CJM Accountants Pty ltd (“we”, “us”, or “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and our obligations under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA), including the Code of Professional Conduct.
This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and store your personal information, and how you can access or correct the information we hold about you.
1. What Information We Collect
We may collect personal and sensitive information including, but not limited to:
– Full name, address, date of birth, phone number and email
– Tax File Number (TFN)
– ABN/ACN and business information
– Financial and tax records
– Employment and income details
– Superannuation information
– Information related to your accounting, taxation or business affairs
We only collect TFNs and other sensitive information when authorised under law, and we handle them in accordance with Guidelines for TFN Handling and the Privacy Act.
2. How We Collect Your Information
We collect personal information directly from you through:
– Face-to-face meetings, phone calls, or video calls
– Email correspondence or web forms
– Documents provided by you (e.g., tax returns, financial statements)
– Government portals (e.g., ATO, ASIC, ABR) with your authorisation
– Third parties, such as financial institutions or legal representatives, where permitted by you or by law
3. Why We Collect Your Information
We collect, use, and hold your personal information for the following purposes:
– To provide accounting, taxation, BAS and business advisory services
– To lodge returns or forms on your behalf with the ATO or other regulators
– To verify your identity
– To comply with our legal obligations under TASA and other applicable laws
– To communicate with you about our services or changes to relevant laws
– For internal record keeping, administration, and compliance purposes
4. Disclosure of Personal Information
We may disclose your personal information to:
– The Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
– The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
– Other government bodies or regulators as required
– Third-party service providers (e.g., cloud accounting platforms, document storage, email providers)
– Our employees, contractors, and authorised representatives
– Other professionals such as lawyers, auditors, or financial planners with your consent
We will never sell your personal information or use it for marketing purposes without your express consent.
5. Cross-border Disclosure
While most of our data storage is within Australia, some third-party service providers may store information overseas (e.g., Xero, Microsoft 365). We take reasonable steps to ensure these providers comply with Australian privacy laws or have equivalent safeguards in place.
6. How We Protect Your Information
We are committed to safeguarding your personal information by:
– Using secure servers and encrypted platforms
– Restricting access to authorised personnel only
– Implementing two-factor authentication where applicable
– Regularly reviewing and updating our data protection practices
– Ensuring all staff comply with confidentiality obligations and the TASA Code of Professional Conduct
7. Access and Correction
You may request access to or correction of your personal information at any time by contacting us (see details below). We will respond within a reasonable period and, where appropriate, make the requested changes.
8. Complaints
If you believe we have breached your privacy rights, please contact us in writing (contact details below). We will investigate and respond promptly. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):
Website: https://www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: 1300 363 992
9. Updates to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legislation or our practices. The latest version will always be available on our website.
10. Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about our Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us at:
Marina Hakim
admin@cjma.com.au
03 9455 0219
In relation to the taxation services we will provide, we advise that:
The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) maintains a register of tax agents and BAS agents, which can be accessed https://www.tpb.gov.au/public-register. The register contains details of registered, suspended, and deregistered tax and BAS agents. If you have a complaint about a tax agent service that we provide, we encourage you to seek to resolve it with us by emailing admin@cjma.com.au. You can also make a complaint to the TPB in accordance with their complaints process set out https://www.tpb.gov.au/complaints Our registration as a tax agent is not subject to any conditions. In the last 5 years we have not been subject to any of the events described in subsection 45(1) (d) of the Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024 (the Determination)