Effective Date: 01/07/2025
At EH Tax Accountants, we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose, process and protect your personal information when you visit our website, contact us, book a consultation, submit documents, use our client portal, or engage our accounting, taxation, payroll, SMSF, trust setup, bookkeeping and business advisory services.
EH Tax Accountants may use a combination of Australian-based professionals, internal staff, authorised offshore accounting team members, contractors, consultants and third-party service providers to deliver efficient, timely and cost-effective services.
By using our website or engaging our services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
1. Information We Collect
We may collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for us to provide our services, respond to enquiries, manage client relationships, operate our business and meet our legal, taxation, regulatory and professional obligations.
This may include:
- Full name
- Email address
- Phone number
- Residential or business address
- Date of birth
- Tax File Number, ABN, ACN or other government identifiers where required
- Identity verification documents
- Employment, business and financial information
- Income, deductions, expenses, assets, liabilities and investment details
- Payroll, superannuation, BAS, GST and tax-related records
- SMSF, trust, company or business structure information
- Bank account details where required for service delivery or lodgement purposes
- Documents uploaded through our portal, forms, email or document-sharing systems
- Communication history with our team
- Website usage data, cookies, IP address, browser type and device information
Personal information generally means information or an opinion that identifies a person or makes them reasonably identifiable.
2. How We Collect Information
We may collect your information when you:
- Contact us by phone, email, website form, online booking form or client portal
- Request accounting, taxation, bookkeeping, payroll, SMSF, trust or advisory services
- Provide documents for tax return preparation, BAS, payroll, SMSF or compliance work
- Use our website, calculators, contact forms or online tools
- Communicate with us through email, phone, messaging platforms, video calls or third-party platforms
- Subscribe to updates, newsletters or marketing communication
- Provide information through cloud software, document-sharing tools or e-signature platforms
Where practical, we collect personal information directly from you. In some cases, we may collect information from third parties such as:
- Australian Taxation Office
- ASIC
- Banks or financial institutions
- Employers
- Superannuation funds
- Accounting, bookkeeping or payroll software providers
- Authorised representatives
- Government agencies
- Previous accountants, bookkeepers or advisers, where authorised
3. Why We Collect and Use Your Information
We collect and use your personal information to:
- Provide accounting, taxation, bookkeeping, payroll, SMSF, trust setup and business advisory services
- Prepare and lodge tax returns, BAS, GST, payroll, financial reports and compliance documents
- Manage client onboarding, identity verification and service delivery
- Communicate with you about enquiries, appointments, documents, deadlines and ongoing work
- Maintain accurate client records
- Provide reminders, updates and relevant service information
- Improve our website, internal processes and client experience
- Manage payments, invoices and accounts
- Comply with legal, taxation, regulatory and professional obligations
- Protect our business, clients, systems and data from fraud, misuse or unauthorised access
4. Offshore Accounting Team and Overseas Support
EH Tax Accountants may use authorised offshore accounting team members, overseas-based support personnel, contractors, consultants or service providers to assist with service delivery.
This may include support for:
- Accounting work
- Bookkeeping
- Tax preparation support
- Payroll support
- BAS and GST support
- Document processing
- Data entry
- Reconciliation work
- Report preparation
- Administrative support
- Client file organisation
- Back-office operational support
Where offshore team members are involved, they may access, process or handle client information only where reasonably necessary to perform assigned work.
All authorised offshore team members are expected to follow EH Tax Accountants’ confidentiality, privacy, data protection and internal security procedures.
Tax Practitioners Board guidance recognises that tax practitioners may use outsourcing or offshoring arrangements, but they must consider professional obligations including confidentiality, competency, supervision and appropriate disclosure to clients.
5. Overseas Disclosure of Personal Information
Because EH Tax Accountants may use offshore accounting team members or overseas-based service providers, your personal information may be accessed, processed, transmitted or stored outside Australia where reasonably necessary for us to provide our services.
This may include overseas access by authorised personnel or service providers involved in accounting, taxation, bookkeeping, payroll, administration, IT, cloud storage, data processing or operational support.
Before disclosing personal information to overseas recipients, Australian Privacy Principle 8 generally requires APP entities to take reasonable steps to ensure the overseas recipient handles personal information consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles, and the Australian entity may remain accountable in certain circumstances.
Where overseas access or disclosure occurs, we take reasonable steps to protect your information, including:
- Limiting access to authorised personnel only
- Providing access based on work requirements
- Using confidentiality obligations
- Applying internal security procedures
- Using secure systems where reasonably available
- Reviewing or supervising work where appropriate
- Restricting unnecessary access to sensitive client records
By engaging our services, you acknowledge and consent to your information being accessed, processed or handled by authorised offshore team members or overseas service providers where reasonably required for service delivery.
If you have concerns about offshore access to your information, please contact us before engaging our services. This may affect our ability to provide services, service availability, turnaround time or pricing.
6. Tax File Numbers and Government Identifiers
As part of providing tax and accounting services, we may collect Tax File Numbers, ABNs, ACNs and other government-related identifiers where required.
We only collect, use or disclose these identifiers where permitted or required by law, including for taxation, superannuation, payroll, business compliance, identity verification and professional service purposes.
We take reasonable steps to protect government identifiers from unauthorised access, misuse or disclosure.
7. Disclosure of Personal Information
We may disclose your personal information where reasonably necessary to provide our services, operate our business or meet legal and professional obligations.
This may include disclosure to:
- Australian Taxation Office
- ASIC
- Superannuation funds
- Banks, lenders or finance providers
- Accounting, bookkeeping, payroll or tax software providers
- Cloud storage, hosting, email, IT and cybersecurity service providers
- E-signature, payment processing and document management platforms
- Authorised offshore accounting team members
- Contractors, consultants or professional service partners
- Auditors, insurers, legal advisers or other professional advisers
- Government agencies, courts, tribunals or regulators where required by law
- Your authorised representatives
We do not sell your personal information.
8. Client Portal, Online Forms and Digital Communication
We may use online forms, client portals, document upload tools, booking platforms, email systems, cloud software, e-signature tools and other digital systems to collect and manage client information.
You are responsible for ensuring that information you submit through these platforms is accurate, complete and current.
You should keep login details, passwords and access credentials secure and notify us promptly if you suspect unauthorised access to your account, email, portal or shared documents.
9. Website Cookies and Analytics
Our website may use cookies, analytics tools and similar technologies to improve website performance, understand visitor behaviour and enhance user experience.
Cookies and analytics tools may collect information such as:
- Pages visited
- Time spent on the website
- Browser type
- Device type
- IP address
- Referral source
- General website interaction data
You can disable cookies through your browser settings. However, some website features may not work properly if cookies are turned off.
10. Direct Marketing
We may use your contact details to send relevant updates, reminders, newsletters, service information, tax deadlines, business insights or promotional communication.
You can opt out of marketing communications at any time by contacting us or using the unsubscribe option where available.
We may still send important service-related communication where necessary.
11. Data Security
We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
Our security practices may include:
- Secure document handling
- Restricted access to client information
- Password-protected systems
- Secure cloud-based tools
- Access controls for staff and offshore team members
- Confidentiality procedures
- Internal review and supervision processes
- Reasonable technical and organisational security measures
No method of electronic transmission, cloud storage or internet communication is completely secure. While we take reasonable steps to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
12. Confidentiality
EH Tax Accountants treats client information as confidential.
Client information may be accessed by authorised employees, offshore accounting team members, contractors, consultants or service providers only where reasonably necessary to provide services or operate our business.
We may disclose confidential information where:
- You have authorised the disclosure
- It is necessary to provide our services
- It is required or permitted by law
- It is required by a regulator, court, tribunal or government authority
- It is necessary for professional, insurance, audit, compliance or legal purposes
The Tax Practitioners Board notes that confidentiality and appropriate disclosure are important considerations where tax practitioners outsource or offshore work.
13. Data Retention
We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide our services, manage client records, comply with taxation, accounting, legal, regulatory and professional obligations, resolve disputes and operate our business.
When information is no longer required, we take reasonable steps to securely destroy, delete or de-identify it, unless we are legally required to retain it.
You should also keep your own copies of tax, accounting, payroll, SMSF, business and financial documents.
14. Accessing or Correcting Your Information
You may request access to the personal information we hold about you. You may also ask us to correct information if you believe it is inaccurate, incomplete, outdated or misleading.
We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.
In some circumstances, we may refuse access or correction where permitted by law. If we refuse a request, we will provide reasons where required.
15. Third-Party Links
Our website may contain links to third-party websites, platforms, software or resources.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices, security, content or terms of external websites or third-party platforms. We recommend reviewing the privacy policy of any third-party website or platform you use.
16. Privacy Complaints and Concerns
If you have a question, concern or complaint about how we handle your personal information, please contact us using the details below.
We will review your concern and respond within a reasonable timeframe.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
17. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, website, legal obligations, offshoring arrangements, technology systems or business practices.
The latest version will be available on our website, and the effective date will be updated accordingly.
18. Contact Us
For privacy-related questions, access requests, correction requests, complaints or concerns about offshore access to your information, please contact:
EH Tax Accountants
Email: info@ehtaxaccountants.com.au
Geelong Office: 03 5222 3532
Officer Office: 03 9090 7444
Website: ehtaxaccountants.com.au