Privacy Policy

Forrest Financial Services Pty Ltd
ABN: 53 062 028 540
Effective Date: 15 December 2025

About this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy has been adopted by Forrest Financial Services Pty Ltd (“we”, “us” or “our”) including any corporate entity owned or controlled by this company.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information in the course of providing professional accounting, taxation, business advisory and related services, and through our website www.thebuildersaccountant.com.au (the Site).

Our employees, contractors, consultants, professional advisers and any third-party service providers who have access to personal information at our direction are required to comply with this Privacy Policy.

By providing personal information to us, including by using our Site, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, you should notify us and refrain from providing personal information.

We may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any updates will be made available on our Site and the effective date will be updated accordingly.

The Privacy Policy applies in addition to the terms and conditions of our Site.

Our Commitment to Privacy

We are committed to protecting your personal information and complying with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

Further information about privacy rights is available from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au.

Personal and Sensitive Information We Collect

We may collect personal information that you have supplied to us such as your name, age, date of birth, address, and other contact details. We may also collect sensitive information from you with your consent (in specific circumstances).

Personal Information

The type of personal information we collect depends on your dealings with us and may include:

Name, address, email address and telephone number
Date and place of birth
Identification information, including tax file numbers and driver’s licence details
Employment information (current and historical)
Financial information, including bank accounts, investments, loans and shareholdings
Financial circumstances, including assets and liabilities, income and expenditure
Insurance and superannuation information
Credit-related information (where applicable)
Information provided via client questionnaires or surveys
Any other information reasonably required to provide accounting, taxation or business advisory services

Sensitive Information

We collect sensitive information only where necessary and with your consent, or where otherwise permitted or required by law.

How We Collect Personal Information

We may collect personal information directly from you or from third parties through:

Face-to-face, online or telephone meetings
Client onboarding forms and questionnaires
Correspondence by email, post or electronic means
Use of our website and interaction with social media platforms
Communication with third parties on your behalf (including financiers, insurers, professional advisers and the Australian Taxation Office)
Publicly available sources
Using “cookies” or other similar tracking technologies on our website that track website usage, preferences and personal account information.

Use of Personal Information

We collect and use personal information for purposes including:

Providing accounting, taxation, business and strategic advisory services
Preparing tax returns, financial statements and related documentation
Communicating with you in relation to your affairs
Liaising with third parties on your behalf
Website analytics and service improvement
Compliance with legal, regulatory and professional obligation

We do not use personal information for unrelated purposes without consent unless permitted or required by law.

Disclosure of Personal Information

We may disclose personal information:

To enable you to access and use our services and in turn provide our services to you;
For purposes that you consent to such disclosure or for a related purpose where you would reasonably expect such disclosure.
To provide you with direct marketing materials that may be of interest to you such as articles or product brochures or correspondence from our business partners; and
Any circumstance otherwise authorised by the APPs and/or the Privacy Act.

We may disclose your personal and sensitive information to trusted third parties, including the following entities:

To our employees, contractors, and professional advisers who require access to perform their duties

To third-party service providers assisting with IT systems, cloud storage, website hosting or business operations
To government agencies, including the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
To regulatory and professional bodies, including The Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) or Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ), where required
To third parties authorised by you to receive information held by us
Where required or authorised by law, court order or legal process
In connection with complaints, disputes or legal proceedings

Sensitive information is disclosed only for the primary purpose for which it was collected or for a secondary purpose that is directly related to the primary purpose (or as otherwise permitted by law).

Direct Marketing

We may use your personal information to provide you with information about services, publications or events that may be of interest to you. You may opt out of marketing communications at any time by contacting us or using the unsubscribe facility provided.

Cookies Policy

Our Site uses cookies to improve functionality and analyse usage.

Types of Cookies Used

Analytical cookies – to collect statistical information about how users access and interact with the Site
Third-party cookies – to monitor user preferences and assist with targeted advertising and marketing

You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect Site functionality.

Data Security

We take our security obligations seriously and your personal information is regarded as confidential and may be held in both hard copy and/or electronic versions. We will take all reasonable steps to safeguard your information so that it is not misused, lost, modified, accessed by unauthorised persons or disclosed without authorisation.

As responsible data custodians we are familiar with the requirements of the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme and are committed to responding to data breaches in accordance with our obligations under the Privacy Act. We will notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and you 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 any of the individuals to whom the information relates in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Our website may contain links to external websites operated by third parties. The privacy polices of these other websites may not accord with this Privacy Policy and we cannot be held responsible and do not have control of the use of your personal information by these third parties.

As responsible data custodians, any breach of this Privacy Policy by our employees, contractors, consultants, partners and any other entity that at our direction have access to your personal information will invoke disciplinary and possible legal action against the offending party.

Retention of Personal Information

Personal information is retained only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected or to comply with legal, regulatory and professional obligations.

Accessing, Updating and Correcting Your Personal and Sensitive Information

You have a right to access your personal information, subject to exceptions allowed by law. If you would like to do so, please provide us with a request in writing to the contact details listed below. Depending upon the complexity of the request, we will endeavour to respond to you within four weeks of receiving your request. We reserve the right to charge a fee for searching for, and providing access to, your information on a per request basis. Where we cannot provide you with access to all of your personal information, we will provide you with reasons why. We may also require your identity to be verified when you send in your request and prior to sending any substantive response.

If at any time you believe that information, we hold about you is incomplete, inaccurate, irrelevant, misleading or not up to date, please contact us and we will take reasonable steps to correct the information in accordance with the Privacy Act

Complaints and Contact Details

If you have a complaint regarding the way we have handled your information, or have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or your personal information we hold, please contact us by any of the following means:

Email: admin@forrestandassociates.com.au
Phone: (02) 9524 1000
Address: Level 1, 381 Port Hacking Road, Caringbah NSW 2229
Website: www.thebuildersaccountant.com.au

Please make sure to include your name and return contact details with any inquiry.

We will endeavour to respond within a reasonable timeframe. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au.

Policy Effective: 1 July 2025