We understand how important your privacy is and we are committed to protecting the personal information you provide to us. The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to disclose to you what information we may collect, how we may collect it, with whom we may share it. This policy also explains the choices you have regarding our collection, use and disclosure of your information.

The Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 (The Act) sets out our obligations, and your rights in regard to the collection, security, storage, use, disclosure and handling of your personal information. The Act lists ten Privacy Principles which the Forester’s Group has agreed to be bound by. This list of Principles and other information regarding The Act can be accessed at www.privacy.gov.au, or by contacting our office.

Foresters Community Finance Ltd and its subsidiary companies are committed to protecting your privacy.

1. Why we Collect Your Personal Information.

1.1.            We will collect your personal information for the following reasons:

• Processing an application you have made for our products and services;
• Providing products and services to you;
• Paying you dividends or collecting loan payments;
• Subject to your consent, providing you with information on services we offer that may be of interest to you;
• Subject to your consent, seeking feedback from you to allow us to improve our products and services; and
• Complying with legislative and regulatory requirements.

1.2.            We will only collect information that is relevant to our relationship with you. This will generally include your name, address, contact details, credit card details to enable purchases, tax file number, ABN number (if applicable) and information sufficient to allow us to process payments to your bank account or provide you with credit services.

In the case of product and/or service purchases, in order to complete the purchase, an online credit card transaction is required. During this process we generate and collect certain verifiable personally identifiable information including: customer’s first and last name, customer’s shipping address, phone number and email address.

2. How we Collect Your Information.

2.1.            Your personal information will usually be collected directly from you through the use of our standard forms, via our website, over the telephone or by email. However, we strongly recommend you do not provide credit card details by email.

2.2.            There may be instances where we have gathered your information indirectly from a third party, as we were not able to collect it directly from you. In these instances we will advise you in advance or as soon as reasonably practicable after gathering the information.

3. Incomplete or Inaccurate Information.

3.1.            The Forester’s Group may not be able to provide you with its products or services if you choose to not provide the basic information we seek in our standard forms.

4. Tax File Numbers (TFNs)

4.1.            The Privacy Act places additional obligations on us in regard to protection of your TFN.

     a.     use your TFN to assist in identification purposes;

     b.     use your TFN to obtain further information; or

4.3.            You are not obligated to disclose your TFN, however without your TFN we are obligated by law to deduct a higher level of tax from any dividend or interest payable to you. This is known as “withholding tax” and is repatriated by us to the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation.

5.1.            We only use and disclose your personal information for the purposes for which the information was collected.

5.2.            We may disclose your information to external parties, on your behalf, such as your financial advisor or bank unless you instruct us otherwise. We may also disclose your information to Government Agencies or our auditors who may lawfully request your information.

5.3.            We may contact third parties such as your employer and other credit providers to verify information you have provided.

5.4.            We may disclose your information to our service providers to enable printing, distribution and administration of your account or to provide necessary documentation on occasions to inform you of important information relating to your account.

5.5.            We may also use your information to advise you of special offers or other products and services. You can choose not to receive these offers by contacting Foresters at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

6.1.            We use industry standard efforts to safeguard the confidentiality of your personally identifiable information. However, please keep in mind that ‘perfect security’ does not exist on the internet. Your information will be secured in both hardcopy and electronic format. Access to it will be controlled by passwords and locked storage cabinets to limit unauthorised use.

6.2.            We can not ensure the security of information you may make public in an on-line chat room or similar forum. Accordingly, please exercise caution when disclosing information in this manner.

6.3.            If at any time we identify unauthorised access to your information, we will immediately communicate with you to allow appropriate steps to be taken to protect your information.

7. Cookies.

7.1.            As with many websites, the Foresters site uses standard technology called ‘cookies’ which are small data files that are transferred to your computer when you allow your browser to accept cookies. Cookies automatically identify your web browser to the site whenever you visit the site, and make it easier for you by saving your passwords, purchases and preferences. By tracking how and when you use the site, cookies help us determine which areas are populated and which are not. Many improvements and updates to the site are based on data obtained from cookies. Accepting cookies allows you, among other things, to personalise your experience on the site. Cookies may also allow the site to present to you advertising which may be of interest to you.

7.2.            If you do not want information collected through the use of cookies, you can generally opt out of providing this information by turning the cookies off in your browser; however, some areas of the site may not provide you with the personalised experience if you have disabled the use of cookies.

8.1.            We collect IP address and or/or click stream data for purposes of system administration and to report aggregate usage for our internal use. An IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you access the Internet. Our computers identify your number by its IP address. When you request web pages from the site, our computers log your IP address.

8.2.            Click stream data is information collected by our computers when you request web pages from our site. Click stream data may include such information as the page served, the time, the source of the request, the type of browser making the request, the preceding page view and other such non-personal information. When analysed, this data helps us analyse how visitors arrive at the site, what type of content is most popular, what type of visitors in aggregate are interested in particular kinds of content.

9.1.            The site may make chat rooms, forums and message boards available to its users. You are not required to provide any personal information when using these areas but you may choose to do so. If you post personal information online, it will be publicly available and you may receive unsolicited messages from other parties.

9.2.            Foresters cannot ensure the security of any information you choose to make public in a chat room, forum or message board. Also, we cannot ensure that parties who have access to such publicly available information will respect your privacy. Please exercise caution when deciding to disclose personal information in these areas.

10. Links to Other Websites.

10.1.        You should be aware that when you are on the site you could be directed to other sites beyond our control. For example if you ‘click’ onto a linked site it will take you off the Foresters site to a different website. These other websites may send their own cookies to you, independently collect data or solicit personal information and may or may not have their own published privacy policies.

10.2.        If you visit a website linked to our site, you should consult that site’s Privacy Policy before providing any personal information.

11. A Note for Parents Concerning Privacy.

11.1.        We do not encourage children to participate in providing us with any personally identifiable information. We ask that children (18 years of age and under) do not submit any personal information to us. If you are a minor under the age of 18 years, please use our services only under the approval and supervision of your parents or legal guardian(s).

11.2.        We support the guidelines and regulatory requirements provided in the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA): http://business.ftc.gov/privacy-and-security/children's-online-privacy

12. Limitation of Liability.

12.1.        By providing us with any personal information you expressly and unconditionally release and hold harmless Foresters Community Finance Limited and its subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agents from any and all liability for any injuries, loss or damage of nay kind arising from or in connection with the use and/or misuse of your collected personal information.

12.2.        While Foresters takes every effort to ensure the proper and appropriate use of data by third party companies (eg banks, credit unions) promotional partners or vendors, Foresters is not liable for any injuries, loss or damage of any kind arising from, or in connection with, the use and /or misuse of your collected personal information by Foresters or the above mentioned non-Foresters entities.

13. Notification of Changes and Acceptance of Privacy Policy.

13.1.        By using this site you signify your agreement to the terms of our Privacy Policy.

13.2.        Foresters may change this policy from time to time. If so, any such changes will be posted on this page so that Foresters may keep its users informed of its information collection practices.

13.3.        We recommend that you consult this page frequently so that you are aware of our latest policy. Your continued use of the site shall constitute your acceptance of such revised Privacy Policy.

14. Correcting and Updating Personal Information.

14.1.        If your personally identifiable information changes (such as your post code) or if you no longer desire to access our site, we will endeavour to provide a way to correct, update or remove the personal data you have provided to us. This can be done by using an opt out message in an email to us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

14.2.        To make any changes to your profile and/or opt out of Foresters Community Finance Ltd website please contact us.

15. Access.

15.1.        You may access the information we hold about you at any time by contacting Foresters at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . We ask that you advise us of any information we hold that requires changing or updating.

15.2.        There is no charge for these service unless the information requested requires significant preparation. We will inform you in advance of any costs associated with your request.

16. Staff Training.

16.1.        We will undertake regular staff, Board and Board Committee training, to increase our awareness of our obligations and your rights in regard to your Privacy, protection of your information and correct use and disclosure of that information.

17. Responsibility.

17.1.        A “Privacy Officer" has been appointed to provide some independent accountability and transparency to our obligations and responsibilities, and protection of your rights under The Act.

18. Complaints.

18.1.        Should you have any concerns or questions in regard to our Privacy Policy please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

19. Contact.

19.1.        Foresters may be contacted on:

Phone: 07 3851 8000

Fax:      07 3257 0291

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Post:     PO Box 742, Fortitude Valley, Qld, 4006.

Or by clicking here.