Our commitment

We value your trust in us as a member-owned financial institution. It is important for us to keep your information secure. As your financial institution, it is also important for us to keep your information confidential. To achieve this we comply with the Privacy Act 1988, the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and the Credit Reporting Privacy Code. The Privacy Act 1988 sets out how we are to collect, use, disclose and store personal, credit and credit eligibility information. The Privacy Act 1988 also requires us to have a privacy policy.

Outline of our Policy

Our Policy sets out:

• what information we collect and hold
• when you apply for a loan what information we use from your credit report
• how we collect and hold information
• why we collect, hold, use and disclose your information
• how you can access your information
• how you can correct your information
• how you can make a complaint
• how we will deal with your complaint
• in what overseas countries we are likely to disclose your information.

Information we collect and hold

We will collect and hold:

• your name, date of birth and evidence of identity
• your tax file number
• passwords, passcodes and secret questions used to confirm your authorisation of a transaction
• credit and debits to your accounts.

When you apply for a loan we will also collect and hold information about:

• your financial position
• your current credit history.

We will only collect information that is related to our providing, or arranging others to provide:

• banking products and services
• financial advisory services
• financial accommodation
• general insurance
• travel services.

How we collect your information

We will collect information about you and your financial position from you directly.

When you apply for a loan, we will collect information about your credit history from a credit reporting body.

What information do we use from your credit report?

We use your credit report to check if what you have told us about your financial history is correct.

We look at the following information:

• what are your current loans
• what loans have you applied for
• if available, your repayment history on any loans and your default history
• any payment defaults reported by service providers such as telcos and energy companies
• whether there are any Court judgments against you
• whether you are, or have recently been, a bankrupt
• whether you have committed any serious credit infringements.

Your credit report will usually only contain information from the past 5 years. It may contain information from up to the past 7 years if you have committed a serious credit infringement.

We may ask you to explain why your credit report differs from what you have told us about your financial history.

Why we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information:

We collect and use your information for a number of reasons, such as to:

• provide membership benefits, financial services and products or information about those benefits, services and products
• give you information about financial services and products from 3rd parties we have agreements with
• conduct market and demographic research in relation to the products and services our members acquire from us.

We also collect and hold personal information as required by law, for example:

• for our register of members
• to verify your identity
• to assess your capacity to pay a loan.

We collect and use your information:

• when you apply for a loan – to establish your eligibility for a loan and your capacity to repay
• when you have a loan with us – to disclose the following information to a credit reporting body:
  • the fact that you have applied for a loan
  • details of the loan, when approved
  • when payments are due
  • whether you have paid on time
  • when you actually paid.

We disclose your information to other entities such as:

• entities that verify identity
• lawyers, conveyancers, accountants, brokers and agents who represent you
• contractors for statement printing and mail out, card and cheque production, market research or direct marketing
• affiliated product and service suppliers
• credit reporting bodies and other financial institutions that have previously lent to you
• persons you use as referees
• for property loans – property valuers and insurers
• mortgage documentation services
• trustees and managers of securitised loan programs
• any proposed guarantor of a loan
• debt collection agencies, lawyers, process servers
• our auditors.

We will also disclose your information to law enforcement and government agencies as required by law.

How we hold your information

We hold your information in our banking system. We have security systems to guard against unauthorised access. We also limit access to our employees on a needs basis.
We will destroy or de-identify information when we no longer need it.

Disclosure to overseas recipients

We do not currently disclose your information to overseas recipients.

How you can access and/or correct your information

You can request access to your information at any time. If the information we hold is incorrect, you can request us to correct it.

You can make a request by contacting us, by visiting one of our branches or by telephone. Contact details can be found here.

We do not currently charge any fees for giving you access to your information.

Making a complaint

You may make a complaint to us if you consider that we have not complied with the relevant provisions of the APPs or relevant credit reporting provisions within the Privacy Act.

You can complain:

• in person at one of our branches
• by calling us on 1300 36 2000
• by email at mail@unitybank.com.au
• in writing to: Unity Bank, PO Box K237, Haymarket NSW 1240.

We will deal with your complaint under our internal dispute resolution procedure. We will give you our Complaint and Dispute Resolution Guide when you make your complaint.

We are also part of an external dispute resolution scheme. If you are not satisfied with how we handled your complaint, you can take the matter there. We will tell you at the time how you can contact the external dispute resolution scheme.

Privacy Notification

Outline

This Privacy Notification sets out:

• why we collect and use your information
• how we collect and use your information
• what happens if you do not wish to provide us with information
• whether we provide your information to other entities
• the availability of our Privacy Policy
• when we can disclose certain information to a credit reporting body
• how a credit reporting body may use your information
• whether we disclose your information overseas and if so, where
• how you can contact us.

Collection & use of your information

We collect and use your information to:

• provide you with membership benefits, financial services and products or information about those benefits, services and products
• provide you with information about financial services and products from 3rd parties we have arrangements with
• conduct market and demographic research in relation to the products and services you and other members acquire from us
• establish your eligibility for a loan
• establish your capacity to repay a loan.

The law also requires us to collect and hold your information:

• for our register of members under the Corporations Act
• to verify your identity under the AML/CTF Act
• to assess your capacity to pay a loan under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act.

How we collect your information

We will collect information about you and your financial position from you directly.
When you apply for a loan, we will collect information about your credit history from a credit reporting body.

How you can access your information

You can request access to your information at any time.

What if you do not wish to provide us with information?

If you do not give us the information we require, we may not be able to admit you to membership or provide you with the financial service or product you have applied for.

Providing your information to credit reporting bodies

The credit reporting body we disclose information to is Equifax.

If you do not make your repayments when they fall due or commit a serious credit infringement, we may disclose this to Equifax. Any information we provide to Equifax will be included in reports provided to credit providers to help them to assess your creditworthiness.

You can ask Equifax not to use your information for prescreening of direct marketing by a credit provider.

You can also ask them not to use or disclose your information if you reasonably believe that you have been or are likely to be a victim of fraud.

Equifax’s policy on the management of information is available at www.mycreditfile.com.au.

You can contact Equifax by:

• Phone – 1300 762 207
• Website - www.mycreditfile.com.au

Providing your information to other entities

We disclose your information to other entities. We only disclose your information as needed and as required by law.

We can disclose your information to:

• entities that verify identity
• lawyers, conveyancers, accountants, brokers and agents who represent you
• contractors for statement printing and mail out, card and cheque production, market research or direct marketing
• affiliated product and service suppliers to provide information to you about their services and products
• credit reporting bodies and other financial institutions that have previously lent to you
• persons you use as referees
• for property loans – property valuers and insurers
• mortgage documentation service
• trustees and managers of securitised loan programs
• any proposed guarantor of a loan
• debt collection agencies, lawyers, process servers
• our auditors.

We will also disclose your information to law enforcement
and government agencies as required by law.

Our Privacy Policy

The Policy contains information about:

• how you can access your information
• how you can seek correction for your information
• how you make a complaint and how we will deal with it
• in what overseas countries we are likely to disclose your information

Disclosure to overseas recipients

We do not currently disclose your information to overseas recipients.

How to contact us

You can contact us by:

• in person at one of our branches
• by calling us on 1300 36 2000
• by email at mail@unitybank.com.au
• in writing to: Unity Bank, PO Box K237, Haymarket NSW 1240

Download these Privacy documents here:

• Privacy Policy PDF
• Privacy Notification PDF