Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 22 July 2026

1. Introduction

Sydney and Beyond Tax and Accounting Pty Ltd (ABN 22 696 455 365) (“we”, “us”, “our” or “the Firm”) is an Australian-based accounting and tax advisory practice. We are committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information we hold about our clients, prospective clients, website visitors, employees and other individuals with whom we deal.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, hold and disclose personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). It also explains how we handle personal information in connection with our obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (AML/CTF Act), as we are a reporting entity registered with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), and how we meet the confidentiality obligations that apply to us as a registered tax agent under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth) and the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) Code of Professional Conduct.

This policy applies to our website at www.sabtax.com.au, which we use for marketing and informational purposes only. We do not sell products or services through our website and do not process online payments or transactions through it.

2. About Us

We provide accounting, taxation, bookkeeping and related business advisory services to individual, business and corporate clients located in Australia and overseas.

We confirm the following about the nature of our business, which is relevant to how we handle your personal information:

• We are a registered tax agent and are bound by the TPB Code of Professional Conduct, including strict obligations of client confidentiality.
• We are a reporting entity for the purposes of the AML/CTF Act and are registered with AUSTRAC. We are required by law to carry out customer identification and verification (know-your-client) procedures and to report certain information to AUSTRAC.

3. What Personal Information We Collect

The personal information we collect depends on the nature of our relationship with you and the services we provide. It may include:

• Identity information: full name, date of birth, residential and postal address, contact details, occupation.
• Identification and verification documents: passport, driver’s licence, Medicare card, national identity documents (for overseas clients), and other documents required for client due diligence under the AML/CTF Act.
• Financial information: tax file numbers (TFNs), Australian Business Numbers (ABNs), income, assets, liabilities, bank account details, superannuation details, and business financial records.
• Tax and accounting records: information necessary to prepare and lodge tax returns and provide taxation advice, business activity statements, financial statements and related documents, and correspondence with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and other regulators.
• Other business information: we may collect non-financial information related to your business where it is relevant to the provision of accounting, taxation and advisory services.
• Source of funds and source of wealth information, and information about beneficial ownership of entities, where required for AML/CTF due diligence.
• Employment information, where we provide payroll or employer-related services.
• Website and marketing information: contact details submitted through enquiry or contact forms, and technical information collected automatically when you visit our website (see section 13, Website and Cookies).
• Any other information you choose to provide to us in the course of our engagement.

We do not knowingly collect sensitive information (such as health information, criminal record information, or information about racial or ethnic origin) unless it is necessary for the services we provide, required by law, or you have consented to its collection.

4. How We Collect Personal Information

Wherever reasonable and practicable, we collect personal information directly from you – for example, when you engage us, complete an engagement form or questionnaire, provide documents for identification and verification purposes, or communicate with us by phone, email, post or in person.

We may also collect personal information from other sources, including:

• Your authorised representatives, such as your business partners, co-directors, family members, bookkeepers, financial advisers or lawyers;
• Publicly available sources, including ASIC and other company and business registers, and government and privately owned and operated identity verification services used for AML/CTF and Registered Tax Agent client and employee identification procedures;
• Other professionals engaged in connection with your affairs (for example, a previous accountant, financial adviser or solicitor), where you have authorised this;
• The ATO, AUSTRAC and other government or regulatory bodies, where relevant to the services we provide;
• Our website, where you submit an enquiry, subscribe to updates, or interact with our site.

5. Why We Collect, Hold, Use and Disclose Personal Information

We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information for the following purposes:

• To provide accounting, taxation, bookkeeping and business advisory services to you, including preparing and lodging tax returns and statutory documents;
• To verify your identity and carry out ongoing customer due diligence, in order to comply with our obligations as a reporting entity under the AML/CTF Act, and to report to AUSTRAC as required by law;
• To comply with our obligations as a registered tax agent under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 and the TPB Code of Professional Conduct;
• To communicate with you about your engagement, respond to enquiries, and provide updates relevant to your affairs;
• To manage our client relationship with you, including billing, account administration and internal record-keeping;
• For marketing purposes, such as sending newsletters, updates on legislative changes, or information about our services, where you have not opted out (see section 6, Direct Marketing);
• To comply with other legal and regulatory obligations, including obligations owed to the ATO, ASIC, the TPB, courts and tribunals; and
• For any other purpose disclosed to you at the time of collection, or to which you have consented.

We do not use or disclose personal information for a purpose other than the purpose for which it was collected, unless permitted under the Privacy Act (for example, where required or authorised by law, or where you would reasonably expect the use or disclosure and it is related to the primary purpose of collection).

We are legally required to retain records collected for AML/CTF purposes for at least seven years, and in some cases we are prohibited by law from telling you (or anyone else) if we have made a suspicious matter report, or certain other reports, to AUSTRAC (a “tipping off” offence). Where this legal restriction applies, we will not be able to confirm whether such a report has been made.

Information collected for AML/CTF purposes is handled in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles, and may be disclosed to AUSTRAC and other Australian government agencies as required or authorised by law.

Where we engage other professionals, contractors or service providers to assist us in providing services to you (for example, outsourced bookkeeping, IT service providers, use of online service providers, or locum tax practitioners), we will take reasonable steps to ensure that arrangement is disclosed to you and that appropriate confidentiality protections are in place.

6. Direct Marketing

We may use your contact details to send you direct marketing communications, such as newsletters, updates on tax and accounting matters, invitations to events, or information about our services, where we are permitted to do so under the Privacy Act.

You may opt out of receiving direct marketing communications from us at any time by using the unsubscribe function in any marketing communication, or by contacting us using the details in section 12. We will process your request promptly and will not charge you a fee for doing so.

We do not use sensitive information for direct marketing purposes without your consent, and we do not sell, rent or trade your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

7. Who We Disclose Personal Information To

We may disclose your personal information to:

• The ATO, AUSTRAC, ASIC, the TPB and other Australian government or regulatory bodies, where required or authorised by law;
• Our professional service providers, including our accounting, tax and practice management software providers, cloud storage and IT support providers, online service providers, and our professional advisers (such as lawyers and our professional indemnity insurer);
• Other professionals acting on your behalf, or with whom we work jointly on your affairs, where you have authorised or requested this (for example, your financial adviser, lawyer, mortgage broker or bookkeeper);
• Any professional body of which we are a member, where required for professional standards, quality assurance or complaint-handling purposes; and
• A prospective purchaser of our practice or its assets, or their advisers, in the event of a sale, merger or restructure of the Firm, subject to appropriate confidentiality protections.

We do not disclose personal information to any related bodies corporate or corporate group, as the Firm has no related entities other than its owner/director referred to in section 2.

8. Overseas Disclosure of Personal Information

Because we provide services to clients located in a number of countries, and because some of our service providers may store or process data outside Australia (for example, cloud-based practice management, document storage, or email platforms operated by providers with servers), your personal information may be disclosed to, or accessed from, recipients located outside Australia. This may include jurisdictions such as United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Singapore depending on the service provider and your own location.

Before disclosing personal information to an overseas recipient, we will take reasonable steps, as required by Australian Privacy Principle 8, to ensure that the overseas recipient does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles in relation to that information, including by using service providers that offer appropriate contractual or technical privacy and security protections. In some circumstances, an exception under the Privacy Act may apply (for example, where you would reasonably expect us to disclose information to an overseas recipient located in your own country in connection with your engagement, or where you have consented to the disclosure).

If you are located outside Australia, please note that this Privacy Policy is intended to comply with Australian privacy law. Depending on your location, additional local privacy or data protection laws (such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation) may also apply to the handling of your personal information, and we will take reasonable steps to meet any such additional obligations where they apply to our processing of your information.

9. Data Quality and Security

We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we collect, use and disclose is accurate, complete, up to date and relevant, including by asking you to notify us of any changes to your personal circumstances.

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include:

• Secure, access-controlled electronic client management, document storage and email systems;
• Password protection, multi-factor authentication and encryption where appropriate;
• Restricting access to personal information to personnel who require it to perform their duties;
• Secure destruction or de-identification of personal information that is no longer required, subject to our record-retention obligations under tax, corporations and AML/CTF law; and
• Staff training on privacy, confidentiality and information security obligations.

Where we no longer require personal information for any purpose for which it may be used or disclosed under the Privacy Act, and we are not required by law to retain it, we will take reasonable steps to destroy the information or ensure it is de-identified.

10. Data Breach Notification

If we become aware of a data breach involving personal information that is likely to result in serious harm to an individual, we will comply with our obligations under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme in Part IIIC of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including notifying affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required.

11. Access to, and Correction of, Your Personal Information

You may request access to the personal information we hold about you, and request that we correct that information if you believe it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading, by contacting us using the details in section 12.

We will respond to your request within a reasonable period. There is generally no charge for making a request, although we may charge a reasonable fee for giving access if it involves retrieving or copying a significant volume of records. In some circumstances, we may be permitted or required by law to refuse access or correction (for example, where giving access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of other individuals, or would be unlawful). If we refuse a request, we will provide written reasons for the refusal and information about how you may complain about that refusal.

12. How to Contact Us / Make a Complaint

If you have a question about this Privacy Policy, wish to access or correct your personal information, or wish to make a complaint about how we have handled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer:

Privacy Officer: Andrew Shead, Director
Entity: Sydney and Beyond Tax and Accounting Pty Ltd
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0488 563 741

We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and aim to investigate and respond within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, or wish to raise the matter directly with an external body, you may contact:

• The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) – in relation to privacy complaints generally: www.oaic.gov.au, or 1300 363 992; and
• The Tax Practitioners Board – in relation to complaints about our conduct as a registered tax agent: www.tpb.gov.au.

13. Website and Cookies

Our website at www.sabtax.com.au is used for marketing and informational purposes only. We do not sell products or services, or process payments, through our website.

When you visit our website, we (or our website hosting and analytics service providers) may automatically collect technical information, such as your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, and referring website, using cookies and similar tracking technologies. We may use this information to understand how visitors use our website, improve its content and functionality, and measure the effectiveness of our marketing.

If you submit an enquiry or contact form on our website, we will use the information you provide to respond to your enquiry and, where you consent, for marketing purposes as described in section 6.

Most web browsers allow you to manage or disable cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, or changes in the law. The current version of this Policy will be available on our website at www.sabtax.com.au, together with the date it was last updated. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

15. Your Consent

By engaging our services, providing us with your personal information, or using our website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and consent to the collection, use, holding and disclosure of your personal information as described in it.