Privacy Policy and
Terms & Conditions.

Privacy Policy

This privacy policy applies to this website, which is operated on behalf of SMATS Services (Australia) Pty Ltd – ABN 37 141 112 807 trading as Specialist Mortgage and its related bodies corporate (we, us and our).

SMATS Services (Australia) Pty Ltd trading as Specialist Mortgage and its related bodies corporate is bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act). The APPs are designed to protect the confidentiality of information and the privacy of individuals by regulating the way personal information is collected, used, disclosed and managed. Personal information is, generally speaking, information or an opinion relating to an identified, or reasonably identifiable, individual.

We are committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains how your personal information may be collect and held and how that information is used and with whom the information is shared. It also sets out how you can contact us if you have any queries or concerns about this information.

Our privacy policy may be reviewed from time to time to take account of new laws, technology, changes to our operations and practices and the changing business environment.

Collection and Use Of Information

We may collect personal information from you directly or via your use of our services. We will only collect personal information which is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our functions or activities.

Sensitive Information

Sensitive information is any information about a person’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinion, membership of a political association, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, membership of a professional or trade association, membership of a trade union, sexual preferences or practices, criminal record or health information.

We will not ask you to disclose sensitive information, but if you elect to provide sensitive information it may also be captured and stored.

What Other Information Do We Collect?

Personal information may be collected by way of forms filled out by individuals (including via online forms), surveys, emails, telephone conversations, online user-generated content and market research, face-to-face meetings and interviews. Where necessary and with your consent, we supplement the information we receive from you with information from third party sources for the purpose of providing our tax, finance and property services.

You may in some circumstances have the option of not identifying yourself or using a pseudonym when you deal with us. However, if you choose not to provide information we need to fulfil your request for a specific product or service or to participate in standards development activities we may not be able to provide you with the requested product or service or we may not be able to allow you to participate in our activities.

SMATS Services, Specialist Mortgage and its related bodies corporate also collects statistical information about visitors to our website using web analytics and session recording technology provided by third party service providers such as Google Analytics. These services use cookies to assist us in understanding how visitor’s access and utilise our site. Generally, this information cannot be used to identify particular individuals.  However, in some circumstances it may include a visitor’s internet protocol (IP) address, which could be linked to an individual.

You can find out more information on how Google uses data when you use Standards Australia’s sites or apps at google.com/policies/privacy/partners/

Advertising And Tracking

When you view our advertisements on a Third Party website, the advertising company uses ‘cookies’ and in some cases ‘web beacons’ to collect information such as the server your computer is logged onto, your browser type, the date and time of your visit and the performance of their marketing efforts.

When you access our website after viewing one of our advertisements on a Third Party website, the advertising company collects information on how you utilise our website (eg: which pages you view) and whether you complete an online application.

Cookies

We use ‘cookies’ to provide you with better and more customised service and with a more effective website. A ‘cookie’ is a small text file placed on your computer by our web page server. A cookie can later be retrieved by our webpage servers. Cookies are frequently used on websites and you can choose if and how a cookie will be accepted by configuring your preferences and options in your internet browser.

We use cookies for different purposes including but not limited to:

  • Allocate a unique number to your internet browsers;
  • Customise our website for you;
  • For statistical purposes;
  • To identify if you have accessed a Third Party Website; and
  • For security purposes.

IP Addresses

Your IP address is the identifier for your computer when you are using the internet. It may be necessary for us to collect your IP address for your interaction with various parts of our website.

Online And Live Chat Enquiries

When you send an online or live chat enquiry to us, we retain the information contained in that enquiry. We are able to then use that information to provide any services that you require.

Security And Management Of Personal Information

The security of your information is very important to us. SMATS Services, Specialist Mortgage, will take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse and loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

We have put in place physical, electronic and procedural safeguards in line with industry and regulatory standards.

We regularly review developments in security and encryption technologies. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed as totally secure.

If we no longer require your information, and we are legally permitted to, we will take all reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify the information.

We take reasonable steps to preserve the security of cookie and personal information in accordance with this policy. If your browser is suitably configured, it will advise you whether the information you are sending us will be secure (encrypted) or not secure (unencrypted).

We may use an external software platform or cloud storage to store the personal information we hold about you. The external software platform cloud storage and the IT servers may be located outside Australia.

We may disclose your personal information to overseas entities that provide support functions to us. You may obtain more information about these entities by contacting us.

How We Use Personal Information

SMATS Services, Specialist Mortgage, may disclose your personal information for a range of purposes, including;

  • Provide you with products and services you have requested;
  • Respond to your queries, feedback, surveys, seminar attendance;
  • Analyse and improve aspects of our business, including development processes, business systems, outcomes, communication, website engagement and performance;
  • Provide you with any communications and publications in which we think you might be interested, or you have requested;
  • Advise you about developments in our procedures, products, services, activities, programms that might be useful to you;
  • Facilitate your participation in educational events; and
  • Consider employment applications.

Direct Marketing

We will not use or disclose personal information about you to any external third party unless you have consented to that kind of use or disclosure. We may use your personal information for direct marketing purposes to the SMATS Group of Companies. If you do not wish to receive direct marketing communications from us or from other organisations, or wish to know the source of the information being used, you may submit a request to [email protected]. We will respond to your request as soon as practicable.

Disclosure To Overseas Entities

We do not generally disclose personal information to overseas entities in the course of our activities. We will not send your personal information to a recipient outside Australia without obtaining your consent or otherwise complying with the APPs.

Updating Your Personal Information

It is important to us that the personal information we hold about you is accurate and up to date. During the course of our relationship with you we may ask you to inform us if any of your personal information has changed. If you wish to make any changes to your personal information, you may contact us. We will generally rely on you to ensure the information we hold about you is accurate or complete.

Access And Correction To Your Personal Information

We will provide you with access to the personal information we hold about you. You may request access to any of the personal information we hold about you at any time. We may charge a fee for our costs of retrieving and supplying the information to you.

Depending on the type of request that you make we may respond to your request immediately, otherwise we usually respond to you within seven days of receiving your request. We may need to contact other entities to properly investigate your request.

There may be situations where we are not required to provide you with access to your personal information, for example, if the information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings, or if your request is vexatious.

An explanation will be provided to you if we deny you access to the personal information we hold about you.

If any of the personal information we hold about you is incorrect, inaccurate or out of date you may request that we correct the information. If appropriate we will correct the personal information at the time of the request otherwise, we will provide an initial response to you within seven days of receiving your request. Where reasonable, and after our investigation, we will provide you with details about whether we have corrected the personal information within 45 days.

We may need to consult with other entities as part of our investigation. If we refuse to correct personal information we will provide you with our reasons for not correcting the information.

Using Government Identifiers

If we collect government identifiers, such as your tax file number, (TFN) we do not use or disclose this information other than authorised by law. We will never use a government identifier in order to identify you

Complaints

If you are concerned that we have not complied with your legal rights or applicable privacy and data laws, you may make a formal compliant to our privacy officer – [email protected] and we will take all reasonable steps to ensure an assessment is completed within 30 days. If an eligible breach is confirmed, as soon as practicable SMATS Services, Specialist Mortgage will provide a statement to all of the individuals affected, including details of the breach and recommendations of the steps individuals should take. A copy of the statement will also be provided to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Our External Dispute Resolution (EDR) Scheme

If you do not think we have resolved your complaint to your satisfaction, or you have not heard from us within 30 calendar days, you may refer the matter to an External Dispute Resolution scheme.

You may also refer the matter to an EDR scheme at any time, but if our IDR process in still in progress, they may request that our IDR processes be complete before considering the matter further.

This EDR process is available to you, at no cost. Two EDR schemes may be listed below. This indicates that the Licensee and their Credit Representative are both required to be members (independently) of an ASIC approved EDR scheme. Where a Credit Representative’s EDR is displayed, please contact that EDR scheme in the first instance for complaint escalation.

EDR (LICENSEE)

Name: Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA)
AFCA Member Number: 43953
Email: [email protected]
Phone Number: 1800 931 678
Address: GPO Box 3, Melbourne VIC 3001, Australia

Terms & Conditions

By using the specialistmortgage.com (hereinafter referred to as Specialist Mortgage) website and engaging in any of the services promoted within I accept and acknowledge the following conditions:

  • I wish to be informed of items of interest that I specifically select and on events, offers and general information reports issued by Specialist Mortgage from time to time and consent to same in respect of any privacy regulations imposed by any authority.
  • Personal particulars and responses to any questionnaires shall remain private within the association of Specialist Mortgage and shall not be passed on to any external party without my consent.
  • I shall act with good faith and honesty in all my dealings with Specialist Mortgage.
  • I understand that Specialist Mortgage is not giving advice, financial or otherwise, and that I rely on my own judgement in making personal investment decisions.

Contact Us

Any complaints or correspondence in relation to this Privacy Policy should be sent to our Privacy Officer at:

SMATS Services (Australia) Pty Ltd, 8/166 Brighton Road, Scarborough, WA 6019, Australia

Phone: +61 8 9205 6828

Email: [email protected]

We will endeavour to respond to all complaints and correspondence promptly.