Privacy Policy

This Policy was last reviewed and updated on 18/07/2024.

Syndeo Group values and respects the privacy of the people we deal with. Syndeo Group is committed to protecting your privacy and complying with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and other applicable privacy laws and regulations.

This Privacy Policy (Policy) describes how we collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information, and how we maintain the quality and security of your personal information.

Syndeo Group may refer to Syndeo Group the registered Australian Business Name (ABN 58 318 791 861) or one or more of its associated entities, including Syndeo Accounting Services Pty Ltd (ABN 84 608 572 658), Syndeo Bookkeeping Services Pty Ltd (ABN 58 608 572 925), Syndeo Business Improvement Advisory Pty Ltd (ABN 38 608 624 611) or Syndeo Group Holdings Pty Ltd (ABN 18 608 571 946). Each entity abovementioned shares the same ownership and control. Each entity, including their directors are all Australian citizens and residents. Any personal information collected by any one of these entities may be shared between the group members.

Syndeo Group, the registered Australian Business Name provides no client services. Please refer to your letter of engagement for details regarding the entity providing the specific client service.

Our liability may be limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

Sustainability

We are conscious of protecting the environment. As such, where possible, and when permissible by law, we will not be printing client deliverables and other documents. These documents will be stored and issued electronically. We ask our clients and organisations dealing with us to join in our commitment as well.

Your obligations in providing thorough and correct information to us

By engaging us, you understand the following:

Your personal information which you provide to us is correct and you authorise Syndeo Group and its associated entities to use this information to perform the services which you have requested.
If applicable, you consent to Syndeo Group’s Registered Tax Agent (Syndeo Accounting Services Pty Ltd ABN: 84 608 572 658 / RAN: 25376658) to add you or your associated entities (using the Tax File Number and Date of Birth you have provided) to access your/your associated entity’s ATO record through Online Services for Agents.
If required, you consent to Syndeo Accounting Services Pty Ltd to update your postal address or that of your associated entity with the ATO to Syndeo Group’s postal address.
Acceptance of our engagement is not automatic until a Letter of Engagement has been issued by us and signed by you and Syndeo Accounting Services Pty Ltd’s director.
If any part of your name has changed, the Australian Tax Office requires details from the registration certificate (e.g. marriage certificate). If you would like us to update your name with the ATO, please forward to us a copy of the certificate. If you prefer to contact the ATO yourself, please feel free to do so.
It is a requirement of the Tax Practitioners Board (in which we are registered with) that we take reasonable steps to prove the identify of our clients. As such, we require to sight your photo identification or for you to provide your identification documents.
We may use a third party to collect information from your identity documents.
We may use the services of Annature to verify your identity.

What is personal information

“Personal information” means any information or opinion, whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable. In general terms, this includes information or an opinion that personally identifies you either directly (e.g. your name) or indirectly.

What personal information do we collect?

The personal information we collect about you depends on the nature of your dealings with us or what you choose to share with us and may include

Name
Photo identification details
Mailing or street address
Date of birth
Gender
Marital status
Email address
Phone number
Bank account details
Tax File Number
Australian Business Number
Australian Company Number
Details of your income and expenses
Details of your assets and liabilities
Details of your business dealings
Private Health Fund Details
Details of the insurance policies you hold
Details of your superannuation fund
One or more of the abovementioned details of your
- Spouse
- Dependents
- Associated entities (companies, trusts self-managed superfunds, partnerships)
- Employees or the employees of your associated entities
- Suppliers (eg ABN)
- Customers (eg ABN)
- Contacts (eg phone number)
Your current location
Your Internet Protocol (IP) address
Details of your online activity through accessing our website or other online services you have authorised us to interact with you.

You do not have to provide us with your personal information. Where possible, we will give you the option to interact with us anonymously or by using a pseudonym. However, if you choose to deal with us in this way or choose not to provide us with your personal information, we may not be able to provide you with our services or otherwise interact with you.

How do we collect your personal information?

We collect your personal information directly from you when you:

Interact with us over the phone
Interact with us in person
Interact with us online
Through our website
Through other electronic means, including SMS and instant messaging services
Participate in surveys or questionnaires
Attend a Syndeo Group event
Subscribe to our mailing list
Apply for a position with us as an employee, contractor or volunteer
Through Cloud computing applications in which you have provided us access to or you have instructed us to invite you to access so that we can perform the services you have instructed us to
Social media, including Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube

Collecting personal information from third parties

We may also collect your personal information from third parties or through publicly available sources, for example from the Australian Tax Office. We collect your personal information from these third parties so that we can complete the services you have engaged us to perform.

How do we use your personal information?

We use personal information for many purposes in connection with our functions and activities, including the following purposes:
Provide you with information or services that you request from us
Deliver to you a more personalised experience and service offering
Improve the quality of the services we offer
Internal administrative purposes
Marketing and research purposes

Disclosure of personal information to third parties

We may disclose your personal information to third parties in accordance with this Policy in circumstances where you would reasonably expect us to disclose your information. As our firm holds a public practice certificate, we may be subject to periodic audits in order to ensure we are providing quality services and that we are adhering to a code of conduct. As such, we may be required to provide details of the service we provide to you including any of the information mentioned in the above paragraphs. For example, we may disclose your personal information to:

Other professional services advisers, including accountants and tax agents, financiers, auditors. financial advisers, conveyancers, solicitors and mortgage brokers which you have instructed us to liaise with on your behalf.
Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
Tax Practitioner Board (TPB), of which the firm is registered with.
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ), of which the firm is a member.
Other Government agencies
In performing our services, we may use one or more Cloud Computing applications to store and access your personal information. The applications we may use are outlined in our letter of engagement.

How do we protect your personal information?

Syndeo Group will take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information that we hold about you is kept confidential and secure, including by:

Having a robust physical security of our premises and databases / records;
Taking measures to restrict access to only personnel who need that personal information to effectively provide services to you;
Having technological measures in place (for example, anti-virus software, fire walls and virtual private networks);

Cookies

The Syndeo Group website uses cookies. A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers the website puts on your device if you allow it. We do not use cookies to identify you, just to improve your experience on our website(s). If you do not wish to use the cookies, you can amend the settings on your internet browser so it will not automatically download cookies. However, if you remove or block cookies on your computer, please be aware that your browsing experience and our website’s functionality may be affected.

Website analytics

Our website uses website analytics to help us better understand visitor traffic, so we can improve our services. Although this data is mostly anonymous, it is possible that under certain circumstances, we may connect it to you.

Direct marketing

We may send you direct marketing communications and information about our services, opportunities, or events that we consider may be of interest to you if you have requested or consented to receive such communications. These communications may be sent in various forms, including mail, SMS, fax and email, in accordance with applicable marketing laws, such as the Australian Spam Act 2003 (Cth). You consent to us sending you those direct marketing communications by any of those methods. If you indicate a preference for a method of communication, we will endeavour to use that method whenever practical to do so.

You may opt-out of receiving marketing communications from us at any time by contacting us using the details set out in the “How to contact us” section below.

Retention of personal information

We will not keep your personal information for longer than we need to. In most cases, this means that we will only retain your personal information for the duration of your relationship with us unless we are required to retain your personal information to comply with applicable laws, for example record-keeping obligations.

How to access and correct your personal information

Syndeo Group will endeavour to keep your personal information accurate, complete and up to date.

If you wish to make a request to access and / or correct the personal information we hold about you, you should make a request by contacting us and we will usually respond within 2 business days. We will deal with such a request by following the procedure outlined below:

Calling us on the phone.
Sending us an email.
Filling in a secure online form sent to you by us directly following a request.

Links to third party sites

Syndeo Group website(s) or other forms of communication may contain links to websites operated by third parties. If you access a third party website through our website(s) or other forms of communication, personal information may be collected by that third party website. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the privacy practices of any third party provider or website and we are not responsible for the privacy policies or the content of any third party provider or website. Third party providers / websites are responsible for informing you about their own privacy practices and we encourage you to read their privacy policies.

Inquiries and complaints

For complaints about how Syndeo Group handles, processes or manages your personal information, please contact Nicholas Barbouttis of our office. Note we may require proof of your identity and full details of your request before we can process your complaint.

Please allow up to 2 business days for Syndeo Group to respond to your complaint. It will not always be possible to resolve a complaint to everyone’s satisfaction. If you are not satisfied with Syndeo Group’s response to a complaint, you have the right to contact the Office of Australian Information Commissioner (at www.oaic.gov.au/) to lodge a complaint.

How to contact us

If you have a question or concern in relation to our handling of your personal information or this Policy, you can contact us for assistance as follows:

Email: info@syndeogroup.com.au

Contact number: (07) 3172 4242

Post: Attention: Syndeo Group Privacy Officer Address: PO Box 3230 Norman Park, QLD 4170