Thank you for choosing Checked Australia, located at www.checked.com.au (the Website) to provide you with checking, validation, verification and sourcing services (Checking Services) of your personal information, and our software as a service platform (Software) to facilitate the access, sharing and distribution of your validated, enriched, or otherwise procured information by yourself, or with other parties through the sharing platform and services (Sharing Services).

The Checking Services and Sharing Services, and Website (Services) are provided by Checked Australia Pty Ltd trading as Checked Australia (Checked.com.au) (ABN 60 601 427 454), at its registered company address Level 10, 157 Walker Street, North Sydney, NSW, 2060, or subsidiary offices across Australia.

By accessing Checked Australia and using the Services, you are agreeing to these terms and conditions (Terms), as updated from time to time. Please ensure you read them carefully, and before continuing use of Checked Australia or its Services, in the instance of any misunderstanding or clarification needed, we encourage you to contact the Checked Australia Support team through the following methods:

• by phone on 1300 266 021;

• by email [email protected];

• by LiveChat available from the Chat Now button on the following link: https://www.checked.com.au/contact during our Service Hours.

Also, by starting, or continuing to use the Services, you agree that we may change, amend or adjust the terms and conditions or change or upgrade the Services by advising you by email or providing appropriate notification on the Website.

SECTION 1 - Checking Services

Your Request for Checking Services

Checked Australia will not provide the Checking Services to you unless you have provided to Checked Australia (through the Website):

1. necessary proof of your identity (as stipulated by Checked Australia on the Website, and which may include identification documents and biometrics)

2. a request for Checking Services; and

3. any further information Checked Australia may need to provide the requested Checking Services.

If Checked Australia requires further information from you to provide the Checking Services you requested, Checked Australia will ask you for it. If Checked Australia has not received that further information within 30 days of Checked Australia asking for it, your request will be taken to have been suspended.

Right to Refuse Checking Services

By requesting the Checking Services, you are appointing Checked Australia as your agent for the purposes of providing to, and obtaining from, any third party any information that is necessary in order to perform the Checking Services.

Provision of Checking Services

If Checked Australia does not refuse your request, Checked Australia will: (a) perform the Checking Services you requested (but if you have requested Checking Services that require checks outside Australia or New Zealand, Checked Australia will provide those to the extent that it is reasonable and practicable to do so); and (b) prepare a Check Result Report for you, which will set out the results of the Checking Services requested.

With the exception of the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check ('NCCHC') service provided by Checked Australia which is facilitated exclusively under supply from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commision ('ACIC'), other Checking Services are conducted by making requests to other third parties (individuals or organisations) who supply information to Checked Australia. If those third party suppliers do not release requested information within a period of 30 days of Checked Australia’s request for information, your request will be treated as having been suspended.

Checked Australia may change, suspend, limit, restrict or discontinue any aspect of the Checking Services at any time without notice or liability including the availability of and access to any part of any feature on the Website.

Payment of Services & Refund Policy

Each time you make a request for Checking Services, you must pay Checked Australia by credit card or other method approved by Checked Australia in accordance with the fees set out on the Website. With the exception of the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (exclusively provided and supplied by the ACIC), if a particular third party supplier seeks to charge an unusual fee for your requested Verification Service, Checked Australia will notify you of the fee and ask whether you wish to pay the fee or cancel your request.

Under the Australian Consumer Law (if you are in Australia) or the Consumer Guarantees Act (if you are in New Zealand), you are entitled to the right to ask for a replacement or refund in certain circumstances set out in the applicable legislation. In addition, Checked Australia will provide a refund to you if Checked Australia refuses to accept or execute your request or if the particular package of Checking Services that you requested is no longer available. Also, if you cancel a request before Checked Australia begins to perform the Checking Services, Checked Australia may, if it chooses, provide you with a part refund after deducting a reasonable charge for the administrative cost of processing your initial application.

Goods and Services Tax (GST)

If any payment made by you to Checked Australia under or relating to the Checking Services constitutes consideration for a taxable supply for the purposes of GST or any similar tax, the amount to be paid for the supply will be increased so that the net amount retained by Checked Australia after payment of that GST is the same as if Checked Australia was not liable to pay GST in respect of that supply. This provision is subject to any other agreement regarding the payment of GST on specific supplies.

Identity Verification Services

In order to verify your identity electronically in connection with the provision of the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check, we may pass on information you provide (such as names, addresses and copies of identification documents) to Commonwealth and State government departments via the Australian Government Document Verification Service (DVS).

DVS will send information, using a secure line, to the issuers of the identification documents where an automated check of that data will verify whether the information provided matches the information held by the issuer. The issuer sends an automatic response via DVS to confirm or deny whether the details match the database records it holds.

By agreeing to these terms of use you agree that:

1. the information you are providing is correct, accurate and up to date;

2. that the information you are providing is your personal information and you have authority to provide it to us; and

3. we may use and disclose your personal information for the purposes of electronic verification as described above.

To ensure compliance with the Document Verification Service requirements, we will explicitly ask you prior for consent in conducting such verifications on the DVS, which will be in addition to any informed consent required for the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check service.

SECTION 2: Sharing Services

Sharing Information with a Registered Organisation

In using Checked Australia and the Sharing Services, you may choose (but are under no obligation) to share your personal information (e.g. results of a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check) (User Information) with organisations that are registered (Registered Organisation) on the Checked Australia portal. You are solely responsible for controlling whether your User Information will be shared with an organisation.

Once an organisation has registered with Checked Australia, its administrative users will create a unique identification number (Organisation Identifier). You may share your User Information with an organisation by inputting the Organisation Identifier into the Checked Australia portal and explicitly confirming the request to send your User Information to an organisation. Your User Information will then be sent electronically to that organisation.

By entering the Identifier in the Checked Australia platform and explicitly confirming the request to share User Information with an organisation, you agree that:

1. any User Information sent electronically is sent at your own risk and you are aware of the consequences of this method of sharing information;

2. the User Information is personal to you and you have authority to share it with an organisation;

3. it is your responsibility to ensure that the Organisation Identifier is kept securely, remains confidential and is not misused;

4. Checked Australia may check and verify your User Information before it is shared with an organisation;

5. you grant the organisation to which you are sending your User Information permission to view, access, validate, store and otherwise handle your User Information for the primary purpose for which you have specified (e.g. applying for employment or undertaking volunteer work);

6. your User Information may be maintained in the organisation's records; and

7. you may not be able to retrieve or amend your User Information once it has been sent to an organisation.

Some organisations may be located outside of Australia. Should you choose to share your User Information with an overseas organisation, you agree that:

1. Checked Australia is not required to take more than reasonable steps (in alignment with its obligations as an Australian Privacy Principles ('APP') bound entity), to ensure overseas organisations comply with all applicable Australian privacy laws in relation to disclosure of your User Information;

2. the overseas recipient will not be accountable under any applicable Australian privacy laws in relation to the collection, use, storage, destruction, de-identification and otherwise handling of User Information;

3. you will not be able to seek redress for any misappropriation of your User Information under any applicable Australian privacy laws; and

4. Checked Australia takes no responsibility for any breach by overseas organisations in relation to your User Information (howsoever caused) of any applicable Australian privacy laws.

Sharing Information via Unique Link

After Checked Australia has prepared the results of your check request (Check Result Report), Checked Australia will:

1. place the Check Result Report in a secure location on the Website; and

2. provide you with the provisions and ability to nominate third parties with which to share a unique results URL (Unique Link) that provides access to those parts of the Check Result Report that you wish to disclose to them.

You can request more than one Unique Link. Please note that, in order to comply with legal requirements, certain reports will be deleted from the Check Result Report after relevantly prescribed time periods.

You control access to each Unique Link

After Checked Australia has placed the Check Result Report on the Website, you are solely responsible for controlling access to the Check Result Report and each Unique Link that you have requested.

Checked Australia will not be liable for any access provided or permitted by you to anyone (whether you did so intentionally or by accident) or for access through any unauthorised use of a Unique Link. You may request, delete or edit a Unique Link at any time by going to your member’s page of the Website.

SECTION 3: General

Control of User Information & Privacy

The privacy of Checked Australia users is very important to Checked Australia. Our Privacy Policy is designed to inform users on how they can use Checked Australia to share information with others, how we collect, and use your content and information. We encourage you to read the Privacy Policy which is available at: https://www.checked.com.au/privacy

By using Checked Australia and Services, you agree to Checked Australia:

1. dealing with your personal information as outlined in the Privacy Policy; searching, locating and sourcing the information relating to you from other sources in its absolute discretion in order to provide the Services;

2. checking and verifying that the information you have provided to Checked Australia is correct;

3. providing your User Information to the parties or organisations that you give access to or share information with, or external parties that are required to fulfil the Services; and

4. retaining and storing your User Information (unless you revoke consent by writing to Checked Australia, or instruct Checked Australia to deactivate your user account) and on the condition this request is compliance with any specific retention policies applicable to any of the Services requested.

With the exception of the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check service provided by Checked Australia which is facilitated exclusively under supply from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commision ('ACIC'), in order to provide other Checking Services to you, your personal information may be exchanged between companies within Checked Australia or Checked Australia may disclose your personal information to its contractors, some of whom may be overseas (this explicitly excludes the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check). In order to provide the Checking Services to you, it will be necessary to disclose your personal information to a third party capable of verifying your information who may also be overseas. It is a condition of ordering these overseas Checking Services (with the exception of the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check) that you consent to these disclosures.

Checked Australia will take all reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Checked Australia will protect the security of personal information and maintaining physical, computer and communications security by preventing unauthorised access to its premises, its computer network and its communications. Other than you, people you nominate and third parties who will be asked to verify your information, only authorised staff and contractors of Checked Australia will have access to your personal information.

Please note that Checked Australia may not be able to retrieve your User Information if it has been passed to a third party (with your consent) and such information is maintained in that third parties' records.

Unless you choose not to let Checked Australia do so, Checked Australia may use your details to tell you about special offers and new products and services.

Risk of Loss & Limitation of Liability

While all reasonable care is taken, Checked Australia does not warrant nor accept responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided to it by third parties. You agree to indemnify, release, discharge and hold harmless Checked Australia, its directors, employees, officers, contractors and overseas suppliers from and against any and all losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses suffered or incurred including but not limited to in relation to causes of action you may have in defamation, breach of privacy, negligence and breach of contract against Checked Australia, its directors, employees, officers, contractors and overseas suppliers. Checked Australia will not be liable or responsible for the use of any information accessed from a Checked Australia Report or through any use of a Checked Australia Link by you or anybody else.

In consideration of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commision (ACIC) in the instance of the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check service, or for other Checking Services, any other third party supplier releasing details of any of your personal information, you hereby indemnify the Commonwealth Government or that other third party supplier (as the case may be), together with their servants and agents including all members of ACIC, against all actions, suits, proceedings, causes of action, costs, claims and demands whatsoever which may be brought or made against it or them by any body or person by reason of or arising out of the release of any details of any conviction or other information recorded against your name or purporting to either relate to or concern you.

SECTION 4: Your Acknowledgements

In using the Services you agree:

1. that it is your responsibility for the security of the network from which the Services or Website or Software is accessed;

2. that it is your responsibility to ensure the secured use of the Checked Australia Software and Website, and to be informed as to who is authorised to view or receive information from Checked Australia Software and Website;

3. you are liable and responsible for the management of your information such that it is compliant with all relevant legislation in the jurisdiction in which you operate.

Additionally, you agree to Checked Australia:

1. searching, locating and sourcing the information relating to you from other sources in its absolute discretion;

2. checking and verifying that the information you have provided to Checked Australia and your information located from other sources is correct;

3. providing your Check Result Report containing your information to those people you give access to (unless such access is revoked by you, either by deactivating access via Checked Australia’s website or by writing to Checked Australia);

4. holding your personal information including but not limited to details of your qualifications, professional and other memberships, employment, rental and other references, and any other Services provided now or in the future that you request from Checked Australia;

5. letting Checked Australia’s contractors and overseas suppliers (with the exception of the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check) access your information when required by Checked Australia for the purposes of providing, reviewing, auditing, analysing or improving the Services; and

6. retaining and storing your Check Result Report containing your information (unless you revoke consent by writing to Checked Australia). Please note that in order to comply with legal requirements, certain records will be deleted after prescribed time periods.

SECTION 5: Australian Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check

The Australian Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (previously known as the National Police History Check) (Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check) is a service provided by Checked Australia, which provides the ability to request, and share the results of such service with other parties. If you request an Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check, you:

1. acknowledge that you have read the General Information Guide (See Appendix A) provided by ACIC (the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission) and understand that information will be disclosed in accordance with applicable legislation and information release policies (including spent convictions legislation (however described) in the Commonwealth, States and Territories);

2. acknowledge that any information provided by you relates specifically to the purpose (role and type of organisation you require the check for) identified in the Check Type, Check Purpose and Check Role/Organisation section of the Checked Australia Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check online application form;

3. acknowledge that the purpose for which you are seeking a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check may be in a category for which exclusions from spent convictions legislation apply;

4. confirm that you will fully answer all questions asked by Checked Australia and the personal information you provide relates to you, contains your full name and all names previously used by you, and is correct;

5. acknowledge that the provision of false or misleading information is a serious offence;

6. acknowledge that Checked Australia is collecting information to provide to ACIC and police agencies;

7. consent to:

   1. ACIC and police agencies using and disclosing your personal information to conduct a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check;

   2. Police agencies disclosing to ACIC, from their records, police history information that can be disclosed in accordance in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth, States and Territories and in accordance with the relevant jurisdiction's information release policies; and

   3. ACIC providing the information disclosed by the Australian police agencies to Checked Australia;

8. acknowledge that any information sent electronically in relation to the check including any identity documents, is sent at your own risk and you are aware of the consequences of this method of lodgement;

9. acknowledge that it is usual practice for an applicant's personal information to be disclosed to Australian police agencies for them to use for their respective law enforcement purposes, including the investigation of any outstanding criminal offences; and

10. acknowledge that personal information that you provide will be disclosed to Checked Australia (including contractors or related bodies corporate) located exclusively within Australia.

11. acknowledge that the information provided by you must be retained by Checked Australia for a period of 12 months from the date of the check being issued, in accordance with its accreditation Audit and Compliance obligations, after which time it will be destroyed.

SECTION 6: Copyright

No part of this website may be copied or imitated in whole or in part. No logo, graphic, sound or image from this website may be copied or re-transmitted unless expressly permitted in writing by Checked Australia. The information contained within this site is also subject to the same copyright conditions and cannot be copied, imitated or used in whole or in part without the permission of Checked Australia.

The text ‘Checked’, 'Checked Australia', 'Checked.com.au', 'VerifyID', are all trademarks of Checked Australia Pty Ltd t/as Checked Australia (Checked.com.au).

SECTION 7: Governing Law

These terms of use are governed by and construed under the law in the Australian Capital Territory. You and Checked Australia each irrevocably and unconditionally submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of any court in Australian Capital Territory.

A failure by you or Checked Australia to exercise any right under these terms and conditions does not prevent any other or further exercise of that or any other right.

The rights under these terms and conditions are cumulative and not exclusive of any rights provided by law.

If any particular term or condition is unenforceable for any reason, that will not affect any other.

APPENDIX A - ACIC General Information

GENERAL INFORMATION

ACIC is collecting your personal information via the Checked Australia National Police History Check online application form in order to conduct a National Police History Check (NPHC) on you. It does this through a contractual arrangement with the Accredited Organisation – Checked Australia Pty Ltd t/as Checked Australia (Checked.com.au) (ABN 60 601 427 454) of Level 10, 157 Walker Street, North Sydney, NSW, 2060. ACIC has contractual arrangements with its Accredited Organisations to collect personal information on its behalf to support processes assessing the suitability of people applying for employment, Australian citizenship, appointment to positions of trust, volunteer service or for various licensing or registration schemes. Accredited Organisations and their customers (such as employers) use the personal information collected on the Checked Australia National Police History Check online application form and the resulting NPHC as part of their assessment process to determine your application. Some Accredited Organisations have a legislative basis for the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information.

ACIC recommends that you seek further information about any relevant/applicable legislative framework from the Accredited Organisation.

In some circumstances Accredited Organisations may have arrangements with overseas entities for administrative or other purposes. ACIC recommends that you seek further information from Checked Australia Pty Ltd t/as Checked Australia (Checked.com.au) (ABN 60 601 427 454) of Level 10, 157 Walker Street, North Sydney, NSW, 2060, in circumstances where your information is likely to be disclosed to overseas recipients.

Unless statutory obligations require otherwise, the information provided on the Checked Australia National Police History Check online application form will not be used without your prior consent for any purpose other than in relation to the assessment of your suitability; or to maintain the records of ACIC and police agencies; or for law enforcement purposes. You will be required to submit another complete Checked Australia National Police History Check online application form (including informed consent) for any future NPHCs.

NATIONAL POLICE HISTORY CHECK (NPHC)

Information on the Checked Australia National Police History Check online application form will be used by ACIC and police agencies for checking action; it will also be used to update records held about you by ACIC and police agencies.

ACIC and police agencies will access their records to obtain and disclose Police History Information (PHI) that relates to you to the Accredited Organisation – Checked Australia Pty Ltd t/as Checked Australia (Checked.com.au) (ABN 60 601 427 454) of Level 10, 157 Walker Street, North Sydney, NSW, 2060.

PHI may include outstanding charges, warrant information and criminal convictions/findings/pleas of guilt recorded against you.

PHI is disclosed according to applicable laws of the relevant jurisdiction and, in accordance with the relevant jurisdiction's information release policies. Applicable laws include but are not limited to spent convictions legislation.

The following links may be helpful in sourcing information on spent convictions in your State/Territory:

• Commonwealth www.comlaw.gov.au

• New South Wales www.legislation.nsw.gov.au

• Queensland www.legislation.qld.gov.au

• South Australia www.legislation.sa.gov.au

• Victoria Police www.police.vic.gov.au

• Western Australia www.slp.wa.gov.au

• Northern Territory www.dcm.nt.gov.au/

• Australian Capital Territory www.legislation.act.gov.au

• Tasmania www.thelaw.tas.gov.au

LIMITATIONS ON ACCURACY AND USE OF PHI

While every care has been taken by ACIC and police agencies to conduct a search of PHI that relates to the Applicant, the accuracy and quality of an NPHC issued by ACIC depends on accurate identification of the Applicant (including aliases), the comprehensiveness of police records and is based on the information provided via the Checked Australia National Police History Check online application form. If the Applicant does not complete the information requirements on the Checked Australia National Police History Check online application form, the success and validity of the NPHC will be compromised. It is in your interest to provide full and complete details on the Checked Australia National Police History Check online application form. If for any reason you do not agree with the results of your NPHC, please notify Checked Australia Pty Ltd t/as Checked Australia (Checked.com.au) (ABN 60 601 427 454) of Level 10, 157 Walker Street, North Sydney, NSW, 2060 so that the NPCS dispute process can be initiated.

ACIC CONTACT DETAILS

For more information regarding the NPHC process or the handling of Personal Information and Police History Information, you can contact the ACIC's National Police History Checking Service on:

• Phone: 02 6268 7000 or

• Email: [email protected]

PROVISION OF INCOMPLETE, FALSE OR MISLEADING INFORMATION

An Accredited Organisation and an Applicant must take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information collected or disclosed is accurate, complete and up to date. You are asked to certify that the personal information you have provided on the Checked Australia National Police History Check online application form is correct. It is a serious offence to provide false or misleading information on the Checked Australia National Police History Check online application form.

Our commitment to your privacy

At Checked Australia Pty Ltd t/as Checked Australia (Checked.com.au) (‘Checked Australia’) we are committed to respecting the privacy of our customers.

We are committed to ensuring that you feel secure whenever you deal with us.  It’s also important that you understand how we protect your privacy as well as how, when and where we may use your details.

This Privacy Policy outlines how we manage personal information that we collect and handle about you as a customer, supplier, visitor to our site, a job applicant or as someone who engages with us through social media, other digital services, correspondence or in person as a member of the public.

Legislation Relevant to our organisation regarding Privacy and Information Protection:

As an Australian Privacy Principles ('APP') bound entity, we adopt and are bound to carry out our functions or activities under the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), as detailed in schedule 1 of the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act).

The APP's outline how most Australian and Norfolk Island Government agencies, large private sector and not-for-profit organisations, private health service providers and some small businesses (collectively called ‘APP entities’) must handle, use and manage personal information.

These APP's cover:

• the open and transparent management of personal information including having a privacy policy
• an individual having the option of transacting anonymously or using a pseudonym where practicable
• the collection of solicited personal information and receipt of unsolicited personal information including giving notice about collection
• how personal information can be used and disclosed (including overseas)
• maintaining the quality of personal information
• keeping personal information secure
• right for individuals to access and correct their personal information

Additional to these requirements and guidelines, we maintain an active involvement and engagement with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), whose function is in managing privacy advice, facilitating investigations, complaints and administration with regards to the application of the Privacy Act.

What types of personal information do we collect?

Personal information means any information or opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.

If you are a customer, the personal information we may collect about you might include, for example, your name, gender, date of birth, contact details, address history, employer or employment detail, as well as copies of your identity documents to ensure we have adequately identified you as an individual.

We will also collect other information, some of which may be personal information, including information about your order history with Checked Australia, which areas of the site you visit (see the section “cookies”, below) and records of your communications and interactions with us.

In all cases, the personal information that we collect will depend on the nature of your interaction with us and will only be information necessary for one of our functions and activities.

How do we collect and hold your personal information?

Where it is reasonable and practicable to do so, we collect your personal information directly from you when you sign on as a user, order checks, enter into arrangements with us, correspond with us or provide feedback to us. We will record, collect and hold information in relation to your transactions with us. We may monitor and record your communications with us (including email and telephone) for security, dispute resolution and training purposes.

We hold personal information electronically and in hard copy form (typically electronically through web forms, and when in hard copy, in a secured, controlled and classified manner), both at our own premises and with the assistance of our service providers. Our main database, where all verified records are held, is located in Australia. We implement a range of measures to protect the security of that personal information. We also take measures in respect of destroying or de-identifying personal information that is no longer needed for any lawful purpose.

We will reasonably ensure that personal information we collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete and up to date.

Why do we collect your personal information?

If you are an individual user

The main reasons why we would collect personal information about you are:

• to check and verify that the information you have provided and the personal information located from other sources is correct;
• to place your personal, police check and career information on Checked Australia systems so that prospective employers and employment agencies and other relevant persons authorised by you may view the information through our secure website;
• to administer and provide our products and services to you;
• to communicate with you, our customer;
• to understand the needs of our customers and continuously develop and improve our products and services;
• to protect against fraud or other misuse or loss of data; and
• to ensure your security when visiting our website and to learn which areas of the site are of most interest to you (see the section ‘cookies’ below).

If you are a business/corporate user

The main reasons why we would collect personal information about you are:

• to check and verify that the information you have provided and the personal information located from other sources is correct;
• to comply with our legal obligations to know who has access to the personal information of individuals on our system;
• to administer and provide our products and services to you and your employer;
• to better communicate with our customer;
• to understand the needs of our customers and continuously develop and improve our products and services;
• to protect against fraud or other misuse or loss of data; and
• to ensure your security when visiting our website and to learn which areas of the site are of most interest to you (see the section ‘cookies’ below).

All information will be collected lawfully, fairly and not in an intrusive way.

Why will we disclose information to another organisation?

Checked Australia will disclose your information only in accordance with the professional services we provide.

We want to provide our customers with the very best products and services. At times we may partner with another organisation to support the products and services we offer. Some of our service providers provide services to us entirely or partly from overseas locations (such as employers from other countries confirming details for an for overseas Checking Services). In order to receive those services, we will need to occasionally transfer personal information overseas (this does not include information collected for the fulfillment of the NCCHC).

If you are a customer, to electronically verify certain information (such as employer references, identity documents), it may be necessary to disclose those details to a third party supplier (such as the Document Verification Service or Visa Entitlement Verification Service for the NCCHC). In other situations (with exception to the NCCHC), that third-party who may operate overseas. To conduct a check, it will be necessary to disclose some of your personal information to the entity that will verify the accuracy of your information. For a check relating to another country, that entity will be in that other country and so your information must be disclosed overseas.

In any of these instances, we will ensure that we adequately request your consent and provide you with information relating to which country and who this information will be disclosed to.

If we have asked you to verify information, it will be necessary to share your personal information with our customers when we confirm that you have verified the information.

As you will appreciate in certain circumstances we may be compelled by law to disclose your personal information to various authorities, but it would only be under these circumstances.

This is to your benefit and helps us to provide the products and services you would expect from Checked Australia.

The NCCHC and Accreditation with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC):

Checked Australia is a duly accredited body, in accordance with its agreement, under the 'Agreement for controlled access by duly Accredited Bodies to Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks' ('Agreement') in order to undertake the fulfillment NCCHC's for eligible applicants.

This agreement sets out the obligations and requirements necessary for Checked Australia to maintain accreditation status and access to the National Police Checking Service.

With respect to the disclosure of Police History Information for the NCCHC, we will only disclose this information to those organisations, third-parties that you have expressly consented to, unless we are required by law to do so otherwise.

We will only retain Police History Information for as long as required to fulfil the purpose of the NCCHC, or as otherwise contractually obligated. In the case of the NCCHC, the retention period for police history information is 12 months, after which point the information is destroyed. If you, or an employer require verification of the result after this date, you will need to request another check.

Direct communication of offers and information

The details you give us may be used to inform you about any offers or promotions we think will be of interest to you and to update you on new products and services or changes to our website.

We may also send you details of offers or services provided by our business partners and related Checked Australia entities.

You may at any time choose not to receive these communications.  Doing so will not cost you anything and we will aim to ensure you stop receiving any unwanted communications as soon as possible.

Access to your personal information

You have a right to access your personal information held by Checked Australia.  There is no charge to put in a request to see your information and we can easily provide you with general information such as your name, address and contact details.

If you believe that any information is incorrect or out of date you may of course ask us to correct it.

However, we may need to charge you a small administration fee to cover our costs if you want to access more detailed information or take copies of information on your file.

If you wish to access information or to lodge a complaint about the privacy practices of Checked Australia please put your request or complaint in writing and send it to:

• Privacy Officer
• Checked Australia Pty Ltd t/as Checked Australia (Checked.com.au)
• Level 10, 157 Walker Street
• North Sydney, NSW, 2060
• or send an email to: [email protected]

How safe and secure is the information we hold about you?

We take great care with the information we hold about you.  All information stored electronically is either password protected and/or encrypted at rest using 256-bit encryption algorithms.

In order to ensure we maintain a continuous improvement approach to information security, we maintain and regularly update an Information Security Policy ('InfoSec Policy'). The purpose of this policy is to support the management, and ongoing compliance of our organisation to a set of standards and systems to facilitate protection of personal information.

In essence, the Information Security Policy sets out to ensure that any details are securely protected from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure by way of maintaining:

• Dedicated privacy, information security, and ICT roles across our team members;
• Physical (hard copy, media and soft copy) security by preventing unauthorised access to our premises;
• Computer network security including password security to prevent unauthorised access;
• Incident prevention and management reporting structures;
• Strong password policies, including use of two-factor authentication and password managers to adopt best practices;
• Communication security;
• Undertaking regular staff training regarding security best practices, and prevention measures;
• Limiting access to authorised staff and contractors of Checked Australia, and undergoing background clearances for all staff with access to personal information.

When the information is no longer needed we will take reasonable steps to destroy or de–identify personal information.

What are ‘cookies’ and how do they work?

Cookies are small data files that are downloaded from our web servers and stored on your hard drive.

A cookie is a string of letters and numbers that uniquely identify the computer you are using and the Username and password you may have used to register at the site.

Two types of cookies are used on the Checked Australia site.

The first tracks a visitor’s journey through our site.  This allows us to see at a glance which pages and information is of most interest to visitors.  This type of cookie contains no personal information at all; it is simply a record of your journey through the site.

The second type of cookie exists only for the actual time you are logged on.  These cookies ensure greater security for you by authenticating and identifying whether you are registered for the secure areas of the site - without the need for you to re–enter information.

Most browsers can be configured to refuse to accept cookies.  You can also delete cookies from your hard drive. However, doing so may hinder your access to valuable areas of information within our site.

What if I have a complaint?

At Checked Australia we value our customers.  We will always aim to be fair and responsive.

If you have a complaint you have the right to expect that we will handle it in a friendly and professional way.

When we receive a complaint we look on it as valuable feedback that may help us to improve the services we offer and to ensure your needs are met in a satisfactory and appropriate manner.

If you wish to complain at any time about the handling, use or disclosure of your personal information just write to us at the following address:

• Privacy Officer
• Checked Australia Pty Ltd t/as Checked Australia (Checked.com.au)
• Level 10, 157 Walker Street
• North Sydney, NSW, 2060
• or send an email to: [email protected]

We will make all efforts possible to investigate your complaint and advise you of the outcome as soon as possible.

If the matter is not resolved to your satisfaction you can then refer your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner who can be contacted through the following website: OAIC Website.

More information

You can request further information about the way we manage the personal information that we hold by writing to:

• Privacy Officer
• Checked Australia Pty Ltd t/as Checked Australia (Checked.com.au)
• Level 10, 157 Walker Street
• North Sydney, NSW, 2060
• or send an email to: [email protected]