To give you the best experience, our site uses cookies. By continuing to use our site you are agreeing to our Privacy Statement.
Protecting your privacy is at the core of our business practices and this Privacy Statement explains our commitment to handling your personal information and credit-related information in a responsible and transparent manner.
This Privacy Statement outlines how we collect and use your information, including the purpose of collection and use, the types of organisations we may share it with (some of which may be located outside of Australia). It also details how you can access and correct any personal information we hold about you, and how you can make a complaint about our handling of your personal information.
We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (‘Privacy Act’) and must protect your personal information according to the Privacy Act and other applicable laws (‘Privacy Laws’).
Throughout this Privacy Statement, “the Bank”, “we” or “us” refers to Bank of Sydney.
When you use our website or apply for any of our products or use our services, you are agreeing to adhere to this Privacy Statement. We regularly review and update this Privacy Statement. Any ‘personal information’ we hold about you will be governed by our most recent Privacy Statement. We recommend checking our website regularly and reviewing this Privacy Statement for any changes.
1. What personal information does Bank of Sydney collect and hold?
We refer to personal information as information or an opinion about you, from which you are, or may reasonably be, identified. We will collect and hold your personal information, including your credit related information, to the extent reasonably required to provide you products, services and support.
The majority of the personal information we collect comes directly from you when you interact with Bank of Sydney, whether in person, digitally, or in writing.
The information we collect varies depending on the specific product or service involved, and it may include:
- Your identification and contact details (name, email address, phone number, and date of birth);
Your employment information, financial status and banking transaction records; - Credit information and credit eligibility information (please refer to section 14 for information regarding credit);
- Information about how you interact with us when you use the internet or mobile banking;
- Device information, such as which browser you use, your operating system language and how you use your device;
- Information about your installed applications on your mobile device which is used solely for purposes related to security assessment and fraud detection and prevention;
- Your location or activity including IP address (when accessing our services); and
- Other information that we consider necessary for the provision and promotion of our products and services and the operation of our business.
Over the course of the Bank’s relationship with you, we may collect and hold additional personal information about you including transactional information, account information, complaint or enquiries about your products and services. We may collect information about you because we are required or authorised by law to collect it in order to provide a designated service.
We may also require sensitive information about your health if you apply for assistance due to financial hardship caused by injury or illness. We will not collect sensitive information about you without asking for your permission (unless the collection of such information without obtaining your consent is required by law).
2. How will Bank of Sydney collect your personal information?
Your information is collected directly from you, wherever possible, encompassing personal and financial details, installed application information, biometric information including a selfie photo of you, or how you use and interact with our app.
We may collect personal information in a number of ways including when you apply for a product, submit a form or contact us via phone, secure message or visit a Bank of Sydney branch.
From time to time, the Bank may also collect your personal information from third party sources. The types of information collected includes:
- When we need information from third parties, such as a Credit Reporting body or your employer, about an application you have made with us;
- Where we require additional information for authentication or identity verification purposes;
- Where we require additional information to detect, prevent or investigate suspected fraudulent or criminal activity;
- Where you have requested that we exchange information with your legal or financial advisors or representatives;
- Any other sources considered appropriate, by a member of the Bank, in relation to the provision of credit;
- A partner or spouse who contacts us on your behalf; and
- Our contractors who provide services to us.
3. How does Bank of Sydney use your personal information?
We may use your personal information for the following purposes:
- To provide banking services and products, including provisions relating to hardship and collections;
- Grant you access to our website;
- Answer your questions and resolve your complaints;
- Verify your identity as required by the Anti-Money Laundering / Counter Terrorism Financing Act 2006;
- To manage and maintain your accounts and respond to your enquiries, requests and complaints;
- To communicate with you regarding your accounts and services;
- To comply with legal obligations and regulatory requirements;
- To conduct research and analysis to improve our services;
- To comply with our obligations under applicable laws, regulations and industry codes;
- Prevent, detect and investigate suspicious, fraudulent, criminal or other activity that may cause you, others or us harm, including in relation to our products and services;
- Assess your application and establish your eligibility for credit.
Where you agree or we are permitted by law, we may collect sensitive information about you to:
- Provide extra care if you are a vulnerable customer; and
- Offer you specialist Indigenous and remote banking services.
We may also collect personal information for reporting and statistical purposes to enhance our website. If we share collected information with a third party, it will be de-identified and will not contain personally identifiable information. By using our services, you agree to these uses of your personal information.
We will only retain your personal information for as long as we need it or as required by law. Once it is no longer necessary, we will take reasonable steps to either destroy it or de-identify it.
If you provide personal information to us about someone else, you must ensure that you are entitled to disclose that information to us and that, without us taking any further steps required by Privacy laws, we may collect, use and disclose such information for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
4. How does Bank of Sydney safeguard your personal information?
We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, unauthorised access, modification, disclosure and loss. We have implemented a variety of security measures to protect your personal information including encryption, access controls, mandatory privacy training for our staff and secured vendors.
5. Cookies
We utilise ‘cookies’ to enhance your browsing experience and provide you with more personalised and efficient service through our digital platforms. Cookies are commonly employed on websites, and you can control their acceptance by configuring preferences in your internet browser settings.
We use cookies for various purposes, including:
- Customising our website and offers to match your preferences.
- Generating statistical data.
- Gathering information about your location when you access our website, using GPS, Bluetooth, or WiFi signals based on the permissions you have granted.
- Enhancing security measures.
6. How will Bank of Sydney disclose your personal information?
We may share your information with third parties, including:
- Participants in the payments system and other financial institutions to resolve disputes or issues related to our products and services.
- Third party service providers who assist us in delivering our services, including other credit providers, lenders, valuers, trustees, auditors, and financial institutions.
- Your employers, referees, guarantors and professional advisors.
- Regulatory bodies and government agencies, as required by law.
- Other individuals or companies authorised by you.
You consent to us disclosing your information to these entities without obtaining your consent on a case-by-case basis.
7. How will Bank of Sydney exchange your information with overseas parties?
We may share your personal information, including sensitive data, outside of Australia unless we have an agreement with you stating otherwise.
By utilising our website or requesting any of our products or services, you expressly consent to the transfer of your data outside of Australia to countries in the Americas, Asia, or Europe, including cloud-based storage.
8. How will Bank of Sydney use or disclose my personal information for direct marketing purposes?
We may use your personal information to advise you of products and services that may be of interest to you, including promotions. Such marketing activities may be via email, SMS or other electronic means.
If you prefer not to receive marketing information, you can opt out by contacting our Privacy Officer. Details are provided in section 14 of the Privacy Statement. Opting out of these updates is free of charge, and we will promptly ensure you stop receiving them upon your request.
9. How can I access and correct my personal information?
We want to keep your personal information accurate and up-to-date. If any of your personal details change, please visit your local branch or contact us to update this information.
Any enquiries relating to viewing and correction of personal information should be addressed to our Privacy Officer. We will update the information where we agree with the correction. In the event we do not agree, a record of your correction request will be maintained.
10. Your credit-related information
We handle credit-related information as regulated by the Privacy Act 1988 and the Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code. As credit-related information is a type of personal information, this section should be read in conjunction with the Privacy Statement for detailed information about our collection, use, storage and sharing of personal information.
Credit-related information includes both credit information and credit eligibility information.
- Credit information is personal information that may have an impact on credit that has been provided to you or that you have applied for, including credit for personal, investment and business purposes.
- Credit eligibility information is information related primarily to your credit-related dealing with other credit providers and comprises of credit reporting information disclosed by a credit reporting body to us and information we derive.
11. Credit-related information we collect and hold
If you apply for a credit product, obtain a credit product, are applying to act as a guarantor or act as a guarantor for a credit product, we may collect and hold personal information and credit related information about you, including:
- Your identification details such as name, gender, date of birth, addresses, and driver’s license number.
- Information about loans, credit cards, and overdrafts, including when they were opened or closed and their credit limits.
- Whether you’ve met your monthly repayment requirements.
- Details about financial hardship arrangements under consumer credit contracts.
- Notifications of information requests made to credit reporting bodies.
- Information about the type and amount of credit applied for.
- Details about defaults or serious credit infringements, along with our opinions on them.
- Updates about any changes to contracts after defaults.
- Information about payments made to clear overdue amounts.
- Any court judgments related to provided credit.
- Details from the National Personal Insolvency Index.
- Publicly available information affecting creditworthiness, such as court judgments or bankruptcy notices.
- Credit eligibility information from credit reporting bodies and related data influencing creditworthiness.
Use and disclosure of credit information
If you apply for credit with us or offer to be a guarantor, we share your personal and credit-related information with credit reporting bodies. You should be aware of the following:
- Credit reporting bodies may include your personal information and credit-related information in reports that are provided to other credit providers. This helps us assess your eligibility for credit or suitability as a guarantor. We may also rate your creditworthiness based on this information;
- If you fail to meet your payment obligations in relation to consumer credit, or enter a financial hardship arrangement in a situation to which the National Consumer Credit Protect Act 2009 (Cth) applies, we are required to disclose this to the credit reporting bodies. Serious credit infringements, like obtaining credit fraudulently, may also be reported;
Please refer to the credit reporting bodies website to see their Privacy Policy and contact details.
| Credit Reporting Body | Website |
| Equifax Australia Information Services and Solutions Pty Limited | |
| Illion Data Registries Pty Limited | |
| Experian Australia Credit Services Pty Limited |
The information that we provide to a credit reporting body may sometimes be used for ‘pre-screening’ of direct marketing offers to be made by another credit provider. You may contact the credit reporting body to request that your ‘credit information’ is not used in this way.
If you think that you have been a victim of fraud or think that the ‘credit information’ a credit reporting body holds about you is incorrect, you may also contact the credit reporting body to ask them not to use or disclose your ‘credit information’.
For more details on credit information and credit eligibility information, please see Appendix A for definitions.
You can also reach out to us to access the credit information we hold about you and rectify any inaccuracies.
Please refer to section 14 of this Privacy Statement for more details on this process.
12. You do not have to provide us with your personal information or credit-related information
If you choose not to, we may not be able to process your application for a product or service, assist with your enquiries, provide all available features for a product or service or respond to any query or complaint you make. You don’t need to give us your personal or credit information for our products or services.
13. Laws that require or authorise us to collect, use, and/or disclose your personal information
Certain laws require us to collect, use, and/or disclose your personal information (including credit-related information) in specific situations, such as:
- Managing your credit information: We provide your credit-related information to a credit reporting body as regulated by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code 2014.
- Verifying your identity: When you apply for a product or service, we collect your personal information to verify your identity and comply with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth).
- Credit products: If you apply for or hold a credit product with us, we collect information under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth).
- Mortgage security: When you give us a mortgage security over real property, we collect certain identification information under property laws in various States and Territories.
- Security over personal property: If you offer or give us security over personal property, we conduct searches and register our security interest under the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth).
- Foreign tax residents: We collect and report financial and account/transaction information relating to individuals and organisations who are, or may be, foreign tax residents, under Australian and international laws. When you open an account with us or your circumstances change, we will ask if you or any shareholder, beneficiary, settlor, or controlling person is a foreign tax resident.
- Receivers or bankruptcy trustees: We may disclose personal information to receivers or bankruptcy trustees under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth) and the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
14. Will Bank of Sydney ask for or collect your Tax File Number?
This section, along with the rest of this Privacy Statement, applies if we ask for or collect your Tax File Number (TFN).
Why we collect your TFN
We collect your TFN only for purposes required or authorised by law, including reporting information to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
You are not required to provide your TFN to us
It is not an offence to withhold your TFN. However, if you choose not to provide your TFN when you open an account with us we may be required by law to deduct tax at the highest marginal tax rate plus the Medicare Levy from interest earned on your account.
If you are exempt, please let us know the type of exemption that applies so that we do not deduct tax from the interest earned on the account.
For joint account holders, a minimum of two TFNs should be provided (one for each person) if you decide to provide your TFN. If a child is a party to a joint account with an adult/s, the adult and the child must quote a TFN or exemption. If there is no Date of Birth provided by the child, the account will be managed as an adult account and will be subject to withholding tax.
For accounts in trust for someone else (such as your child) you should quote your own TFN to avoid TFN amounts being deducted. This does not extend to make the adult automatically liable for income tax on the interest earned - to clarify and confirm individual tax issues customers need to obtain independent taxation advice.
If an account is a formal trust account (i.e. a trust relationship that is legally acknowledged with a Trust Deed) then the trust’s TFN must be quoted to avoid TFN amounts being withheld.
If your investment with us is made in the course of carrying on a business, you may provide us with an ABN instead of a TFN.
Who we share your TFN with
We are obligated to report to the ATO details regarding the interest or dividend income earned, withholding tax deductions, and any TFNs or exemptions associated with the accounts and investments you maintain with us. Outside of these reporting requirements, your TFN will be treated as confidential and shared only in accordance with legal provisions.
15. Copy of this privacy statement in a different format
If you would prefer to receive a copy of this Privacy Statement in a different form (for example in hard copy or via email) please contact our Privacy Officer on the details in section 15 of this Privacy Statement. We will be pleased to comply with your request.
16. Contact us
If you have any questions or complaints about this Privacy Statement or our treatment of your ‘personal information’, or if you would like to access or correct your ‘personal information’, please contact our Privacy Officer on PrivacyOfficer@banksyd.com.au
We will respond to you promptly and will aim to resolve your query or complaint within 30 days. If you are still not satisfied following our response to you, you can contact:
| Website | ||
| Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) | www.afca.org.au | info@afca.org.au |
| Office of the Australian Information Commissioner | www.oaic.gov.au | enquiries@oaic.gov.au |
Appendix 1: Definitions
The key terms and their definitions used within this Privacy Statement are:
| Term | Definition |
| Credit Information |
Credit information is personal data related to credit you have received or applied for, encompassing personal, investment, or business credit. Credit information” includes specific types of personal details, such as:
We’ll retain this information for credit applicants, guarantors, or related individuals (e.g., directors of companies applying for credit) |
| Credit Eligibility Information |
Credit eligibility information” refers to personal data obtained from a credit reporting body (CRB), such as a consumer credit report, or information derived from it, regarding an individual’s consumer creditworthiness. This information might include:
|
| Personal Information and Contact Details |
Information including your name, date of birth, gender, signature, mailing and residential address details, telephone numbers, email addresses, and personal details relevant to any credit application. This may include marital status, number and ages of dependents, citizenship and/or residency details, foreign tax residency status, employment details and status, salary details, work history, and bank account and credit card information. |
| Sensitive Information |
Information collected to verify your identity and authorise transactions, including details about your citizenship and residency status. In certain situations, this may also include sensitive information such as health, medical history, and racial or ethnic origin. |
| Vulnerable Customer |
As part of our commitment, the Bank will take extra care with vulnerable customers, including those experiencing age-related impairment, cognitive impairment, elder abuse, family or domestic violence, financial abuse, mental illness, serious illness, or any other personal or financial circumstances causing significant detriment. |
For more information
Website: www.banksyd.com.au
Phone: 13 95 00
Email: PrivacyOfficer@banksyd.com.au
Mail:
Bank of Sydney
Ltd GPO Box 4288
Sydney NSW 2001