Privacy Policy

At Rhythm Financial, we understand that the privacy of your information is important to you and we respect the confidentiality of the information that you provide to us. Protecting your information is an important part of maintaining trust between us and our clients and by handling information in a secure manner we build business relationships. We are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Privacy Act 1998 (Cth).

The Privacy Policy applies to all entities within the Licensee namely Rhythm Accountants Pty Ltd and Rhythm Home Loans Pty Ltd. We are bound by the Privacy Act, and we manage and protect your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles.

Why we collect and use personal information

We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information so we can provide you with financial and credit products, advice and service relevant to your needs. We may also collect, use and disclose your information for related purposes such as:

Complying with our legal obligations, such as verifying your identity
Assisting with your questions and complaints
Arranging for services to be provided by third parties
Internal operations, such as record keeping, data analytics, auditing or training
Promotion of other products and services that may be of interest to you

We collect, use, hold and sometimes disclose personal information about financial advisers, credit representatives and other people who we do business with (including employees) in order to administer and manage our business operations. This information is afforded the same standard of care as that of our clients. When we advise you about your financial affairs, we ask you for the information we need to understand your financial situation, needs and objectives over the phone, through our website, face to face or by an application form. Information we request may include but are not limited to contact details, information about your assets, liabilities, income, insurance and investments.

How do we hold and protect your information?

We strive to maintain the reliability, accuracy, completeness and currency of the personal information we hold and to protect its privacy and security. We keep personal information only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected or to comply with any applicable legal or ethical reporting or document retention requirements. We hold the information we collect from you in your client files and /or electronically for a period of 7 years. If you cease to be associated with us we will maintain your information in a secure manner for 7 years. After this time, your information will be securely destroyed. Your information will only be provided to authorised personnel who adopt and adhere to our Privacy Policy. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that electronically held information will be password protected and hard copy information will be held in a locked cabinet or similar.

Disclosure of personal information overseas

We may disclose your personal information to service providers who operate outside Australia. The most common example of when we share your personal information overseas is when we work with overseas service providers who prepare financial advice documents.

When we send your personal information to overseas recipients, we make sure appropriate data handling and security arrangements are in place.

Your adviser may enter into their own outsourcing arrangements to countries other than those detailed above. If so, your adviser will disclose these arrangements separately to you. All reasonable steps will be taken to ensure that offshore service providers comply with the Privacy Act.

Personal information is generally hosted on servers located in Australia. If you access our services from outside Australia, you consent to the transfer of your personal information to Australia, a jurisdiction that may not provide the same high level of protection we apply in Australia.

How we protect personal information

We strive to ensure that the personal information that you provide to us is stored safely and securely. We take a number of precautions to protect the personal information we hold about you from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

We have a range of practices and policies in place to protect personal information we hold, including:

educating our staff and representatives about how to protect your personal information and updating them about cybersecurity developments, threats and scams,
requiring our staff and representatives to use passwords when accessing our systems,
where appropriate, using strict confidentiality arrangements restricting third parties’ use or disclose of personal information for any unauthorised purposes,
employing physical and electronic means, including access controls (as required) to protect against unauthorised access to buildings,
employing firewalls, intrusion prevention systems and virus scanning tools to protect against unauthorised persons, malware and viruses from entering our systems,
some of the systems we use are on dedicated secure networks or transmit electronic data via encryption, and
providing secure storage for physical records and securing paper files in locked cabinets and physical access restrictions.

Where personal information is no longer required, we take steps to de-identify or destroy the information in a secure manner.

How can you check, update or change the information we are holding?

You have a right to access or to seek correction of your personal information. Upon receipt of your written request and enough information to allow us to identify the information, we will disclose to you the personal information we hold about you. We will also correct, amend or delete any personal information that we agree is inaccurate. If you wish to access or correct your personal information please contact our Privacy Officer. We do not charge for receiving a request for access to personal information or for complying with a correction request. If the provision of information incurs a charge you will be notified in writing prior to any information being provided. If Scarlett Wealth refuses access to information, an explanation will be provided in writing.

Your consent

By asking us to assist with your investment and insurance needs, you consent to collecting and using the information you provided for the purposes described above.

Tell us what you think

We welcome your questions and comments about privacy. Any feedback will be read and considered by the Privacy Officer. Complaints should be made to us in writing, and we will respond within 30 days. If you have any complaints, please contact the Privacy Officer.

Rhythm Financial

Mail 177 Enoggera Road, Newmarket QLD 4051

Phone 0407 201 195

Email matt@rhythmfinancial.com.au

You can contact an external body if you are not fully satisfied with our response. In cases of privacy-related complaints, this is generally the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
The contact details for OAIC are:

Mail GPO box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001
Phone 1300 363 992
Email enquiries@oaic.gov.au
Online www.oaic.gov.au

You may also direct privacy complaints related to financial advice to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). The contact details for AFCA are:

Mail GPO Box 3, Melbourne, VIC 3001
Phone 1800 931 678 (free call)
Email info@afca.org.au
Online www.afca.org.au