Privacy Statement

The ABS Building Society understands how important the privacy of your information is to you and we are committed to ensuring the confidentiality of your personal information. From 21 December 2001, the Society will comply with the "National Privacy Principles" as set out in the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000.

This Policy Statement tells you how we manage personal information.

Collection

The types of personal information the Society collects and holds will depend on the particular products and services you request. It may include information you give us when you open an account with the Society, fill in an application form, contact the Society in person or deal with the Society over the phone.

The personal information the Society collects includes your name, contact details (eg. telephone number and postal and residential address), tax file number and transactional information about the use of the product or service. Where relevant (for example, in the case of a loan application), the Society will also collect and hold information about your financial position and information obtained from an insurer of your mortgage and from credit checks (but only if you authorise the Society to do so).

The only personal information which the Society will collect about you when you use our Website is what you tell us about yourself, for example, by completing an online form such as a loan application or by sending us an email.

When you visit our Website, our server attaches a small data file known as a "cookie" to your hard drive. The Society uses cookies to provide us with aggregate (anonymous) information on how people use our website and to help us to know what our customers find interesting and useful in our website. The information derived from cookies will not be personal information because it does not reveal your identity.

Use and Disclosure

The Society collects and uses your personal information for the primary purpose of

• opening an account for you
• assessing an application by you for a product or service
• providing you with the product or service that you have requested.

The Society may use or disclose your personal information for purposes related to the main purpose for which we collect it, such as

• administering, monitoring, evaluating and managing the product or service you have with the Society
• internal accounting and administration
• providing you with information about other products and services offered by the Society or a related company of the Society
• complying with regulatory requirements
• managing our relationship with you

The Society may disclose your personal information to a related company of the Society, but it will still remain confidential. This will allow them to tell you about products and services offered by them that may be of interest to you.

The Society may also disclose your personal information to external service providers who conduct specific activities for us such as mail-outs. However, the information remains the property of the Society and the external service provider will be subject to strict confidential and non-disclosure obligations.

If you do not wish to receive direct marketing information from the Society, you can tell us and we will stop sending you such information.

Furthermore, the Society may disclose your personal information if, for example

• you have given us your express or implied consent to disclose the information
• the disclosure is required by law (eg. under a Court order or subpoena or a law that allows a Government agency, such as the Australian Taxation Office, to demand that we disclose information about your account)
• the disclosure is permitted or authorised by law (eg. under the Privacy Act 1988)
• we need to protect our interest (eg. in legal proceedings to which we are a party)
• the disclosure is required in the public interest (eg. where a crime or fraud has been committed)

The Society will not disclose names and addresses to third parties for the purpose of enabling them to direct market their products and services to you.

Security

The Society will take reasonable precautions and security measures to keep your personal information secure and protect it from loss and misuse and from unauthorised access, modification and disclosure.

Updating your personal information

Generally, if you request the Society to do so, we will amend any personal information about you held by us which is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date. If we disagree with you about the accuracy, completeness or currency of a record of your personal information held by us, we will, if you request us to do so, take reasonable steps to associate with that record a statement to the effect that you claim this to be the case.

Access to personal information

You can ask the Society to provide you with access to your personal information. Requests for a large amount of information, or information that is not currently in use, may attract a fee and require further time before a response can be given. In some cases, we are entitled under the National Privacy Principles to refuse to give you access to your personal information. This includes circumstances where giving you access would prejudice negotiations we are having with you, prejudice investigations of unlawful activity or prejudice activities carried out by or for a law enforcement agency.

If we deny your request for access, we will let you know why.

Changes to this Policy Statement

The Society may change this Policy Statement from time to time, but will remain bound by any legislative requirements. The Society may notify you about changes to this Privacy Statement by posting an updated version on our Website.

Further information and complaints

You can also ask the Society for more information about the way we manage your personal information. If you have a complaint or would like access to your personal information, please contact:

Barry Tomkins, ABS Building Society Ltd, P O Box 118A, Armidale NSW 2350. Telephone 02 6772 5522, Facsimile 02 6772 7686, email : barry@absbsl.com.au

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ABS Building Society Ltd, ABN 84 087 651 938, BSB 630-000
Head Office 101 Faulkner St, Armidale, NSW - ph 1300 227 275- fax 02 6772 9274
email info@absbuildingsociety.com.au

Privacy Statement

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