Privacy Policy

1. About this policy

Patel Financials (ABN 93 697 909 905) is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

By using our website at patelfinancials.com.au or engaging our services, you agree to the terms of this policy.

2. What information we collect

We may collect the following types of personal information:

• Contact details — name, email address, phone number, and business name.
• Business information — business type, ABN, financial records, and other information necessary to provide bookkeeping services.
• Enquiry details — messages and information you submit through our contact or enquiry forms.
• Website usage data — IP address, browser type, pages visited, and time spent on our site (collected via cookies and analytics tools, subject to your consent).

3. How we collect your information

We collect personal information in the following ways:

• Directly from you when you complete a form on our website, call us, or email us.
• When you engage us to provide bookkeeping or financial support services.
• Automatically through cookies and analytics tools when you browse our website (only where you have provided consent).

4. Why we collect your information

We collect and use your personal information to:

We will not use your personal information for any purpose that is unrelated to the above without your consent.

• Respond to your enquiries and provide the services you have requested.
• Deliver bookkeeping, BAS lodgement, payroll, and related financial services.
• Send you service updates, invoices, and relevant communications.
• Improve our website and services.
• Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

5. Disclosure of your information

We may share your personal information with:

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

• Service providers — third-party software and platforms we use to operate our business (e.g. accounting software, cloud storage, email providers), who are bound by confidentiality obligations.
• Government bodies — the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and other regulatory authorities where required by law.
• Professional advisers — accountants, lawyers, or auditors where necessary.

6. Cookies and analytics

Our website uses cookies and third-party analytics tools (including the Meta Pixel) to understand how visitors use our site. These tools are only activated after you provide your consent via our cookie banner. You may withdraw consent at any time by clearing your browser cookies or adjusting your browser settings.

7. Data security

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. Our website uses HTTPS encryption, and access to client data is restricted to authorised personnel only. However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Retention of information

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services and comply with our legal obligations (including ATO record-keeping requirements, which generally require financial records to be kept for a minimum of five years). When information is no longer required, we will securely destroy or de-identify it.

9. Your rights

Under the Australian Privacy Principles, you have the right to:

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe.

• Request access to the personal information we hold about you.
• Request that we correct inaccurate or out-of-date information.
• Make a complaint if you believe we have breached the APPs.

10. Complaints

If you have a complaint about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au.

11. Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to access or correct your personal information, please contact us:

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal obligations. The current version will always be available on this page, with the date of the most recent update shown at the top.