Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 04 September 2026

1. Introduction

Canberra Tax Solutions (“we”, “us”, or “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information we hold about our clients, prospective clients, employees, contractors, and other individuals we deal with in providing accounting, taxation, and advisory services. We have professional obligations regarding the privacy and Confidentiality of your information. 

This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and store your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act).

As a professional accounting practice, we also comply with:

• The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) Code of Professional Conduct;
• Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) regulatory requirements; and
• Professional standards and ethical obligations applicable to our industry.

A copy of the Australian Privacy Principles may be obtained from the website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at  www.oaic.gov.au  

2. What personal information we collect

Personal information has the meaning given in the Privacy Act, and includes information or an opinion about an identified individual, or a reasonably identifiable individual, whether the information is true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, and may include AML/CTF Information.

Our ability to provide a comprehensive service is dependent on us obtaining certain personal information.  We may collect and hold personal information from you and other individuals that is reasonably necessary:

• for us to carry out one or more of our functions or activities; or
• to enable us to comply with our legal obligations, which may include any AML/CTF obligations.
• The personal information we may collect for these purposes might include:
• contact information such as name, address, telephone number and email address;
• date of birth;
• gender;
• bank account and other payment details;
• tax file numbers;
• director ID numbers;
• places and countries of birth;
• employment details and employment history;
• details of current financial circumstances, source of funds and source of wealth, assets and liabilities (past, actual and potential), income, expenditure, investments, insurance cover and superannuation;
• documentation used for identification and verification purposes (e.g. driver’s licence, birth certificate or passport details);
• where you are acting on behalf of another entity (whether as an employee, director or other representative), details of that entity and your relationship with it; and
• details of directorships, shareholdings or other investments you hold.

We may also need to verify your identity and collect information such as certified identity and other legal documents.

We collect information directly from you, related professionals acting on your behalf (such as your lawyer or financial adviser), identity verification services, and occasionally from publicly available sources.

3. Why we collect, hold and use your information

We use personal information to provide the accounting, taxation, and advisory services you engage us for, and to meet our professional and legal obligations, including under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth) and 1997 (Cth), the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth), the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth), the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), superannuation laws. This includes preparing and lodging documents with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and other relevant bodies, as well as managing billing and client communications. 

4. How we disclose your information  

We will not use or disclose personal information collected by us for any purpose other than the primary purpose for which it is collected, unless you would reasonably expect us to use or disclose the personal information for a secondary purpose or your consent has been obtained to use the personal information for additional purposes.

Exceptions to this include where disclosure is required by:

• our employees and third parties engaged to perform administrative or other business management functions, including debtor management;
• our professional advisors, contractors, consultants and related bodies corporate;
• the ATO, ASIC and other regulators;
• superannuation fund trustees;
• our insurance providers;
• law or for inspection to ensure compliance with mandatory professional standards; 
• a law enforcement agency;
• external service providers for independent evaluations of our AML/CTF program, audit, peer reviews, legal advice, consultancy, outsourced administration, issuing statements or handling mail ;
• our legal and regulatory obligations including, but not limited to, our AML/CTF Obligations (which may include lodging an SMR with AUSTRAC); 
• debt collectors and credit management agencies; and
• any other party as permitted under the Australian Privacy Principles.

We may use and disclose your personal information for any of these purposes. We may also use and disclose your personal information for secondary purposes which are related to the primary purposes set out above, or in other circumstances authorised by the Privacy Act.

We do not sell your personal information, and we take reasonable steps to ensure any third party handles it appropriately. 

5. Storage and security

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure, including access controls, secure systems, and staff confidentiality obligations.

We store your information in secure physical and electronic systems and take reasonable steps to protect it from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure by utilising Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). 

Information is retained only as long as required for the purpose it was collected or as required by law and our professional obligations, including record-keeping requirements under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), taxation law, and the AML/CTF Act.‍ ‍

 6. Direct marketing

We may use and disclose your personal information to inform you of products and services that may be of interest to you. In the event you do not wish to receive such communications, you can opt out by contacting us via our contact details or through any opt-out mechanism contained in a marketing communication to you. 

We will not use or disclose credit-related personal information for direct marketing purposes.

7. Cookies

Our website and emails may use cookies and similar technologies to improve website functionality, analyse website traffic, and enhance user experience. Cookies are small data files stored on your device when you visit a website. 

We may use third-party analytics and advertising providers to help us understand how visitors use our website and to improve our services and marketing activities. These providers may collect information about your use of our website through cookies and similar technologies.

8. Access and correction 

You can ask us for access to the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate or out of date. We will respond within a reasonable time, generally 30 days, and may need to verify your identity first. In limited circumstances permitted by law, we may need to decline a request. If so, we will explain why to the extent we are able. 

9. Anonymity and pseudonymity

You are welcome to deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym for general enquiries. However, we are not able to provide accounting or advisory services without verifying your identity, as required under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth) and, where applicable, the AML/CTF Act.  

10. Privacy Policy Complaints and Enquiries

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our handling of your personal information, please get in touch with us by email to hello@canberrataxsolutions.com.au or in writing to the Privacy Officer, Canberra Tax Solutions, Level 1, 11-17 Swanson Court, Belconnen ACT 2617.

We will investigate and respond within a reasonable time. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), which oversees compliance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) at www.oaic.gov.au

11. Data Breach response

In the unlikely event of a data breach, we will notify affected individuals and the OAIC in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme. 

If we need to notify you of an eligible data breach, we will provide:

• A description of the data breach;
• The kinds of personal information involved;
• The steps we have taken to respond to the breach; and
• Recommendations on steps you should take to reduce the risk of harm (such as changing passwords, monitoring accounts, or being alert to identity fraud).

Notification may be provided by:

• Email to your registered email address;
• Telephone call;
• Written letter to your postal address; or
• If we cannot contact everyone affected, we will publish a notification on our website and promote it through appropriate channels.

12. Changes to this policy 

We may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or in applicable law. The current version is always available on request and on our website, showing the date it was last updated above.