Privacy

Why your privacy matters to us

This Privacy Policy sets out how and why Adviser Ratings Pty Ltd ACN: 154 273 640

(“Adviser Ratings”, “we” or “us”) collects, stores, uses and discloses your personal information and how you may access personal information about you and seek correction of such information.

We collect a variety of information from visitors to our website, some of which can be confidential. This document explains the types of information we collect and what we do with that information (among other things).

By visiting our website, using any of our services or otherwise providing us with your personal information (or authorising it to be provided to us by someone else), you agree to your personal information being handled as set out in this Privacy Policy.

Adviser Ratings may update this Privacy Policy from time to time so please review it periodically for changes on our website at www.adviserratings.com.au.

Your continued use of our services, requesting our assistance or the provision of further personal information to us (directly or via an authorised person) after this Privacy Policy has been revised, constitutes your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.

What kind of information do we collect?

Consumers using the Adviser Rating's website and financial advisers profiled there choose to interact with Adviser Ratings in ways that require Adviser Ratings to gather personal information. Financial advisers using the Adviser Rating’s website and other professional service providers profiled there choose to interact with Adviser Ratings in ways that require Adviser Ratings to gather personal information. The amount and type of information that Adviser Ratings gathers depends on the nature of the interaction. We collect personal information in a number of ways, including:

• User-provided information. When you engage with our services, you may provide, and we may collect, personal information. Examples include when visitors sign up for an account; when you sign up as an adviser; when you sign up as a professional service provider; when you engage in transactions, such as ratings of financial advisers and other professional service providers, with Adviser Ratings; when you contact us for service-related requests; when you engage with our regular newsletters; and when you complete surveys.

• Automatically-collected information. When individuals use our services, we may automatically record certain information from your device (such as your computer, phone, tablet or voice-enabled device) by using various types of technology, including cookies, pixels or web beacons. This “automatically collected" information may include IP address or other device address or ID, web browser and/or device type, the web pages or sites visited just before or just after using the services, the pages or other content viewed or interacted with, and the dates and times of the visit, access, or use of services. We also may use these technologies to collect information regarding individuals’ interaction with our service, e.g., such as whether the individual opens, clicks on, or forwards an email message. We may also use these technologies to collect data on how successful our advertising is and the performance of our advertising partners (conversion data). This information is gathered from all individuals.

• Information from other sources. We may obtain information, including personal information, from third parties and other publicly available sources, such as regulators, our partners, advertisers and credit reporting agencies. If we combine or associate information from other sources with personal information that we collect through our services, we will treat the combined information as personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Adviser Ratings does not disclose personal information other than as described below.

Visitors can always refuse to supply personal information, with the caveat that it may prevent them from engaging in certain website-related activities or with our partners (organisations with whom we have a commercial relationship) and we may not be able to provide our services or assistance to you or on your behalf.

Where relevant you consent to Adviser Ratings posting and using any photographs and/or personal information you might upload both on its website, its social media sites (including Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook) and in any other content or copy we may use for the purpose of our functions and/or activities.

Where an adviser provides us with information about their customers for rating and testimonial purposes, we will only use that information in the way authorised by the adviser (who must have the consumer's consent).

Regardless of whether you join Adviser Ratings, we will collect general information that is not personal to you. This type of information generally relates to your behaviour on the site, and includes things like the type of browser you are using, your geographic location, and how you came to the site. It also includes information that will help us trouble-shoot problems, analyse our resources and improve our services. There is nothing in that kind of information that could enable anyone to identify who you are.

Adviser Ratings collects personal information that is necessary to assist us in providing our services on our platform and for our partnerships and commercial arrangements . Adviser Ratings generally collects personal information on financial advisers and other professional service providers such as name, business phone numbers, business address, business email address, age, and gender.

In certain circumstances we may be required or permitted by law, court or tribunal order to collect certain personal information about you.

You do not have to provide us with your personal information but if you do not provide us with the personal information that we need, we may not be able to provide our services or assistance to you or on your behalf.

Unsolicited information

If we receive personal information that we have not requested (unsolicited personal information) we will delete or destroy it as soon as practicable but only if it is lawful and reasonable to do so, or ensure that the information is de-identified.

How do we use your personal information?

We collect your personal information in order that you may receive the benefit of our website and services. Subject to this Privacy Policy, we may use your personal information to:

• if you are an Adviser, to disclose or introduce you to consumers and other professional service providers registered with Adviser Ratings;
• if you are a professional service provider, to disclose or introduce you to Advisers registered with Adviser Ratings;
• if you are a consumer who registers with us, to disclose or introduce you to an Adviser registered with Adviser Ratings;
• establish, maintain and administer your account;
• send you service or promotional communications, including surveys and information about security updates;
• create or distribute advertising or marketing material that is relevant to you;
• conduct verifications of profiles, checking credentials, monitoring and reporting as reported under the Adviser Ratings Terms of Service or under any applicable laws; quality assurance and training purposes;
• to aggregate with other users or members for the purposes of industry reports or information services.
• to provide stories, commentary or share photos or other personal information you have uploaded on our website onto other social media channels associated with Adviser Ratings (including LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook);
• Allowing use of personal information in a controlled manner by third parties with whom we have a commercial relationship, to distribute information relevant to Advisers, including marketing third party services and opportunities relevant to Advisers; and
• any other uses identified at the time of collecting your personal information.

You consent to us using and disclosing your personal information in any manner that could reasonably be contemplated by this Privacy Policy and our terms and conditions of this website generally.

When might we disclose your personal information?

Any personal information collected by us may also be disclosed, if appropriate, to other entities in order to facilitate the purpose for which the information was collected. Such entities generally include:

• third party ‘partners’ with whom Adviser Ratings has a commercial relationship in order to provide you with the benefit of our services or to make available products or opportunities provided by third party ‘partners’ relevant or likely to be of interest to Advisers engaging with Adviser Ratings.
• third party service providers for the purpose of enabling them to provide a service on our behalf such as (but not limited to) payroll, superannuation administration, IT service providers, data storage, web-hosting and server providers, and debt collectors.
• any related entity of Adviser Ratings;
• any applicable or relevant regulator or third party for the purpose of legislative or contractual compliance and/or reporting; or
• other entities if you have given your express consent.

From time to time, these parties may reside outside Australia. Our contracts with these parties generally include an obligation for them to comply with Australian privacy law and this Privacy Policy. However you acknowledge that, by agreeing to the disclosure of your personal information to these entities outside of Australia, we will no longer be required to take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient’s compliance with the Australian privacy law in relation to your personal information and we will not be liable to you for any breach of the Australian privacy law by these overseas recipients. On this basis, you consent to such disclosure.

If you conduct any transaction that requires a payment by you, some of your details may be provided to a third party payment processor to allow the transaction to be completed.

Does Adviser Ratings use personal information for direct marketing?

From time to time we may use the personal information we collect from you to identify particular Adviser Ratings services that we believe may be of interest to you. We may then contact you to let you know about these services and how they may benefit you. We will generally only do this with your prior consent (where practical) and we will always give you a choice to opt out of receiving such information in future.

Direct Marketing from Adviser Ratings generally takes the form of an Electronic marketing email.

Electronic marketing - Where we use your personal information to send you marketing information by email, SMS, MMS or other electronic means we may do so with your express or implied consent. You may give us your express consent by, for example, ticking a box on an electronic or signing in paper form where we seek your permission to send you electronic or other marketing information. Consent may be implied from our existing business relationship or where you have a reasonable expectation of receiving an electronic marketing communication.

Every directly addressed marketing contact sent or made by Adviser Ratings will include a means by which customers may unsubscribe (or opt out) of receiving further marketing information. Additionally, you may instruct us at any time to remove any previous consent you provided to receive marketing communications from us. Requests should be directed to us via the channels provided under 'Contact us' below.

Links to third party websites

Our website may contain links to the websites of other entities. If you click on such links, you will be transferred to the website of these entities. Adviser Ratings has no control over, and is not responsible for, the privacy practices of these entities. You should read the privacy policy of these entities to find out how they handle your personal information when you visit their websites.

Personal information about employees or job applicants

Adviser Ratings may also collect personal information from you if you apply for a job with and/or become employed by us. In these circumstances:

You authorise us to collect any personal information (whether written or verbal) from any referee or previous employer specified in your application for employment or curriculum vitae for evaluation of your application for employment and to hold such information on your personal file for future evaluation of your employment by us.

You acknowledge that your personal information is collected for the purpose of evaluating your application for employment by us and, should you accept employment with us, the assessment of your continued employment by us and the administration by us of your remuneration and any PAYE obligations.

You acknowledge that a failure by you to provide the requested personal information will have a detrimental effect on our ability to give your application proper consideration. You can request to access and/or correct your personal information in accordance with this policy.

Accessing your personal information held by Adviser Ratings

You may access personal information we otherwise hold about you. Access to your personal information may be denied on certain grounds including, for example: it is unlawful; it may have an unreasonable impact upon the privacy of other individuals; or your request is frivolous or vexatious. If we deny you access we will provide our reason for doing so at the time of your request.

If you wish to access the personal information we hold about you or request correction of it, you should contact the Privacy Officer on the details below who will respond to your request within a reasonable period after the request is made.

While we do not charge you for a request for accessing your personal information you

should be aware that we may charge a reasonable fee (which will be notified to you once you make a request) for time and cost in the following circumstances:

• if an extended amount of time is required to collate and prepare material for you; and
• if you wish to have your files photocopied for you.

How can you correct and update your information?

We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we hold about you is accurate, complete and up-to-date. However, we also rely on you to advise us of any changes to your personal information. You may review, edit, correct or delete any personal information you submit to us at any time.

Please contact us using the contact details below or on the relevant section of the website as soon as possible if there are any changes to your personal information or if you believe the personal information we hold about you is not accurate, complete or up-to-date so that we can update your file accordingly.

Dealing with us anonymously or by pseudonym

In order for us to successfully do business with you it will not, in most circumstances, be practical for us to deal with you without you providing relevant personal information to us. However, where it is lawful and practicable to do so, you may deal with us anonymously or by using a pseudonym.

Storage and security

We will take all reasonable steps to protect your personal information, and you will be able to access your personal information held on the website at any time (subject to service outages) to keep it updated.

Although we aim to create a safe, secure environment by trying to limit access to the site to legitimate users, we cannot guarantee that unauthorised parties will not gain access. We will not have any liability arising from any unauthorised access to your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time or as the need arises. Updated versions of this Privacy Policy will be available on our website. You should review our Privacy Policy regularly to ensure that you are aware of any changes to its terms. This Privacy Policy was last reviewed in September 2019.

Privacy complaints

If you believe that we have breached your privacy rights in any way, or you would like to discuss any issues about our privacy policy please contact our Privacy Officer on the details below.

If you wish to make a complaint about a breach of this Privacy Policy or the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) you can contact us using the contact details below. You will need to provide us with sufficient details regarding your complaint together with any supporting evidence.

The Privacy Officer will investigate the issue and determine the steps (if any) that we will undertake to resolve your complaint. We will contact you if we require any additional information from you and will notify you in writing of the outcome of the investigation.

If you are not satisfied with our determination, you can contact us to discuss your concerns or complain to the Australian Privacy Commissioner via www.oaic.gov.au.

Contact us

Please contact us at our offices via the contact details provided below if you want to:

• obtain further information about the way we manage your personal information; 
• access your personal information held by us;
• raise a concern or make a complaint regarding how we collect or handle your personal information;
• correct or update your personal information held by us; or
• unsubscribe from any Adviser Ratings mailing list or have any questions or complaints regarding unsolicited electronic communications that you may have received or are concerned about.

Please contact us immediately if you become aware of any unauthorised use of your account by anyone else or any other breach of security.

Contact Details:

Adviser Ratings Pty Ltd

ACN: 154 273 640

Level 2, 300 Barangaroo Avenue

Barangaroo NSW 2000

Email:admin@adviserratings.com.au

Need more information on privacy?

For more general information regarding privacy in Australia, visit the website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (www.oaic.gov.au).