Privacy Collection Notice

When and why do we collect information?

Victoria Teachers Limited trading as Bank First ACN 087 651 769 and its related entities (‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’ or ‘Bank First’) collects your personal information (including credit-related information) to conduct our business functions and activities, including without limitation, to market and provide a wide range of banking, finance and insurance products and services. This may occur before, during or after the provision of our products and services to you.

Some laws require us to obtain personal information about you before we provide you with particular products or services or process particular transactions in which you are involved – e.g. laws relating to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, consumer credit, taxation and real property transactions.

If you do not provide us with the personal information that we request, we may not be able to provide certain products or services to you.

What information can be used and disclosed?

Use and disclosure

By providing your personal information and credit-related information, you agree that it will be used and disclosed by us in accordance with our Privacy Policy available at https://www.bankfirst.com.au/privacy-policy.

We may disclose your personal information and credit-related information to third parties who provide products and services to us or through us in the ordinary operation and promotion of our business and otherwise in accordance with our Privacy Policy. From time to time, these third parties may be located (and therefore your personal information and credit-related information may be disclosed) overseas, including the United States of America, the United Kingdom and countries within Europe.

Disclosure to Credit Reporting Bodies

You acknowledge our use and disclosure of your credit-related personal information to a Credit Reporting Body (CRB) in connection with our business operations, to obtain a credit report and to otherwise assess any finance application, and as otherwise outlined in our Privacy Policy.

The CRB we currently use is Equifax Australia Information Services and Solutions Pty Limited (though this may change from time to time). For up-to-date contact details or to obtain a copy of their privacy policy and credit reporting policy, please visit their website (available at: https://www.equifax.com.au/contact). The CRB may use your credit-related information to assess your credit worthiness and in reports it generates for credit providers.

Sometimes your credit-related information will be used by CRBs for the purposes of ‘pre-screening’ credit offers at the request of other credit providers. You can contact the CRB at any time to request that your credit-related information is not used in this way. You also have the right to request that CRBs do not use or disclose your credit-related information for a period of time in the event that you believe you have been or that you are likely to be a victim of fraud.

If you fail to meet your payment obligations in relation to any consumer credit or if you commit a serious credit infringement, that may entitle us to disclose this to a CRB.

Information Requests

A request by us to a CRB for information about you (Information Request), will appear on your credit report and may be used by the CRB (and us) to assess your credit worthiness, including when you make subsequent applications for credit, whether that is with us or another financial provider. Information Requests on your credit report have the potential to affect your credit score depending on the amount and type of credit you are applying for, frequency of Information Requests appearing on your credit report and your credit history. For an Information Request, your consent to the disclosure of your personal information to a CRB is not required.

Collection of sensitive information

We do not usually collect sensitive information. However, we may need to collect sensitive information from you from time to time, including health information, for the purposes of assessing or assisting your loans and applications (for example, for financial hardship). In this instance, you consent to our collection of such sensitive information. We may also need to disclose such sensitive information to our third party service providers (such as CRBs) to allow them to assist us with any required assessments.

Personal information about third parties

You represent/warrant that, if at any time you supply us with personal information about another person (for example a referee), you are authorised to do so; and you agree to inform that person about who we are, how to contact us, how to obtain our Privacy Policy, and that we will use and disclose their personal information for the purposes set out in this Permission and that they can gain access to that information.

Marketing preferences

We may use information about you to inform you about products and services, including those of third parties, unless you ask us not to. We may do so even if you are on the Do Not Call Register, unless you ask us not to.

Accessing your personal and credit-related information

The Privacy Act 1998 (Cth) provides that you have the right to access your personal information and credit-related information, ask us to correct that information and to make complaints. Our Privacy Policy contains information about exercising these rights.