Local Country Addendum - Australia

This Local Country Addendum for Australia (“Australia Addendum”) applies in relation to the collection, management, use and processing of personal data by Fortude Pty Ltd (“Fortude Australia”) which falls within the scope of the Privacy Act 1988 (“PA”). 

Fortude Australia shall comply with the PA when processing your personal data and shall not use your personal data for any purposes which are not in this Privacy Policy. Detailed information on the PA and the Australia Privacy Principles set out in the PA can be found at: https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/australian-privacy-principles/read-the-australian-privacy-principles.

Collection of your sensitive information

Under certain circumstances, we may need to collect sensitive information about you. This might include any information or opinion about your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, political association, religious or philosophical beliefs, membership of a trade union or other professional body, sexual preferences, criminal record, or health information.

If we collect your sensitive information, we will do so only with your consent, if it is necessary to prevent a serious and imminent threat to life or health, or as otherwise required or authorised by law, and we take appropriate measure to protect the security of your sensitive information.

Use and disclosure of personal data

In addition to using and disclosing personal data to provide you with our services an supply our products to you, your business or your company, Fortude may also collect, hold, use and disclose personal data:

  1. for other purposes which we explain to you at the time of collection;
  2. where you have provided consent; or
  3. where we are required to do so by law.
Use or disclose personal data for a Secondary Purpose

Fortude will not use or disclose personal data for a purpose other than the primary purpose of collection unless both of the following apply:

  1. The secondary purpose is related to the primary purpose of collection and, if the personal data is sensitive information, directly related to the primary purpose of collection; and 
  2. You would reasonably expect us to use or disclose the personal data for the secondary purpose, you have consented to the use or disclosure;
Situations where we may use or disclose information without obtaining your consent

It is also unreasonable or impracticable for us to obtain your consent and we believe that the use or disclosure is necessary to lessen or prevent:

    1. A serious threat to an individual’s life, health or safety
    2. A serious threat to an individual’s life, health or safety
    3. A serious threat to public health or safety
    4. The use or disclosure is required or authorised by or under law or a court or tribunal order;
    5. We have reason to suspect that unlawful activity or misconduct of a serious nature that relates to Fortude Australia’s activities or functions has been, is being or may be engaged in, and we use or disclose the personal data as a necessary part of our investigation of the matter or in reporting our concerns to relevant persons or authorities;
    6. We reasonably believe that the use or disclosure is reasonably necessary for one or more enforcement activities conducted by, or on behalf of, an enforcement body (however, we would ordinarily give you prior notice before making such disclosure, unless we are compelled by law not to do so);
    7. We reasonably believe that the use or disclosure is reasonably necessary to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim, or for the purposes of confidential alternative dispute resolution processes.
Retention of personal data

Fortude Australia will take measures to destroy and de-identify personal data that is no longer required for any lawful purpose (subject to any legal requirements imposed on us, for instance, in relation to record-keeping or a court order).

When your personal data is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify your personal data.  However, most of the personal data will be kept by us for a minimum of 7 years. 

Cross-border disclosure of personal information

From time to time, entities which form part of the Fortude Group may assist us in providing our products and services and we may disclose your personal data to those entities for the purposes outlined above. These entities are located outside Australia, including in Sri Lanka, the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom. 

In addition, some of the third-party service providers we disclose personal data to may be based in or have services located outside Australia.  

For electronic data storage, we may use public cloud systems managed by third-party service providers.  You acknowledge that, having regard to the nature of cloud-computing, your personal data may be replicated to locations other than the physical location of a service provider, and that your information may be stored or accessed outside Australia. 

Where we disclose your personal data to third parties overseas (including entities which form part of the Fortude Group), we will take reasonable steps to ensure that data security and appropriate privacy practices are maintained. We will only disclose your personal data to third parties:

  1. in accordance with this Privacy Policy;
  2. if you have given us your consent;
  3. if we reasonably believe that the overseas recipient is subject to a law or binding scheme that is, overall, substantially similar to the Australian Privacy Principles and the law or binding scheme can be enforced;
  4. if the transfer is for your benefit, it is impracticable to obtain your consent, and if it were practicable to obtain such consent, you would be likely to give it;
  5. if it is necessary in order to perform any contractual obligations or meet any other obligations between Fortude and you, or between you and a third party;
  6. if the disclosure is required or authorised by an Australian law or order of an Australian court or tribunal.
Right to access personal data

We may ask you to verify your identity before granting access to your personal data and you may be asked to put your request in writing. Information that may be required from you includes your name and contact information, the information you wish to access, and the format in which you would like the information provided to you.

Only you or a person who you have authorised to act on your behalf will be able to make a request for access.

There may be some circumstances where your access to personal data may be denied under the PA or other laws (for example if access would impact the privacy of others).

We aim to ensure that the personal data we hold about you is accurate, complete, and up to date.  If your personal data requires any updates, or you believe that the information we hold is incorrect or incomplete, please inform us to enable us to update our records.

Fees

Requesting your personal data is free, however we may charge a fee for providing access. A fee may be payable for locating, retrieving, and reproducing the personal data or for postage or any other materials involved which carry a fee for providing access.  If we intend to charge you an access fee, you will be provided with the fees associated along with the reasons as to why a fee is payable in advance.

Complaints Process

If you believe there has been a breach of the PA, or have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us DPO@fortude.co

If you have a complaint, we may ask that you put it in writing and provide further details as necessary.  We will handle your complaint fairly, and in a timely manner, having regard to the nature of the matter and the relevant circumstances.  If the matter is complex and it is anticipated that the investigation will take longer than 30 days, we will notify you and keep you informed on the progress of our investigations.

If you are not satisfied with the response, you can refer your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:

Phone: 1300 363 992
Online: https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints/lodge-a-privacy-complaint-with-us
Post: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001

Amendments to Australia Addendum

Fortude Australia reserves the right at any time to add to, change, update or modify this Australia Addendum.  These changes will be notified on the website and will be effective immediately upon posting. If we make material changes to the Australia Addendum, we may also let you know via email.

This Australia Addendum was last updated on 1 September 2024.