1. About this policy
Linix Accountants Pty Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”) is a CPA Australia public practice and registered tax agent. We provide accounting, taxation, business advisory, bookkeeping and SMSF services.
This policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information. We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and, for tax file numbers, the Privacy (Tax File Number) Rule 2015.
2. The kinds of personal information we collect and hold
Depending on the services we provide, we may collect:
- identity and contact details, such as your name, date of birth, address, email address and phone number;
- your tax file number (TFN), ABN and other government identifiers;
- identification documents and related information we are required to collect and verify under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (AML/CTF Act);
- financial information, such as income, assets, liabilities, bank statements, investments, property and superannuation details;
- employment, business and entity information, including details of directors, shareholders, trustees, beneficiaries and members;
- information about your family members, employees or other people connected to your affairs, where this is needed for the services; and
- records of our communications with you, including emails, meeting notes and, with your consent, recordings or transcripts of meetings and calls.
We collect sensitive information (such as health information) only where it is reasonably necessary for our services, for example to assess a tax deduction or offset, and with your consent.
3. How we collect personal information
We collect personal information mainly from you, including through meetings, phone calls, email, forms, our client portal and document uploads.
With your authority, we may also collect information from third parties, including the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), ASIC, your bank or other financial institutions, your employer, your superannuation fund, and your other advisers such as your lawyer, financial adviser or previous accountant.
If you give us personal information about another person, please make sure they know you have done so and that they can read this policy.
4. How we hold personal information
We hold personal information in electronic form using secure cloud-based practice management, document management, accounting and communication systems, and in limited paper records at our office.
We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include access controls, restricting access to staff who need it, and requiring our service providers to protect the information they handle for us.
We store full TFNs only in our secure practice management systems.
5. Why we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information
We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information to:
- provide our accounting, taxation, advisory, bookkeeping and SMSF services;
- prepare and lodge returns, statements and forms with the ATO, ASIC and other government bodies on your behalf;
- verify your identity and meet our obligations under the AML/CTF Act and other laws;
- manage our relationship with you, including billing and responding to your enquiries;
- meet our professional obligations, including quality reviews by CPA Australia; and
- with your consent, send you information about our services and relevant tax updates. You can opt out of marketing communications at any time.
6. Who we disclose personal information to
We may disclose personal information to:
- the ATO, ASIC, the Tax Practitioners Board, AUSTRAC and other government bodies, as needed to provide our services or as required or authorised by law;
- service providers who help us run our practice, such as cloud software, IT, document storage, e-signature, communication and artificial intelligence (AI) tool providers;
- our outsourced and offshore team members who assist with our work;
- other professionals involved in your affairs, with your consent;
- CPA Australia Ltd and its service providers, if requested, for a Best Practice Program review; and
- other parties with your consent, or as otherwise required or permitted by law.
7. Use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools
We use AI tools, including Claude (Anthropic), to help read, organise, summarise and analyse documents and data, and to prepare draft workpapers, calculations and correspondence.
- AI tools do not make decisions about your affairs. All AI-assisted work is reviewed by a qualified member of our team.
- We use business versions of our AI tools. Under their terms, the data we enter is not used to train AI models.
- We limit the personal information entered into AI tools to what is needed for the task, and we do not enter full TFNs into AI tools.
- If you do not want AI tools used on your affairs, tell us in writing and we will use alternative methods.
8. Overseas disclosure
Some of our service providers and team members store or access personal information outside Australia. The countries where recipients are likely to be located include the United States and the Philippines.
Where we disclose personal information overseas, we take reasonable steps, by contract or otherwise, to ensure the recipient handles it consistently with the APPs.
9. Website
When you use our website, we and our website and analytics providers may collect information such as your IP address, browser type and the pages you visit, using cookies and similar technologies. We use this information to operate and improve our website. You can set your browser to refuse cookies, although some parts of the site may then not work as intended.
Information you submit through forms or booking tools on our website is handled under this policy.
10. Retention
We retain records for at least five years, or longer where required by law or professional standards, and then securely destroy or de-identify them.
11. Data breaches
If a data breach occurs, we will act promptly to contain and assess it, and where the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme applies, we will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
12. Accessing and correcting your personal information
You may ask to access or correct the personal information we hold about you by contacting us using the details below. We will respond within a reasonable time. If we refuse a request, we will tell you why, unless it would be unreasonable to do so.
13. Complaints
If you have a privacy complaint, please contact us first using the details below and give us the details of your concern. We will acknowledge your complaint, investigate it and respond to you within a reasonable time, generally within 30 days.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au.
14. Contact us
Privacy Officer
Linix Accountants Pty Ltd (ABN 52 676 956 371)
Unit 1A, 35–39 Bourke Road, Alexandria NSW 2015
PO Box 6096, Alexandria NSW 2015
Phone: (02) 9158 9888
Email: info@linixaccountants.com.au
15. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always available on our website.
