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Privacy policy

Heart of Lending Pty Ltd (ABN 92 657 391 341)

Who we are

Heart of Lending Pty Ltd (ABN 92 657 391 341) is a finance broker for home, commercial, asset and equipment lending. We are Credit Representative 534545 of outsource Financial Pty Ltd (ABN 42 131 090 705), Australian Credit Licence 384324. In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" mean Heart of Lending.

We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including the Australian Privacy Principles, and the credit reporting provisions in Part IIIA of that Act and the Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code. This policy explains how we manage personal information, including credit-related information.

Scope of this policy

This policy covers personal information we collect through our website and online tools, by phone, email and in person, and during any lending conversation, application, settlement or ongoing service. It applies to our clients, guarantors, people who enquire with us, referral partners and visitors to our website.

The information we collect

Depending on how you deal with us, we may collect:

  • Identity and contact details: name, date of birth, address, phone, email, marital status, number of dependants, residency and citizenship status.
  • Identity documents and identifiers: driver licence, passport, Medicare card and similar documents we need to verify who you are. We do not use government identifiers as our own way of identifying you.
  • Employment and income: employer, occupation, length of employment, salary, overtime, bonuses, commissions, rental income, government payments and, for self-employed people, business and tax information.
  • Living expenses and commitments: household and personal spending, rent or board, child support, existing loans, credit cards and buy now pay later accounts.
  • Assets and liabilities: property, savings, superannuation, vehicles, investments and debts.
  • Supporting documents: payslips, bank statements, tax returns and notices of assessment, financial statements, contracts of sale, rates notices, loan statements and similar documents.
  • Credit-related information: credit reports, credit scores, repayment history, defaults and other information about your credit worthiness.
  • Property and purchase details: the property, vehicle or equipment being financed, valuations and settlement details.
  • Website and device information: pages visited, the page that referred you, campaign details in web addresses, IP address, browser type and cookie data.
  • Records of our communications with you, including calls, emails and meeting notes.

Information collected through our online tools

Our website includes calculators and home loan comparison and application tools, some provided for us by Qualifi, a product of Salestrekker. When you use these tools you may choose to give us your contact details, your loan requirements, your income, expenses, assets and liabilities, and to upload supporting documents. Where a tool offers it, you may also choose to share bank statements through a secure statement retrieval service.

Information you submit through these tools is sent to us and stored in our client management system so our team can assess your situation, compare options and contact you. Using a calculator on its own does not submit an enquiry.

Sensitive information

We only collect sensitive information, such as health information, where it is relevant to your finance, for example if you ask for help with financial hardship, a medical condition affects your income, or for an insurance product. We only collect it with your consent, unless the law allows otherwise.

How we collect information

We collect most information directly from you, including through our website and online tools, by phone, email, video call and in person. With your consent, or where the law allows, we may also collect it from:

  • credit reporting bodies, such as Equifax, illion and Experian;
  • lenders, lessors and mortgage managers;
  • your employer, accountant, financial adviser, solicitor or conveyancer;
  • valuers, real estate agents and the people who referred you to us;
  • other parties to your application, such as a co-borrower or guarantor;
  • bank statement retrieval and identity verification services; and
  • publicly available sources, such as property and business registers.

If you give us information about another person, such as a partner, co-borrower or guarantor, please make sure they know you are sharing it and that they can read this policy.

Why we collect it

We collect, hold, use and share personal information to:

  • understand your requirements and objectives and find finance options that are not unsuitable for you, as the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 requires;
  • verify your identity and financial situation;
  • prepare, submit and manage finance applications with lenders and lessors, through to settlement;
  • provide ongoing service after settlement, including lending reviews;
  • meet our legal and regulatory obligations, including record keeping, anti-money laundering and our licensee's compliance and audit requirements;
  • manage complaints and disputes;
  • run and improve our business, website and services; and
  • tell you about products and services that may interest you (see Marketing below).

If you don't give us the information we ask for, we may not be able to help you or arrange the finance you want.

Who we share it with

We only share personal information to the extent needed to provide our services or meet our legal obligations. This may include:

  • outsource Financial Pty Ltd, our credit licensee and aggregator;
  • lenders, lessors, mortgage managers, lenders' mortgage insurers and other credit providers you apply to;
  • credit reporting bodies;
  • valuers, solicitors, conveyancers, settlement agents and accountants involved in your transaction;
  • insurers and insurance brokers, if you ask for help with insurance;
  • service providers who help us run our business, such as our client management and application software (including Salestrekker and Qualifi), document signing, identity and bank statement retrieval services, email, IT, cloud storage and website hosting providers;
  • auditors, compliance advisers and professional advisers;
  • the person who referred you to us, limited to the status of your application, with your consent;
  • anyone you authorise to act for you; and
  • government agencies, regulators, courts and dispute resolution bodies where the law requires or allows it.

We do not sell your personal information.

Credit-related information

When you apply for finance through us, and with your consent, we may obtain a credit report about you from a credit reporting body as your agent, or the lender may obtain one. Credit reports may include identification details, consumer credit you have applied for, repayment history, defaults, court judgments and insolvency information. We use this information only to assess and progress your finance application, and we share it only with the lenders and others involved in that application.

Credit reporting bodies may use your information for pre-screening of direct marketing by credit providers. You can ask a credit reporting body not to do this. You can also ask a credit reporting body not to use or disclose your information for 21 days if you believe you have been, or are likely to be, a victim of fraud.

The main credit reporting bodies are Equifax (equifax.com.au), illion (illion.com.au) and Experian (experian.com.au). Each has a policy about how it manages credit information, available on its website.

Overseas disclosure

Some of our service providers, including cloud software and storage providers, may store or access information outside Australia, including in the United States. Lenders and other organisations we deal with may also send information overseas under their own privacy policies. Where we send information overseas, we take reasonable steps to make sure it is handled in line with the Australian Privacy Principles.

How we keep information secure

We store information electronically in secure systems, including our client management system and cloud services with access controls and multi-factor sign-in. Access is limited to the people who need it. Paper records are kept securely and destroyed when no longer needed.

We generally keep client records for at least seven years after we last assist you, as credit laws require. When we no longer need information, we take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it.

If a data breach is likely to cause you serious harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as required by the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

Website, cookies and analytics

Our website may use cookies and similar technology to make it work, to remember your choices and to understand how visitors use it. We may record the page that led you to us and campaign details in the web address. You can set your browser to refuse cookies, but some parts of the website may not work as intended.

You can browse our website and use our calculators without telling us who you are. To get credit assistance, we need to identify you.

Marketing

We may send you information about our services, lending reviews and products that may interest you, by email, SMS, phone or post. You can opt out at any time by using the unsubscribe link in our messages or by contacting us.

Access and correction

You can ask to see the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date or incomplete. Contact us using the details below. We will respond within 30 days. We do not charge for a request, but may charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of providing access. If we refuse a request, we will tell you why in writing and how to complain.

Complaints

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first. We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and aim to resolve it within 30 days.

You can also contact our licensee's Complaints Officer at outsource Financial: info@outsourcefinancial.com.au, 1300 781 481, 406/19 Roseby Street, Drummoyne NSW 2047.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact:

Contact us

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always on this page.