Terms and Conditions of Use

SMSF Mate Australia Pty Ltd – Terms and Conditions of Use

1. Terms & conditions

• These are the terms and conditions (the “Terms and Conditions“) of use of the SMSF Mate Australia Pty Ltd ABN 63 638 105 094 (“SMSF Mate“, “We“, “Our” or “Us“) website and/or the related mobile application (collectively, the “Site“). By using the Site, you agree to abide by these Terms and Conditions.  You are only permitted to use the Site for personal use, subject to your compliance with the Terms and Conditions.  Commercial use of the Site is strictly prohibited. We reserve the right to suspend, restrict or terminate your access to the Site at any time.
• We may amend the Terms and Conditions at any time, and so We recommend that you refer to these Terms and Conditions each time you use the Site. The amended Terms and Conditions will be effective from the time they are posted on the Site.  Your continued use of the Site will constitute your acceptance of the amended Terms and Conditions.
• If you do not agree to these Terms and Conditions, you are not permitted to access and use the Site, and you should immediately cease accessing and using the Site.

2. Scope of services provided via the Site

• SMSF Mate operates the Site as a public information service and a public discussion forum that seeks to provide you with the tools and information intended to assist you to better understand, research and compare a wide range of products, product providers and services related to superannuation. SMSF Mate does not provide information on all available products, providers or services, so please note that there are other options and products that may be available to you in addition to the products, product providers or services referred to on the Site.

3. SMSF Mate Site services are provided under an Australian Financial Services licence

• Where SMSF Mate provides factual information, general advice or other services related to financial products, We do so as a Corporate Authorised Representative of Private Wealth Advisory Pty Ltd [Australian Financial Services Number 478249] (“PWA“). For further and specific details in relation to this relationship, please refer to SMSF Mate’s Financial Services Guide (“FSG“).  The SMSF Mate FSG can be accessed by clicking on this link.  If after reading the FSG you have any queries, please contact Our support staff directly on 02 8028 9902.

4. Information contained on the Site does not constitute personal advice

• Information, commentary and discussions regarding financial products and financial strategies on the Site may relate to, consider the circumstances of or refer to broad classes of persons or classes of potential investors based on variables such as the size of investable funds, the persons’ ages or employment status etc. None of the information contained on the Site has been prepared and published after taking into consideration your specific individual circumstances, such as your financial situation objectives or needs. At no stage does SMSF Mate seek to obtain or rely on details of your circumstances, needs or objectives for the purpose of providing advice, and does not provide personal advice to you.  Therefore, when you consider or reflect on any information, commentary or discussions that you may have seen on the Site, you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your own personal circumstances, needs and objectives.  We strongly recommend that you seek professional personal financial advice from an ASIC licensed Australian Financial Services Licensee or one of their representatives before making any commitments or decisions in relation to any financial products or financial strategies.

5. Scope and limits regarding information, commentary and discussions contained on the Site

• We compare financial product data, basic financial and economic information (such as current interest rates) and basic current product information (such as product fees). We do not consider or assess if a particular product is suitable for you.
• The Site can provide you with merely factual information related to financial products. For example, in response to a request by you about information regarding a financial product, the Site may be able to provide you with the estimated likely cost of a financial product (such as life insurance).  The provision of this merely factual information (such as the estimated likely cost of insurance) does not represent financial product advice.  In addition, it does not guarantee you can get insurance.  Acceptance by insurance companies is based on many additional variables such as your occupation, health and lifestyle – and ultimate acceptance of your application for the financial product will be dependent on a decision by the product provider, not us.

6. We provide no warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of the financial product information contained on the Site

• We provide information on the Site to promote your consideration and discussions of issues related to financial products. We endeavour to ensure that the information and other content on the Site are accurate and current, however, We cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information on the Site. You must use your own judgment and read the relevant financial product’s Product Disclosure Statement (“PDS“) and publicly available Target Market Determination (“TMD“) before you make any decision about a financial product referred to on the Site. The PDS and TMD are specifically drafted to enable the average person to read and understand the features of the financial product as well as the risks in acquiring and holding the financial product.  We also strongly recommend that you seek professional personal financial advice from an ASIC licensed Australian Financial Services Licensee or one of their representatives before making any commitments or decisions in relation to any financial products or financial strategies.
• If you find an error on the Site, please let Us know as soon as possible to enable Us to correct the information.
• Product terms and conditions and product costs listed on the Site (particularly in respect to insurance products) are merely generally indicative amounts and approximations obtained from available data or based on specified assumptions. The product provider of the financial product ultimately determines the price and terms (particularly insurance cover) that they will offer you and the actual cost to be charged. This may vary from the information that We refer to on the Site.

7. Limited responsibility and liability in relation to the Site

• To the extent permitted by law, SMSF Mate and PWA disclaim all liability to any person in relation to the use of the Site, and you waive all claims against SMSF Mate or PWA in relation to your use of the Site. Neither SMSF Mate or PWA accepts any liability for any interference with or damage to a user’s computer, software or data occurring in connection with or relating to the Site or its use or any website linked to Our Site.  Neither SMSF Mate or PWA represent or warrant that the Site or any website linked to the Site will always be accessible. Neither SMSF Mate or PWA represent or warrant that any applications or communications initiated through the Site will in fact, be received or made to the intended recipient.  You are advised to directly confirm the application or communication to the intended recipient by other means.
• The Site includes links to other websites operated by the community, business and government. These linked websites will have their own terms and conditions of use, and you should familiarise yourself with them. All linked websites are linked “as is” and neither SMSF Mate or PWA sponsor, endorse or necessarily approve of any material on websites linked from or to the Site.  Neither SMSF Mate or PWA make any warranties or representations regarding the quality, accuracy, merchantability or fitness for the purpose of any material on websites linked from or to this Site.  Neither SMSF Mate or PWA make any warranties or representations that material on other websites to which this Site is linked does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any person anywhere in the world.  Neither SMSF Mate or PWA authorise the infringement of any intellectual property rights contained in the material in other websites by linking the Site to those other websites.
• Unless expressly stated otherwise, SMSF Mate claims the copyright of all material on the Site. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form for your personal, non-commercial use. SMSF Mate reserves the right to revoke such permission at any time. Apart from this permission and uses permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), all other rights are reserved.

Important Information

• Range of Products and Services:  The products and services referred to on the Site are chosen from a range of financial products and services available in the market and are not representative of all the products available in the market.
• Promotions and Advertisements:  Products marked as “Promoted” or “Advertisement” are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, product provider or feature. SMSF Mate or PWA may receive benefits from the product provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. SMSF Mate’s decision to show a “promoted” product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information. We provide to compare your options and find the best option for you.
• Ranking: Where products appear on this Site they should not be taken as ranking or endorsing any particular product above another in terms of its suitability for your use. Financial product comparisons do not compare features that may be relevant to you in your choices about which product to utilise. Where We state that We have analysed offers in the market, the process of analysis is restricted to the information subsequently disclosed in that analysis and may not be suitable for your personal circumstances.
• News: Posts marked as “News” are based on information that We have obtained from what We believe to be reliable sources at a particular time and based on information that We believe to be correct at the time of publication.   We do not independently verify such information.  In addition, We neither maintain nor subsequently amend such information. As a static record, News may, over time, contradict or appear to contradict, the dynamic changing information (such as product information) We may subsequently display on Our Site.
• Governing law:  The Terms and Conditions and your access to use the Site is governed by and will be interpreted in accordance with the laws of Western Australia.  You submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Western Australia in connection with the Terms and Conditions and your access to use the Site.

Privacy Policy

SMSF Mate’s privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy“), forms part of our Terms and Conditions of use, explains the information We collect, how We use and protect it, how to access and update your information, and how to manage your privacy settings when using the Services.

In order to provide you with information and other services, We may collect and retain “Personal Information” that may identify you or contribute to identifying you. “Personal Information” can include information such as your name, email address, your photo, contact details and, in some cases, general financial information. We will generally not collect your personal information unless it is necessary to provide the information, advice or service you have requested and, where possible, you will be able to the Site anonymously.

We will generally only collect your personal information from you or from someone you have authorised to provide it to Us.

SMSF Mate’s Site may contain links to other websites owned and operated by third parties. These third-party websites have their own privacy policies therefore, We urge you to review them. Those third party privacy policies will govern the use of personal information you submit when visiting their respective websites.  We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the privacy practices of such third party websites, and your use of such websites is at your own risk.

How is information collected? 

We collect information in a number of ways, including:

• Directly from you such as when you provide the information at meetings, by phone, email, in data collection forms and when you visit the Site.
• The Site may use “cookies”. Cookies are small data files that are downloaded from the Site and stored on your computer when you visit the Site.  Cookies are used to allow Us to see which pages and what information is of most interest to visitors to the Site, which in turn enables Us to improve Our offerings to Our customers.  Your computer’s web browser will allow you to configure your computer to refuse to accept cookies.  You can also delete cookies from your computer’s hard drive at any time.  However, please note that doing so may hinder your access to valuable areas of information within the Site.

How will SMSF Mate use personal information about me?

Our use of your personal information will always have a lawful basis, either because you have consented to Our use of your personal information or because it is reasonably necessary to provide services including, but not limited to:

• answering your general queries;
• confirming your identity;
• communicating with you;
• administering Our services;
• notifying you of the services We offer;
• carrying out marketing, training or promotional activities;
• responding to feedback, comments, or any other contact;
• sending you emails or newsletters to which you have subscribed;
• carrying out competitions;
• enhancing the Site or services;
• helping you to resolve technical issues with the Site;
• helping you to identify products and product providers appropriate for your needs and circumstances; or
• referring you to product providers;

By using Our services, you consent to us collecting, holding and using your personal information in this way.

We may also access, hold and use aggregated information about the people that use Our services.  Aggregated information will not identify you or any other individual but simply provides Us with non-personally identifiable data that We can use to improve Our services, understand Our users’ needs and develop tailored content.

As noted above, We may use your personal information to offer you products and services that we believe may interest you. We may also disclose your personal information to external associates and Our service providers who assist Us in marketing Our products and services.

If you do not want to receive marketing offers from Us please inform Us.  Our contact details are included at the end of this policy.

Are you obliged to provide Us with personal information?

You are not required to provide Us with the information that We request, or to allow Us to collect information from third parties.  However, where you choose not to provide Us with the information We request, We may not be able to provide you with the services that you have requested from us.

What happens if We obtain information about you which We have not solicited?

Where We receive unsolicited personal information about you, We will consider if We could have collected the information if We had solicited the information. Where We determine that We could have collected the personal information from you, We will treat your personal information in the same manner as if We had solicited the information directly from you.  Where We determine that We could not have collected the personal information, We will destroy the information or ensure that the information is de-identified as soon as practicable.

Disclosure of information 

With your permission, We may disclose your information to Our representatives and Our external service providers.

Government related identifiers

If We are required to collect government identifiers such as your tax file number, Medicare number or pension card number, We will not use or disclose this information other than when required, authorised by law or unless you have voluntarily consented to disclose this information to any third party.

Cross-border disclosure of information

We may transfer information to related bodies corporate or external service providers in locations outside Australia, including, but not limited to, India, United States, China, Poland, Philippines, in the course of storing that information and when using or disclosing it for one of the purposes referred to above.  When transferring information to foreign jurisdictions, We will ensure that We satisfy one of the requirements below:

• we will take reasonable steps to ensure the overseas recipient does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles in relation to the information;
• we form a reasonable belief that the overseas recipient is subject to a law, or binding scheme, that has the effect of protecting the information in a way that, overall, is at least substantially similar to the way in which the APP protect the information and there are mechanisms that the individual can access to take action to enforce that protection of the law or binding scheme; or
• we will seek your informed consent prior to disclosing your information overseas.

Storage and security of information

We store personal information in Our computer database and hard copy files.  We take reasonable steps to ensure the personal information collected and held by Us is protected from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

Any personal information which We hold about you will be maintained for a period of not less than 7 years in order to comply with legislative and professional requirements.

Notifiable data breaches

We are required to notify you and the Information Commissioner of an eligible data breach.  An eligible data breach happens if:

• there is unauthorised access to, unauthorised disclosure of, or loss of personal information held by us; and
• the access, disclosure or loss is likely to result in serious harm to you.

If you receive a statement of an eligible data breach from us, you should read and implement the recommendations about the steps you should take in response to the eligible data breach.

Access and correction of information

You may request access to the personal information We hold about you, and We will respond within a reasonable period after the request is made.  Where We provide you access to such information, We may charge a reasonable fee to cover Our costs.  We will disclose the amount of such costs to you prior to providing you with the information.

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information that We collect, use or disclose is accurate, up-to-date, complete and relevant.  In the event that you become aware, or believe, that any personal information which We hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete, you may contact Us to correct the information.

If We disagree about the correction you have supplied and refuse to correct the personal information, or if We believe that We are unable to comply with your request to access the personal information that you have provided us, We will give you a written notice to that effect.  You have a right to make a complaint if you disagree with Our decisions in relation to these matters (see below).

Complaints

If you believe that We have breached the Australian Privacy Principles or disagree with a decision that We have made in relation to Our Privacy Policy, you may lodge a complaint with us.  To enable Us to understand and deal with your complaint in a timely fashion, you should set out a brief description of your privacy problem, the reason for your complaint and what action or remedy you are seeking from us.  Please address your complaint to Our Privacy Officer.  Contact details are included at the end of this policy.

Your complaint will be investigated and responded to within 30 days.  If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you are entitled to contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

Policy updates

This policy is subject to change from time to time.  The most current version of Our Privacy Policy can be obtained from the Site or by contacting us.

Contact details

Privacy Officer: Sonny Rahim

Address: Level 9, 1 William Street, Perth WA 6000

Postal Address: PO Box 7448, Cloisters Square PO WA 6850

Telephone: 08 6311 2867

Web Browser Cookies Policy

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small amount of data, often containing a unique identifier, sent to your computer or mobile device web browser from a website’s server and is kept on your device’s hard drive.

How do we use cookies?

We use different types of cookies for different things, such as:

• Analysing how you use SMSF Mate
• Giving you a better, more personalised experience
• Recognising when you’ve signed in.

First party cookies

SMSF Mate may place and access certain first-party Cookies on your computer or device. First party Cookies are those placed directly by SMSF Mate and are used only by Us. We use Cookies to facilitate and improve your experience of Our Site and to provide and improve Our product and services. We have carefully chosen these Cookies and have taken steps to ensure that your privacy and personal data is protected and respected at all times.

Third-party cookies

By using Our Site, you may also receive certain third-party Cookies on your computer or device. Third-party Cookies are those placed by websites, services, and/or parties other than Us. Third-party Cookies are used on SMSF Mate for advertising services or social media.

Our Site uses analytics services provided by Google Analytics. Website analytics refers to a set of tools used to collect and analyse anonymous usage information, enabling SMSF Mate to better understand how Our Site is used. This, in turn, enables Us to improve Our Site and the services offered through it. The analytics services used by Our Site use Cookies to gather the required information. You do not have to allow SMSF Mate to use these Cookies, however, whilst Our use of them does not pose any risk to your privacy or your safe use of Our Site, it does enable Us to continually improve Our Site, making it a better and more useful experience for you.

The following Cookies may be placed on your computer or device:

Google Analytics, Google AdSense, Google Tag Manager, Google AdWords Conversion, Google Adwords Remarketing, Facebook Social Plugins, Facebook Graph.

In addition to the controls that We provide, you can choose to enable or disable Cookies in your internet browser. Most internet browsers also enable you to choose whether you wish to disable all cookies or only third-party Cookies. By default, most internet browsers accept Cookies but this can be changed. For further details, please consult the help menu in your internet browser or the documentation that came with your device.

You can choose to delete Cookies on your computer or device at any time, however, you may lose any information that enables you to access Our Site more quickly and efficiently including, but not limited to, login and personalisation settings.

It is recommended that you keep your internet browser and operating system up-to-date and that you consult the help and guidance provided by the developer of your internet browser and manufacturer of your computer or device if you are unsure about adjusting your privacy settings.

Other information collected from web browsers

Your web browser may also provide SMSF Mate with information about your devices, such as an IP address and details about the browser that you are using. We use the information provided by your browser or by the link that you have clicked to understand the webpage that directed you to SMSF Mate, and this may be captured by performance cookies.

If you have any concerns about the way that we use cookies or respect your settings, then please contact us directly on 02 8028 9902.

DNT (Do Not Track) browser setting

DNT is a feature offered by some browsers, which, when enabled, sends a sends a signal to websites to request that your browsing is not tracked, such as by third-party ad providers, social networks and analytics companies. This website does not currently respond to DNT requests.