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Privacy policy

This is the privacy policy of FINSIA - the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and its controlled entities.

Overview

This Privacy Policy describes how FINSIA – The Financial Services Institute of Australasia and its controlled entities collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information consistent with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles found in that Act.

This Privacy Policy also explains how we process ‘personal data’ about people in the European Union (EU), as required under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

This Privacy Policy is also notification to individuals of the matters required to be notified by the Australian Privacy Principles and the GDPR.

We will review this policy regularly, and we may update it from time to time to ensure we are complying with any legislative changes.

FINSIA, as a professional association and provider of membership & education services to the financial services industry, collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information to carry out its activities. We are committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information we collect and receive.

Our Partners

FINSIA has strategic partnerships, including with overseas professional institutes and with providers of training and related services.

Collection of Personal Information

The kinds of information we collect will depend on which of our products or services are used and how you use the facilities offered or accessed via our website (www.finsia.com).

The kinds of personal information that FINSIA collects and holds include:

  • Name
  • Gender
  • Date of birth
  • Contact details (for example, postal address, e-mail address, telephone number(s), facsimile number)
  • Citizenship
  • Qualifications held or currently being completed
  • Occupation – company, position, job function and market segment
  • Work experience
  • Membership details
  • Professional development choices and areas of interest
  • Whether or not you are Aboriginal/ Torres Strait Islander
  • Financial information (bank and credit account details) – for membership payment and enrolment purposes
  • Information relating to complaints received and any disciplinary investigations or other action; and
  • Criminal record information.

FINSIA generally collects personal information directly from you and, in particular, from paper and electronic registration forms that you or your employer complete and provide to us.

If you do not provide us with your personal information, we may not be able to provide you with membership, benefits or services.

Social networking services

FINSIA uses social networking services such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram to communicate with the public about its activities. FINSIA may collect your personal information when you communicate with us by using these social networking services, and the social networking services will also handle your personal information for their own services. These social networking sites have their own privacy policies. 

Use and disclosure of information

FINSIA will not use your personal information for any purpose that you would not reasonably expect FINSIA to use it for. If we need to use your personal information for a purpose other than one that we believe you would reasonably expect we will seek your specific consent.

The purposes for which FINSIA uses personal information include:

• to fulfil our role as a professional association, including maintaining membership records; providing education programs, services and benefits available to members; communicating with members regarding inquiries, requests for information and use of services;
• to undertake investigations and implement disciplinary procedures; and
• to undertake marketing activities directed to members or prospective members.

FINSIA will not generally disclose personal information to parties outside FINSIA, other than for a purpose directly related to our activities as a professional association and provision or improvement of our membership services or education programs.

In order to deliver our services to you, we occasionally need to disclose personal information to our agents, contractors or third-party service providers, such as providers of administrative, telecommunications, learning management systems, information technology/computer or other services. These service providers support the operation of our business and are under contract to FINSIA to keep personal information confidential and secure.

Personal information is occasionally disclosed to contracted partners, on a strictly confidential basis, for the purpose of conducting professional development events. FINSIA does not provide or sell any personal information to external organisations for commercial purposes.

Your personal information may be disclosed to other parties where you have agreed or it is required or authorised under an Australian law or by court/ tribunal orders.

FINSIA is in strategic partnerships with overseas professional bodies located in the United Kingdom. We may need to disclose your personal information to an overseas recipient in order for you to access their services or intellectual property. We will only disclose the minimum information required for this purpose. FINSIA’s contractual agreements with these organisations include requirements that these organisations deal with such personal information in accordance with applicable Australian Privacy Principles and the GDPR.

Requirements for communicating consent differ in some non-Australian jurisdictions in which FINSIA has members and dealings, including under the GDPR. We are committed to complying with all laws which are applicable to its activities.

In addition, at our events we sometimes take photographs of our participants sitting within the audience and may publish these images to advertise future events or workshops. Please inform the photographer at the event if you do not allow us to publish your image.

Data retention

Qualification assessment outcomes, CPD records and periods of membership, with associated personal data required for identification, will be retained indefinitely. This is for the purpose of confirming qualifications and membership claimed with reasonable third parties upon request – including potential employers, regulators, education training organisations and other Government bodies.

Information collected from prospective or prior members’ data, other than qualification assessment outcomes, CPD records and periods of membership and data for associated identification purposes, will be destroyed within seven (7) years from collection.

Security

FINSIA maintains strict standards and security procedures to prevent misuse, interference and loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

If you are a member, and/or studying with FINSIA, personal information received by FINSIA is held electronically on the information technology systems of FINSIA and contracted third parties. To access your membership account via our website (www.finsia.com), you will need to use a log-in name and secure password. This restriction of access ensures that, other than authorised employees and contractors of FINSIA, your personal information is only available to you. You should not disclose your secure password to anyone.

Your information may only be accessed by FINSIA’s authorised employees and contractors which require access in connection with the purposes described in this Policy.

Following the lapse of your membership, your information is retained in case of a requirement for restoration of membership or provision of a membership history is required or authorised by law or a court/tribunal order.

Website policy

Internet transmission of information

Encryption technology is used to ensure that information is protected when being transmitted over the Internet. FINSIA cannot ensure the security of any information transmitted over the Internet and individuals send personal information at their own risk. However, once we receive a transmission, we take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information is secure on our systems and those of our agents and protected from loss, misuse and unauthorised access.

Cookies

We use "cookies" to enhance functionality and to keep track of visits to our website.

A cookie is a small data file that contains information about your visit to a website. Your computer provides this information during your first visit to a web server. The server records this information in a text file and stores this file on your hard drive. When you visit the same website again, the server looks for the cookie and structures itself based on the information provided. A cookie only identifies your computer to a web server when you visit the site.

If you visit our website to browse or download information, our web server will record the date and time of your visit to our site, the pages viewed and the information downloaded. We generally use this information for statistical purposes.

Most web browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. You can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to warn you before accepting cookies. If you have set your browser to warn you before accepting cookies, you will receive the warning message with each cookie. You can refuse cookies by turning them off in your browser.

If your browser is configured to reject all cookies, you will be unable to use services on the website that require cookies in order to participate. You may still be able to use some information-only pages if you do not accept cookies.

Employee Records

FINSIA is generally exempt from the Privacy Act when it collects and handles employee records. However, our policy is to protect the personal information of its employees as it does other personal information.

Links to other sites

Our website contains links to other websites and this policy does not apply to these linked websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

Access to information

In order to provide you with services and benefits, FINSIA relies on the accuracy of personal information that you provide. You should promptly notify FINSIA if there are any changes to your personal information. You can do this by logging on to your membership account on the FINSIA website, or by contacting the FINSIA office.

Under the Privacy Act (Australian Privacy Principles 12 & 13) you can request access to personal information that FINSIA holds about you, and you can request that FINSIA corrects that personal information. FINSIA will give you access to your personal information, and will take reasonable steps to correct it if FINSIA considers that it is incorrect, unless there is a law that allows or requires us not to.

If FINSIA refuses to give you access to your personal information, or to correct it, FINSIA will notify you in writing and will provide reasons.

If you would like to access or correct your personal information, contact our Privacy Officer (details are below).

Exercising your other rights 

You have a number of other rights in relation to the personal data that FINSIA holds about you. You have the right to:

  • Opt-out of direct marketing, and profiling for marketing
  • Opt-out of processing for research/statistical purposes, or processing on the grounds
    of ‘public interest’ or ‘legitimate interest’
  • Erasure
  • Data potability, and
  • Temporary restriction of processing

 

To seek to exercise any of those rights, please contact our Privacy Officer.

To contact our Privacy Officer 

If you have an enquiry or a complaint about the way we handle your personal information, or to seek to exercise your privacy rights in relation to the personal information we hold about you, you may contact our Privacy Officer as follows:

Our Privacy Officer is:

Name: Kylie Blundell, Head of Education

Phone:  +61 2 9275 7913

Email: [email protected]

Level 4
16 Spring Street
Sydney NSW 2000 

For the purposes of the GDPR, our Privacy Officer is also our Data Protection Officer (DPO).

We will endeavour to resolve complaints quickly and informally, if you wish to proceed to a formal privacy complaint, we request that you make your complaint in writing to our Privacy Officer, by mail or email as above. We will acknowledge your formal complaint within 10 working days.