OUR SERVICES

PRIVACY POLICY

Assurex Escrow does not trade in Personal Information for benefit, service or advantage. Nonetheless, in furtherance of our commitment to a consistently ethical approach to business we support the Australian Privacy Principles (APP) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)

The APP informs the way in which we collect, use, disclose, store, secure and dispose of Personal Information and we are cognizant of our responsibilities under the Notifiable Data Breach Scheme.

This statement outlines Assurex Escrow’s policy on handling the Personal Information that we collect about individuals including clients, potential clients and employees and officers thereof.

• What is Personal Information and how do we collect it and use it?
Personal Information is information or an opinion that identifies an individual. Examples of Personal Information we collect include names, addresses, email addresses, telephone and facsimile numbers.

We obtain this Personal Information in many ways including correspondence, by telephone and facsimile, by email, via our website www.assurex-escrow.com.au, from your website, from media and publications, from other publicly available sources, and from third parties.

We collect, hold, use and disclose Personal Information only so far as is necessary to establish, manage and administer the services provided by us under the escrow agreements we enter into with our clients, and we comply with contractual, legal and regulatory obligations relating to your Personal Information.

We may also use your Personal Information for secondary purposes closely related to the primary purpose, in circumstances where you would reasonably expect such use or disclosure. We do not however use your Personal Information for direct marketing, and nor do we disclose it to third parties for this purpose.

Your Personal Information may be disclosed to third parties where you consent to the use or disclosure or where required or authorized by law.

• Security of Personal Information
Whether we obtain Personal Information through meetings, by telephone, mail, internet or other means, we take steps to store your Personal Information securely and to prevent unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. We hold your Personal Information in a combination of secure electronic storage and paper-based files.

We take various steps to protect Personal Information from misuse and loss, from unauthorized access or disclosure, including requiring staff who handle Personal Information to respect the confidentiality of client information and the privacy of individuals.

When we no longer need your Personal Information for the purpose for which it was obtained we will delete, securely destroy or permanently de-identify it. However most Personal Information is or will be stored in hard copy client files, which will be kept by us for a minimum of ten (10) years after the file is closed and thereafter destroyed.

• Mandatory Data Breach Notification
While Assurex Escrow is not subject to the mandatory data breach notification provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) we recognize an ethical obligation to notify clients if a data breach occurs which is likely to result in serious harm to affected clients. In addition, every escrow agreement Assurex Escrow enters into imposes obligations of confidence and the performance of these obligations is the essence of the services we provide.

As a consequence, all personnel must immediately report:

• any unauthorized access to client information;
• unauthorized disclosure of client information; or
• if client information is lost in circumstances where unauthorized access to or disclosure of client information is likely to occur.