Last updated: 26 October 2026
Who we are
Finch Accounting is a tax and business advisory practice run by Ashley Gregory CA, trading as Finch Accounting Solutions and Finch Accounting (ABN 63 247 805 249). Ashley Gregory is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and a registered tax agent with the Tax Practitioners Board (registration 26218894). We're based in Croydon, Victoria and work mostly online.
In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" mean Finch Accounting.
This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with, and your rights. It covers our website, finchaccounting.au, and our work for clients.
We handle all personal information in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, and tax file numbers in line with the Privacy (Tax File Number) Rule 2015. As a registered tax agent, we also have a professional duty to keep your affairs confidential.
What we collect
We only collect what we reasonably need to do our work, meet our legal obligations and run the practice. Depending on how you deal with us, this can include:
Contact details: your name, email address, postal address and phone number.
Identity information: your date of birth, identity document details (such as a driver licence or passport) and, for electronic checks, a photo of your face. Before we act for you, we need to verify your identity, as the law and our professional standards require. We keep the verification report, which may include an image of your identity document and your photo, as AML/CTF law requires.
Tax and financial information: income, deductions, assets, bank and investment details, business records, and your ATO, ASIC and super records.
Tax file numbers: only where tax law allows us to collect them.
Information about related people and entities: details of companies, trusts and self-managed super funds, and of related people such as directors, trustees, beneficiaries and members.
Website information: what you type into our enquiry form or a sign-up form (for example, to get our free Payday Super checklist), and technical information such as your IP address, browser type and the pages you visit.
You can make a general enquiry without giving your name, or using a different name. But we can't act for you, or meet our tax and anti-money laundering obligations, without knowing who you are.
Sensitive information
Our electronic identity check may ask you to take a photo of your face, which is matched to your identity document. That is biometric information. It's collected only with your consent and only to verify your identity.
Apart from identity checks, we don't go looking for sensitive information, such as health details. Sometimes it's part of your tax affairs, for example a medical expense or an income protection claim. When it is, we collect it only with your consent or where the law allows, and use it only for that purpose.
How we collect it
Most information comes straight from you: through our website enquiry and sign-up forms, when you ask for a consultation, by email, in online meetings, through secure document uploads and in signed engagement documents.
We may also collect information from others, with your authority or where the law allows. This includes the ATO, ASIC and other government agencies through our agent portals; your bookkeeper, financial adviser, solicitor or previous accountant; your bank feeds and accounting software; our identity verification and screening provider; and public registers.
If we receive information we didn't ask for and don't need, we destroy or de-identify it where it is lawful and reasonable to do so.
Why we use it
We use personal information to:
provide our services, including tax returns, BAS, business structuring, company and trust work, self-managed super fund work, and dealing with the ATO and ASIC as your agent
verify your identity, assess risk and meet our obligations under anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) law, tax law and our professional standards
run the practice, including billing, record-keeping, quality reviews and insurance
reply to your enquiries and send you anything you've asked for, such as a free checklist
send you news and updates, but only if you've agreed to receive them
Every email update we send says who it's from and includes an unsubscribe link. If you unsubscribe, we'll stop within 5 working days. We don't sell personal information.
Your tax file number
We ask for your tax file number under tax law, so we can lodge your returns and deal with the ATO for you. You don't have to give it, and it isn't an offence not to, but the ATO may not be able to process your return properly without it.
We collect, use and disclose tax file numbers only for purposes allowed by tax, super or personal assistance law. We never use a tax file number to identify you for any other purpose. We store tax file numbers securely and limit who can see them. When we no longer need a tax file number for a lawful purpose, we securely destroy or de-identify it.
Who we share it with
We only share your information where it's needed for your work, where you've agreed, or where the law requires or allows it. This can include:
Regulators: the ATO, ASIC, the Tax Practitioners Board and AUSTRAC. AML/CTF law may require us to report to AUSTRAC, and may stop us from telling you we've done so.
Subcontractors: specialist providers who do part of your work on our instructions, such as self-managed super fund administration. We remain responsible for their work and review it before it's relied on.
Our identity verification and screening provider: used to confirm who you are and to screen against sanctions and other lists, as AML/CTF law requires.
Software and cloud providers: for accounting, practice management, document storage, electronic signing and AI tools.
Professional bodies, insurers and advisers: Chartered Accountants ANZ and our professional indemnity insurer, for quality reviews or claims, and our own professional advisers.
Others you've authorised us to deal with, and a possible buyer of the practice, on a confidential basis.
Anyone we share information with must keep it confidential and use it only for the purpose we gave it to them.
Overseas providers
Some of our software, cloud and AI providers, and their own subcontractors, store or process information outside Australia. This mainly happens in the United States, and may also happen in other countries where those providers operate. A subcontractor may also be based overseas.
Before we use a provider, we take reasonable steps to satisfy ourselves that it handles information securely and in line with the Australian Privacy Principles. We aim to use only tools that don't train their AI models on client information. A list of our main software providers is available on request.
Technology and AI
We use software, including AI-assisted tools, to support parts of our work.
A person always checks the work. A qualified accountant reviews every piece of work before it's finalised, lodged or sent to you. We remain professionally responsible for everything we provide.
Clear limits on what goes in. The most sensitive details, such as tax file numbers and account numbers, stay out of AI tools, and other personal information is limited to what each task needs. We only use providers that keep your information secure and confidential.
No decisions by computer alone. We don't use AI or any other computer program to make a decision about you, on its own, that significantly affects your rights or interests.
Identity checks. When we take on a client, an electronic service helps us verify your identity and check for matches on sanctions and similar lists and in public news sources. It uses your name, date of birth, address, identity document details and, for some checks, a photo of your face. A person reviews every result and decides whether we can act for you.
Our website and cookies
Our website is hosted on a third-party platform. It uses cookies and similar technology to make the site work and to give us summary statistics about how it's used, such as which pages are visited. If we advertise online, the advertising platform may also use cookies to tell us whether an ad led to an enquiry. We don't use this information to identify you personally.
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, though some parts of the site may not work properly as a result.
Keeping it safe
We take reasonable steps, both technical and organisational, to protect your information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, change or disclosure. These include access-controlled cloud systems, multi-factor authentication, secure upload links and limiting access to people who need it.
Standard email isn't encrypted, so please don't email tax file numbers or identity documents. Ask us for a secure upload link instead.
If a data breach is likely to cause you serious harm, we'll tell you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as the law requires.
How long we keep it
Client files, tax records and working papers: generally 7 years after the work is done, and longer for some company, trust and super fund records where the law requires.
AML/CTF records: 7 years after our relationship with you ends, as AML/CTF law requires.
Enquiries that don't go ahead, and marketing details: only as long as we reasonably need them, or until you unsubscribe.
After that, we securely destroy or de-identify the information. Copies in backup systems are removed as those backups cycle out.
Access and correction
You can ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct anything that's wrong, out of date or incomplete. Email us and we'll respond within 30 days. There's no charge to make a request, but we may charge a reasonable fee for providing copies.
We may need to confirm who you are first. Sometimes the law allows or requires us to refuse access, for example where giving it would breach AML/CTF law. If we refuse, we'll tell you why where we can, and how to complain.
Complaints
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your personal information, email us with the details. We'll acknowledge your complaint within 7 days and aim to resolve it within 30 days.
If you're not satisfied with our response, you can contact the OAIC at oaic.gov.au, on 1300 363 992, or at GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001. If your complaint is about a tax agent service, you can also contact the Tax Practitioners Board at tpb.gov.au/complaints.
Contact us
Privacy contact: Ashley Gregory
Email: hello@finchaccounting.au
Post: PO Box 10, Croydon VIC 3136
Changes to this policy
We'll update this policy when our practices or the law change. The current version is always on our website, with the date it was last updated.
