Privacy Policy

Connect Tel Pty Ltd ABN 60 081 254 639.
Connect Tel supplies telecommunications products and services, data network, internet, data centre, cloud and voice products and services to corporate & government and residential. We recognise the importance of protecting the privacy and personal information on our customers.

Privacy laws that apply to our business

We are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (the APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) when collecting, using, disclosing, handling and accessing your personal information. The APPs establish minimum standards for the collection, use, disclosure and handling of personal
information. They apply to personal information in any form, including electronic and digital form. The APPs can be accessed at the website of the office of the Australian Information Commissioner, www.privacy.gov.au.
Other Australian laws protecting personal information that we need to comply with include the Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth), Spam Act 2010 (Cth), Do Not Call Register Act 2006 (Cth), data retention laws and state legislation relating to health records.

Personal information and sensitive information

When ‘personal information’ is used in this policy it refers to information or an opinion about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion. Personal information also includes sensitive information. Sensitive information includes information about your political opinions or memberships, religious beliefs, sexual preferences or practices, ethnic origins, medical records or criminal records.
In the event that we collect sensitive information we will only collect this information with your consent and use it for the purposes you have provided it to us.

Why we collect personal information

We only collect personal information where it is reasonably necessary for our functions or activities or as required by law. These include:

providing services to our customers;

administering and managing our relationships with suppliers & customers including for billing &credit control

marketing and promotional activities to grow and promote our business;

undertaking research and development to improve our services;

obtaining services from other businesses;

employing staff; and

complying with our legal and regulatory obligations.

The type of personal information that we collect will depend on your interaction with us. If we can’tcollect the personal information that we need we may not be able to provide services or meet theexpectations of customersHow we collect personal informationWe receive personal information through a variety of sources. These include telephone, face to face communications, digital and online sources, email, hard copy communications or competitions. We also collect information directly and indirectly from our contractors, suppliers or agents such as:

social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook;

marketing lists, databases and data aggregation services;

websites or websites hosted or operated by our contractors, suppliers or agents;

credit reporting agencies if you become our customer.

Personal information that we may collectThe type of personal information we may collect about you depends on the transactions you undertake with us but we need to collect basic identifying information from customers or prospective customers. Basic identifying information includes name, residential address, email address, telephone number and date of birth. Additionally for corporate customers, we may collect the job title and business address. To manage our relationships with customers and suppliers we may also collect (which is not an exhaustive list):

financial or credit information including credit history or bankruptcy, bank account or credit card information, details about assets or income, employment history or concessional entitlements;

proof of identity such as driver’s license or passport number;

telephone service number (including unlisted numbers) and other public number customer detailsto provide it to the operator of the integrated public number database. Information in this databaseis used by emergency assistance organisations such as ambulance or fire brigade services; or

details of property including ownership or leasing arrangements.To improve our services or products we may collect information about how these are used, including:

faults or complaints;

usage of the product or service (call or internet usage); or

responses to promotions.

For the purpose managing our staff we also collect information about our employees and prospective employees

Dealing with us without providing personal information

In some instances, when you interact with us you may choose to act anonymously or provide a pseudonym where it is practical to do so. For example, if you have a general enquiry about us or our services, we will answer your enquiry without collecting any personal information from you. Please note that if you don’t wish to be identified we may not be able assist you or provide the information you need.

Personal information collected online

Personal information provided to us via email, through our website or social media sites is also governed by this policy.
We may use cookies and web beacons to improve our website content and target advertising. Cookies and web beacons are stored on your hard drive and allow us to track usage patterns and to compile data in an aggregated and “non user” specific form. Cookies do not damage your system and if you do not want information collected through the use of cookies, there is a simple procedure in most browsers that allow you to deny or accept the cookie feature.

We may have commercial relationships with third parties allowing visitors to our website to link directly to websites operated by those parties. These websites may collect personal information from you which would be shared with us. Any personal information we obtain will be handled in accordance with this policy.

We aren’t responsible for the content or practises of websites operated by third parties that may be linked to our website. Such links are for your convenience and don’t constitute sponsorship, endorsement or approval of the content, policies and practises of those sites.

Personal information and metadata

As a telecommunications service provider we are required under the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth) to collect personal information about the identity of a subscriber (or customer) to a communications service (such as internet services), the source of the communication, the destination of the communication, the date, time and duration of the communication, the type of the communication and the location of the equipment used in the communication.
All personal information collected will be handled in accordance with this policy.

How we use and disclose personal information

We are permitted to use or disclose personal information for the purpose for which it was collected as well as related purposes (but for sensitive information only purposes directly related to the primary purpose and consented to by you). For example, when setting up an account the personal information we collect may be used or disclosed for related purposes like credit checks, installing a service, investigating and resolving complaints or marketing other Connect Tel products or services.
For direct marketing activities, when using personal information (but not sensitive information), we or third parties acting on our behalf, may promote our or other organisation’s products or services to you using email, telephone, social media sites, post or other means. You are able to opt out of receiving direct marketing.
The Privacy Act and APPs also allows us to use and disclose personal information if required or authorised under an Australian law or a court or tribunal order, if a permitted general or health situation exists as defined in the Privacy Act or we believe the use or disclosure of the personal information is reasonably necessary for activities conducted by a law enforcement agency. In these instances we do not need consent to disclose personal information.
For our contractors, suppliers, affiliates or agents, we use and disclose personal information in order to manage our relationship with them.
Personal information may be disclosed to credit reporting or credit collection agencies in accordance with the requirements in the Privacy Act.
We use third parties to assist us to provide products and services and administer our relationships with our customers. We may disclose personal information about our customers to a range of third parties, including:

legal, accounting, insurance or advisory consultants;

sales agents and representatives, contractors or suppliers;

complaint handling bodies, Government or regulatory bodies;

printers, mail distributors, couriers and dispatch centres; and

IT service providers and data managers.

Being a telecommunications service provider means that personal information that we collectwhen providing telecommunications services may be disclosed in connection with directory assistance activities for emergency assistance organisations or other urgent services, security purposes or activities carried out by law enforcement agencies, the operator of the integrated public number database or in accordance with other relevant codes or Australian laws applicable to our industry.

Personal information disclosed outside Australia

Some personal information we collect may be disclosed to persons or our contractors, suppliers, affiliates or agents that are outside Australia.

Protection of your personal information

Protecting your personal information and ensuring that it is complete, accurate, up-to-date and relevant is important to us.
We will take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is protected from misuse, loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Our staff are trained to treat customer information with the utmost confidentiality.

For personal information that is stored in hardcopy or electronically, we have processes in place to ensure that our information systems and files are kept secure from unauthorised access and interference.

Dealing with Connect Tel online

This Privacy Policy also applies to personal information that you email to us, provide by using our website or provide via social media sites. We may store the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer when you visit our site. This information is used only to create broad demographic summaries of where our users come from. However, our use of these IP addresses does not go so far as to identify the actual users of the site.

Our website may use cookies and web-beacons. While cookies and web beacons can be used to statistically monitor and analyse the use of our site and to identify information about the computer used to visit our site, we do not use them for that purpose and will not attempt to use them to identify or target individual visitors to our website. Note that this privacy policy does not apply to, and Connect Tel is not responsible for, the use of, or the protection of information provided to, other websites linked to this website.

Correcting or accessing your personal information and complaints

If we hold personal information you are able to access that information. For complex requests, a cost may be charged to you to provide the information, particularly if the information is archived or is of significant size and it will take time to locate the information and provide it to you in an appropriate form.
You are able to ask us to correct the information that we hold about you if you believe that it’s incorrect. We don’t need to give you access to your personal information where we think access may:

be against the law;

be prejudicial to us in negotiations or legal proceedings with you;

be prejudicial to law enforcement activities;

unreasonably impact the privacy of others;

present a serious threat to health or safety; or

expose commercially sensitive information relevant for a decision-making process.You can call or write to us to access your personal information. This includes information we have sent on your behalf to the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND). You are entitled to ask us to provide you with the details we have provided about you to the IPND. You can do this by contacting Connect Tel as per below and we will provide you with the information normally within 20 Business days.If you find any errors after you have received your information from us, please let us know and we will make the corrections provided that any changes are in line with IPND requirements. We will let you know if we need further information from you, for example evidence of the correct spelling of your name. Connect Tel does not charge you to access or correct your information in the IPND

Telephone:

Australia: 0352468888

International: +61 352468888

In Writing:
Connect Tel
1/41-43 West Fyans St Newtown VIC 3220

If you believe that we have acted in a manner that breaches the APPs or the Privacy Act we recommend that you contact us first. We will investigate your complaint and notify you of the outcome. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint, or you do not receive a response to your complaint within 30 days, you may make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

(OAIC). Complaints to the OAIC must be made in writing.
If your complaint relates to our handling of personal information in relation to your telephone or Internet service, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman whose details can be found at www.tio.com.au. If this policy does not provide the information you require about how we deal with personal information or you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us.