Privacy policy.

1. Who we are

In this policy, "YBL Group", "we", "us" and "our" means:

• L.H. (AUS) Pty Ltd (ABN 16 121 980 167), trading as YBL Accountants & Business Advisors, a registered tax agent (TPB No. 76849005);
• YBL Financial Services Pty Ltd (ACN 162 976 507), Credit Representative 446335 of Connective Credit Services Pty Ltd (Australian Credit Licence 389328); and
• YBL Insurance Services Pty Ltd (ABN 52 640 800 282), Authorised Representative 1281725 of MME Services Pty Ltd (AFSL 559974).

We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and, for tax file numbers, the Privacy (Tax File Number) Rule 2015. When we act as a credit representative or an insurance authorised representative, our licensee's privacy policy may also apply, and we will give you a copy when relevant. When we arrange insurance, the YBL Insurance privacy policy (PDF) also applies.

2. Information we collect

We only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary to provide our services. Depending on the service, this may include:

• Name, date of birth, address, phone number, email and other contact details;
• Identification documents, such as a driver licence or passport, to verify your identity;
• Tax file numbers (TFNs), ABNs and information about your tax affairs;
• Income, assets, liabilities, bank statements, payslips and other financial records;
• Business, trust, partnership, company and self-managed superannuation fund records;
• Employee and payroll information you provide so we can process payroll for your business;
• For lending, credit-related information such as credit history and existing debts;
• For insurance, information about the property, business or risks to be insured and your claims history;
• Records of our communications with you, including enquiries you send us.

Some services may require sensitive information, such as health information for certain insurance products. We only collect sensitive information with your consent, or where the law allows.

You can deal with us anonymously or using a pseudonym for general enquiries. For most of our services, however, we must identify you, and we may not be able to act for you if you don't give us the information we need.

3. How we collect it

We usually collect personal information directly from you: in meetings, by phone or email, through engagement and application forms, and from documents you give us.

With your authority, or where the law allows, we may also collect information from third parties, including the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), ASIC, banks and financial institutions, superannuation funds, lenders, insurers, credit reporting bodies, your other professional advisers, and your employer or employees where relevant to the service.

If we receive personal information we did not ask for, we will check whether we could have collected it lawfully. If not, we will destroy or de-identify it where it is lawful and reasonable to do so.

4. Why we use it

We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information to:

• Provide accounting, taxation, bookkeeping, payroll, company secretarial and business advisory services;
• Prepare and lodge returns, activity statements and other documents with the ATO and other government agencies;
• Arrange finance and insurance, including submitting applications to lenders and insurers;
• Verify your identity and meet our legal, regulatory and professional obligations;
• Manage our relationship with you, including billing and responding to enquiries;
• Run, improve and secure our business, systems and website; and
• Tell you about our services, where you have not opted out (see section 10).

We will only use or disclose your information for another purpose if you consent, if you would reasonably expect it and the purpose is related, or if the law requires or permits it.

5. Tax file numbers

As a registered tax agent, we are authorised to collect TFNs. We only collect, use and disclose TFNs for purposes permitted by taxation, personal assistance or superannuation law, such as preparing and lodging your returns. We handle TFNs in line with the Privacy (Tax File Number) Rule 2015, restrict access to staff who need them for those purposes, and store them securely.

It is not an offence to decline to give us your TFN, but it may affect our ability to lodge on your behalf and may have tax consequences for you.

6. Who we share it with

We may disclose personal information, for the purposes in section 4, to:

• The ATO, ASIC, the Tax Practitioners Board and other government or regulatory bodies;
• Lenders, our aggregator and credit licensee (Connective), and credit reporting bodies, when we arrange finance;
• Insurers, underwriters, our AFS licensee (MME Services), Broker Co-op and claims assessors, when we arrange insurance;
• Our operations team, and service providers who support our business, such as accounting software providers (Xero, MYOB, Reckon and QuickBooks), IT, cloud storage and document management providers;
• Your other advisers, such as financial planners, lawyers or auditors, where you authorise it;
• Other members of YBL Group, where you use more than one of our services; and
• Anyone else you authorise, or where we are required or permitted by law.

We require our service providers to protect personal information and to use it only for the services they provide to us. We do not sell personal information.

7. Overseas disclosure

YBL Group is supported by a dedicated operations hub in Malaysia. Our operations team manages ongoing bookkeeping, payroll administration, file preparation and document coordination, so your personal information will be accessible to that team in Malaysia.

We use cloud accounting software, including Xero, MYOB, Reckon and QuickBooks. Some of these providers may store or process data outside Australia, including in the United States.

Before disclosing personal information overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient handles it consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles, including through contractual, confidentiality and security obligations. All strategic tax planning, business advisory and final ATO lodgements remain managed, reviewed and authorised by our leadership team in Australia.

8. Security & technology

We hold personal information in electronic and paper form and take reasonable steps to protect it from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Our safeguards include access controls, user authentication, encryption, staff confidentiality obligations and secure premises.

9. Retention

We keep personal information for as long as we need it for our services and to meet our legal and professional obligations. Taxation, corporations, credit and insurance laws require us to keep many records for set periods, generally at least five to seven years. When information is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify it.

10. Website, cookies & marketing

Our website does not collect personal information through forms. If you email or call us, we use the details you provide only to respond to your enquiry.

Our website does not use Google Analytics or any other analytics, tracking or advertising cookies, and we do not track your browsing or build profiles of website visitors.

Our website links to other websites, including the Tax Practitioners Board and our licensees. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites.

We may send you newsletters or information about our services. You can opt out at any time by using the unsubscribe link or by contacting us. We will not use sensitive information for direct marketing.

11. Access & correction

You may ask to access the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. Contact us using the details in section 14. We will respond within a reasonable time, usually within 30 days.

We do not charge for a request, but we may charge a reasonable fee for the cost of providing access. If we refuse a request, we will explain why in writing and tell you how to complain.

12. Data breaches

If a data breach is likely to result in serious harm to you, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required by the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme. Where the breach involves TFNs or tax records, we will also notify the ATO and the Tax Practitioners Board where required.

13. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer, Hong Ling, in writing. We will acknowledge your complaint promptly, investigate it, and aim to respond within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992. Complaints about our finance or insurance services may also be referred to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) at www.afca.org.au.

14. Contact & changes

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on this page. You can ask us for a free copy of this policy in another form.