Your privacy and the privacy of your personal information are very important to the RAC.
Our people will always be honest and open in their dealings with you and will only collect information that is necessary for us to deliver the best possible products, services and advice.
Any personal information that we do collect, we keep strictly confidential and it can only be accessed by authorised staff within the RAC and our related and subsidiary companies, including RAC Insurance Pty Ltd ("RAC Group"). The RAC Group keeps, maintains and uses personal information in accordance with the ten National Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act.
Our organisation respects the right of individuals to access their own personal information and their right to choose not to receive promotional or marketing material.
The RAC Group’s agents, contractors and other third parties, who need your personal information to provide a legitimate service, are bound by terms in their contracts to ensure your personal information remains protected at all times.
The RAC Group does not sell personal information.
If you do have any concerns about privacy please speak with one of our Sales and Service Consultants at any RAC Member Service Centre, call 13 17 03, or email privacy@rac.com.au.
Your personal information
Personal information is information or an opinion (whether true or untrue) about an individual whose identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained. To be classed as ‘personal information’, the information must relate to a natural living person.
The RAC Group believes that any personal information we hold about you should be carefully protected to ensure that your privacy is maintained.
Why do we collect personal information?
The RAC Group collects personal information about you for the purpose of assessing your application, providing you with the product or service of your choice and the ongoing administration and managment of that product or service.
The personal information that we need for this varies from product to product. If you wish toknow more general details about the personal information that we collect for a particular product, please speak with a Sales and Service Consultant at any RAC Member Service Centre, call 13 17 03 or email privacy@rac.com.au.
How do we collect this information?
We only collect personal information by legitimate means. We normally collect personal information directly from you over the phone, face-to-face in an RAC Member Service Centre or agency, through the mail using paper application forms or electronically over the internet.
However, in some circumstances, such as when a membership is purchased as a gift, we collect personal information from a third party, this may include friends and relatives.
What if you choose not to provide us with this information?
In general, the nature of our business means that, if you do not provide us with the personal information we need, we will be unable to administer and manage the product or service that you wish to purchase. We will also be unable to assess your application, where one is required, for example to purchase an insurance policy or arrange a personal loan. We will advise you if your failure to provide personal information may jeopardise your application.
To whom could we disclose your personal information?
In the course of administering and managing the product or service you have purchased, including for marketing and promotional purposes, we may disclose some of your personal information to other people or organisations. This may include entities associated with us or that operate under the RAC brand, agents, contractors, organisations with whom we have an alliance or arrangements, and other third parties such as contracted service providers. This will depend on the particular product or service that you have purchased and various other circumstances, some examples are given on the following pages and are not intended to be an exhaustive list.
| Type of Organisation |
Possible Reason for Disclosure |
RAC roadside assistance contractor |
To provide the member with roadside assistance, a tow, a battery and other products & services associated with roadside assistance. |
Mailing House |
To process and dispatch membership renewals |
Plastic card distributor |
To process and dispatch membership cards |
Australia Post |
To deliver Road Patrol magazines |
Marketing House |
To conduct 'Member Satisfaction' surveys |
Other Australian Automobile Clubs |
To provide the member with assistance and when transferring to other clubs |
Mercantile agencies |
Recovery work |
If you have purchased an RAC Insurance policy, we could have reason to disclose your personal details to:
| Type of Organisation |
Possible Reason for Disclosure |
Service providers, such as repairers, suppliers |
To manage a claim |
External claims assessors, loss adjusters or investigators |
To assess a claim |
Reinsurers |
To manage and administer the insurance cover and to manage a claim |
Other insurance companies |
To manage a claim |
Claims reference providers |
To manage a claim |
Insurance agents |
To manage insurance queries |
Contractors such as mailing houses |
To print and distribute renewal and other documentation |
Medical specialists, other health professionals and hospitals |
To manage a claim |
Legal and other professional advisors |
To obtain advice |
Mercantile agencies |
Recovery work |
If you have purchased a loan or investment product through RAC Finance, we could have reason to disclose your personal details to:
| Type of Organisation |
Possible Reason for Disclosure |
Other credit providers |
Credit references/status report |
Credit reporting agencies |
Credit references/status report |
Insurers |
Confirmation of insurance |
Introducing parties (Brokers/Agents) |
Confirming accuracy of data |
Solicitors, executors, auditors, accountants and other professional advisers |
To provide information sought on your behalf, eg. interest paid, payout figures etc |
Mailing houses |
To co-ordinate distribution of annual investor statements or advise changes to our operation which will affect all clients eg. change of Banker |
Mercantile agencies |
Recovery work |
If you have purchased a travel product through RAC Travel, we could have reason to disclose your personal details to:
| Type of Organisation |
Possible Reason for Disclosure |
Airlines |
To complete a travel booking |
Insurance Companies |
To provide travel insurance |
Car rental company |
To complete a car rental booking |
Tour operators |
To complete a travel booking |
Accommodation establishments |
To complete an accommodation booking Mercantile agencies Recovery work |
Mercantile agencies |
Recovery work |
If you have purchased an RAC security product, we could have reason to disclose your personal details to:
| Type of Organisation |
Possible Reason for Disclosure |
Suppliers and installers of alarms and locks |
To supply and install alarm and locks |
Alarm monitoring specialists |
To monitor an alarm |
WA Police Service - Commercial Agents Squad |
Annual inspection of records |
Mercantile agencies |
Recovery work |
The RAC Group may disclose your personal details to market research companies to gather independent feedback from you about the performance of any member of the RAC Group, our contractors and our products and services.
The RAC Group ensures that your personal information is safely archived, if archival is necessary, and securely destroyed by using the services of professional archival and document management companies.
The organisations, that we may disclose your personal information to, are subject to strict guidelines on how they use your personal information and are bound by specific confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements. Also, within the RAC Group, we share information to help us provide you with more efficient service and to keep you informed about RAC products and services. Please contact your nearest Member Service Centre or call 13 17 03, if at any time:
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you would like to know more information about which companies we regularly deal with and what personal information they receive from us; or
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you wish to stop your personal information from being used or disclosed for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.
Can you get access to your personal information?
Generally, you have the right to know all the personal information we hold about you. You can request access to view this information by:
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Calling 13 17 03. We will ask you questions so that we can identify you over the phone.
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Writing to RAC, GPO Box C140, Perth WA 6839 and providing us with details of what you would like to know or see.
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Calling in to your nearest RAC Member Service Centre and providing us with appropriate identification.
How will we handle your request for information?
We will respond to your request as quickly as possible and we will provide you with a written, verified copy of the personal information that we hold. Depending on the nature of your request and the accessibility of the information (for example, information may be archived), we will aim to respond within ten working days, but may be able to respond sooner than this. If it will take us longer than this to access your personal information, then we will inform you of the delay and the reason for the delay.
Why would we not give you access to your personal information?
In some circumstances we may not allow you access to some of the personal information we hold about you and if this occurs, we will write to you to explain our reasons for denying you access.
Some examples of when you might be denied access are if:
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access will pose a threat to the life or health of anyone;
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access would have an unreasonable impact on other people's privacy;
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information relates to anticipated or existing legal proceedings;
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giving access would be unlawful.
What can you do if you have a complaint?
If you believe that there has been a breach of privacy or you do not agree with a decision we have made about your access to personal information, you can make a complaint and we will endeavour to resolve it by following our internal complaint resolution process. You can provide the details of your complaint either verbally or in writing.
When we receive your complaint, we will ensure that it is handled by the most appropriate person. This person will review your complaint, consider the facts and will provide a response as soon as possible, generally within one working day.
If the matter cannot be resolved to your satisfaction, it will be referred to the relevant Manager, who will contact you within five working days.
If the complaint is still unresolved, it will be referred to the General Manager, who will send you our final decision within fifteen days of the date you first made the complaint.
At every stage of the process we will make sure that you are advised about the progress of your complaint.
What if your complaint remains unresolved?
If you are not satisfied with our decision you can direct your written complaint to the Federal Privacy Commissioner at:
Federal Privacy Commissioner
GPO Box 5218,
Sydney NSW 1042
Phone toll free: 1300 363 992
TTY: 1800 620 241
email: privacy@privacy.gov.au
What if this Privacy Policy is amended?
This Privacy Policy may be amended by us from time to time and if we amend this Privacy Policy we will post the changes on this website, make copies available to you in our Member Service Centres or on request, and may publish the amended Privacy Policy in Road Patrol so that you understand what information we collect, how it will be used and to whom it will be disclosed. |