The George Group Privacy Policy
Purpose
The George Group Pty Ltd ABN 11 075 939 847 (“The George Group”) is subject to the Australian Privacy Principles contained within the Privacy Act 1988 (“Act”).
The purpose of this policy is to describe how The George Group collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information and complies with the privacy requirements in protecting the personal information The George Group holds about individuals.
Personal information
Personal information is defined in the Act as “information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable:
a) Whether the information or opinion is true or not; and
b) Whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.”
Collection of personal information
The types of personal information about The George Group collects will depend upon what dealings the relevant individual may have with The George Group. The George Group may collect and hold information about:
The George Group employees: personal information such as contact details, banking details, date of birth, other payroll details, superannuation information, tax file number and emergency contacts
Applicants for jobs at The George Group: personal information such as contact details, employment history and other background information as required and as permitted by law
The George Group website enquiries: information that allows The George Group to respond to enquiries made through the The George Group website, such as name, contact number and email address
The George Group website subscribers: information that allows The George Group to communicate with website subscribers, such as name and email address. The George Group will only do so where individuals have“opted in” to receive this information
Suppliers: information required to establish and maintain records and systems to enable payment for goods and services
Individuals as contractors: information required to establish and maintain records and systems to enable payment for services
The George Group investors: personal information such as contact details in order to respond to enquiries and/or provide information
The George Group clients or prospective clients: information required in order to deliver services, such as name, address, e-mail address and phone number, company, work email, work address, role and job function, years of experience
Other individuals who may come into contact with The George Group.
The Act imposes restrictions on collecting sensitive personal information. This includes information about religious views, ethnicity, political opinions and personal health information. The George Group generally does not collect sensitive personal information about an individual, except in the instances where a pre-employment medical is undertaken as part of the selection and on-boarding process. If sensitive personal information is collected, The George Group will only deal with that information as permitted by the Act.
Use and disclosure of personal information
The George Group’s policy is to only use personal information for the purpose which was either specified or reasonably apparent at the time the information was collected. The George Group may also use or disclose the information collected for any other related purpose for which the individual would reasonably expect it to be used.
If The George Group wishes to use or disclose personal information in other circumstances, the individual’s consent would need to be obtained.
The George Group deals with personal information for a number of purposes, such as:•
- Performing payroll functions
Recruiting of employees and contractors
Improve and maintain the administration of employee benefits
Operate IT and communication systems
Internal business operations such as communicating with clients
Distribution of subscription emails
Responding to The George Group website enquiries
Managing The George Group’s everyday business needs such as payment processing, communicating with individuals and other companies about The George Group’s services, contract management, analytics, corporate governance, reporting and legal compliance.
Disclosing information to other parties
The George Group restricts its sharing of an individual’s personal information. In using personal information, The George Group may need to disclose personal information to various third parties, sometimes outside of Australia. These include, but are not limited to:
The George Group’s contractors and service providers who assist The George Group in the operation of its business or to provide a customer service. The George Group may share personal information with its service providers and contractors, who are bound by law or contract to protect the personal information and only use personal information as necessary to perform their services
Third party lenders and insurers
Anyone authorised by a provider of personal information
Relevant parties in situations when The George Group is required by law to provide the information
Legal and regulatory authorities (such as the Australian Taxation Office), to accountants, auditors, lawyers and other outside professional advisers
Although most recipients of personal information are within Australia, others may be located, or have relevant operations elsewhere. Therefore, it may be necessary to transfer personal information abroad. Some of the countries to which information is transferred may not have laws regulating the collection and disclosure of personal information. In this instance, The George Group will take reasonable steps to ensure that any recipients of personal information comply with the Act.
The George Group understands that individuals do not want The George Group to provide their personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes and will not do so unless that individual has provided their consent for The George Group to do so.
Cookies and other data collection technologies
In relation to The George Group website usage, The George Group collects certain information by automated means, using technologies such as cookies and browser analytics tools.
For example, when The George Group’s website is visited, The George Group places cookies on the individual’s computer. Cookies are small text files that websites send to computers or other internet connected devices to uniquely identify the browser or to store information or settings in the browser. In many cases, cookie preferences can be managed, and the individual can opt out of having cookies and other data collection technologies used by adjusting the settings on their browser.
The information The George Group collects using cookies and other tools are only used in a non-identifiable way, without any reference to personal information. For example, The George Group uses the information it collects about all website users to optimise The George Group’s website and to understand website traffic patterns.
Applying for employment with The George Group
The George Group collects personal information from individuals who submit applications with The George Group. If the application is unsuccessful, The George Group may retain the information in case a more appropriate opportunity becomes available. The unsuccessful candidate can then contact The George Group to request The George Group not to retain the applicant’s information.
Security of personal information
The George Group will take reasonable steps to protect the personal information that it holds from unauthorised access, modification, misuse, interference and loss. Personal information is held in the cloud on Microsoft Azure servers and services.
Internally, The George Group restricts access to personal information to employees or parties who need access to the information in order to do their jobs. These employees are limited in number and are committed to maintaining confidentiality.
Access and changing personal information
The George Group respects the right of an individual to access and amend their personal information. The George Group will give individuals access to their personal information on request, subject to the Act. If any information is incorrect, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading, The George Group will amend it upon request.
The George Group may require substantiation of any request to access or amend personal information.
If The George Group provides you with copies of the information you have requested, The George Group may charge you a reasonable fee to cover the administrative costs of providing you with that information.
Complaints
An individual can make a complaint about the way in which The George Group has handled an individual’s personal information by writing to either of the following:
Managing Director – Philip George arch@georgegroup.com.au
The George Group will endeavour to act promptly in response to a complaint.
If you are not satisfied by The George Group’s response to your complaint, you can contact the Australian Privacy Commissioner at its website www.oaic.gov.au or by phoning 1300 363 992.
Additional information in privacy
For further information about privacy issues and the protection of privacy, visit the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s website at www.oaic.gov.au .