Derwent Mercantile has always respected the privacy of individuals. It will continue to do so by treating all personal information as confidential and by handling it in accordance with the provisions of the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

What kinds of personal information do we collect and hold?

During the course of its activities, Derwent Mercantile will collect, record, use and disclose personal information about natural persons who are –

  • a customer of Derwent Mercantile or a director of a company that is a customer of Derwent Mercantile;
  • a debtor, guarantor or referee of an Derwent Mercantile customer or supplier;
  • a contractor or supplier of goods and services to Derwent Mercantile; or
  • a solicitor or other professional consultant engaged by Derwent Mercantile.

Mostly, information comes direct from the persons or from their agents or intermediaries. The type of information collected will vary considerably depending on the nature of the arrangements with Derwent Mercantile and the person’s connection with the arrangements.
It may include information about –

  • name, address and contact details;
  • date of birth, driver’s license particulars etc;
  • employment and/or business history; and
  • financial circumstances, income and history.

Derwent Mercantile will only collect sufficient information necessary to enable us to comply with your request for information.

How do we collect and hold personal information?

We collect most personal information directly from you. For example, we will collect your personal information when you send correspondence (whether by letter, facsimile, or email) or talk to us in person or on the phone or visit our website. The purpose for which the information is collected, as well as its nature can result in some personal information being disclosed to parties outside of Derwent Mercantile but only where there is a valid reason for that to happen. External parties to whom information may be disclosed include (but are not limited to) –

  • auditors, solicitors, and other professional consultants;
  • suppliers, insurers, repairers and contractors;
  • trade, commercial and/or mercantile agents and auctioneers;
  • insolvency practitioners such as Administrators, Receivers, Liquidators;
  • insurers, insurance brokers, insurance assessors and inspection agents;
  • vehicle registration authorities, motor clubs etc; and
  • Government Departments or Agencies (where required or authorised by Law).

Much of the information we hold about you will be stored in paper files. We use a range of physical and electronic security measures to protect the security of the personal information we hold. For example:

  • access to information systems is controlled through identity and access management;
  • employees are bound by internal information security policies and are required to keep information secure;
  • all employees are required to complete training about information security; and
  • we regularly monitor and review our compliance with internal policies and industry best practice.

For what purpose do we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information?

All information collected by Derwent Mercantile is necessary to deliver the services offered by Derwent Mercantile. The use of personal information is limited to the purposes for which it was collected except where the individual has agreed to another use. We generally collect your personal information to process your documents, bills, correspondence and to conduct marketing activities and conduct market research. Some of the personal information collected is essential for us to be able to accurately identify who is using the service. Other types of personal information we collect assist us to profile who us using our services and what their interests are.

Access to and correction of personal information

You can request access to the personal information we hold about you. You can also ask for corrections to be made. To do so, please contact us.
There is no fee for requesting that your personal information is corrected or for us to make corrections. In processing your request for access to your personal information, a reasonable cost may be charged. This charge covers such things as locating the information and supplying it to you.
There are some circumstances in which we are not required to give you access to your personal information.

If we refuse to give you access to or to correct your personal information we will give you a notice explaining our reasons except where it would be unreasonable to do so.

If we refuse your request to correct your personal information, you also have the right to request that a statement be associated with your personal information noting that you disagree with its accuracy.

If we refuse your request to access or correct your personal information, we will also provide you with information on how you can complain about the refusal.

Resolving your privacy concerns and complaints – your rights

If you are concerned about how your personal information is being handled or if you have a complaint about a breach by us of the Australian Privacy Principles, please contact us.

We will acknowledge your complaint as soon as we can after receipt of your complaint. We will let you know if we need any further information from you to resolve your complaint.

We aim to resolve complaints as quickly as possible. We strive to resolve complaints within five business days but some complaints take longer to resolve. If your complaint is taking longer, we will let you know what is happening and a date by which you can reasonably expect a response.

If you are unhappy with our response, there are other bodies you can go to. The Australian Financial Complaints Authority can consider most privacy complaints involving providers of financial services.

AFCA can be contacted at:
Australian Financial Complaints Authority Limited,
GPO Box 3, Melbourne VIC 3001
Phone: 1300 831 678
www.afca.org.au

Under the Privacy Act you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner about the way we handle your personal information.
The Commissioner can be contacted at:
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
Phone: 1300 363 992
Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
www.oaic.gov.au

 

Do we disclose personal information overseas?

For international services, we may need to disclose your information to the corresponding international party in order to process your request. The country we disclose your information to will depend on the details of the transaction you ask us to carry out.

Contact us

You can contact us by:

  • emailing via the ‘Contact Us’ page on our website
  • writing to us at GPO Box 919 Hobart TAS 7001

Any complaints or concerns should also be directed to The Privacy Contact Officer.
Our Privacy Officer can be contacted in relation to privacy concerns by writing to GPO Box 919 Hobart TAS 7001.

Changes to the Privacy Policy

We may change the way we handle personal information from time to time for any reason. If we do so, we will update this Privacy Policy.
An up-to-date version is available by contacting our office.