Privacy Policy for APPs & Credit Reporting

Northern Inland Credit Union Ltd ABN 36 087 650 422 AFSL 235022 Australian credit licence 235022

Our Commitment

We value your trust in us as a member-owned banking entity.  It is important for us to keep your information secure.  As a banking entity, it is also important for us to keep your information confidential.  To achieve this, we will comply with the Privacy Act 1988, the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and the Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code 2014.

The Privacy Act 1988 sets out how we are to collect, use, disclose and store personal, credit and credit eligibility information.  The Privacy Act 1988 also requires us to have a privacy policy.

We may also, with your consent and authority, deal with your personal information under the Consumer Data Right (CDR) regime.  For more information about how we collect, use, hold and disclose CDR Data under the CDR regime, see our CDR Policy on our website.

Outline of our Policy

Our Policy sets out:

  • what information we collect and hold

  • when you apply for a loan ‑ what information we use from your credit report

  • how we collect and hold information

  • why we collect, hold, use and disclose your information

  • how you can access your information

  • how you can correct your information

  • how you can make a complaint

  • how we will deal with your complaint

  • in what overseas countries we are likely to disclose your information


Information we collect and hold

We collect and hold:

  • your name, date of birth and evidence of identity

  • your tax file number

  • your facial image captured by cameras on our property (including ATMs)

  • passwords, passcodes and secret questions used to confirm your authorisation of a transaction

  • credit and debits to your accounts

    When you apply for a loan we will also collect and hold:

  • information about your financial position

  • your current credit history

    We will only collect information that is related to our providing, or arranging others to provide:

  • banking products and services

  • financial advisory services

  • financial accommodation

How we collect your information

Wherever possible, we will collect information about you and your financial position from you directly.

We may also collect personal information about you from third parties, such as any referees that you provide, your employer, other credit providers and third party service providers including credit reporting bodies.

What information do we use from your credit report?

We use your credit report to check if what you have told us about your financial history is correct.

We look at the following information:

  • what are your current loans

  • what loans have you applied for

  • if available, your repayment history on any loans and your default history

  • any payment defaults reported by service providers such as telcos and energy companies

  • whether there are any Court judgments against you

  • whether you are, or have recently been, a bankrupt

  • whether you have committed any serious credit infringements

Your credit report will usually only contain information from the past 5 years.  It may contain information from up to the past 7 years if you have committed a serious credit infringement.

We may ask you to explain why your credit report differs from what you have told us about your financial history.

Why we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information

We collect, hold and use your information for a number of reasons, such as to:

  • provide membership benefits, financial services and products or information about those benefits, services and products

  • give you information about financial services and products from 3rd parties we have agreements with

  • protect the safety and security of our staff and visitors

  • conduct market and demographic research in relation to the products and services our members acquired from us

    We also collect, hold and use personal information as required by law, for example:

  • for our register of members

  • to verify your identity and meet our obligations under the AML/CTF Act

  • to assess your capacity to pay a loan

    We collect, hold and use your information:

  • when you apply for a loan – to establish your eligibility for a loan and your capacity to repay

  • when you have a loan with us – to disclose information about your loan to a credit reporting body such as:

    • the fact that you have applied for a loan

    • details of the loan, when approved

    • when payments are due

    • whether you have paid on time

    • when you actually paid

    We also collect personal information when you use our website to:

  • submit online enquiry forms

  • register for and login to our online banking platform

  • apply for our financial services online

    We also collect your website use information through cookies when your browse our website. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a webpage server. Cookies are uniquely assigned to your computer. A cookie notifies the webserver that your computer has return to a specific page.

    You have to ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer.

    We disclose your information to other entities such as

  • entities that verify identity or help us comply with our obligations under the AML/CTF Act

  • providers of payment and card services, when you make a transaction using a payment service or a card

  • providers of software/IT support services

  • entities that help identify illegal activities and prevent fraud

  • lawyers, conveyancers, accountants, brokers and agents who represent you

  • contractors for statement printing and mail out, card and cheque production, market research or direct marketing

  • affiliated product and service suppliers to provide information to you about their services and products

  • credit reporting bodies and other financial institutions that have previously lent to you

  • persons you use as referees

  • for property loans – property valuers and insurers

  • mortgage documentation service providers

  • trustee and manager of securitised loan programs

  • any guarantor or proposed guarantor of a loan

  • debt collection agencies, lawyers, process servers

  • our auditors

  • courts and dispute resolution schemes

  • for loans guaranteed by the Housing Australia as part of the Home Guarantee Scheme – to the Housing Australia or the Commonwealth to meet the requirements of the Scheme

  • other organisations with your authorisation or consent

We may disclose your personal information to a lenders mortgage insurer – [QBE or Helia] – if we decide to insure the loan.

We and the above third parties will also disclose your information to law enforcement and government agencies as required by law.

How we hold your information

We hold your information in our banking system, either as electronic or paper files.  We have security systems to guard against unauthorised access.

We also limit access to our employees on a needs basis.

We will destroy or de-identify information when we no longer need it.

Overseas Disclosure

We do not currently disclose your credit information or credit eligibility information to entities that do not have an Australian link.

We do not currently disclose any of your other information to overseas recipients.

How you can access and/or correct your information

You can request access to your information at any time.  If the information we hold is incorrect, you can request us to correct it.

You can make a request by contacting us, by visiting one of our branches or by telephone.  Contact details can be found on our website at www.nicu.com.au/contact.

We do not currently charge any fees for giving you access to your information.

Changes to this Policy

We may make changes to this Policy from time to time, without notice to you, that are necessary for our business requirements or the law.

Making a complaint

You may make a complaint to us if you consider that we have not complied with the relevant provisions of the APPs or relevant credit reporting provisions the Privacy Act and Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code 2014. 

You can complain:

  • in person at one of our branches

  • by calling us on 02 6763 5111

  • by email at privacyofficer@nicu.com.au

  • in writing to 481 Peel Street Tamworth NSW 2340

We will deal with your complaint under our internal dispute resolution procedure. 

If an issue has not been resolved to your satisfaction, you can contact external bodies that deal with privacy complaint. These are the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) or the Office of the Australin Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Australian Financial Complaints Authority

Email: info@afca.org.au

Telephone: 1800 931 678

Website: www.afca.org.au

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Post: GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001

Telephone: 1300 363 992

Website: www.oaic.gov.au