What is “personal information”?

Personal information as defined by the Privacy Act 1988 is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable:

(a) whether the information or opinion is true or not; and

(b) whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.

The kinds of information personal information that we collect and hold include things such as your home address, telephone number, name, employment details and the like.

Why does Grafton Motor Group collect your personal information?

Personal information will only be collected when it is reasonably necessary for our business activities and functions. Without your personal information, such as your name, address and other essential details, it is not possible for Grafton Motor Group to conduct its business and accordingly, we will not be able to provide you with the full range of our products and services on offer throughout our dealerships.

By collecting your personal information, we are able to:

• Determine your ongoing requirements (if any) and provide appropriate advice on our range of products and services. Eg. New and used motor vehicle prices and specifications, special offers, service reminders, finance, insurance and warranty packages;
• Attend to the administration associated with the provision of our wide range of products and services. Eg. Booking for servicing requirements for your car;
• Improve upon our range of products and services;
• Protect you from any unauthorised access to your personal information or accounts;
• Identify you for the purpose of our ongoing business relationship.

How will your personal information be collected and held by us?

Collection of your personal information may take place in a variety of ways that may include:

• The completion of an application form for a product or service;
• Making of an enquiry by telephone or via the internet;
• The completion of an application form for a product or service through our website or the internet; and
• The provision of information in face to face meetings or consultations.

These are merely examples of some of the ways in which your information will be collected and are not exclusive. Wherever possible, Grafton Motor Group, will take every reasonable step to ensure that your personal information is collected directly from you. Further, we will ensure that personal information is always collected lawfully and fairly.

There will be other occasions in which personal information is collected from you. Some examples may include notification of a change of address to our service and parts division, collection of other personal information associated with any insurance policy that you may take out with Insurers through our dealerships, or through the provision or updating of information connected with the financing of our products.

There will be occasions where personal information may be collected about you from third parties and other sources. Some examples of these may include, but are not limited to:

• A referral from an existing customer;
• Confirmation of your employment, length of service and the like from your employer when assessing your application for the establishment of a credit facility; and
• Information provided to us by any of our affiliates when making an application for a policy of insurance.

As a general rule, we will require you to provide your express consent to any collection, disclosure or use of your personal information by Grafton Motor Group. This consent will most usually be required to be in writing as part of any application that you may make to us, or any of our business partners. However, Grafton Motor Group reserves its right to accept your verbal consent from time to time as may be required in order to provide services or products to you.

Further, Grafton Motor Group may imply that you have provided consent by reference to your conduct. Instances of this may include any telephone call that you may make to our service centres or dealerships for the purpose of making enquiries about our services or products.

If we receive personal information about you that we determine could not have been reasonably or lawfully collected by us, as soon as it is practicable, but only if it is lawful and reasonable to do so, we will destroy the information and ensure that the information is de-identified.

We hold personal information in both physical and electronic forms, in audio recordings and in video format (e.g. security surveillance).

We take reasonable steps to protect the security of your personal information by ensuring it is protected from misuse, loss, interference and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We maintain strict standards and security procedures to prevent unauthorised access to information about you whether it is in an electronic or paper format, and to ensure the correct use of this information.

Steps taken to protect your personal information include the following:

• The existence of external and internal premises security;
• Restricted access to your personal information to only those staff who need it to perform their day to day functions; and
• The maintenance of technology products to prevent unauthorised computer access, including identifiers and passwords, security software, and firewalls.

Should you have any concerns about how your personal information is dealt with, including the way in which it is collected, managed or maintained by Grafton Suzuki, you may have regard to this privacy policy.

Will Grafton Motor Group disclose your personal information to anyone?

Grafton Motor Group may disclose your personal information in a variety of circumstances. We may disclose your personal information where you have provided your consent to do so. This consent for the disclosure of your personal information may be given explicitly, either in writing or verbally, or may be implied from your conduct such as when you make an application for a new or used motor vehicle and further indicate that you wish to be provided with assistance in terms of finance, insurance or warranty products.

There may be occasions when we are required by law to disclose your personal information. Such examples may include the provision of your personal information to a court of law in response to a subpoena or the issuing of directions from another relevant authorised administrative body including, but not limited to, the New South Wales Police Service in relation to any investigation they may be undertaking, the Australian Taxation Office or other similar bodies.

When your personal information is disclosed to any party outside Grafton Motor Group, where that party is contracted to Grafton Motor Group to provide administrative services or activities on our behalf, that party is bound by the same privacy rules that we follow.

Some examples of the parties outside Grafton Motor Group to whom we may disclose or exchange your personal information with, and the reason for such disclosures, are:

• Insurance Companies, their subsidiaries or agents for the purpose of processing insurance applications;
• Finance Providers in connection with an application for finance for the purchase of a new or used motor vehicle;
• All regulatory and statutory bodies when purchasing a vehicle from us;
• Effectively manage and administer all products and services we provide to you including servicing of your vehicle and performance of any warranty related repairs;
• To enable our various departments to identify and contact you for things such as service reminders, promotional offers, recall notices etc.

How will your personal information be used by Grafton Motor Group?

All personal information collected about you by us, will be collected so that we may continue to operate our business by offering new and used motor vehicles for sale together with parts, servicing or accessory requirements and associated financial products such as finance for the purchase of a new or used motor vehicle or insurance on vehicles purchased through any of our dealerships.

To ensure that this is done correctly and efficiently, we may share your personal information within the Trading Entities that form Grafton Motor Group including all relevant dealerships.

We may also use your information for other purposes required or authorised by under law. For example, information may be disclosed to a court in response to a subpoena or to a Government agency such as a vehicle licensing authority or the Australian Taxation Office.

We may also disclose your personal information to other third parties and for other purposes with your consent. That consent may be written, verbal or implied from your conduct.

Marketing by Grafton Motor Group

As our products and services change, we will, from time to time, use your personal information to provide you with updated information about our range of services and products. We may provide this information using any contact number or address provided by you, including without limitation, by post, phone and email.

You have the right to request that we do not provide you with such material or information, and should you not wish to receive it, simply contact the dealership concerned and advise them accordingly. However, your consent to receive marketing communications using your personal information will be deemed to occur if you do not opt out when we offer you the opportunity to do so and will remain current for an indefinite period of time unless and until you advise us otherwise. You can opt-out of receiving direct marketing at any time.

Once we have been informed that you no longer wish to receive information about our products, you will not be sent anything further. You may at any stage opt to change your mind about receiving information.

Grafton Motor Group does not and will not disclose your personal information to any party outside Grafton Motor Group for the express purpose of allowing them to direct market their products or services to you, unless we have your consent to do so.

From time to time, we may be required by law to provide you with certain information about our products or services including product recalls. In these instances, you will continue to receive such information, even if you have elected not to receive any information about our products and services generally.

Keeping your personal information up to date.

In order to efficiently conduct our business by providing you with our range of products and services, we need to ensure that your personal information is correct, up to date and complete.

We may at any stage in the course of our relationship, ask you to provide any changes to your personal information and seek the correction of your personal information. However, you may also contact us by getting in touch with the appropriate dealership to update your personal information or to tell us that such information is no longer correct or complete.

What about the security of my personal information?

Protection of your personal information is a priority for Grafton Motor Group. As a result of Grafton Motor Group’s concerns for the security of your personal information, we will take all reasonable precautions to safeguard such personal information from loss, misuse, interference, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. The means that we will utilise to protect your personal information may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Where appropriate, entering into confidentiality agreements with contractors and training and familiarising them with the new legislative obligations and our privacy policies and procedures;
• Having employees comply with the Group’s Privacy Policy and seeking their commitment and undertaking to abide by it;
• Where appropriate, having stand-by systems and auxiliary systems to deal with anticipated and unanticipated major business interruptions;
• External and internal premises security;
• Restricted access to personal information;
• Continued upgrading and overview of our information technology practices to prevent unauthorised computer access;
• Further review and testing of technology employed by Grafton Motor Group in terms of the provision of security;
• In compliance with privacy laws, Grafton Motor Group, will, when your personal information is no longer required, securely destroy the information, delete it from our systems or ensure that the information is de-identified.

There may be instances where it is necessary to disclose personal information to overseas recipients. However, Grafton Motor Group does not send personal information outside of Australia unless it is authorised to do so by law or unless it is necessary to provide you with one of our many services or products.

Am I required to identify myself at all?

Generally speaking, it will not be possible for us to do business with you unless we are able to identify you. In many instances, such as when you wish to purchase a new or used vehicle, your personal details will be required to ensure that a contract of sale can be proceeded with.

However, Grafton Motor Group is mindful of its obligations under the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988. Wherever lawful and practical to do so, we will provide you with the opportunity to deal with us anonymously, or alternatively, using a pseudonym. This may, for example, include instances where you wish to ring one of our dealerships to make enquiries about current specials or price enquiries concerning new or used motor vehicle parts or accessories or more general enquiries.

What about accessing my personal information?

Under the Australian Privacy Principles, you are entitled to request access to any of the personal information that we may hold about you.

Generally, a summary of the personal information on you held by us will include your name, address details, contact telephone number, the products and services you have purchased from us. This information will usually be available. You may make a request for access to your personal information by contacting the Dealer Principal using the following:

Phone: (02) 6644 3000
Email: enquiries@graftonmg.com.au
Mail: The Dealer Principal, PO Box 680, Grafton NSW 2460.

With more detailed requests for access to personal information, Grafton Motor Group reserves the right to charge a reasonable fee in order to cover the cost of the retrieval of the information and the supply of it to you. No charge is applied to the making of a request.

Generally, all requests for access to any personal information will be handled as quickly as reasonably possible and should be processed within thirty (30) days of receipt of the request. Occasionally, some requests for access may require longer than the thirty (30) day period, and this will depend upon the nature of the personal information being sought.

From time to time, Grafton Motor Group may be required by law to retain all or some of your personal information for a period of time after you have ceased your relationship with us. After the nominated time has passed, we will either securely destroy the documentation or delete it from our records. Examples of such instances may include reporting obligations imposed upon us by the imposition of the Goods & Services Tax Legislation or Taxation Legislation generally.

Occasionally, your request for access to personal information may be denied. Grafton Motor Group will not always be required by operation of privacy legislation to provide you with access to your personal information. Access may be refused in a number of circumstances. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Where the information may relate to existing or anticipated legal proceedings with you;
• Where denying access is required or authorised by law; and
• Where the request is regarded as frivolous or vexatious.

However, where we deny access or refuse to correct personal information, we will explain why.

Complaints

If you believe that Grafton Motor Group has not protected your personal information as set out in this Privacy Policy, or is in some other way in breach of its privacy obligations, you may lodge a complaint with us.

Please address your concerns to The Dealer Principal, Grafton Motor Group, 110 Bent Street, South Grafton NSW 2460. If you are not satisfied with the result of your complaint, you may also refer your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner may be contacted by writing to the Director of Complaints Office, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, GPO Box 5218, Sydney, NSW, 2001, by telephoning 1300 363 992, or by emailing enquiries@oaic.gov.au. Alternatively, you can complete a “Privacy Complaint Form” which can be accessed on the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner website at https://www.oaic.gov.au/about-us/contact-us.

Do you require more information?

The Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012, which commenced on 12 March 2014, introduced many significant changes to the Privacy Act, including the Australian Privacy Principles, which replaced the IPPs and the NPPs, to regulate the handling of personal information by Australian and Norfolk Island Government agencies and some private sector organisations. If you require more information, you may refer to:

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Website: https://www.oaic.gov.au
Telephone: 1300 363 992

What about online services?

Grafton Motor Group appreciate that many consumers have concerns about personal information that is collected about you online and the security of that personal information when it is exchanged in online transactions.

Generally, email is not a secure way to communicate. You should not rely upon email to provide us with personal information unless providing same to us through one of our online forms on our websites. If you send us an email containing personal information, we will take reasonable steps to ensure the confidentiality of that information. Although we take steps to protect information sent by email, email is not a secure method of communication and if you are concerned about sending your personal information to us in this manner you may prefer to contact us by telephone or post.

Grafton Motor Group uses advanced technology in relation to any online transactions. Such measures are constantly updated and reviewed to maintain security.

Grafton Motor Group constantly reviews its policies and procedures to ensure compliance with changes in the law and to remain up to date with technology and best industry practice. On this basis, we may need to change this privacy policy from time to time. This privacy policy was last amended on 2nd November 2020.

What about sensitive information?

Sensitive information is a particular kind of information that requires even greater care. By way of summary, sensitive information can be information about any of the following:

• Your political opinion;
• Your racial or ethnic origin;
• Membership of a political association;
• Religious beliefs or affiliations Philosophical beliefs;
• Membership of a professional or a trade association;
• Membership of a trade union;
• Sexual preferences or practices;
• Criminal record;
• Health.

Grafton Motor Group will only use or disclose sensitive information about you where we have received your express consent to do so, it is provided for by law or where it is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of a legal claim against us.