International terms of use

1. These are the Terms of Use the website. By using the website, you agree to abide by these Terms and Conditions of Use.
2. Hive Empire Pty Ltd trading as finder.com (“finder”) is an independent Australian business that provides factual information, general advice and services on a range of products and services.
3. finder is an information service that provides you with the tools and information you need to compare a wide range of products, providers and services. We do not provide information on all available products, providers or services so please appreciate that there may be other options available to you then the products, providers or services covered by our service. You should consider seeking professional advice before acting on any of the information on our site.
4. We are not a product manufacturer nor are we owned by a bank, insurer or product manufacturer. While in some cases we may provide you with general financial product advice we don’t, and won’t, recommend specific providers, products or services. We want to provide you with the information and confidence to make an informed decision but we don’t know enough about you to provide you with advice about your specific needs or circumstances.
5. To provide you with quotes, comparisons, information or advice we may need to collect some basic information about you such as your age, gender and occupation. By clicking “quote” or “enquiry” buttons you’re authorising us to provide your information to an advisor or broker who will call you to provide you with personal advice about your options and available products. By doing this you are also consenting to us retaining your personal information so that we can contact you about other relevant services that we think might interest you (but you can “opt out” of this process at any time by simply withdrawing your consent).
6. We compare insurance data, basic information such as interest rates and application fees. We do not assess if any product is suitable for you. Providing or obtaining an estimated insurance quote through us does not guarantee you can get the insurance. Acceptance by insurance companies is based on things like occupation, health and lifestyle.
7. By providing you with the ability to apply for product we are not guaranteeing that your application will be approved. Any application is subject to the Provider’s terms and conditions as well as their application criteria.
8. We endeavour to ensure that the information and other content on our website is accurate and current but we can’t guarantee the accuracy or currency of the information on which we’ve relied. We suggest that you use your own judgment and independently research the product or service before you make any decision. If you find an error in our data please let us know and we’ll correct our site.
9. To the extent permitted by law, finder disclaims all liability to any person in relation to use of the website, and you waive all claims against finder in relation to your use of the website. finder accepts no liability for any interference with or damage to a user’s computer, software or data occurring in connection with or relating to the website or its use or any website linked to this website, and does not represent or warrant that applications initiated through the website will in fact be received or made to the intended recipient. Users are advised to confirm the application by other means.
10. The website includes links to other websites operated by community, business and government. These linked websites will have their own terms and conditions of use and you should familiarise yourself with these. All linked websites are linked “as is” and finder does not sponsor, endorse or necessarily approve of any material on websites linked from or to this site; does not make any warranties or representations regarding the quality, accuracy, merchantability or fitness for purpose of any material on websites linked from or to this site; does not make any warranties or representations that material on other websites to which this site is linked does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any person anywhere in the world; and does not authorise the infringement of any intellectual property rights contained in material in other websites by linking the website to those other websites.
11. If you have a complaint or dispute in relation our service, please email our complaints handling office.
12. The information and data on the website is subject to change without notice.
13. finder may revise the Terms and Conditions of Use at any time by updating this posting.
14. Unless expressly stated otherwise, finder claims copyright ownership of all material on the website. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form (attaching a copy of this notice) for your personal, non-commercial use. finder reserves the right to revoke such permission at any time.

Selection & ordering of products

1. We believe there is no perfect order or perfect ranking system for the products we list on our Site so we’ve provided you with the functionality to self-select, re-order and compare products. Please don’t interpret the order in which products appear on our Site as any endorsement or recommendation from us. There is no particular basis or system of awards or ratings for the products on this Site. We’re happy to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions, but we’d like you to make your own decisions and compare and assess products based on your own preferences, circumstances and needs.
2. The products listed in the tables on our website are selected based on a number of features including but not limited to:

• Features: including, but not limited to interest rates, annual fees and penalty fees.
• Offers: the availability of offers in relation to particular products.
• Access: whether a financial institution is offering a particular product at a particular time.

Important information

• Range: Comparisons are not intended to be comprehensive of the market of available products and not all providers in the market will be included in our comparisons.
• Ranking: Where products appear on this Site they should not be taken as ranking or endorsing any particular product above another in terms of its suitability for your use.
• Preferences: The identification of a group of products, as ‘Top’ or ‘Best’ is a reflection of user preferences based on current website data. On a regular basis, analytics drive the creation of a list of popular products. Where these products are grouped, they appear in no particular order.
• Qualification: Financial products compared do not compare features that may be relevant to you in your choices about which product to utilise. Where we state that we have analysed offers in the market, the process of analysis is restricted to the information subsequently disclosed and may not be suitable for your personal circumstances.
• Remuneration: Where our Site links to particular products or displays ‘Enquire now’ or “Go to Site’ buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment in relation to your clicking of this link. In some cases we may receive remuneration for referring you to an advisor or product issuer. These arrangements vary but if you are referred to an advisor they will tell you what referral arrangements are in place.
• Deals and Offers: For offers, coupons, deals and discounts, we work hard to ensure that the product and promotional information on our site is current and correct at the time of publication, but providers may subsequently restrict offers, apply additional terms or only have limited qualities available. All deals and offers are subject to availability. Always check the provider’s website before applying for, or purchasing, anything.

To use our secure Services you must

• be at least eighteen (18) years of age;
• have not previously been suspended or removed from our Site;
• register; and
• comply with these Terms and any relevant laws.

Registration. In most cases, you can engage with our Site anonymously. But, if you want to access some features of our Site, you need to be a registered user.

To register for an account, you need to provide certain identifying information about yourself, including but not limited to your email address and other contact information and create a user name and password.

Remember, the finder community is built on us all being direct, honest and open, so by registering as a user you are agreeing to conduct yourself in accordance with these Terms.

Responsibility. You are responsible for your account, your information and the integrity and security of your account.

It’s best not to share your account details but, if you do share your information with anyone else, you’re authorizing them to act on your behalf and authorizing us to accept their submissions and instructions.

If you are worried that your account is not secure, please email us and we’ll help you solve that problem.

Privacy policy

Hive Empire Pty Ltd trading as finder.com (“finder”) is an information service that provides you with the tools and information you need to compare a wide range of products, providers and services. We take your privacy seriously. We have published this policy to show we manage the personal information you provide to us when using our services.

To provide you with information, tools and other services we may collect and retain “Personal Information” that may identify you or contribute to identifying you. “Personal Information” can include information such as your name, email address, your photo, contact details and, in some cases, general financial information. We will not collect your personal information unless it’s necessary to provide the information, advice or service you’ve requested and, where possible, you’ll be able to use our services anonymously.

We will only collect your personal information from you or from someone you’ve authorised to provide it to us. We will also only collect information by lawful and fair means and not in an unreasonably intrusive way.

When we collect your information

When you use our service (or while you’re accessing our services) we may collect personal information about you. Because we take your privacy seriously we will take reasonable steps to ensure that you are aware of:

• who we are and how you can contact us; and
• how you can gain access to the information we have collected about you; and
• the purposes for which the personal information is collected; and
• the organisations (or the types of organisations) to which we may disclose your personal information; and
• the laws that requires us to collect this information; and
• the main consequences (if any) for you if you choose not to provide us with personal information about you.

We provide general advice and comparative information about a range of financial and credit products and can help you connect with businesses that provide relevant products and services. The financial services laws often require us to collect some personal information to provide these services and, if you choose not to provide this information, then there is a chance that the information or advice you receive may not be suitable.

We prefer to collect personal information about an individual only from that individual but when you use our services you may provide us with personal information about someone else. We won’t ask you for personal information about someone else unless it’s needed to provide you with the service, advice or information you’ve requested but if you provide us with information about another person, you need to ensure that you are authorised to disclose that information to us. It’s your responsibility to ensure that they understand how we will collect, use or disclose the information you provide. You need to take reasonable steps to ensure that they understand that we will not take any additional steps to confirm their understanding of these issues.

How we use personal information

We collect personal information from you to provide you with services, advice and information including

• answering your general queries about financial products, credit products and related matters;
• confirming your identity;
• communicating with you;
• administering our services;
• notifying you of the services we offer;
• providing you with ongoing services, reports and information;
• carrying out marketing, training or promotional activities;
• Responding to feedback, comments, or any other contact;
• Sending you email(s) or newsletters to which you have subscribed;
• Carrying out competitions;
• helping you to resolve technical issues with our site;
• helping you to identify products and product providers appropriate for your needs and circumstances;
• referring you to product providers;
• in marketing, educative and promotional material (and then only with your express permission).

By using our services, you consent to us collecting, holding and using your personal information in this way.

We may also access, hold and use aggregated information about the people that use our services. Aggregated information won’t identify you or any other individual but simply provides us with non-personally identifiable data that we’ll use to improve our services, understand our users’ needs and develop tailored content. Although you would have provided us with the information we aggregate for these purposes, it won’t identify you or enable you to be personally identified.

Where we hold your information

The information you provide to us – both personal and general information – is held on our servers within Australia and access to these servers is restricted but we also use secure, cloud based storage. The information we collect is entered into our site by you, imported on your instruction and transmitted across the internet to our systems, agents and servers. By using our service, you are consenting to this process. The service providers who host our servers are not permitted to access your personal information except for the purposes of storing it. Although we will take reasonable steps to protect the information you provide to us, you should appreciate that the Internet itself is not secure and take care about the personal information that you transfer over the internet or by email.

In a limited number of circumstances we may use third party providers to facilitate surveys or mail outs on our behalf or to provide us with analysis to help us improve our services. We will only do this where the Service Provider

• has committed to securing your personal information in a manner consistent with our policy; or
• neither holds, accesses, uses or retains the personal information other than as we have engaged them.

When we will disclose your information

As a general principle, we won’t disclose your personal information without your express permission unless

• we are required to do so by the law, to comply with our obligations or exercise our rights;
• it’s necessary to lessen or prevent a serious and imminent threat to a person’s health, life or safety;
• it’s necessary to lessen or prevent a threat to public health or public safety.

How we maintain accurate information

Although we will take reasonable steps to make sure that the personal information we collect, uses or disclose is accurate, complete and up-to-date, it is your responsibility to ensure that the information you provide to us is accurate, complete and current. You control the information you provide to us and you can correct or update any information you choose to provide to us. If you want us to correct our records simply tell us what needs to be changed and why.

How do we retain and secure your personal information

We will only ask for the information we need to provide you with services, advice and information you request from us. Where we retain your information, it will only be information you provide to us and it will only be collected and used with your express permission. Rest assured that we will, and do, take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold and prevent the misuse, loss or unauthorised use of the information we hold. We will also take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify personal information that we do not need or no longer need to retain.

Although finder maintains a regular plan of recovery in the event of the loss of data stored in relation to products and for the purposes of compliance with internal dispute resolution procedures, we do not routinely store individual personal data except with your express permission. Please be aware that when you engage with us via social media, in a forum or by email you may be providing us with some of your personal information such as names, addresses, phone numbers or email addresses. This information, which may identify you, is generally not retained by us for our broader use.

We believe in openness

This document sets out our approach to the management of personal information and we make this available to anyone who asks for it. If you need to know more, we are more than happy to explain to you what sort of personal information we holds, for what purposes, and how we collect, hold, use and disclose that information. If you need additional information about the Australian Privacy Principles, the Privacy Law or our obligations you can also access the website of The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (http://www.oaic.gov.au/).

You can access your information

If we hold personal information about you, and in many cases we won’t, you can request access to the information we hold. We will not restrict your access to the information unless:

• providing access would pose a serious threat to someone’s life or health; or
• providing access would have an unreasonable impact upon someone else’s privacy; or
• the request for access is frivolous or vexatious; or
• the information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings between you and us;
• providing access would prejudice our negotiations; or
• providing access would be unlawful; or
• denying access is required or authorised by or under law; or
• providing access would be prejudicial or commercially sensitive.

If we can’t provide you with access to the information because of one or more of these reasons (which we will confirm in writing) we will consider reasonable alternatives that may satisfy all parties. You’ll generally be able to access your personal information without cost but, if we think a charge is reasonable it will not be excessive and will not apply to lodging a request for access.

You determine how you’re identified

We only collect the information you provide to us so, when you use or services you can determine how you are identified. You can also choose to remain anonymous. We won’t try to identify by your Government Identifier and we don’t need this information from you.

Where your personal information may end up

Unless you choose to provide disclose your personal information, or instruct us to do so, the personal information we hold will be secured on our servers and not be transferred elsewhere. There are some exceptions, but we won’t transfer personal information to a foreign country unless:

• We believe that the recipient of the information is subject to a law or arrangements that are substantially similar to the Australian Privacy Principles; or
• you consent to the transfer; or
• the transfer is necessary for the performance of a contract between you and us, or for the implementation of pre-contractual measures taken in response to your request.

We will not transfer information contrary to this policy or without your consent or in a manner inconsistent with the Australian Privacy Principles.

How to provide feedback or request access

We believe in openness and we are committed to ensuring that we respect the privacy of those using the exceptional services we provide. If you want to arrange access to your information or have questions about privacy or the use of this site, contact us.

If you have a complaint, you can use the same address or write directly to the Privacy Officer who will try to:

• provide a response within 5 days; and
• investigate and attempt to resolve your complaint within 20 days.

How this policy will be updated

This policy will be updated from time to time and become effective the moment it is posted on our site. If you subsequently use our site or services you are deemed to have a accepted the amended policy

Version Date: 1 September 2017

Please note that if the responding officer determines with good reason that your message is spam we reserve the right not to respond to any message you send and to block your use of this website from the IP address where the spam originates and reserves the right to claim compensation under the appropriate legislation.