Utilizer is a registered trading name of Commercial Connections Australia Pty Ltd ACN 619 577 061 and its affiliate companies (“Utilizer”). In this Privacy Policy, “us”, “we” or “our” means Utilizer.

This Privacy Policy sets out:

  • how we collect, hold, use or disclose personal information and the purposes for which we collect personal information;
  • what happens if we are not able to collect personal information;
  • how to seek access to and correct your personal information;
  • whether we disclose personal information outside Australia; and
  • how to contact us.

We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). (Privacy Act) Telling you about how we manage personal information through this Privacy Policy is part of how we comply with the Privacy Act.

We may, from time to time, review and update this Privacy Policy, including taking account of new or amended laws, new technology and/or changes to our operations. All personal information held by us will be governed by the most recently updated Privacy Policy. If this Privacy Policy changes, we will notify you. Your privacy matters to us, so whether you are new to Utilizer or are a long time user, please take the time to get to know our practices.

What Personal Information Do We Collect

We treat any information that does, or could, personally identify you as personal information. We collect the following types of personal information:

  • name;
  • mailing or street address;
  • previous mailing or previous street addresses;
  • email address;
  • telephone number;
  • age or birth date;
  • profession, occupation or job title;
  • payment information and records;
  • details of the products and services you have purchased from us or which you have enquired about, together with any additional information necessary to deliver those products and services and to respond to your enquiries;
  • any additional information relating to you that you provide to us directly through our websites (including cookies – see below) or indirectly through use of our website or online presence through our representatives or otherwise;
  • information you provide to us through our service centre, customer surveys or visits by our representatives from time to time.

Cookies

When you use the Utilizer Website we also collect your personal information through the use of cookies and other tracking devices. We may send a “cookie” (which is a small summary file containing a unique ID number) to your computer. This enables us to recognise your computer and greet you each time you visit our website, without bothering you with a request to register or log-in. It also helps us keep track of products or services you view, so that we can send you news about those products or services. We also use cookies to measure traffic patterns, to determine which areas of our websites have been visited, and to measure transaction patterns in the aggregate. We use this to research our users’ habits so that we can improve our online products and services.

If you do not wish to receive cookies, you can set your browser so that your computer does not accept them.

Other Website Logging

We may also log IP addresses (the electronic addresses of computers connected to the internet) to analyse trends, administer the website, track user movements, and gather broad demographic information.

Data That Doesn’t Identify You

We may also collect anonymous data (which is not personal information) relating to your activity on our websites (including IP addresses) via cookies, or we may collect information from you in response to a survey. We generally use this information to report statistics, analyse trends, administer our services, diagnose problems and target and improve the quality of our products and services. To the extent this information does not constitute personal information because it does not identify you or anyone else, the Australian Privacy Principles do not apply and we may use this information for any purpose and by any means whatsoever.

How We Collect Personal Information

We collect your personal information directly from you unless it is unreasonable or impractical to do so. We do this in ways including:

  • through your access and use of our website, apps or sending SMS/MMS to us;
  • through someone else who has provided us with your information;
  • during conversations between you and our representatives (e.g. through our call centre); and
  • when you complete an application or purchase order.

We may also collect personal information from third parties including:

  • third party companies such as credit reporting agencies, law enforcement agencies and other government entities where that collection is permitted by law;
  • suppliers of publicly available information (e.g. White Pages and Yellow Pages);
  • advertisers (where the provider of that information has promised us that they have obtained your consent to the collection and on-supply to us);
  • mailing lists (where the provider of that information has promised us that they have obtained your consent to the collection and on-supply to us);
  • recruitment agencies; (to the extent that you are applying for a job with us, to confirm information that you provide, determine work rights, check references and collect other applicant information with your consent)
  • Contractors and business partners (where the provider of that information has promised us that they have obtained your consent to the collection and on-supply to us)

Why Do We Collect, Hold, Use and Disclose Personal Information

The primary purpose for which we collect information about you is to enable us to perform our business activities and functions and to provide best possible quality of customer experience. We collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information for the following purposes:

  • to provide products and services to you including utility comparison and provide you with access to protected area of our websites;
  • to provide you with news, information or advice about our existing and new products and services via email, mail, and SMS and telephone as permitted by law (you can change your marketing communication preferences at any time – by contacting Utilizer’s Customer Support Officer by email at support@utilizer.com.au ;
  • to allow third party organisations to contact you to arrange connection of services and the creation of service delivery accounts if you have authorised us to do so;
  • to conduct trade promotions and competitions on behalf of Utilizer and selected third parties;
  • to verify your identity in order to provide you with services
  • and credit check you where permitted by law to provide you with services ;
  • to provide as part of business data to third parties if you have authorised us to do so;
  • for our administrative, marketing (including direct marketing), promotional, planning, product/service development, quality control and research purposes, or those of our contractors or external service providers;
  • to provide your updated personal information to us, our contractors or external service providers;
  • to investigate any complaints about or made by you, or if we have reason to suspect that you are in breach of any of our terms and conditions or that you are or have been otherwise engaged in any unlawful activity; and/or
  • as required or permitted by any law (including the Privacy Act). This includes disclosure to enforcement agencies if we suspect unlawful activity.

We disclose information to our related bodies corporate, utility service providers, other service providers and partners (“Partners”) for the above purposes, as set out above. Those third party service providers include, without limitation, web hosting providers, IT systems administrators, mailing houses, newsagents, couriers, payment processors, photographic analysers, data entry service providers, electronic network administrators, debt collectors, and professional advisers such as accountants, solicitors, business advisors and consultants;

We ask all Partners that receive personal information from us to comply with Privacy Law. This includes taking reasonable steps to ensure data quality and data security.

Disclosing Information Outside Australia

While all Partners [are based in Australia, data may be hosted overseas because of the use of cloud services.]

Your personal information will not be shared, sold, rented or disclosed other than as described in this Privacy Policy.

What Happens If We Can’t Collect Your Personal Information

If you do not provide us with the personal information described in this policy, some or all of the following may happen:

  • we may not be able to provide you with the products or services you requested, either to the same standard, or at all;
  • we may be unable to tailor the content of our websites to your preferences and your experience of our websites may not be as enjoyable or useful.

Third Party Links and Websites:

We work with our Partner’s third party websites link to them, but we tell you before you link to a third party website because we are not responsible for the content or practices on their website or business. We advise you to check their privacy policy and terms and conditions before using any other party’s website or services.

Direct Marketing Materials:

If you indicate a preference for a method of communication, we will endeavour to use that method whenever practical to do so.

In addition, at any time, you may opt-out of receiving marketing communications from us by contacting us (details below) or by using the opt-out facilities provided (e.g. an unsubscribe link), or by contacting us using the details below. We will then ensure that your name is removed from our mailing list. We do not provide your personal information to other organisations for the purposes of direct marketing unless expressly authorised by you.

Even if you do opt out of receiving marketing communications from you, you agree that we may still send you information relevant to the supply of any services arranged by us.

If you receive communications from us that you believe have been sent to you other than in accordance with this policy, or in breach of any law, please contact us using the details provided below.

Surveys:

We may conduct surveys from time to time to measure consumer satisfaction and alignment. Survey may also be conducted to improve our system, processes and benefits. This information sourced through you will be used for our internal analysis or for generalization purpose. You can always opt out or choose not to participate in these surveys.

Accessing and Correcting Your Personal Information:

You may request access to any personal information we hold about you at any time by contacting us (details below). To protect the security of your data, we will ask you to verify your identity where you make an access request. Where we hold information that you are entitled to access, we will try to provide you with suitable means of accessing it (for example, by mailing or emailing it to you). After identify verification, we will endeavour to process your access request within 30 days, but will let you know if it takes longer.

We will not charge for simply making a request and will not charge for making any corrections to your personal information. There may be instances where we cannot grant you access to the personal information we hold. For example, we will not grant access to personal information that belongs to others. If that happens, we will give you written reasons for any refusal.

If you believe that personal information we hold about you is incorrect, incomplete or inaccurate, then you may request us to amend it. Acting reasonably, we will consider if the information requires amendment. If we do not agree that there are grounds for amendment, then we will add a note to the personal information stating that you disagree with it.

We request that you keep your information as current as possible so that we may continue to improve our service to you.

How You Can Complain About a Breach of Privacy:

If you believe your privacy has been breached by us, have any questions or concerns about our Privacy Policy please, contact us using the contact information below and provide details of the incident so that we can investigate it.

We have a formal procedure for investigating and dealing with privacy breaches. Once the Customer Support Officer receives a complaint, whether it is in writing or verbal means, the Customer Support Officer will commence an investigation with the relevant business unit. The investigator will endeavour to determine the nature of the complaint, what occurred and what the next steps will be. We may contact you during the process to seek any further clarification if necessary. If, acting reasonably, we believe that need to change processes as a result of the complaint, the Customer Support Officer will escalate the matter to management to make it happen. We will also contact you to inform you of the outcome of the investigation. We will endeavour to resolve all investigations within a reasonable time after identity verification (if that is considered reasonably necessary to investigate the complaint. We will endeavour to process your access request within 30 days, but will let you know if it takes longer.

We will treat your requests or complaints confidentially. Our representative will contact you within a reasonable time after receipt of your complaint to discuss your concerns and outline options regarding how they may be resolved. We will aim to ensure that your complaint is resolved in a timely and appropriate manner.

Please contact our Customer Support Officer at:

Email: support@utilizer.com.au
Website: www.utilizer.com.au
Address: Level 24/570 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.

SECURITY

We will take all reasonable steps to protect the personal information that we hold from misuse, loss, or unauthorised access, including by means of firewalls, password access, secure servers and encryption of credit card transactions.

If you suspect any misuse or loss of, or unauthorised access to, your personal information, please let us know immediately.