1. Who We Are
My Guides Australia Pty Ltd Trading as My Tax Guide
ABN: 67 673 244 543
Address: 610/101 Overton Road, Williams Landing VIC 3027
Email: info@mytaxguide.com.au
Website: mytaxguide.com.au
Privacy Officer: Yogi Mehndiratta – Account Manager

2. Information We Collect
The personal information we collect depends on the nature of the services we provide.

We may collect:

Identification Information

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Residential and postal addresses
• Telephone numbers
• Email addresses
• Occupation and employment details
• Tax File Number (TFN)
• Australian Business Number (ABN)
• Australian Company Number (ACN)
• Passport details
• Driver licence details
• Medicare details
• Visa and immigration details
• Citizenship and residency status

Financial Information

• Bank account details
• Income information
• Investment details
• Superannuation information
• Asset and liability information
• Loan and mortgage information
• Business financial records
• Accounting records and source documents

Business Information

• Company, trust and partnership information
• Shareholder and beneficiary information
• Director information
• ASIC and business registration details
• Payroll and employee information

Sensitive Information

Where reasonably necessary and permitted by law, we may collect sensitive information including: 

• Biometric information
• Facial images and liveness checks
• Identification  verification results
• Health information where relevant to taxation, migration or other professional advice
• Criminal history information where required by law or regulatory requirements

We only collect sensitive information with your consent or where otherwise authorised by law.

3. How We Collect Personal Information
We collect personal information in a variety of ways, including:

• Directly from you.
• Through meetings, phone calls and correspondence.
• Through engagement forms and client questionnaires.
• Via email and online forms.
• Through our website.
• Through secure client portals.
• Through cloud-based accounting and business software.
• Through third-party service providers.
• Through government agencies and public registers.
• Through identity verification platforms.
• Through electronic document upload systems.
• Through video conferencing systems.
  From your authorised representatives.
• From employers, financial institutions, solicitors or other professional advisers with your authority.

4. Electronic Identity Verification and KYC Procedures
To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, including obligations under anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing legislation, professional standards, taxation laws and fraud prevention requirements, we may verify your identity electronically.

Identity verification may involve the use of secure third-party electronic identity verification providers.

As part of this process, we may collect and disclose:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Residential address
• Identity document information
• Copies of identification documents
• Facial images or video recordings
• Device and IP address information
• Biometric information

Verification processes may include:

• Document verification;
• Government database checks;
• Electronic identity matching;
• Document authenticity assessment;
• Liveness detection technology;
• Facial recognition or biometric matching technology; and
• Fraud and risk screening.

You consent to us providing your personal information to third-party identity verification providers and government verification services for these purposes.

If electronic verification cannot be completed, we may require you to provide certified identification documents or attend an in-person identification interview.

Failure to provide requested identification information may prevent us from providing services to you.

5. Facial Recognition and Biometric Information
As part of electronic identity verification, we may use facial recognition technology and biometric matching technology supplied by specialist third-party providers.

This process may involve:

• Capturing a live facial image, selfie or video;
• Comparing facial images against identity documents;
• Performing liveness checks to confirm you are physically present;
• Generating biometric templates or identifiers for verification purposes.

Biometric information is collected solely for identity verification, fraud prevention, regulatory compliance and security purposes.

We do not sell biometric information.

Biometric information will be retained only for as long as reasonably necessary to satisfy legal, regulatory and operational requirements or as otherwise required by law.

6. Government Verification Services
We may use government-operated or government-authorised verification services to confirm your identity.

This may include verification of information against official records held by Australian government agencies.

By providing your identification information, you consent to us using such verification services where required.

7. Purposes for Which We Use Personal Information

We collect, hold and use personal information to:

• Provide taxation services.
• Prepare and lodge tax returns.
• Provide accounting and bookkeeping services.
• Provide payroll services.
• Prepare financial statements.
• Provide business advisory services.
• Prepare and lodge BAS, IAS and other regulatory reports.
• Establish and administer business structures.
• Provide migration or related professional services (where applicable).
• Verify identity.
• Meet KYC obligations.
• Meet AML/CTF obligations.
• Conduct fraud prevention and risk management activities.
• Communicate with clients.
• Respond to enquiries.
  Manage engagements.
  Issue invoices and collect fees.
• Maintain professional records.
• Meet legal and regulatory obligations.
• Improve our services.
• Conduct internal administration and quality assurance.

8. Disclosure of Personal Information
We may disclose personal information to:

We collect, hold and use personal information to:

• The Australian Taxation Office.
• AUSTRAC.
• ASIC.
• Department of Home Affairs.
• Government departments and regulators.
• Courts and tribunals.
  Banks and financial institutions.
• Superannuation funds.
• Professional advisers.
• Auditors.
• External consultants.
  IT service providers.
• Cloud software providers.
• Identity verification service providers.
• Document management providers.
• Payment processors.
• Our employees, contractors and related entities.
• Overseas service providers.
• Any person authorised by you.

We may also disclose information where required or authorised by law.

9. Overseas Disclosure
Some of our third-party technology providers, cloud service providers, software providers, storage providers and identity verification providers may store or process information outside Australia.

We collect, hold and use personal information to:

• United States
• New Zealand
• United Kingdom
• Singapore
• India
• European Union ember countries

We take reasonable steps to ensure overseas recipients protect personal information in accordance with Australian privacy laws.

10. Website and Online Services
When you visit our website, we may automatically collect:

• IP address
• Browser type
• Device information
• Operating system
• Pages visited
• Date and time of access
• Website usage
• Information

We may use:

• Cookies
• Analytics services
• Security monitoring tools
• Session tracking technologies

You may disable cookies through your browser settings, however some website functionality may be affected.

11. Security of Personal Information
We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification and disclosure.

Security measures include:

• Secure cloud storage
• Encryption technologies
• Multi-factor authentication
• Secure client portals
• Access controls
• Staff confidentiality obligations
• Network and endpoint security
• Regular security monitoring
• Secure disposal procedures

Despite these measures, no electronic transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

12. Retention of Personal Information

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to:

• Provide services;
• Comply with legal obligations;
• Meet taxation, professional and regulatory equirements;
• Resolve disputes; and
• Enforce agreements.

Professional record retention obligations may require us to retain information for a minimum of seven years or longer.

When information is no longer required, it will be securely destroyed or de-identified where appropriate.

13. Access and Correction
You may request access to personal information we hold about you.
You may also request correction of inaccurate, incomplete or outdated information.
Requests should be made in writing to our Privacy Officer.
We may refuse access in certain circumstances permitted by law.

14. Direct Marketing
We may send newsletters, updates and information regarding our services.

You may opt out of marketing communications at any time by:

• Clicking the unsubscribe link;
• Contacting us directly; or
• Emailing our Privacy Officer.

15. Complaints
If you believe we have breached privacy laws or mishandled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer.

Privacy Officer
Yogi Mehndiratta
Email: yogi@mytaxguide.com.au
We will investigate and respond to complaints within a reasonable period.
If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may contact:
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
Website: www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: 1300 363 992

16. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time.
The latest version will always be available on our website.
Your continued use of our services constitutes acceptance of any updated Privacy Policy.

17. Contact Us
If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact:

Privacy Officer
My Tax Guide
Address: 610/101 Overton Road, Williams Landing VIC 3027
Email: info@mytaxguide.com.au
Website: mytaxguide.com.au