Notice About Collection of Personal and Credit-Related Personal Information

This is a notice about the collection of your personal and credit information by the Regional Investment Corporation, ABN 99 528 049 038.

We can be contacted on 1800 875 675 or by email at info@ric.gov.au or via our online contact form.

View our Credit Reporting Policy. You can also ask us for a hard copy of this policy at any time, or request it in a different format.

The Credit Reporting Policy is relevant to applicants to the RIC for commercial credit and to individuals listed as a guarantor. It contains information about:

  • how you may access the credit eligibility information about you that we hold;
  • how you may seek the correction of credit information or credit eligibility information about you that we hold;
  • how you may complain about any failure by us to comply with the Privacy Act 1988 Part IIIA, Division 3, or the registered Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code 2014; 
  • how we will deal with such a complaint.

In addition to our Credit Reporting Policy, our general Privacy Policy applies. 

Collection of your Personal and Credit-Related Personal Information

We collect Personal and Credit-Related Personal Information about you when you apply for a loan or make enquiries with us. 

We may also collect Personal and Credit-Related Personal Information about you from Credit Reporting Bodies such as Equifax. 

We are authorised to collect this information under Australian law, in particular the Regional Investment Corporation Act 2018 (the RIC Act) and instruments made under it, such as Rules.

We collect your information for the following purposes:

  • to inform our assessment of an applicant’s suitability to receive a loan and of a guarantor’s suitability to act as guarantor. This assessment is conducted in accordance with the RIC Act and relevant instruments. 
  • Where the applicant is approved for a loan, the RIC will continue using your personal information to manage and administer the loan. 
  • If you opt in to receiving our newsletter, we may use your personal information to send you the newsletter.

If we are unable to collect all or some of your Personal and Credit-Related Personal Information we would be unable to assess eligibility and suitability to obtain a RIC loan or to act as a guarantor, and we would be unable to approve the application for a loan.

Disclosure of your Personal and Credit-Related Personal Information

We only disclose personal information where we believe it is necessary to assist us to fulfill our functions. We usually disclose your personal information to:

  • our agents, contractors, external service providers, external advisors and insurers 
  • other organisations involved in providing and managing your finance, such as our banking institution 
  • other account holders or operators, guarantors or borrowers linked to your loan 
  • your current and former employer, your referees and identity verification services
  • your bank/financier, solicitor, accountant, Rural Financial Counsellor and any advisor/consultants of yours
  • relevant Ministers and other Government entities such as the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, the Department of Finance and the Department of Infrastructure and Water Resources.

We may also disclose your personal information where:

  • we are required or authorised to do so by law
  • you have expressly consented to the disclosure, or the consent may be reasonably inferred from the circumstances
  • we are otherwise permitted to disclose the information under the Privacy Act 1988.

Whether you are an applicant or a guarantor, we may disclose the following personal information to a credit reporting body.

The credit reporting body to whom we usually disclose this information is Equifax.

We make this disclosure to ensure that credit reports are obtained for the correct person:

  • Full name
  • Date of birth
  • Address
  • Occupation
  • Employer
  • Driver licence number and State.

Equifax can be contacted on 138 332 or via Equifax Australia.

We do not usually disclose your information to organisations outside Australia and will only do so if you agree, or if we are authorised or required by law.

A credit reporting body to whom we disclose your credit-related personal information, such as Equifax, may include that information in reports provided to us, and to other credit providers, to assist us and them to assess your credit worthiness.

If you commit a serious credit infringement, we may be entitled to disclose this to the credit reporting body.

Your rights

Your credit-related personal information is important to us. You have the right to: 

  • access your credit-related personal information held by us;
  • request us to correct it;
  • make a complaint to us about the handling of it;
  • request a credit reporting body not to use credit reporting information about you for the purposes of pre-screening of direct marketing by credit providers; and
  • request a credit reporting body not to use or disclose credit reporting information about you, if you believe on reasonable grounds that you have been, or are likely to be, a victim of fraud.
     
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