Protecting your privacy is important to HOSTPLUS. Under the Commonwealth Privacy Act, we are required to handle your personal information in accordance with a set of principles known as the National Privacy Principles.
We ask you (or, if relevant, your employer) to provide personal information such as your name and address, date of birth, contact details, occupation, employer and Tax File Number. We collect personal information from you so that we are able to:
- establish and manage your superannuation account
- implement your investment choices
- establish and maintain your additional insurance protection
- process contributions, transfer monies or pay benefits
- report the investment performance of your account to you
- keep you up to date via our annual report and other communications detailing other products and services available to you as a HOSTPLUS member.
There are also specific circumstances where we will ask for additional information such as:
- personal health and income information if you are applying for additional Death and TPD insurance cover, Death Only insurance cover or Salary Continuance insurance cover
- your bank account details if you are requesting a direct debit to your superannuation account
- your dependants’ details for the purposes of paying benefits in the event of your death.
We and/or our insurer may also need to collect additional information from medical practitioners or from your employer for the purposes of assessing your eligibility for the insurance cover you have applied for or the assessment of a claim. We will always seek your express consent before collecting this kind of sensitive information.
There are instances where we need to give information about you to third parties, however, there are strict controls on how they can use this information. Here are the types of organisations to which we usually disclose your personal information.
- Our fund administrator (who may in turn engage and disclose your personal information to third party service providers such as information technology, credit control, printing, research and mail houses).
- Our insurer or re-insurers who may in turn disclose your personal information to other parties such as re-insurers, claims investigators, medical practitioners, medical services and other organisations providing services in the collection, collation or assessment of personal information (including health information) and other relevant professionals where you apply for additional insurance cover, and organisations undertaking compliance reviews of the accuracy and completeness of the insurer’s information, each of whom may in turn disclose information about you back to us or as permitted or required by law.
- Industry Fund Financial Planning that may provide financial advice to HOSTPLUS members.
- External agencies that provide services for the purposes of data matching, cleansing and/or enrichment.
- Any fund to which your benefit is to be transferred or rolled over (including the administrator of that fund).
- Medical practitioners and other relevant professionals, where you apply for additional insurance cover or make a claim for a disablement benefit.
- In the event of your death, your legal personal representative, or any other person who may be entitled to receive the death benefit, or any person contacted to assist us to process that benefit.
- Regulatory authorities such as the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, AUSTRAC and the Australian Taxation Office, to the extent required by law.
- Your spouse or former spouse, to the extent required by law.
- Our professional advisers.
In the future, we may contact you about new products or special offers. If at any time you don’t want to receive this information, you can opt out by calling 1300 HOSTPLUS (1300 467 875) and quoting your membership number.
As a HOSTPLUS member, from time to time our industry parties and associations such as ME Bank, HCF and the HOSTPLUS Travel Club may offer special benefits and promotions to you. Please let us know if you would like to opt out of these promotions and special offers.
Your personal information will not be used or disclosed for any other purpose, without your consent, except where permitted or required by law.
We have stringent security systems, practices and procedures in place to safeguard your privacy. The people who handle your personal information for us have the training, knowledge, skills and commitment to protect it from unauthorised access or misuse.
You are not required to give us the information that we request. However, if you do not do so, or the information you give is not complete or accurate, this may prevent or delay the processing of your application or any claim, affect your eligibility for specified insurance cover, or prevent us from contacting you.
You may request access to the personal information we hold about you. We reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee to cover our costs. There may be circumstances where we are unable to give you access to the information that you have requested. If this is the case, we will let you know and explain the reasons.
You have a right to ask us to correct any information we hold about you if you believe it is not accurate, complete or up to date. If we do not agree with the corrections you have supplied, we are not required to alter the information. If you have a concern about this, or anything else about the privacy of your information, you may lodge a complaint with us by writing to:
HOSTPLUS Privacy Officer
Locked Bag 3
Carlton South VIC 3053
If our Privacy Officer is unable to resolve your complaint, you may lodge a complaint with the Privacy Commissioner. You can contact the Privacy Commissioner on 1300 363 992 or by visiting www.privacy.gov.au
For more information on privacy or to obtain a copy of the HOSTPLUS privacy policy, visit hostplus.com.au or call 1300 HOSTPLUS (1300 467 875).
For more information on our insurer’s privacy policy, visit their website at www.onepath.com.au