Privacy Policy

Protecting your Privacy

WBFM is committed to protecting your privacy and the privacy of personal information provided to us. As a financial planning organisation WB Financial Management Pty Ltd (WBFM) (including its Financial Advisers, Authorised Representatives, management and staff) are subject to certain legislative and regulatory requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 and Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2001. These requirements govern our procedures of obtaining, using and holding detailed information that personally identifies you and/or contains information or an opinion about you (“personal information”).

About WBFM

WB Financial is inclusive of WB Financial Management Pty Ltd (ABN 71 073 303 885) Australian Financial Services Licence holder (No. 236 839) and WB Credit Management Pty Ltd (ACN 145 548 018) Australian Credit Licence holder (No. 386 671). WBFM is licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

WBFM licences out the use of its name to Financial Advisers and approved representatives to provide and manage client services on behalf of WBFM in the ordinary course of our business. Accordingly, the Financial Advisers are directly responsible for the collection, use and management of clients’ personal information.

Our authorised Financial Advisers (and other approved representatives) are bound by, and committed to supporting, the National Privacy Principles established under the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act, 2001. The information set out below is largely a summary of our obligations under the National Privacy Principles. WBFM and the Financial Adviser believe that this Privacy Policy will address any potential concerns that you may have about how personal information you provide to the Financial Adviser and WBFM is collected, held, used, accessed, corrected, disclosed and transferred.
What personal information do we collect?

Personal information collected may include:

  • Employment details and employment history;
  • Financial needs and objectives;
  • Current personal and financial circumstances, including contact details, gender, assets and liabilities (both actual and potential), income, expenditure, insurance cover, superannuation, employment history, employment circumstances, family commitments and social security eligibility;
  • Investment preferences and aversion or tolerance to risk.

The Financial Adviser will not collect any personal information about the clients except when you have knowingly provided that information to the Financial Adviser or WBFM, or you have authorised a third party to provide that information.

WBFM also collects personal information from our licensed Financial Advisers, other people interested in working with WBFM, and from suppliers and other contractors involved in the provision of corporate and other support services to our Financial Advisers and staff.

Why do we collect personal information?

Our ability to provide clients with a comprehensive financial planning and advice service is dependent on the Financial Adviser obtaining certain relevant personal information about you. We cannot act on behalf of clients who remain anonymous or do not provide us with sufficient information to assess their relevant financial planning issues.

In other circumstances, we may collect and use personal information from the following:

People interested in working with us, and people they nominate, to assist us in determining their level of suitability for a position or whether they should be placed on an eligibility list for future occasions.

Financial Advisers and other approved WBFM representatives, in order to provide a quality service to our clients. Please note that the practices of WBFM in relation to Employee records in the course of employment are exempt under the privacy legislation and are governed by other laws.

Suppliers and others who provide services to our Financial Advisers, you or us. We do this so we can ensure the provision of appropriate corporate and support services to you, Financial Advisers and other staff. To provide a quality service to you, we maintain a comprehensive database on our support services, suppliers, representatives, contractors, consultants and other expert advisers.

We also collect and use personal information for business development, planning and marketing of our services.

What do we do with the personal information we collect?

The Financial Adviser will only collect, maintain and use personal information if it is necessary for us to provide the services you have requested including:

  • The preparation of your financial plan;
  • The provision of financial planning advice and services;
  • Making securities and investment recommendations;
  • Reviewing your financial plan, securities and investment recommendations;
  • Other as disclosed to you upon collection (i.e. taxation services).

In addition to privacy law requirements, WBFM, its Authorised Representatives, management and staff will comply with the Financial Planning Association’s (FPA) Code of Ethics and Rules of Professional Conduct. We will not use or disclose personal information that we collect for a purpose other than that for which it has been provided to us unless we have received the consent of the individual concerned. However, please remember that we may be required by law to disclose your personal information to others for purposes relating to public safety and law enforcement.

WBFM or the Financial Adviser may use the personal information collected for the purpose of providing our own direct marketing material. You may request not to receive such information by contacting the Financial Adviser or the Privacy Officer on any of the following contact details. We will action your request within 14 days from the date it is received by us.

Privacy Officer
32 Logan Road, Woolloongabba Qld 4102
Phone: 1800 458 044
Facsimile: 1800 066 472
E-Mail: privacy@wb.com.au

How do we collect personal information?

WBFM or the Financial Adviser may collect personal information from you in person, in writing, by telephone, through seminars and feedback sessions, through our website and by other electronic communication channels. We will only collect personal information from you by lawful and fair means, without being unreasonably intrusive.

Wherever practicable WBFM or the Financial Adviser will collect personal information from you directly. If you are a client, you will provide much of the information when you engage us to act on your behalf.

However, at times it may be more practicable for us to collect personal information from a third party, and we will inform you if we do so, and obtain an assurance from the third party that they are authorised to provide the information. However, please remember there may be situations where we are not required to tell you that we have collected your personal information.

In other circumstances, WBFM or the Financial Adviser may collect personal information when recruiting staff or when people approach us and express an interest in working with us. This information may be collected from interviews, discussions and material submitted to us. If we do not engage the person, this information may be kept on file for a further period of 2 months, or longer if the individual agrees.

At or before the time WBFM or the Financial Adviser collects personal information, we will take all reasonable steps to inform you why the personal information is being collected, who else it may be disclosed to, and the consequences of non-disclosure.

WBFM or the Financial Adviser will not use or disclose personal information collected for any purpose other than:

  • The purposes for which it was provided or secondary related purposes in circumstances where you would reasonably expect such use or disclosure;
  • Where the client have consented to such disclosure;
  • Where the National Privacy Principles authorise use or disclosure where required or authorised under law, in circumstances relating to public health and safety and in connection with certain operations by or on behalf of an enforcement body;
    For the Financial Adviser internal operations (including accounting, risk management, record keeping, archiving, systems development and testing, staff training and compliance monitoring);
  • The Client bank or other financial institution, for any direct debits or credits;
  • Other entities the Financial Adviser may use for outsourcing the administration of the financial products and/or services provided to the Client;
  • Auditors, consultants, legal or accounting firms, reinsurers and financial services industry bodies and regulators;
  • Debt collection agencies;
  • Where relevant, your executor, administrator, trustee, guardian or attorney.

Who will see or have access to your personal information?

In order to ensure that the client receives a personal and tailored service, personal information may be transferred to a WBFM Authorised Representative who will be the client’s primary point of contact. It is a condition of the Financial Adviser’s agreement with each of the Authorised Representatives that they adopt and adhere to this Privacy Policy.

The Financial Adviser may disclose the client’s personal information to other Authorised Representatives of WBFM during certain periods so that you can be assured of receiving a continued service. WBFM or the Financial Adviser may also disclose your personal information to superannuation fund trustees, financial institutions, insurance providers, and product issuers for the purpose of giving effect to your financial plan and the recommendations made.

In the event that WBFM or the Financial Adviser proposes to sell the business, we may disclose personal information to potential purchasers for the purpose of them conducting due diligence investigations. Any such disclosure will be made in confidence and it will be a condition of that document that no personal information will be used or disclosed by them. In the event that a sale of our business is effected, WBFM or the Financial Adviser may transfer personal information to the purchaser of the business. We will advise you of any such transfer.
What can you do to check the personal information we hold about you?

You may at any time request access to your personal information by contacting in writing WBFM, the Financial Adviser or Privacy Officer.

If you are a client, the Financial Adviser will facilitate your inspection of your personal information by appointment, or by providing copies or a summary of relevant documents, depending on what is appropriate in the circumstances. Evidence of your identity will be required prior to providing access.

WBFM or the Financial Adviser will not provide you access to personal information which would reveal any confidential formulae or the detail of any in house evaluative decision making process, but may instead provide you with the result of the formulae or process or an explanation of that result. If we are entitled under the National Privacy Principles to refuse you access to your personal information, we will tell you and provide reasons.

In some circumstances, WBFM or the Financial Adviser may charge a fee for giving access, which will vary but will be based on our costs (internal and external) in locating the information and the form of access the client requires. If we propose to charge a fee for giving access, then we will give you an estimate of the fee so you can confirm that you still want access to the information. We do not impose any charge for lodging a request for access.

Where it is established that personal information we hold about you is inaccurate or out-of-date, WBFM or the Financial Adviser will take all steps necessary to correct it.

The Financial Adviser will endeavour to respond to any request for access and/or correction within 14 days depending on the complexity of the information and/or the request. Please give us a clear indication if your request is urgent.
How we store your personal information

WBFM or the Financial Adviser will at all times seek to ensure that the personal information collected and held by us is protected from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. At all times your personal information is treated as confidential and any sensitive information is treated as confidential. All record movements off premises are recorded in a central register. Access to WBFM or the Financial Adviser’s premises is by authorised personnel with security key access to the premises. All electronic information is protected through the use of access passwords. Data is backed up and stored securely off site. Our relevant staff and representatives have been informed of the importance we place on the protection your privacy and their role in helping us to do this.

In the event you cease to be a client of WBFM or the Financial Adviser, any personal information that we hold about you will be maintained in a secure offsite storage facility for a period of 7 years in order to comply with legislative and professional requirements. After the expiry of this time the information held on WBFM or the Financial Adviser’s database will be de-identified and all files destroyed.

What if I want further information or have a complaint or concern about the privacy protection of my personal information?

You may at any juncture request that WBFM and its Financial Adviser do not contact you. If you wish for all communication to cease, we require you to provide a written request of 30 days notice informing us of your intent.

If you wish to complain about any breach or potential breach of this Privacy Policy or the National Privacy Principles, you should contact our Privacy Officer in writing by any of the methods detailed below. Your complaint will be considered and responded to within 14 days.

Privacy Officer
32 Logan Road, Woolloongabba Qld 4102
Phone: 1800 458 044
Facsimile: 1800 066 472
E-Mail: privacy@wb.com.au

If you are not happy with our response, you can contact the Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner at privacy@privacy.gov.au or telephone 1300 363 992.
Changes to Policy

WBFM reserve the right to review and amend this Privacy policy from time to time and notify you by posting an updated version on our website (www.wb.com.au).

The Financial Adviser reserves the right to review and amend this Privacy Policy from time to time and notify the Client by posting an updated version on the Financial Adviser’s website (www.wb.com.au).