing and the member’s privacy
- access
to the member’s information
- storing
personal information securely
-
resolving member’s concerns / complaints
If
you have a complaint, contact the
Operations
Manager
South West Slopes Credit Union Ltd.
89 Boorowa Street
Young
NSW 2594
Telephone 02 63 841111
Fax 02 63 821744
Email: enquiries@swscu.com.au
We
will respond to your complaint as soon as possible but no later than 2
working days to let you know who is responsible for managing your complaint
and try to resolve the complaint within 10 working days.
Privacy
Statement and Consent
As
a member of a credit union we will collect personal information from you
from time to time. This statement explains how we collect, use and disclose
personal information. We will not use or disclose your information otherwise
than as set out in this statement, for a purpose you would reasonably
expect, a purpose required or authorised by law, or a purpose otherwise
disclosed to or authorised by you.
‘Personal
information’ is information about and which identifies individuals. It
includes information obtained from any source and, should you apply for
a loan or act as a guarantor of a loan, it will include anything about
credit worthiness, standing history and capacity which, under and in accordance
with the Privacy Act 1988, may lawfully be exchanged.
Purposes
for which we may collect and use personal information
You
agree that personal information about you which may at any time be provided
to us in connection with a facility for which application is made may
be held and used by us to assess and process the application, to establish,
provide and administer the facility and to execute your instructions.
You agree, if you make application for credit to us or if you act as a
guarantor in respect of credit we may provide, that, in assessing the
application (or, if relevant, in assessing whether to accept you as a
guarantor), we may seek and obtain personal information about you from
a credit reporting agency or other financial institution and may give
personal information about you to another financial institution.
You also agree that we may hold and use personal information about you,
which may at any time be provided to us in connection with a facility
for which you make application to us, for the purposes (as relevant) of
: -
- considering any other
application you may make to us
-
complying with legislative and regulatory requirements
-
performing administrative functions, including accounting, risk management,
record keeping, archiving, systems development, credit scoring and staff
training
-
managing our rights and obligations in relation to external payment systems>
- conducting market and
customer satisfaction research
- developing, establishing
and administering alliances and other arrangements (including rewards
programs) with other organisations in relation to the promotion, administration
and use of our respective products and services
-
developing and identifying products and services that may interest you:
and (unless you ask us not to) providing you with information about other
products and services
To
be a member of a credit union the Corporations Act requires us to obtain
your name and address.
If
a facility for which you make application to us is an ‘account’, as defined
in the Financial Transactions Reports Act 1988, the collection by us of
some information to verify your identity and address is required by that
Act. Otherwise, the collection of information about you is not required
by law, but without it, we may not be able to provide you with the facility
for which you apply.
Where
personal information which we collect about you is sensitive information
(such as information about health status, membership of a professional
or trade association or a criminal record), you nevertheless consent to
its collection by us .
Disclosure
of personal information to third parties
You
agree that we may collect personal information about you from, and disclose
it to, the following, even if the disclosure is to an organisation overseas
and that organisation is not subject to the same privacy obligations which
apply to us:
-
credit reporting agencies
-
other financial institutions
- mortgage insurers used by us
and reinsurers of any mortgage insurer our agents, contractors and external
advisers (including Credit Union Services Corporation (Australia) Limited)
whom we engage from time to time to carry out, or advise on, our functions
and activities your agents and contractors, including finance broker,
legal adviser, financial adviser, builder and settlement agent
your executor, administrator, trustee,, guardian or attorney
your referees, including your employer
regulatory bodies, government agencies, law enforcement bodies and courts
any person who introduces you to us
other
organisations (including Credit Union Services Corporation (Australia)
Limited) with whom we have alliances or arrangements (including rewards
programs) for the purpose of promoting our respective products and services,
and any agents used by us and our business partners in administering such
an arrangement or alliance
anyone supplying goods or services to you in connection with a rewards
program associated with a facility
debt collecting agencies
external payment systems operators
your insurers or prospective insurers and their underwriters
your
sureties and guarantors and prospective sureties and guarantors
an
organisation proposing to fund acquisition of a acquire, any interest
in any obligation you may owe us (whether under a loan, guarantee or security),
that organisation’s agent, persons involved in assessing the risks and
funding of the acquisition and, after acquisition, the purchaser and any
manager
- any
person to the extent necessary, in our view, in order to carry out any
instruction you give to us; and
(unless
you tell us not to) our related bodies corporate for the marketing of
their products and services
Personal
information about third parties
You
represent that, if any time you supply us with personal information about
another person ( for example, a referee), you are authorised to do so
and you agree to inform that person who we are, that we will use and disclose
their personal information for the purposes set out above, and that they
can gain access to that information.
Access
to your personal information and contacting us
Subject
to provisions of the Privacy Act 1988, you may access personal information
which we may hold about you at any time by asking us.
You
may be charged according to the time spent on gathering the relevantinformation
From
time to time we may use the personal information we have collected from
you to identify products and services, which may be of interest to you.
We may then contact you to let you know about these products or services.
Notwithstanding
anything else in this statement, you may, at any time, advise us that
you do not wish to receive any direct marketing communication. You may
do this by giving us notice in writing.
Data
quality
We
do take reasonable steps to make sure that the personal information we
collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete and up-to-date.
If
you do notice that your personal information is incomplete or incorrect
please contact us and we will correct it immediately.
Data
Security
We
protect the personal information we hold from misuse and from unauthorised
access by using state of the art security systems on our premises to protect
hard copy material. We also maintain computer and network security; for
example we use firewalls (security measures for the internet) and other
security systems such as identifiers and passwords to control access to
computer systems.
We
constantly work on improving documented procedures and systems and all
staff are trained in confidentiality issues.
Furthermore
we destroy personal information if it is no longer needed for any purpose.
8.Duty
of confidentiality
We
have a duty to keep confidential all personal information we hold including
- your
name, address and financial data
- the
debit or credit balance of your account
- details
of transactions on your account
Our
duty of confidentiality applies except where disclosure of your personal
information is
-
compelled by law(for example the Australian Taxation Office or disclosure
to courts
-
in the public interest (for example, where a crime, fraud or misdeed is
committed
-
in SWSCU’s interest (for example, disclosure to a court in the event of
legal action to another party)
-
with your consent
Web
site security and privacy
At
South West Slopes Credit Union we understand that as a member using the
credit union website how important the privacy of your personal information
is to you. The following statement addresses relevant privacy issues.
However if you have any further questions relating to this privacy statement,
please do not hesitate to email us. ( enquiries@swscu.com.au)
Information
we collect
For
each visitor to our web site, our web server collects the following type
of information for statistical purposes;
The
number of users who visit the website,
· The date and time of the visits,
The
number of pages viewed,
Traffic
patterns
This
is anonymous statistical data and no attempt will be made to identify
users or their browsing activities. We this data to evaluate our website
performance and to improve the content we display to you.
Cookies
To
provide you with a range of website features, online products & services
we use two types of cookies.
Firstly,
we use permanent cookies to keep a record of all visits the website and
to provide personalised features. You can choose which page you would
like to make your homepage. These cookies do not contain any personally
identifying information. They are used to help us develop the design and
layout of the website, improve applications, and measure the effectiveness
of our marketing activities.
Secondly,
we use session cookies as part of the identification process for our online
services such as the Internet Banking. This is for security purposes to
determine that you are who you say you are and to provide you with your
confidential account information. These cookies are integral in providing
you with the service.
To
evaluate the effectiveness of our online advertising, we may use Third
parties to collect statistical data on the South West Slopes Credit Union
website within their permanent cookies. These cookies do not capture any
personally identifying information from our website. They are used to
evaluate and measure the effectiveness of our marketing activities.
When
you provide information
The
type of information that we collect from you will depend on what products
and services you use on the website. Specific details on each product
and service are detailed within their Terms & Conditions on the website
and supersede this general statement.
When
you provide us with personal details i.e. when applying for a South West
Slopes Credit Union product or online service we will request personal
information such as your name and address, bank account details, your
e-mail address and contact phone number. This information is fundamental
in order for you to open an account with us, and so that we may contact
you when necessary on issues relating directly to the product or service.
This practice is consistent with our branch and telephone policies.
We
will not use your personal information for any purpose which is not related
to the products or services we provide to you or for any purpose for which
you would not reasonably expect us to use the information. Your information
may be used within the South West Slopes Credit Union to enable us to
offer you products and services that will enhance our relationship with
you. It is your decision whether you wish us to provide this service to
you. We may release information about you where this is a duty to the
public to disclose information, where we are required by law or where
the interest of the credit union require disclosure. However, we will
not sell or disclose your information to any individual or entity outside
the South West Slopes Credit Union, for marketing purposes.
Email
Address
If
you are registered customer for our online service such as Internet Banking,
we may use your e-mail address to advise you of any upgrades or changes
to these services.
It
is our policy to only email members who give us permission to do so. If
we send you an email for a commercial purpose, we will give you the option
of not receiving further communication of this nature.
Security
of Captured Data
When
capturing member data it is passed through a secure South West Slopes
Credit Union server using encryption technology to ensure that your information
is protected when being sent over the Internet.
Additionally,
all stored member information is protected from unauthorised access through
the use of secure passwords and user log ons or other security procedures. |