Who might have access to my information or documents?
Your privacy is very important and we are committed to protecting the personal information we collect from you. However, in order to help you with your visa, we may need to disclose your information to:
- Your employer if the application if sponsored by them;
- Your family if they are included in your application;
- The Department of Border Security;
- Other government departments;
- Individuals in our business who need to deal with your information, including some who work as contractors;
- Partnering law firms and service firms we work with who may need to access your information to service you.
We will ask you to waive your privacy in the above circumstances. If you would rather not do this then we may not be able to assist you.
What types of information is collected?
We may collect and hold personal information about you or your company, that is, information that can identify you, and is relevant to providing you with the services you are seeking. This personal information may include details such as your name, age, gender, contact information, etc.
How do we collect it?
Personal information will generally be collected directly from you through the use of any of our standard forms, over the internet, via email, or through a telephone conversation with you. We may also collect personal information about you from third parties acting on your behalf (for instance, agents or your employer).
There may, however, be some instances where personal information about you will be collected indirectly because it is unreasonable or impractical to collect personal information directly from you. We will usually notify you about these instances in advance, or where that is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable after the information has been collected.
Why do we collect it?
The personal information that we collect and hold about you, depends on your interaction with us. Generally, we collect, use and hold your personal information for the purposes of:
- providing immigration services to you (and your family);
- providing you with newsletters, information and other communications;
- providing you with information about other services that we offer that may be of interest to you;
- analysing our services and customer needs with a view to improving those services.
If the personal information you provide to us is incomplete or inaccurate, we may be unable to provide you, or someone else you know, with the services you, or they, are seeking.
Are you collecting my data if I visit your website?
If you access our website or portal, we may collect additional personal information about you in the form of your IP address or domain name. Our website may use cookies from time to time. The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and to prepare customised web pages for them. We may collect and store information about your visit to our website, including the name of the domain from which you accessed the internet, the date and time you accessed the website, the internet address of the website from which you linked directly to the website and the pages you accessed while visiting the website. This information does not in itself identify you and is used to measure the number of visitors to the website and how it was navigated. This information assists us to make the website more useful to you.
Our website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of linked websites. It is your responsibility to investigate the privacy policies of those other sites.
How do we use and disclose Personal Information?
We need to use your information to help you with your application and to manage future applications that you may want to make. We also need to share your information with your employer and Government agencies
Generally, we only use or disclose personal information about you for the purposes for which it was collected (as set out above). We may disclose personal information about you to:
- our related entities and partnering firms to facilitate our and their internal business processes, and
- third-party service providers who assist us in operating our business, and these services providers may not be required to comply with our privacy policy.
In some circumstances, the law may permit or require us to use or disclose personal information for other purposes (for instance where you would reasonably expect us to and the purpose is related to the purpose of collection).
How is my information stored?
We store your personal information in different ways, including in paper and electronic format. We take reasonable steps to ensure the security of all information we collects from risks such as loss or unauthorised access, destruction, use, modification or disclosure of data. For example, your personal information is maintained in a secure environment which can be accessed only by authorised personnel. However, no data transmission over the internet or information stored on servers accessible through the internet can be guaranteed to be fully secure. These activities are undertaken at your risk.
Can I access and correct my personal information?
You may request access to your personal information collected at any time, by making a written request. If, upon receiving access to your personal information or at any other time, you believe the personal information we hold about you is incorrect, incomplete or out of date, please advise us and we will update it. We will take reasonable steps to correct the information so that it is accurate, complete and up to date.
What if I want to make a complaint or contact you about my privacy?
Please contact our privacy officer at + 61 2 92226100 and we will take reasonable steps to investigate the complaint and respond to you. If you are not happy with our response, you may complain directly to the Federal Information Commissioner.
Relevant Law & Changes
The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act), Australian Privacy Principles and registered privacy codes govern the way in which we must mange your personal information. This policy describes how we collect, use, disclose and otherwise manage personal information about you. If you are a European national we also manage your data in accordance with the GDPR. Our privacy policy may change from time to time particularly as new rules, regulations and industry codes are introduced.
Information on the Migration Agent Profession
Finally, please find here a booklet about the Consumer Guide in Australia for your information. We are required to provide this to all our clients.
