Privacy Policy

Protea Advisory (ABN 57 932 643 882) (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and managing personal information in an open and transparent manner, in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose, and protect your personal information when you visit our website, book a conversation, communicate with us, or engage our management reporting and advisory services.

1.     Information We Collect

We collect personal and business information that is reasonably necessary to provide our management reporting, forecasting, and advisory services, or to operate our website.

The types of information we may collect include:

  • Contact Information: Name, job title, company name, email address, phone number, and postal address.

  • Business & Financial Information: Financial records, accounting data (e.g., via Xero, QuickBooks or MYOB access), budgets, operational metrics, bank statement summaries, and business structure details provided by you to enable us to deliver our advisory services.

  • Communication & Marketing Data: Enquiries submitted via our website contact forms, appointment bookings, email correspondence and feedback.

  • Website & Technical Data: IP address, browser type, device details, pages visited, and cookies when you interact with our website.

Note: We do not intentionally collect sensitive information (such as health data or political affiliations) unless explicitly required and consented to for specific advisory engagements.

2.     How We Collect Personal Information

We collect personal information directly from you when you:

  • Complete a contact form or book a conversation on our website;

  • Communicate with us via email, telephone, or video conference;

  • Engage us to perform advisory services and provide access to your accounting or business systems;

  • Subscribe to our communications or publications.

We may also collect information about you from publicly available sources (e.g., ASIC registers, LinkedIn, or company websites) or from third parties (such as your external accountant or bookkeeper) where you have authorised them to share information with us.

3.     Purpose of Collection, Use, and Disclosure

We collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information for the following primary purposes:

  • Service Delivery: Providing management reporting, cash flow forecasting, and advisory services set out in our engagement agreements;

  • Client Communication: Responding to enquiries, providing updates, and managing client relationships;

  • Business Operations: Invoicing, accounting, contract administration, and internal record-keeping;

  • Website Optimisation: Improving website user experience, site performance, and security;

  • Legal & Regulatory Compliance: Meeting our obligations under Australian law and relevant professional ethical standards.

We will not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties.

4.     Disclosure to Third Parties & Cloud Software Vendors

To deliver our services, we may disclose personal and financial information to trusted third-party service providers, including:

  • Cloud Accounting & Advisory Platforms: Software providers used to deliver reporting and modelling services (e.g., Xero, MYOB, Fathom, Excel/Microsoft 365, or Google Workspace);

  • Website, Booking & Communication Providers: Squarespace (website and forms), Acuity Scheduling (appointment booking), and Google Workspace (email and Google Meet video calls);

  • IT & Storage Infrastructure: Cloud hosting, secure file storage, and cybersecurity service providers;

  • Professional Advisers: Our own legal, accounting, and insurance advisers, bound by strict confidentiality;

  • Regulators & Law Enforcement: Where required or authorised by law, court order, or regulatory body.

5.     Overseas Data Disclosure (Cross-Border Transfer)

Some of the cloud service providers and software platforms we use (such as Squarespace, Acuity, Microsoft, Google, or specialised reporting software) store data on servers located outside Australia, including in the United States.

Where your personal information is processed or stored overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles in relation to your information.

6.     Data Security & Storage

We take the security of your information seriously. We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal and business data from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure.

When personal information is no longer needed for its primary purpose or legal obligations, we take reasonable steps to securely destroy or permanently de-identify the data.

If a data breach occurs that is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required by law.

7.     Accessing and Correcting Your Information

Under Australian Privacy Principles 12 and 13, you have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you, or to request that inaccurate or out-of-date information be corrected.

To request access or correction, please contact us in writing at lee@proteaadvisory.com.au. We will respond to your request within a reasonable time (usually within 30 days) and may ask you to verify your identity before granting access. If we decline a request in circumstances permitted by the APPs, we will explain our reasons in writing.

8.     Cookies and Website Analytics

Our website is hosted by Squarespace and may use cookies and standard web analytics tools (such as Squarespace Analytics or Google Analytics) to collect information about how visitors use the site, such as pages visited and device type. Some of this information, such as IP address, may be personal information. Cookies help us analyse website traffic and improve website navigation. You can disable cookies in your browser settings at any time without affecting your ability to browse our core website content.

9.     Complaints Procedure

If you believe we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles or handled your personal information inappropriately, please submit your complaint in writing to:

Privacy Officer — Protea Advisory
Email: lee@proteaadvisory.com.au

We will investigate your complaint promptly and provide a written response within 30 days. If you are dissatisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

10.  Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version is always available on our website.