Privacy Policy

What is personal information, sensitive information and credit information

We collect personal information in the course of our business dealings with you. The term “personal information” is defined by the Privacy Act. Personal information is information or an opinion that can be used to identify you. This might include personal details like your name, address, date of birth, other contact information like your email address and phone number and financial information like your credit card number or bank details.

“Sensitive information” is a type of personal information. Sensitive information can include information like your racial or ethnic origin, health, political opinions, membership of a political association, professional or trade association or trade union, criminal record and biometric information.

Sometimes, the personal information we collect from you may constitute credit-related personal information. Credit-related personal information includes both “credit information” and “credit eligibility information”. These terms are defined by the Privacy Act. “Credit information” can include information about your identity, repayment history information, whether you have overdue payments, whether you have ever been the subject of credit related court proceedings or insolvency proceedings and whether, in the opinion of a credit provider, you have committed a serious credit infringement. “Credit eligibility information” includes information that we receive from a credit reporting body and any further information which we derive from that information.

This policy applies to personal information, sensitive information and credit-related personal information collected by us, whether we have asked for the information or not. For ease of understanding, in this policy we will refer to personal information and credit-related personal information together as “personal information”.

The kinds of personal information we collect and hold

The personal information we collect and hold will depend on our dealings with you. The different kinds of personal information we collect and hold include:

• names;
• contact details including address, phone number and email address;
• Australian Business Numbers (ABNs);
• signatures;
• dates of birth;
• employment details;
• credit card or payment service details;
• bank account details;
• financial details;
• tax file numbers;
• opinions about our services, products and staff; and
• any information sent or provided to us through communications or correspondence.

The different kinds of credit-related personal information we collect and hold include:

• the personal information listed above;
• applications for commercial credit;
• the type and amount of that credit and the fact that we have accessed consumer credit information to assess a credit application;
• that we and other credit providers have provided credit to an individual, payments owed to us in connection with credit provided to an individual;
• whether in our opinion, or the opinion of another credit provider, an individual has committed a serious credit infringement;
• information about court proceedings, personal insolvency information and other credit related publicly available information;
• whether an individual has entered into an arrangement with us or another credit provider in connection with credit provided to the individual;
• scores, ratings, summaries, evaluations and other information relating to an individual’s credit worthiness; and
• certain administrative information relating to credit, such as account and customer numbers.

Generally, we do not collect sensitive information.

How we collect personal information

We collect personal information from you in a number of ways. We collect personal information when you apply for an account, ask us to provide services, provide feedback to us, apply for or engage in employment or otherwise deal with us.

We will collect information directly from you. However, in certain circumstances we will also collect personal information from third parties like contractors, retailers, ratings agencies, parties to whom you refer us, including current or previous customers, employers, suppliers and referees and recruitment agencies including if you are dealing with us through that third party. We might also obtain information from publicly available sources like government websites and online searches.

Providing personal information about another person

Before you provide personal information to us about another person, you must make that other person aware that you are doing so, provide them with a copy of this policy, and inform them that we will collect, use and disclose their personal information in accordance with this policy and the other privacy notices that we give to you.

If you supply us with the personal information of a third party we accept that information on the condition that you have all the rights required from that third party to provide that personal information to us to use for our functions and activities.

Why we collect personal information

We collect personal information for a number of reasons including:

• to communicate with you; to deliver products or services to you; to assess a credit application by you;
• to assess your creditworthiness;
• to decide whether to withdraw credit facilities;
• to notify other credit providers of a default by you;
• to exchange information with other credit providers as to the status of your credit account, if you are in default with other credit providers;
• to better understand your requirements and preferences and improve our products and services;
• to recruit employees and engage contractors and subcontractors;
• to perform other administrative functions, like the daily operation of your customer account or credit facility;
• for insurance purposes;
• to comply with legal requirements; and
• for purposes directly related to any of these purposes.

How we store personal information

We store personal information digitally on our computer systems and on computer servers. Most of our systems and servers are used and hosted by third party providers. Most of our digital information is stored in secure data centres that are managed by third parties, primarily Microsoft, and hosted in Microsoft’s Australian data centres. Backups of the digital information which is stored in Microsoft’s servers are held with a third-party cloud backup provider, in Australian data centres. We also use third-party cloud-based accounting and job management software, which holds business and customer contact details and job information. Some systems and servers may be cloud hosted.

While we primarily use hosting companies that have servers physically located in Australia, we cannot guarantee that your personal information will always reside on servers that are physically located in Australia.

We may also hold personal information in hard copy. Any hard copies are stored in our place of business.

Only authorised personnel have access to our server and computer systems and our hard copy files.

All of our server and computer systems are protected by password and by multi-factor authentication. Information is encrypted in transit and at rest. Access to personal information is restricted to employees who need to access it. All of our employees who may come into contact with personal information are educated about the terms of this policy.

We regularly update our anti-virus software in order to protect our computer systems and take steps to ensure that our computer systems and networks are secure, including engaging professional IT service providers to regularly monitor our security and digital environment.

How and why we may disclose personal information

We may disclose your personal information to third parties for the following purposes:

• to provide the products or services you wish to use;
• to customise and promote our services which may be of interest to you;
• to provide support to you to use products and services;
• if permitted or required by law; or
• otherwise, if we have your consent.

As part of providing services to you, we will sometimes need to disclose your personal information to third parties who perform part of our services. This includes third party contractors, who we contract with to provide services to you.

We may also need to disclose your personal information to our external service providers including those who provide customer contact, auditing, accounting, legal, business consulting, insurance, IT support, banking, delivery, data processing, website or technology services or delivery services.

If you have applied for services on credit with us, we may collect and share credit related personal information from credit reporting bodies and other credit providers as detailed later in this policy.

In some circumstances we may be permitted under Australian law or a court order to use or disclose your personal and sensitive information. For example, if our disclosure of your information will reduce or prevent a serious threat to life, health or safety or our disclosure is in response to any unlawful activity.

We will take reasonable and practicable steps to ensure third parties we deal with take steps to protect your privacy.

Generally we are not likely to disclose your personal information to overseas recipients, except if we are required to do so by law or if it is necessary to provide you with goods and services you have ordered from us.

Use of artificial intelligence and automated decision-making

We may use automated decision-making (ADM) systems, which includes the use of artificial intelligence, to assist us in making decisions that may be substantially and directly related to making decisions that could reasonably be expected to affect your rights or interests.

We do not authorise ADM systems to act autonomously. A person always makes the final decision, but these systems carry out steps that that may be a substantial and direct part of arriving at a decision.

The kinds of decisions ADM systems helps us make include how we correspond with you, how we analyse, act on and respond to correspondence from you and how we prepare and update our internal and external policies and procedures.

To help make these decisions, ADM systems may use these kinds of personal information we have collected from you: names; contact details including address, phone number and email address; opinions about our services, products and staff; and any information sent or provided to us through communications or correspondence. We do not enter any of the other personal information which we collect or hold into ADM systems.

Right to access or correct information

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we collect, use and disclose is accurate, up-to-date and complete. We will also take reasonable steps to protect personal information that we hold from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

You have the right to request access to personal information that is held by us about you. You also have the right to request correction of any of your personal information that we hold. We will take reasonable steps to make appropriate corrections to your personal information so that it is accurate, complete and up to date.

If you would like to access or correct your personal information please write to our Privacy Officer using the contact details set out below. Please ensure you clearly identify the information or correction requested.

In some cases, we may refuse to provide you with access to your personal information. We will only do this if an exception in the Privacy Act applies. If access is refused, we will write to you and explain why.

Applications for credit and disclosure of credit-related personal information

If you apply for credit with us or offer to act as guarantor for anyone else who has applied for credit with us, we will disclose your personal information to credit reporting bodies and other credit providers. We share credit related personal information with the following credit reporting body:

• Creditor Watch Pty Limited (ACN 144 644 244)

For information on how that body manages credit-related information, please see their privacy policy available on their website.

If you apply for credit with us or offer to act as guarantor for anyone else who has applied for credit with us, you should be aware that:

• your consent is not required in order for us to disclose personal information to credit reporting bodies to make an information request (what is sometimes called a ‘credit check’) in relation to you;
• a record of the information request may be used and, as relevant, disclosed for the purposes of the credit reporting body or a credit provider assessing your credit worthiness, including calculation of a credit score or credit rating (subject to any other use or disclosure limitations under the Privacy Act, the Privacy Regulations or the Privacy Code);
• an information request being made in relation to you may affect your credit score or credit rating calculated by a credit reporting body. For example, multiple information requests being made in relation to you in a short period of time may negatively impact your credit score;
• the credit reporting body may include your personal information in reports provided to credit providers to assist them to assess your credit worthiness;
• if you fail to meet your payment obligations in relation to consumer credit or commit a serious credit infringement, we may be entitled to disclose this to the credit reporting body; and
• you have rights under the Privacy Act and the Privacy Code including rights to request that the credit reporting body:
  • not use your credit reporting information for the purposes of pre-screening of direct marketing by a provider; and
  • not use or disclose credit reporting information about you if you believe on reasonable grounds that you have been, or are likely to be, a victim of fraud.

We may also share credit-related personal information with our insurance providers. Our insurance providers may collect credit-related personal information from credit reporting bodies and other credit providers and share this with us.

Questions and complaints

If you have any questions or complaints about our privacy policy, our handling of personal information, or a breach of the Privacy Act, you can contact us as follows:

Attention: Privacy Officer
Email: admin@southernexplosives.com.au
Phone: 0497 359 463
Mail: 180 Cullulla Road Tarago NSW 2580

We take all enquiries seriously and will attend to your question or complaint promptly. We will review your complaint, consider our conduct in relation to the complaint and the requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles, and will consider appropriate action. We will respond to complaints within a reasonable period of time (usually 30 days).

If you are not happy with the way we deal with your privacy complaint you can make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner at the Office of the Australian Information Commission (OAIC). More information about making a complaint to OAIC is available at https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints.

Updates to this privacy policy

We will review and update this policy from time to time. If we make any changes to this policy, we will upload them to our website.

You agree that it is your responsibility to check for updates to our privacy policy.

This policy will be available to anyone on request, whether at our office or on our website. If you would like a hard copy, please contact our Privacy Officer using the contact details set out above.

For more information about privacy issues, you can visit the OAIC website at https://www.oaic.gov.au.