Privacy Policy
ABS TAX PTY LTD (ABN 17 632 527 238), trading as ABS TAX, ABS TAX Accountant and ABS Home Loans (“ABS TAX”, “we”, “us”, “our”), is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
This policy applies to clients, prospective clients, website visitors and anyone else whose personal information we handle, including people connected to our clients (such as employees, shareholders, beneficiaries and family members).
1. What personal information we collect
The information we collect depends on the services you use. It may include:
- identity and contact details – name, date of birth, address, phone, email, and identity documents such as a driver’s licence or passport;
- tax and financial information – tax file number (TFN), ABN, income, expenses, assets and liabilities, bank statements, investments, superannuation, payroll records, financial statements and ATO records;
- business information – details of companies, trusts, partnerships and self-managed super funds you are involved in, including directors, shareholders, members and beneficiaries;
- home loan information (ABS Home Loans) – employment, income, living expenses, credit history, credit reports, property details and loan details;
- sensitive information, only with your consent and where needed – for example, health information for insurance applications or financial hardship requests;
- information about your dealings with us – appointment history, correspondence, invoices and payments; and
- website and device information – IP address, browser type and pages visited.
2. How we collect it
2.1 We collect most information directly from you: in meetings, by phone or email, through our website forms and questionnaire, our online booking system, client portals and electronic signing.
2.2 With your authority, we also collect information from third parties, including the ATO, ASIC, your bank (including through bank feeds), your employer, your previous accountant, financial planners, lenders, credit reporting bodies and other advisers.
2.3 If you give us information about another person (for example, a spouse, employee or business partner), please make sure they know you have done so and where to find this policy.
2.4 If we receive personal information we did not ask for and do not need, we will destroy or de-identify it where lawful and reasonable to do so.
3. Why we collect and use it
We collect, hold and use personal information to:
- provide accounting, bookkeeping, tax, BAS, payroll, ASIC, advisory, home loan and insurance referral services;
- meet our legal and professional obligations, including under tax law, the Tax Agent Services Act 2009, the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 and anti-money laundering laws;
- verify your identity;
- communicate with you, manage appointments, invoice you and recover unpaid fees;
- work with other advisers you have asked us to deal with (such as auditors, financial planners, lawyers and insurers);
- improve our services, train our team and handle complaints; and
- tell you about services, tax updates and events that may interest you (see section 11).
If you do not give us the information we ask for, we may not be able to provide our services, or our advice may not suit your circumstances.
4. Anonymity
You can make general enquiries without identifying yourself or by using a pseudonym. To prepare returns, give advice or arrange a loan, we need to know who you are, as the law requires it.
5. Tax file numbers and other government identifiers
5.1 We collect, use and store TFNs only as allowed by tax law and the Privacy (Tax File Number) Rule 2015. TFNs are never entered into public AI tools.
5.2 We do not use government identifiers such as your TFN, Medicare number or driver’s licence number as our own way of identifying you.
6. Who we disclose it to
We never sell, rent or trade your personal information. We may disclose it to:
- the ATO, ASIC, the Tax Practitioners Board and other government bodies, as needed for your work or required by law;
- our team, including outsourced team members (see section 7);
- software, cloud, AI and IT providers that help us deliver our services (see sections 7 and 8);
- other advisers you have asked us to deal with;
- for ABS Home Loans clients – lenders, our credit licensee Mortgage Specialists Pty Ltd, aggregators, valuers, lenders’ mortgage insurers, credit reporting bodies and settlement agents;
- the Institute of Public Accountants for quality review, and our professional indemnity insurers, auditors and legal advisers;
- debt collection agencies, lawyers or courts if fees remain unpaid – limited to your name, contact details, the amount owing and the invoice and engagement details;
- a buyer of all or part of our practice, or a related entity, who agrees to protect your information; and
- anyone else you authorise, or where the Privacy Act otherwise permits.
7. Outsourcing and overseas disclosure
7.1 We are likely to disclose personal information to recipients outside Australia, in particular:
- the Philippines – our outsourced team members, who help with data entry, bookkeeping, reconciliations, payroll, administration and preparing draft work for review by our Australian team; and
- the United States – where some of our AI, cloud software and email providers store or process data.
Some cloud providers may also store data in other countries from time to time. Contact us for a current list.
7.2 Before we disclose information overseas, we take reasonable steps to protect it. Outsourced team members sign confidentiality and privacy agreements, are trained in Australian privacy requirements, and access client information only through our secure systems with multi-factor authentication and controls on downloading and storing data locally. Software providers are chosen for their security and contractual privacy commitments.
7.3 Our Terms & Conditions ask clients to consent to these overseas disclosures. Where you have consented after being told about them, APP 8.1 may not apply, as permitted by APP 8.2(b). You can ask us in writing not to have your work handled offshore. This may affect our fees and timeframes.
8. Artificial intelligence
8.1 We use AI tools to help our team work accurately and efficiently – for example, reading and extracting data from documents, suggesting transaction coding in accounting software, drafting letters and summaries, assisting with research, and (only with everyone’s consent) taking meeting notes.
8.2 Every AI output used in your work is checked by a qualified team member, and tax advice and lodgements are approved by a registered tax agent.
8.3 We only use AI tools we have assessed and approved for business use. Where the option exists, we use settings that stop your information being used to train the provider’s public models. We do not enter TFNs or sensitive information into free or public AI tools, and we remove identifying details where practical.
8.4 We may use de-identified, aggregated information (which does not identify you) to improve our services and internal tools. We will not use it to train public AI models.
9. Automated decision-making
9.1 No decision about you is made solely by a computer program. Some programs we use, including AI tools, help our team with decisions that could significantly affect you. A person always reviews the result and makes the final decision.
9.2 The kinds of personal information used in these programs are identity details, income and expense records, bank and transaction data, asset and liability details, employment details and, for home loans, credit history and living expenses.
9.3 The kinds of decisions where these programs do something substantially and directly related to the decision are:
- tax and accounting – coding and categorising transactions, calculating income, deductions and tax payable, and flagging items for review when preparing returns, activity statements and financial statements; and
- home loans – serviceability and borrowing capacity calculations, and comparing loan products to shortlist options for you.
9.4 Lenders make their own credit decisions and may use their own automated systems. Their privacy policies explain how they do this.
10. How we hold and protect your information
10.1 We hold information electronically in secure cloud-based systems (such as Xero, Xero Practice Manager, Microsoft 365 and our booking and e-signing platforms) and, in limited cases, in paper files at our offices.
10.2 We protect it with access controls based on each team member’s role, multi-factor authentication, encryption, secure offices, staff confidentiality agreements and training, and regular review of our security practices.
10.3 We keep tax and accounting records for at least five years, and home loan records for at least seven years, or longer where the law requires. When we no longer need information, we securely destroy or de-identify it.
10.4 If a data breach is likely to cause you serious harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.
10.5 Please help protect your information. Keep your passwords to any portal or software secure, and before paying us, always confirm our bank details by calling 08 6114 4591. We will never change our bank details by email alone.
11. Marketing
11.1 We may send you tax updates, newsletters and information about our services and events. We will not use sensitive information for marketing, and we never sell or rent your information to others.
11.2 You can opt out at any time by using the unsubscribe link in any email, replying “STOP” to an SMS, or contacting us. We comply with the Spam Act 2003 (Cth).
12. Our website
12.1 When you use our contact forms, questionnaire, online booking system or payment page, we collect the information you enter to respond to you and provide our services. Payments are processed by Square, and we do not store your card details.
12.2 Our website uses cookies and similar tools to measure how the site is used and keep it secure. This includes Google reCAPTCHA on our forms, which is subject to Google’s privacy policy. You can set your browser to refuse cookies, though some features may not work.
12.3 If you contact us through WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger from our website, those services are run by Meta and their privacy policies apply. Please don’t send TFNs or bank details through chat apps.
12.4 Our website links to other sites (such as the ATO and our software partners). We are not responsible for their privacy practices.
13. Accessing and correcting your information
13.1 You may ask for access to the personal information we hold about you by contacting our Privacy Officer. We will need to verify your identity. There is no charge to ask, though we may charge a reasonable fee for the cost of providing access, which we will tell you about first.
13.2 We will respond within 30 days. If we refuse access, we will tell you why in writing and how to complain.
13.3 If you think information we hold is wrong, out of date or incomplete, tell us and we will correct it. If we disagree, we will tell you why in writing, and you can ask us to note your view with the record. Some records must be kept unchanged by law, so we may correct information rather than delete it.
14. Complaints
14.1 If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer in writing. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and aim to resolve it within 30 days.
14.2 If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact:
- the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) – oaic.gov.au or 1300 363 992; or
- for complaints about ABS Home Loans credit services, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) – afca.org.au or 1800 931 678.
15. Contact our Privacy Officer
- Name: Subhash (Sam) Patel, Director, ABS TAX PTY LTD
- Address: Suite 3, 25 Walters Drive, Osborne Park WA 6017
- Email: info@abstax.com.au
- Phone: 08 6114 4591
You can ask for a copy of this policy in another form (for example, printed) and we will provide it.
16. Changes to this policy
We review this policy regularly and will publish any changes on our website. This policy was last updated on 5 November 2025.
