At ASG we recognise the importance of privacy of personal information. Our policy for dealing with any personal information that you might disclose to us while visiting our website is explained in this statement. This policy should be read in conjunction with the terms and conditions, which may apply to individual products and services available on our website.

Our Commitment

ASG is committed to complying with the National Privacy Principles for the fair handling of personal information which are contained in the Privacy Act 1988 in Australia and the Privacy Act 1993 in New Zealand. In addition, our employees, Counsellors and contractors are obliged to respect the confidentiality of any personal information held by ASG and any of its related entities.

The information that we collect when you visit our website

When you visit this site to read or download information, our Internet Service Providers may record your server address, domain name, the date and time of your visit to our site, the pages visited and the information downloaded. This information is used for statistical and website development purposes only.

Should you decide to use the facilities our website offers, we will ask you to provide certain information. The extent of this information will vary depending on which business segment of the website you are visiting. Our site provides application forms and information services for customers who wish to participate in, purchase or obtain further information on our products and services. In these cases, the information is essential for us to be able to identify who is entitled to Member-privileged services, and as such is mandatory. However, on particular pages where we ask you for personal information, we will explicitly tell you that the information we are collecting on that page may be shared with other parties. In such cases, your act of disclosure of your personal information shall be deemed as your specific consent, and shall override anything to the contrary in this privacy statement. The Society will:

  • only collect information that is necessary for a particular function
  • only collect information in a fair way
  • not disclose information to a third party unless you give consent to do so.

What we do with your information

We will retain your information for the sole use of ASG and its related entities for the primary purpose for which it was obtained. However, we may also use the information for a secondary purpose if you would reasonably expect us to use the information for that other purpose and it is related to the primary purpose.
 
We may disclose your information in the normal course of business to our Counsellors, related entities and any other organisation with which ASG or a related entity has or will form a joint venture agreement.

We may use your information to collate statistical information, but for internal use only, and also to assess what you may need from amongst the Society's range of products and services.

We may also use your information for direct marketing purposes, however, when we do this the first time, we will provide you with the express opportunity to not receive any further direct marketing material or communication.

ASG undertakes that it will not disclose, sell, rent or trade any of your personal information to any third party unless you have given consent to do so or the disclosure is required by law.

We will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify your personal information if it is no longer needed for any of the purposes provided for in this statement.

Accessing your information

You can ask ASG to confirm whether or not it holds any of your personal information, and if requested ASG will provide you with access to this information. For education programs, any requests for information should be directed in writing or by fax (signed) to our Member Services Department. For home loan products, any requests for information should be directed in writing or by fax (signed) to our Home Loans Department. If we are unable to provide you with access we will give you a reason for this.

Correcting your personal information

If ASG holds any personal information about you which is incorrect or out of date, you can ask that the information be corrected, at which time we will take reasonable steps to correct the information free of charge. As our website does not have the facility to enable this to be done online, all such requests can be made by telephoning, writing to or sending a fax to our Member Services Department for education programs, or to our Home Loans Department for home loan products.

Security of Data

ASG assures that you can visit our website with confidence. We will take reasonable steps to preserve the security of personal information, in line with this privacy statement. In most browsers, there is a mechanism to check whether data transmissions are secure or not. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed as totally secure. Once we receive your transmission however, we take reasonable steps to preserve the security of the information in our own systems.

Advertising Tracking

We may anonymously track your visit to our website by using 'cookies' which are provided by a third party. This enables us to compile statistical information about the use of our website in order to measure the effectiveness of our advertising. If you prefer not to allow the use of 'cookies', you may be able to adjust your browser to turn them off or notify you when 'cookies' are being used. However, if you disable cookies, you may not be able to access certain areas or take advantage of certain features or services on our website.

ASG use pixels, or transparent GIF files, to help manage our online advertising. These GIF files are provided by our advertising management partner, DoubleClick International Asia BV. These files enable DoubleClick to recognise a unique cookie on your web browser, which in turn enables us to learn which advertisements bring users to our website. The cookie was placed by us, or by another advertiser who works with DoubleClick.

The information that we collect is anonymous and not personally identifiable. It does not contain your name, address, telephone number or email address. For more information about DoubleClick, including information about how to opt out of these technologies, go to http://doubleclick.net/us/corporate/privacy/

Links with other sites

ASG's website contains links to other sites. Other sites may also have links to our website. In either case, we are not responsible for the content, privacy practices or business practices of any website or company except our own.

Children's Privacy

The privacy of children is very important to us. ASG will make every reasonable effort to ensure that children's privacy and other rights are not compromised. However, we ask that children under the age of 16 have a parent or guardian supervise their use of our site, and assist them with sending any transmissions over the internet.

Contacting the Society

If you would like further information about the contents of this privacy statement or if you think the Society has breached any promise made in this statement, please contact the Society by:

Telephone:     (03) 9276 7777

Email:           privacy@asg.com.au

Post:            ASG Friendly Society
                    23-35 Hanover Street
                    Oakleigh VIC 3166
                    Australia

Government Privacy Policy in Australia

If you are interested to know more about privacy issues and legislation in Australia we encourage you to visit the Federal Privacy Commissioner's website at: www.privacy.gov.au

Government Privacy Policy in New Zealand

For more about privacy issues and legislation in New Zealand we encourage you to visit the Privacy Commissioner's website at: www.privacy.org.nz