About this policy
Rio Tax Advisory (Helen Wai, CPA, registered tax agent no. 26369620) keeps your personal information confidential and uses it only to provide our services. This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with and how you can access it.
We handle personal information in line with:
- the confidentiality obligations in the Code of Professional Conduct under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009
- the Privacy (Tax File Number) Rule 2015
In this policy, “we”, “us” and “our” mean Rio Tax Advisory. “You” means our clients, prospective clients, website visitors, and anyone whose information we receive while acting for a client.
1. What personal information we collect
We collect only the information we need to prepare your tax affairs and give you advice. Depending on the work, this may include:
- Identity and contact details: name, date of birth, address, email, phone number and identity documents
- Tax file numbers (TFNs) for you and, where relevant, your spouse, dependants, trusts and companies
- Financial information: income, payment summaries, bank statements, investment and property records, loan details, superannuation, and business accounts
- Family and entity details: information about your spouse, children, trust beneficiaries, directors and shareholders, where needed for your returns
- Health or other sensitive information, only where it affects your tax position (for example, medical expenses or a disability) and only with your consent
- Communication records: emails, notes of meetings and calls, and documents you send us
You can deal with us anonymously or using a pseudonym for general enquiries. To prepare returns or act for you with the ATO, we need your real identity.
2. How we collect and use your information
We collect most information directly from you, when you complete forms, send documents, email us or meet with us. With your permission, we also collect it from:
- the ATO and other government agencies, through our tax agent online services
- your previous accountant, bank, super fund, financial adviser or mortgage broker
- your employer, or other parties you authorise
We use your information to:
- prepare and lodge your tax returns, activity statements and other lodgements
- give you tax advice and planning
- deal with the ATO and other agencies on your behalf
- verify your identity, where the law requires it
- manage our relationship with you, including billing and appointments
- meet our legal and professional obligations
We don't use your information for any other purpose unless you agree or the law allows it. We never sell your information.
3. Who we share your information with
We only share information about your affairs with your permission, or where the law requires us to. Your engagement letter sets out the disclosures you agree to.
| Who | Why |
|---|---|
| The ATO and other government agencies | To lodge returns and act on your behalf |
| Software and cloud service providers | To prepare, store and lodge your work: LodgeIt, Microsoft |
| Other advisers you nominate | Such as your financial adviser, lawyer or mortgage broker, when you ask us to |
| Your previous or future accountant | To transfer your records, with your permission |
| Regulators, courts and tribunals | Only where we have a legal duty, such as a formal notice from the ATO or the Tax Practitioners Board |
Overseas storage: some of our software providers may store data outside Australia. We choose providers with strong security and contractual privacy protections. We do not send work to overseas staff or outsourcing providers.
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools: we use AI tools, such as Agentive and Microsoft Copilot, to help with tasks like drafting emails and documents, summarising information and organising records. When we do:
- a registered tax agent reviews all work, and AI tools don't make decisions about your tax affairs
- we use business versions of these tools whose terms say your information isn't used to train their models
- we treat AI providers like our other software providers, including where they store data overseas
If you'd prefer we didn't use AI tools on your work, tell us and we'll respect that.
4. Tax file numbers
We collect your TFN because tax law authorises registered tax agents to use it to prepare and lodge your tax affairs. Quoting your TFN is not compulsory and it's not an offence to decline. If you don't provide it, we may not be able to lodge your returns, and the ATO may take longer to process them.
We use and disclose your TFN only for purposes allowed by tax, personal assistance and superannuation law. Access is limited to people who need it for your work. We don't send TFNs by unsecured email, and we securely destroy TFN records once we no longer need them by law.
5. Confidentiality
As a registered tax agent, we must not disclose information about your affairs to a third party without your permission, unless we have a legal duty to do so. This applies even after you stop being our client.
6. How we protect and keep your information
We take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access or disclosure. These include:
- secure cloud software with multi-factor authentication
- a secure client portal for sending documents, instead of ordinary email
- strong passwords, encrypted devices and up-to-date security software
- secure shredding of paper records and safe disposal of old devices
- confidentiality agreements with anyone who works with us
We keep records for as long as tax and professional rules require, generally at least five years after the relevant return or work. After that, we securely destroy or de-identify them.
Data breaches: if a breach is likely to cause you serious harm, we'll tell you as soon as practicable and notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) where required. We'll also explain what we're doing about it and the steps you can take.
7. Accessing or correcting your information
You can ask to see the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it. Contact us using the details below. We'll respond within 30 days. We may need to confirm your identity first, and in limited cases the law allows us to refuse access; if so, we'll explain why.
8. Complaints
If you're concerned about how we've handled your information, please contact us first. 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 Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC): oaic.gov.au, 1300 363 992
- the Tax Practitioners Board, for concerns about a registered tax agent's conduct: tpb.gov.au
9. Contact us
Helen Wai, Rio Tax Advisory
Mount Waverley, Victoria
Email: helen@riotaxadvisory.com
Phone: 0433 247 652
10. Our website, cookies and emails
Our website uses cookies and analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, to understand how visitors use the site. These collect information like pages viewed and general location, not your name. You can block cookies in your browser settings.
If you sign up for a checklist or our newsletter, we use your name and email to send it. Every email has an unsubscribe link, and we never share your email with other businesses for their marketing.
Forms on our website send information to us through our email marketing provider, MailerLite.
11. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always on our website.
Last updated: October 2026