Privacy Policy

Purpose:

This privacy policy applies to Online Tax Refunds (ABN 66 158 616 703) and any entity owned or controlled by Online Tax Refunds ("Related Entity") in relation to Online Tax Refunds' and its Related Entities' (together "Online Tax Refunds") operations in Australia. This policy explains how Online Tax Refunds handles personal information and complies with the requirements of the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) ("Privacy Act"). If you have any further questions in relation to this policy, please contact our Privacy Officer at tax@onlinetaxrefunds.net.au

Exclusions:

This policy relates to Online Tax Refunds' collection and handling of personal information that is covered by the Privacy Act. It is not intended to cover categories of personal information that are not covered by the Privacy Act.

Your privacy and online security:

Central to the success of Online Tax Refunds is our commitment to our clients. We honour without reservation our obligation to respect and protect the privacy of the personal information of individuals with whom we deal.

This Privacy Policy sets out the basis on which your personal information obtained via Online Tax Refunds (“the Website”) will be processed by us. For the purpose of the Privacy Act 1988 (“the Act”), the Website is owned and operated by KC Taxation & Accounting Pty Ltd T/A Online Tax Refunds. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully before using the Online Tax Refunds site. Usage of the Online Tax Refunds website is conditional upon you agreeing to be bound by this privacy policy.

Collection of personal information:

Online Tax Refunds collects and holds personal information from clients, customers, employees, contractors and other individuals. We collect and hold this information when it is necessary for business purposes.

The main types of personal information Online Tax Refunds collects and holds relate to the contact details and organisational roles of our clients, suppliers and other business contacts. Typically, this information includes names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and job titles. In the course of providing professional services to our clients, we may collect and hold more detailed personal information (for instance financial details if we are engaged to perform financial services, or credit information)

We collect most information directly from individuals when we deal with them. The personal information we collect may be provided in forms filled out by individuals, face to face meetings, email messages, telephone conversations or by third parties. If you contact us, we may keep a record of that contact.

Because of the nature of our business, it is generally impracticable for us to deal with individuals on an anonymous basis or through the use of a pseudonym, although sometimes this is possible (for example, when seeking staff or client feedback generally).

Use of personal information:

The main purposes, for which we collect, hold and use personal information are:

to provide our services.
to respond to an individual's request.
to maintain contact with clients.
to keep clients and other contacts informed of the services we offer and industry developments that may be of interest to them, and to notify them of service offerings, seminars and other events we are holding.
for general management and reporting purposes, such as invoicing and account management.
for recruitment purposes.
for purposes related to the employment of our personnel and providing internal services to our staff; and.
other purposes related to our business.

If you choose not to provide us with personal information, we may be unable to do such things.

We may collect, hold and use personal information about individuals to market our services, including by email. However, individuals always have the opportunity to elect not to receive further marketing information from us by writing to The National Privacy Office, at Online Tax Refunds, GPO Box 6003, Melbourne VIC 3004, or by emailing us at . tax@onlinetaxrefunds.net.au Please allow 28 days for your request to be processed.

Alternatively, if we have contacted you by email, you may use the unsubscribe function in that email to notify us that you do not want to receive further marketing information from us by email.

If we collect, hold or use personal information in ways other than as stated in this policy, we will ensure we do so pursuant to the requirements of the Privacy Act.

Employee records are not generally subject to the Privacy Act and therefore this policy may not apply to the handling of information about employees by Online Tax Refunds. For information about our practices relating to employee information, please contact us directly.

Disclosure of personal information:

Online Tax Refunds does not routinely disclose personal information to other organisations unless:

use or disclosure is permitted by this policy.
we believe it is necessary to provide you with a product or service which you have requested (or, in the case of a partner, employee or contractor of Online Tax Refunds, it is necessary for maintaining or related to your role at Online Tax Refunds).
to protect the rights, property or personal safety of any member of the public or a customer of Online Tax Refunds or the interests of Online Tax Refunds.
some or all of the assets or operations of Online Tax Refunds are or may be transferred to another party as part of the sale of some or all of Online Tax Refunds' business.
you give your consent; or

We may also share non-personal, de-identified and aggregated information for research or promotional purposes. Except as set out in this policy, we do not sell to or trade personal information with third parties.

Online Tax Refunds uses a range of service providers to help us maximise the quality and efficiency of our services and our business operations (including internal business requirements, such as recruitment and human capital requirements). This means that individuals and organisations outside of Online Tax Refunds will sometimes have access to personal information held by Online Tax Refunds and may collect or use it from or on behalf of Online Tax Refunds. This may include, but is not limited to, independent contractors and consultants, travel service providers, mail houses, off-site security storage providers, information technology providers, event managers, credit managers and debt collecting agencies. We require our service providers to adhere to our privacy guidelines and not to keep, use or disclose personal information we provide to them for any unauthorised purposes.

If Online Tax Refunds' staff obtain products or services offered by a third party pursuant to an agreement or arrangement between that third party and Online Tax Refunds, such as a credit card provider, we may provide your personal information to that third party, including information that relates to your use of such services.

Privacy on Our Web Sites and Applications:

This policy also applies to any personal information we collect via our websites, including pwc.com.au, and applications including mobile applications. In addition to personal information you provide to us directly (such as where you make a request or complete a registration form), Online Tax Refunds may also collect personal information from you via its applications and websites.

Cookies:

Cookies may be used on some areas of our websites. A cookie is a small software application which allows a website to recognise a previous user and to observe how a user navigates within a website. Cookies are used as a standard by many websites. Online Tax Refunds uses cookies to improve the navigational experience of visitors to our websites and to make them easier to use.

If you are concerned about cookies, most browsers recognise when a cookie is offered and permit you to opt out of receiving it. If you are not sure whether your browser has this capability, you should check with the software manufacturer or your internet service provider. In most cases, you can refuse a cookie and still fully navigate the Online Tax Refunds websites.

In order to properly manage our websites and applications, we may log certain statistics about the users of the facilities, for example the users' domains and browser types. None of this information specifically identifies an individual and it is used solely to ensure that our websites and applications present the best possible navigational experience for users.

Whenever a registered member (such as a Online Tax Refunds alumnus) logs in to our websites or applications, they will be identified by their user name and password. The information we collect about members' use of our websites may be used for measuring use and performance and in assisting to resolve any technical difficulties.

Because Online Tax Refunds wants your user experience to be as informative and resourceful as possible, we provide a number of links to websites operated by third parties. Online Tax Refunds is not responsible for the privacy practices or policies of those sites. We encourage you to review each website's privacy policy, especially if you intend to disclose any personal information via that site. A link to another non-Online Tax Refunds website is not an express or implied endorsement, promotion or warranty of the products or services offered by or accessible through that site or advertised on that site.

Your IP address:

We use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer our Web site. Your IP address is also used to help identify you and to gather broad demographic information.

Security of Personal Information:

Depending on the purpose for which we have collected personal information (for example, registration for a Online Tax Refunds event or a request for particular information or material), we may store some of the information electronically in Online Tax Refunds' customer relationship management system. Some or all of this personal information may be available to partners and authorised staff of Online Tax Refunds for use in accordance with this policy.

Online Tax Refunds will endeavour to take all reasonable steps to keep secure any information which we hold about you, whether electronically or in hard-copy, and to keep this information accurate and up to date. We also require our employees and data processors to respect the confidentiality of any personal information held by Online Tax Refunds.

Online Tax Refunds aims to achieve industry best practice in the security of personal information which it holds. It is our policy not to retain personal information once there is no longer a legal or business need for us to do so.

Your personal information is confidential. Our purpose in collecting information about you is to enable you to submit your tax return in a fast, convenient and safe way, and to ensure you receive any money owing to you as quickly as possible.

Online Tax Refunds will not use or disclose any information about you without your consent to third parties except:

Where we are required or authorized by law
Where it is necessary to provide you with a service that you have requested such as lodging your tax return with the Australian Taxation Office
to allow you to participate in current and future interactive features of our services where you choose to do so.
to communicate with you in order to request further personal and financial information, responding to your requests and notify you of the status of your transactions.
to implement our terms of service or protect the interests of Online Tax Refunds.

How We Protect Your Information:

We abide by laws and regulations and we take additional steps to protect the personal and financial information you share with us when you are using our systems to prepare tax returns. The steps we take are reasonable and consistent with industry practice to assure such compliance. However, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable.

Security programs we adhere to and measures we take:

SSL– Online Tax Refunds uses secure socket layer (SSL) encryption of data to protect the security of information you submit to us when you use our online tax preparation services. SSL Certificates provides you with a technological "lock and key" system to help assure that only you can obtain access to your account and information

Third Party Contractors :

To the extent that personal information may be entrusted to third parties as part of our computer processing operations or as occasioned by your selection of third parties through links on our site to perform additional services for you, those companies have agreed to adhere to our Privacy policy or have in place their own Privacy Policy protecting such information. You agree that such third party Privacy Policies, Statements, or Contracts as stated by third parties will govern entirely your dealings with those third parties.

Data sharing:

Generally, we do not disclose your personal information to anyone outside Online Tax Refunds without your consent, subject to some exceptions stated below:

We will use your personal information to:

provide you with our services and products;
to respond to your questions about our services and products; and
to offer you other services and products that we believe may be of interest to you.

Disclosures may be made in connection with legal proceedings or government investigations as described below in Disclosures Required by Law.
Disclosures may be made if the business is sold as described below in Mergers or Acquisitions.
Information may be disclosed to people or companies that we hire to do work for us. We contract with such people or companies to protect your information in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy, specifically not to use it except in performing services for Online Tax Refunds.
Information you disclose to third parties that you may have contacted through links on the Websites or through other access enabled through the Websites are subject to the Privacy Policies of those third parties and you agree that such third party privacy policies will govern your relationship with those third parties and Online Tax Refunds is relieved of any liability as to information supplied to third parties, even if it is done through initial contacts through the Websites or through continuing communication through the Websites. The governing determination shall be made by reference to who is paid for the service. If you pay Online Tax Refunds for the services or products our privacy policy governs, then you pay the third party for the services or products their privacy policy governs.

Mergers or Acquisitions:

Online Tax Refunds may sell all or part of its business, including personal information about you. In such a case we will notify you by e-mail to the last current e-mail address that our records indicate for you and by posting a notice on the appropriate Websites at least 30 days prior to the transfer of the data.
Online Tax Refunds may transfer your personal information to a third party in the event of a sale or transfer of all or part of Online Tax Refunds’ assets, pursuant to an agreement that the third party acquirer agrees to continue this privacy policy or use one that provides reasonably similar protection.

Steps We Take Internally To Protect the Confidentiality of Your Information

Our employees are trained to safeguard your private information.
Customer data is encrypted so that only authorised employees are permitted to view your data.
Online Tax Refunds employees are given access to your data only on a "need to know" basis and all employees have signed written employment agreements requiring them to maintain the confidentiality of Online Tax Refunds and customer data.
Online Tax Refunds employees undergo a background check before hiring
Online Tax Refunds facilities are secured by various protective devices and systems

Access to Information

We will provide access to personal information upon request by an individual, except in the limited circumstances in which it is permitted for us to withhold this information (for instance, where granting access would infringe another person's privacy).

When you make a request to access personal information, we will require you to provide some form of identification (such as a driver's licence or passport) so we can verify that you are the person to whom the information relates. In some cases we may also request an administrative fee to cover the cost of access.

If at any time you want to know what personal information we hold about you, you may contact us by writing to: The National Privacy Office, Online Tax Refunds, GPO Box 6003, Melbourne VIC 3004, or emailing us at tax@onlinetaxrefunds.net.au

Keeping information secure

We use security procedures and the latest technology to protect the information we hold. We require all our employees and agents to respect the confidentiality of any personal information held by Online Tax Refunds. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the password and accounts allocated to you, and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your password or account. You agree to (1) immediately notify Online Tax Refunds of any unauthorised use of your password or account and any other breach of security, and (2) ensure that you exit from your account at the end of each session. Online Tax Refunds cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with these terms and conditions.

Your Responsibilities to Protect Your Information

Remember, e-mail you send us is not necessarily secure against interception. If your e-mail communication includes sensitive information like your Social Security number, bank account number, or debit, credit or charge card numbers, you may want to consider contacting us through one of our secure online forms, or by mail, or telephone. If you contact us by e-mail, you assume the risk of interception.
If you wish to send us secure online communication, please use our secure interface provided to you in our contact us page.
You agree that you will provide information about yourself that is accurate, current and complete. Information that is not accurate may not be subject to privacy protection.
You have the responsibility to protect your personal information, particularly in the context of use of the Websites, to protect your user name, password and any other confidential access codes. Online Tax Refunds does not have responsibility for your actions in failing to protect your user name, password or any other confidential access codes. In the event you think your user name, password or any other confidential access codes has been disclosed to others, please notify the websites tax@onlinetaxrefunds.net.au
You must maintain the confidentiality of what you submit to us, for example, you must sign out properly so that no one else may gain access to your account. Make sure you click on the "sign out" button. You must notify us of any theft of your personal data as soon as you become aware that there might have been a loss (within 2 days).
Online Tax Refunds has no liability for problems created by your actions as described in this clause (Online Tax Refunds’ liability is covered more extensively in its Terms and Conditions).

Changing and deleting your information

If you believe that information we hold about you is incorrect or out of date, or if you have concerns about how we are handling your personal information, please contact us and we will try to resolve those concerns.

If you wish to have your personal information deleted, please let us know and we will take reasonable steps to delete it (unless we need to keep it for legal, auditing or internal risk management reasons).

If Online Tax Refunds becomes aware of any ongoing concerns or problems concerning our privacy practices, we will take these issues seriously and work to address these concerns. If you have any further queries relating to our privacy policy, or you have a problem or complaint, please contact our Privacy Officer. If you are not satisfied with our handling of your problem or complaint you may make a complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner.

Personal Account Information

Prior to submission of your tax return, you may change your personal account information at any time to correct inaccuracies by signing into your account.
After the submission of your tax return, you may change your personal account information by calling us at 1300 367 564 or through our secure message system.
Changes to minor information (for example your address or phone number) you supplied on your tax return may be made by calling the Australian Taxation Office directly at 13 28 61. Changes that affect your tax liability may only be made by lodging an amendment. If you need to lodge an amendment, please log onto your account and amend your return from your status page.

Future Changes

Our commitment to be a leading provider of online tax assistance services means that our business will continue to evolve as we introduce new services and features to our website. Because of this, from time to time, our policies will be reviewed and may be revised. Online Tax Refunds reserves the right to change its privacy policy at any time and notify you by posting an updated version of the policy on its website.

Australian Taxation Office Privacy

The Tax Office is authorised by the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 , the Taxation Administration Act 1953 and the A New Tax System (Family Assistance)(Administration) Act 1999 to request information of a personal and financial nature, thus we will need your co-operation to provide us with such information to meet their requirements. We may give this information to other government agencies as required or authorised by law -for example, benefit payment agencies such as Centrelink, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; law enforcement agencies such as state and federal police: and other agencies such as the Child Support Agency, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Reserve Bank of Australia. The Commissioner of Taxation, as Registrar of the Australian Business Register, may use the ABN and business details which you provide on this tax return to maintain the integrity of the register.

Tax File Number’s, Bank Account Details, Family Assistance Office

You cannot lodge your income tax form electronically if you do not quote your TFN. Electronic funds transfer – direct debit where you have requested an EFT direct debit, some of your details will be provided to your financial institution and the Tax Office’s sponsor bank to facilitate the payment of your taxation liability from your nominated account. The Family Assistance Office (FAO) – which is a partnership between Centrelink, the Tax Office, Medicare Australia (formerly known as the Health Insurance Commission) and the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCIA) – is authorised by the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 to ask for information to assist in the administration of FTB claims. Limited personal information may be used for customer surveys run by the Tax Office and its client departments, or by research organisations on their behalf. Limited information about you may also be disclosed to others when your circumstances affect their entitlements to payments and services. The FAO may also give this information to someone else if you give permission, or to government agencies authorised by law to receive it – for example, partner agencies including Centrelink, the Tax Office, Medicare Australia and FaHCIA; assistance agencies such as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission; the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and other agencies such as the Child Support Agency and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

Children's privacy:

Online Tax Refunds uses state of the art technology (known as 128 bit encryption) in order to protect your data and your credit card details. The security technology used by Online Tax Refunds represents the very latest in internet security. Online Tax Refunds uses the Westpac bank’s online verification system to verify credit card payments and does NOT save your credit card details.

Tax File Number’s, Bank Account Details, Family Assistance Office

Children's safety on the Internet is very important to Online Tax Refunds. Our site does not knowingly market itself to children, nor does it contain any material that would knowingly be inappropriate to children. You elect to discontinue receiving information from us or to end service, simply visit Contact Us and you will be promptly removed from the mailing list. Update your information or provide feedback: Should your personal account information change or you would like to modify it in any way, or if you have a question or comment concerning this privacy policy, please visit Contact Us

Effect of Policy

Online Tax Refunds operates in a dynamic business environment and we aim to to review this policy annually to keep it current.

Online Tax Refunds may update this privacy policy at any time by publishing an updated version on this website.

The amended policy will apply between us whether or not we have given you specific notice of any change.