Last updated: 22 December 2025 

This policy sets out how AHC Finance Pty Limited ABN 35 161 006 846 T/As Clinch Finance (Australian Credit Licence No. 448165) and our related businesses (we/us/our) collect, use and disclose the personal information (including credit-related information) we hold about you.

1. Our commitment to protect your privacy

   
   

We recognise that any personal information we collect about you will only be used for the purposes we have collected it for or as allowed under the law.  We are committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act), including the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), the Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code 2025 (CR Code) and any other relevant law.

2. What this Policy covers

   
   

This Policy outlines how we handle:

• Personal information (information that identifies or could reasonably identify you); and

• Credit-related information (including credit information, credit eligibility information and CP derived information as defined in the Privacy Act), in accordance with our obligations in the Privacy Act and the CR Code. 

  
  

3. Types of information we collect 

   
   

3.1 Personal Information

When we refer to personal information, we mean information from which your identity is reasonably apparent. This may include information or an opinion that relates to you.  The personal information we hold that relates to you may also include credit-related information, and sensitive information (including health information) which may include any information you tell us about any vulnerability you may have.

The types of personal information we collect may include: 

Category: Individual details

Name, address, gender, marital status, date of birth, nationality, bank account details, identification numbers, relevant criminal convictions and offenses, employer, job title and family details including their relationship to you.

Category: Identification details

Identification numbers issued by government bodies or agencies, including your driving license number, tax file number.

3.2 Credit-related Information

The types of credit-related information we collect may include:

Credit information

The information may include personal information or identity details such as name, date of birth, names you may also be known as, address history, driver’s licence number and employment history.

It could also include the type, terms and maximum amount of credit provided to you, including when that credit was provided and when it was repaid; repayment history information, financial hardship information (including information that any repayments are affected by a financial hardship arrangement),  default information (including overdue payments); payment information; new arrangement information; details of any serious credit infringements; court proceedings information; personal insolvency information and publicly available information.

Credit eligibility information

Credit reporting information supplied to us by a credit reporting body (CRB), and any information that we derive from it. This includes your credit score and credit information disclosed to us by a CRB.

We use your credit-related information to assess your eligibility to be provided with finance.  Usually, credit-related information is exchanged between credit and finance providers and CRBs.

If you apply for finance or providing a guarantee, we may also collect details about dependants, cohabitant, length of residence, employment details, and proof of earnings and expenses.

If you apply for any insurance product through us, we may collect information about what is being insured, the beneficiaries, and your health information. We will only collect health information from you with your consent. 

We exchange credit-related information for the purposes of assessing your application for finance and managing that finance.  If you propose to be a guarantor, one of our checks may involve obtaining a credit report through a CRB about you.

When we obtain credit eligibility information from a CRB about you, we may also seek publicly available information and information about any serious credit infringement that you may have committed.

4. Why we collect your personal and credit-related information 

   
   

We collect personal and credit-related information to:

• Assess your application for finance and manage that finance.

• Establish your identity and manage risk, including for compliance with AML/CTF obligations.

• Communicate with you about your account and our services.

• Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

  
  

5. How we collect your personal and credit-related information

   
   

We collect information:

• Directly from you (applications, calls, emails, forms);

• From third parties (CRBs, brokers, advisers, service providers, and/or other third parties or publicly available sources); and

• Through electronic identity verification using government services such as the Document Verification Service (DVS) and other providers with your express consent (see section 13).

  
  

6. Disclosing your personal and/or credit-related information

   
   

We may disclose your personal and/or credit-related information to:

• prospective funders, assignees or other intermediaries in relation to your finance requirements; 

• other organisations that are involved in managing or administering your finance, such as third party suppliers, printing and postal services, call centres, lenders, mortgage insurers, trade insurers and CRBs;

• associated businesses that may want to market products to you;

• companies that provide information and infrastructure systems to us;

• our agents, contractors or external service providers to outsource certain functions, for example, statement production, debt recovery and information technology support;

• any person who represents you, such as finance brokers, lawyers, mortgage brokers, guardians, persons holding power of attorney and accountants; 

• anyone where you have provided us consent; 

• other guarantors or borrowers (if more than one);

• borrowers or prospective borrowers, including in relation to any credit you guarantee or propose to guarantee;

• our auditors, insurers, re-insurers and health care providers;

• claims related providers, such as assessors and investigators who help us with claims;

• government and law enforcement agencies or regulators where we are required to do so by law, such as under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth); 

• investors, agents or advisers, trustees, rating agencies or any entity that has an interest in your finance or our business;

• other financial institutions, for example to process a claim for mistaken payment;

• service providers for the purposes of verifying your identity, including the DVS.

• organisations that provide products or services used or marketed by us; or

• your employer, former employer, referees.

Prior to disclosing any of your personal information to another person or organisation, we will take all reasonable steps to satisfy ourselves that:

• the person or organisation has a commitment to protecting your personal information at least equal to our commitment; or 

• you have consented to us making the disclosure.

  
  

7. Notifiable matters

   
   

The law requires us to advise you of ‘notifiable matters’ in relation to how we may use your credit-related information.  You may request to have these notifiable matters (and this policy) provided to you in an alternative form.

We exchange your credit-related information with CRBs.  We use the credit-related information that we exchange with CRBs to confirm your identity, assess your creditworthiness, assess your application for finance or your capacity to be a guarantor, and manage your finance.

The information we may exchange with CRBs includes your identification details, what type of loans you have, how much you have borrowed, whether or not you have met your loan payment obligations, whether you have entered into a financial hardship arrangement (either with us or some other third party), and if you have committed a serious credit infringement (such as fraud).

If we seek information about you from a CRB in connection with an application for finance made by you (known as a ‘credit enquiry’), your consent to the credit enquiry is not required.  A record of the credit enquiry may be used and, as relevant, disclosed for the purposes of the CRB or a credit provider assessing your credit worthiness, including calculation of a credit score or credit rating (subject to any other use or disclosure limitations under the Privacy Act or CR Code).  

Credit enquiries on your credit report may impact your credit score or credit rating (for example, if multiple credit enquiries have been recorded over a short period of time, that may lower your credit score).  The impact on your credit score or credit rating will depend on the type and amount of finance you apply for, the frequency of credit enquiries and your credit history.

If you fail to meet your payment obligations in relation to any finance that we have provided or arranged, or if you have committed a serious credit infringement, we may disclose this information to a CRB.

You have the right to request access to the credit-related information that we hold about you and make a request for us to correct that credit-related information if needed.  See ‘Accuracy of and access to your personal and/or credit information’ below for further information.  You also have the right to make a complaint to us in relation the handling of credit-related your information.  See ‘Complaints’ below for further information. 

Sometimes your credit-related information will be used by CRBs for the purposes of ‘pre-screening’ credit offers on the request of other credit providers.  You can contact the CRBs at any time to request that your credit-related information is not used in this way.

You may contact the CRBs to advise them that you believe that you may have been a victim of fraud.  CRBs must not use or disclose your credit-related information for a period of 21 days after you notify them that you may have been a victim of fraud.  You can contact the following CRB for more information:

• Equifax Pty Limited – www.equifax.com.au – contact on 13 83 32; see privacy policy at www.equifax.com.au/privacy;

  
  

8. Direct marketing

   
   

We may use your personal information from time to time to provide you with current information about finance, offers you may find of interest, changes to our organisation, or new products or services being offered by us or any company with which we are associated.

You may at any time opt out of receiving marketing information by phoning us on 1800 225 462 or by writing to us at privacy@altx.com.au.  If we are sending you direct marketing by email, you may also use the unsubscribe function.  We will not charge you for giving effect to your request and will take all reasonable steps to meet your request at the earliest possible opportunity.

9. Security and Overseas disclosure

   
   

The personal and credit-related information we hold about you may be held by us in electronic form on our secure servers and may also be held in paper form.  We may use cloud storage, and the cloud storage, and some servers or service providers may be located outside Australia.  We may also disclose your personal and credit-related information to overseas entities that provide support functions to us or to other entities located overseas. The countries in which these recipients may be located may include the United States and the Philippines. 

Before disclosing your personal and/or credit information to an overseas recipient, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that:

• The overseas recipient does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) (other than APP 1); or

• The overseas recipient is subject to a law or binding scheme that provides a level of protection substantially similar to the APPs and offers accessible enforcement mechanisms; or

• You have consented to us making the disclosure. Acceptance of any of our services via an application in writing, orally, or by electronic means will be deemed as giving consent to the disclosures detailed in this document.

  
  

While we take steps to select and secure reputable offshore service providers to protect your information from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, you should be aware that  overseas entities may be required to disclose your information to relevant foreign authorities under a foreign law.  We maintain physical security over our paper and electronic data stores and premises, by means such as locks and security systems. We also maintain computer and network security. 

10. . Accuracy of and access to your personal and/or credit information 

    
    

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that personal and/or credit information is accurate, complete, and up to date, whenever is used, collected, or disclosed. You are entitled to access your personal and/or credit information if you wish and request correction if required. 

You may request that we correct the information by phoning us on 1800 225 462 or by writing to us at privacy@altx.com.au. We will respond to such requests in accordance with the Privacy Act and the CR Code. If you request access to your information, we may charge a fee for our costs of retrieving and supplying the information to you.

11. . Sensitive Information

    
    

We will only collect sensitive information about you with your consent.  Sensitive information is personal information that includes information relating to your racial or ethnic origin, political persuasion, memberships in trade or professional associations or trade unions, sexual preferences, criminal record, or health.

12. . Business without identifying you

    
    

In most circumstances, it will be necessary for us to identify you in order to successfully do business with you.  However, where it is lawful and practicable to do so, we will offer you the opportunity of doing business with us without providing us with personal information (for example, if you make general inquiries about interest rates or current promotional offers).

We are required to collect your personal information to comply with our obligations under Australian law, including our obligation to verify your identity under the Anti-Money Laundering/ Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth). We may verify your identity by using information held by a CRB. To do this we may disclose personal information such as your name, date of birth, and address to the CRB to obtain an assessment of whether that personal information matches information held by the CRB. The CRB may give us a report on that assessment and to do so may use personal information about you and other individuals in their files. Alternative means of verifying your identity are available on request. If we are unable to verify your identity using information held by a CRB we will provide you with a notice to that effect and give you the opportunity to contact the CRB to update your information held by them. Your information may also be used for screening against sanctions and Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) lists, and may be disclosed to regulators (e.g., AUSTRAC) where required by law.

13. Document Verification Service

    
    

To verify your identity, we may collect, use and disclose the information derived from your government issued documents (such as your Australian passport, state or territory driver licence, Medicare card, citizenship certificate or birth certificate) to the relevant government agency via the DVS, provided we have obtained your express consent to do so. 

Our collection, use and disclosure of your information to the DVS to verify your identity is subject to compliance with our legal obligations under the Privacy Act and APPs and our DVS Business User Participation Agreement.  Our use of the DVS may involve the use of third-party systems and services, including Equifax. The DVS verifies supplied information by checking it against information held by the government agency that originally issued that document. You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at privacy@altx.com.au or by phoning us on 1800 225 462. Verification of your identity is necessary for us to perform our functions and activities and provide products and services to you. If you do not provide evidence of your identity, or your express consent for us to verify your identity using the DVS, we may be unable to verify your identity, and you may not be able to receive products and services from us as a result. 

If you wish to make a complaint relating to the collection, use and disclosure of your information for the purposes of verifying your identity with the DVS, you may contact us by emailing us at complaints@assetline.com.au or calling us on 1800 225 462.

You can find more information about the DVS, including information about the operation and management of the DVS Hub by the Attorney-General’s Department, at www.dvs.gov.au.

We do not collect or retain facial images for identify verification purposes. If this changes, we will inform you how such images will be used, disposed of, and whether they will be retained for any purpose. 

14. Complaints

    
    

If you are not satisfied with how we have dealt with your personal and/or credit-related information, or you have a complaint about our compliance with the Privacy Act or CR Code, you have the right to make a complaint. You may contact our complaints officer on 1800 225 462 or by writing to us at complaints@assetline.com.au or privacy@altx.com.au.

We will acknowledge your complaint within 7 days and aim to resolve the complaint as quickly as possible.  We will provide you with a decision on your complaint within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with the response of our complaints officer, you may make a complaint to:

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority:

GPO Box 3
Melbourne VIC 3001
Phone: 1800 931 678,
Internet: www.afca.org.au
Email: info@afca.org.au

or 

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:

GPP Box 5288
Sydney NSW 2001
Phone: 1300 363 992
TTY: 133 677 then ask for 1300 363 992
Internet: www.oiac.gov.au
Email: enquiries@oiac.gov.au

15. Further information

    
    

You may request further information about the way we manage your personal or credit-related information by contacting us. 

16. Changes to our privacy and credit reporting policy

    
    

We may change this policy from time to time or as the need arises.  We will publish any changes to this policy on our website.

You may request this policy in an alternative form by phoning us on 1800 225 462 or by writing to us at privacy@altx.com.au.

Privacy Consent

Credit-related information means both: Credit information, which is information which includes your identity; the type, terms and maximum amount of credit provided to you, including when that credit was provided and when it was repaid; repayment history information, financial hardship information (including information that any repayments are affected by a financial hardship arrangement) and default information (including overdue payments); payment information; new arrangement information; details of any serious credit infringements; court proceedings information; personal insolvency information; and publicly available information; and Credit eligibility information, which is credit reporting information supplied to us by a credit reporting body, and any information that we derive from it.We refer to personal information and credit-related information collectively as ‘information’ in this document.

You can find out more about how we deal with your privacy by viewing our Privacy & Credit Reporting Policy above.

If you do not consent to us collecting, using, holding and disclosing your information in accordance with this document, or do not provide us with your information, we may not be able to arrange credit for you or provide other services. We may disclose your information to third parties, including credit reporting bodies (CRBs), in a form that may enable those third parties to identify you.

If we obtain a credit report about you, that information may be recorded and may affect your credit standing. We may disclose your information to overseas entities that may not be subject to privacy laws or principles that are similar to those that apply in Australia.

If you provide us with this consent, you acknowledge that you may not be able to seek redress for any breach of your privacy which occurs outside of Australia. If you have any questions or concerns about how we handle your information, please contact us by phoning us on 1800 225 462 or email at myloan@clinchfinance.com.au

How we handle your information

You agree to us collecting, using, storing and disclosing information about you.  We can use your information to process your application for a product or services, to market products and services by us and by third parties, to verify your identity by using information held by a credit reporting body (CRB) and using other online resources, and to perform associated tasks.  We can also use your information to comply with laws (for example, the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth). We may collect your information from you or from third parties.

We may, from time to time, collect sensitive information about you, including information about your health.

Access to information and privacy and credit reporting policies

You may gain access to the information we hold about you or obtain a copy of our Privacy & Credit Reporting Policy here or by contacting us on 1800 225 462 or email myloan@clinchfinance.com.au. Our Privacy & Credit Reporting Policy and the privacy policies of the insurers and CRBs we deal with contain information about how you may access or seek correction of your information, see how that information is managed, how to make a privacy-related complaint, and how that complaint will be dealt with.

Exchange information with CRBs

We may give information about you to, and receive information about you from, CRBs, including information about your credit worthiness. CRBs may include information about you and this application in reports provided to other lenders to assist them to assess your credit worthiness. We may inform CRBs if you default, fail to meet your repayment obligations, or commit a serious credit infringement. You can ask a CRB not to use a credit report about you for the purposes of pre-screening or direct marketing. You can also ask a CRB not to use or disclose credit reporting information about you if you have reasonable grounds to believe that you have been, or are likely to be, a victim of fraud.

The CRBs we may share information with are:

·           Equifax Pty Limited – www.equifax.com.au – contact on 13 83 32; see privacy policy at https://www.equifax.com.au/privacy;

·           Illion (Australia) Pty Limited – www.illion.com.au – contact on 13 23 33; see privacy policy at https://www.illion.com.au/privacy-policy; and

·           Experian Australia Credit Services Pty Limited – www.experian.com.au – contact on 1300 783 684; see privacy policy at https://www.experian.com.au/privacy-policy-terms-conditions.

Exchange information with other businesses

We may give or receive information about you to the following types of businesses, some of which may be located overseas. 

other financiers or credit providers;

· finance brokers, funders, mortgage managers, and other people who assist us to provide our products or services;

any person who represents you, including financial consultants, accountants, lawyers, mortgage brokers, persons holding power of attorney, guardians and advisers;

· industry bodies, government authorities, tribunals, and courts;

· investors, advisers, trustees, ratings agencies and other businesses assisting us with funding;

· any person where we are authorised or required to do so by law;

· businesses who provide us with services or systems;

· insurers, valuers, and debt collection agencies;

· persons who are, or are likely to be, co-borrowers with you or to guarantee your loan;

· any person to whom you expressly consent us to share information with;

· any of our related entities or associates;

· our agents, contractors or service providers that we engage to carry out our functions and activities;

· your referees and your employer;

· an organisation that assists us to identify, prevent or investigate any fraud, unlawful activity or misconduct (or suspected fraud, unlawful

· activity or misconduct);

· any person considering acquiring an interest in our business or assets; and associated businesses that may want to market products to you.

Customer identification

We may disclose your name, residential address and date of birth to a CRB or other organisation (including the document issuer or official records holder) to verify your identity.  That organisation will use this information to give us an assessment/report of whether or not the information we have matches information held by the organisation, and that may involve use of third party systems and services.  If we use these methods and are unable to verify your identity in this way, we will let you know.  We may also use information about your Australian Passport, state or territory driver licence, Medicare card, citizenship certificate, birth certificate and any other identification documents to match those details with the relevant registries using third party systems and to record the results of that matching.  This information may be transmitted to New Zealand. 

If you do not consent to us disclosing your information in this way, we will verify your identity in another way, which may involve requiring you to provide various supporting identification documents (either original or certified copies).

Overseas disclosure

We and the businesses we disclose your information to may disclose this information to businesses located overseas, such as in the USA, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, or South Africa.   Overseas entities may be required to disclose this information to relevant foreign authorities under a foreign law.  While we attempt to select and secure reputable offshore service providers, we are not liable for any breach or misuse of information sent offshore.  An overseas entity may not be subject to privacy laws or principles similar to those that apply in Australia.  Any information disclosed to an overseas entity may not have the same protection as under the Australian privacy law.  You may not be able to seek redress for any breach of your privacy which occurs outside of Australia. If we disclose your credit-related information to entities that are located overseas, we will take reasonable steps ensure that the overseas entity does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles in relation to your credit-related information.

Electronic Consent

·   By accepting the Declaration, you consent to receiving notices and other documents from us electronically.

·   You acknowledge that:

· We may no longer send paper copies of notices, statements, disclosures and other documents to you; and

You need to check your email regularly for notices, statements, disclosures and other documents.

·   We will send electronic communications to the email address for service you have nominated in this application.

Acceptance

By electronically consenting you:

·           consent to both the collection, use, holding and disclosure of your information as set out above; and

·           confirm that you are authorised to provide any personal information you provide to us and consent to the disclosure of your name, residential address and date of birth to a CRB or other organisation (including the document issuer or official records holder) for the purposes of electronically verifying your identity.