Privacy Policy

North Financial Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”) provides accounting services and licensed financial advice (including KiwiSaver and investment advice). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal information, and your rights in relation to it, in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020.

Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to all personal information we collect about you, whether you are an accounting client, a financial advice client, a prospective client, or a visitor to our website. Some information is collected because we are required to collect it by law – for example, under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act) and the tax legislation we work under.

Information we collect

The personal information we collect depends on the services you use. It may include:

• Contact and identity details – name, date of birth, address, email, phone number, and IRD number;
• Identity verification information required under the AML/CFT Act – such as a copy of your passport or driver licence, and proof of address;
• Financial information – income, assets, liabilities, KiwiSaver and investment details, bank account details, tax information, and information about your financial goals and circumstances;
• For financial advice clients, the information needed to provide suitable advice – including your objectives, risk tolerance, and investment timeframe;
• Information about your business – where we act for a company, trust, partnership, or other entity;
• Website and technical information – collected automatically through cookies and analytics when you use our website (see “Cookies and our website” below).

We collect personal information directly from you wherever possible. We may also collect it from third parties such as Inland Revenue, KiwiSaver and investment providers, your other professional advisers, identity verification services, and publicly available sources – where you have authorised this or where the law allows.

Why we collect and use your information

We collect and use your personal information to:

• provide accounting and financial advice services to you;
• verify your identity and meet our obligations under the AML/CFT Act;
• prepare and give you financial advice that is suitable for your circumstances;
• implement and administer products you take out on our recommendation, with providers such as Milford and Generate;
• meet our legal, tax, and regulatory record-keeping obligations, including those that apply to us as a licensed financial advice provider;
• communicate with you, respond to your enquiries, and manage our relationship with you;
• protect and enforce our legal rights and interests, including defending any claim; and
• improve our services and our website.

Marketing communications

With your consent, we may use your contact details to send you newsletters, updates, event invitations, and information about our services, including electronically by email or text. You can opt out at any time by using the unsubscribe option in our messages or by contacting us. We will still need to send you communications that relate to the services we provide to you or that we are required to send by law.

Who we share your information with

We do not sell your personal information. We may share it where necessary to provide our services or meet our legal obligations, including with:

• KiwiSaver and investment product providers (such as Milford and Generate) where you take out or hold a product through us;
• Inland Revenue and other government agencies where required;
• our software and service providers who help us run our business (for example accounting software, identity verification, and secure document tools);
• the Financial Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS), where relevant to a complaint;
• regulators and supervisors, such as the Financial Markets Authority and our AML/CFT supervisor, where required by law; and
• other parties you authorise us to share it with.

Some of our software and service providers store information overseas, including in the United States and Australia. Where your personal information is stored or processed overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure it is protected by safeguards comparable to those required under the Privacy Act 2020.

How we store and protect your information

We take reasonable steps to keep your personal information safe from loss, unauthorised access, use, modification, or disclosure. Information held in our software is stored on secure systems with access limited to those who need it, and any personal information held on our staff’s work computers is protected by encrypted hard drives in the event of loss or theft. While we take reasonable care, no transmission of information over the internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure, and you provide information to us over the internet at your own risk.

How long we keep your information

We keep your personal information only for as long as it is needed for the purposes set out in this policy, or for as long as we are required to keep it by law. As a financial advice provider and under the AML/CFT Act and tax legislation, we are required to keep certain records for minimum periods – generally at least seven years – even after our relationship with you ends.

Your rights

You do not have to provide personal information to us. However, if you choose not to provide information we have requested, we may be unable to provide some of our services or information to you.

Under the Privacy Act 2020 you have the right to ask for access to the personal information we hold about you, and to ask us to correct it if it is wrong. To make a request, please contact us using the details below. We may need to verify your identity before we respond. There is generally no charge for an access request, although in some cases a reasonable charge may apply.

Cookies and our website

Our website uses cookies and analytics tools to help it work properly and to understand how visitors use it. You can set your browser to refuse cookies, although some parts of the website may not function as intended if you do. If you follow a link from our website to another website, that website will have its own privacy policy that we are not responsible for.

Information on our website

The information on our website is provided for general information purposes only and to share industry insights about us and our services. We may change or remove the information at any time. It is provided free of charge and does not constitute financial advice or other professional advice, and it is not an endorsement or recommendation of any kind. For information about our financial advice service, please see our Public Disclosure.

Warranties and liability

The security of your personal information is important to us, but no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure. While we use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

We do not warrant that this website, or any linked website or document, is free from error or from viruses or other harmful properties, or that the website will be available at any particular time. We do not provide any warranty or assurance (express or implied) about the information on the website, including its accuracy, quality, completeness, or suitability for any particular purpose. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim liability for all loss or damage of any kind that you may suffer in connection with using the information, the website, or any linked website, however that loss or damage arises, including from negligence.

Privacy breaches

If a privacy breach occurs that we believe has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm, we will notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and affected individuals as required under the Privacy Act 2020.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time by publishing a revised version on our website. The updated policy applies from the date it is published.

How to contact us

If you have any questions about this policy, want to access or correct your information, or wish to make a privacy complaint, please contact:

Privacy Officer, North Financial Ltd

Attn: Adam Clark
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 09 242 6300
Post: PO Box 6044, Otaika, Whangarei 0147

If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your privacy concern, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at www.privacy.org.nz or 0800 803 909.