Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Blake & Co Pty Ltd trading as Bristax (ABN 56 132 315 989) (Bristax, we, us, our) collects, uses, discloses, stores and protects personal information. It applies to information collected through this website and to information we hold about our clients in the course of providing accounting, taxation, bookkeeping and SMSF services.

We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and, as a registered tax agent, in accordance with our confidentiality obligations under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 and the Code of Professional Conduct.

Last updated: 26 August 2026

The information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

Contact and identity information – your name, postal and email addresses, phone number and date of birth.
Tax and financial information – your tax file number, income and deduction records, bank account details, employment and business records, superannuation and investment information, and identity verification documents we are required to collect under anti-money laundering law.
Information about others – where relevant to your affairs, information about your spouse, dependants, business associates or employees. If you give us information about another person, please make sure they know we hold it and can read this policy.
Website information – when you visit this website we automatically collect basic technical information, including the pages you view, the referring site, your IP address, session information and the date and time of each request. We collect this from every visitor, whether or not you are a client.

We collect this information directly from you (by email, telephone, our online forms, our secure document portal or in meetings), and, with your authority, from third parties such as the Australian Taxation Office, your employer, your bank or your previous accountant.

Sensitive information

We do not seek to collect sensitive information (such as information about health, racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs or political opinions) unless it is directly relevant to the services you have asked us to provide — for example, information relating to a medical expense or disability-related tax offset — and then only with your consent or as permitted by law.

Why we collect and use your information

To provide the accounting, taxation, bookkeeping, SMSF and advisory services you have engaged us for, including preparing and lodging returns and dealing with the ATO on your behalf.
To verify your identity and meet our obligations under anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing law.
To administer our relationship with you, including engagement letters, invoicing and payment.
For our internal record-keeping, quality control, training and to improve our services.
To contact you about your affairs, lodgement deadlines and changes to tax law, and, from time to time, to invite your feedback or tell you about our services. You can opt out of these communications at any time.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not disclose it to third parties for their own marketing or promotional purposes.

Cookies

This website uses only strictly necessary and first-party cookies. Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We use them to provide and secure the site, remember your preferences, identify your device for security purposes and compile aggregate statistical reports about how the site is used. We do not use third-party analytics or advertising cookies. Most browsers let you refuse or delete cookies, although some parts of the site may not work properly if you do.

Who we disclose your information to

We keep your information confidential. We disclose it only:

to the Australian Taxation Office, the Tax Practitioners Board and other government agencies, as required to provide our services or as required by law;
to third parties you have authorised us to deal with, such as your bank, lender, financial adviser, auditor or solicitor;
to our professional advisers, insurers and, where requested, to CPA Australia for the purposes of a Best Practice Program quality assessment;
to the service providers and software platforms we use to deliver our services (including Xero, Microsoft, FYI and Google), and to our IT security providers; and
to our outsourced service provider, as set out below;

and otherwise only with your consent or where we are required or authorised by law to do so.

Overseas disclosure

We use an outsourced service provider, Qcounting Business Services Pty Ltd, to assist us with data entry, bookkeeping and SMSF accounting, tax and audit work. The personnel who perform that work are located in India, and your information is disclosed to, and accessed from, India for that purpose.

In addition, the cloud software and hosting services we use to store and process information may store data on servers located outside Australia, including in the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Singapore.

Where we disclose personal information to an overseas recipient we take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles, including by binding them to written confidentiality and data security obligations, restricting their use of the information to the purposes we specify, requiring them to notify us of any suspected breach, and prohibiting further sub-contracting without our consent. We remain responsible for the services provided to you and we supervise all outsourced work. Clients are informed of these arrangements in our engagement terms. If you do not wish your information to be disclosed outside Australia, please tell us in writing and we will discuss alternative arrangements with you.

Artificial intelligence

We use artificial intelligence (AI) assisted tools to help us deliver our services — for example to organise and extract information from client documents, to draft correspondence, to prepare working papers and to help review files for errors and omissions. These are AI features within our practice software and secure business systems, not public consumer AI services.

Using these tools may involve personal information being processed by the provider of the tool, and that processing may occur outside Australia. Before we adopt an AI tool we assess its security and privacy terms, and we only use tools that are bound by confidentiality and data security obligations, that may use the information only to provide the service to us, and that do not permit personal information to be used to train AI models.

All AI generated output is reviewed and verified by a qualified member of our team before it is used or relied upon. We remain fully responsible for the services and advice we provide. Clients are informed of our use of these tools in our engagement terms, and if you do not wish us to use AI assisted tools in connection with your work you can tell us in writing and we will discuss alternative arrangements with you.

Tax file numbers

We collect tax file numbers only where authorised by taxation law, and we handle them in accordance with the Privacy (Tax File Number) Rule 2015. We use and disclose them only for the purposes permitted by law, and we do not use a tax file number to identify you in our records.

How we protect your information

We take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These include access controls and multi-factor authentication, encryption in transit, secure client portals in preference to email attachments for sensitive documents, staff confidentiality obligations and training, and managed security monitoring of our systems. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and while we take care to protect information sent to us, we cannot guarantee the security of information you send us by email.

Data breaches

If we suspect a data breach involving your personal information, we will assess it promptly and take steps to contain it. Where a breach is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required by the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

How long we keep your information

We retain records for as long as necessary to provide our services and to meet our legal and professional obligations — generally at least five years after the relevant transaction or engagement, and at least seven years for identification and verification records collected under anti-money laundering law. We securely destroy or de-identify information when it is no longer required.

Accessing and correcting your information

You may ask us for access to the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete or misleading. Please contact us using the details below. We will respond within a reasonable period, usually within 30 days. There is normally no charge, although we may charge a reasonable fee for retrieving extensive records. In limited circumstances we may refuse access or correction, in which case we will explain why in writing.

Complaints

If you believe we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles or mishandled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer at contact@bristax.com.au. We will acknowledge your complaint, investigate it and respond to you in writing, usually within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can refer the matter to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always available on this page, and the date it was last updated is shown above.

Contact us

Privacy Officer
Bristax
Email: contact@bristax.com.au