Privacy Policy

1. About this policy

This policy explains how Volt Business Sales collects, uses, shares and protects personal information. It applies to:

• Volt Business Sales (QLD) Pty Ltd (ABN 24 669 964 336), Level 13, 50 Cavill Avenue, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217, licensed by the Queensland Office of Fair Trading (Licence No. 4176323); and
• Volt Business Sales NSW Pty Ltd (ABN 45 669 979 453), Level 25, 100 Mount Street, North Sydney NSW 2060, licensed by NSW Fair Trading (Licence No. 10086944).

In this policy, "Volt", "we", "us" and "our" mean each of these entities.

It covers personal information we collect through our website, our forms and questionnaires, our agreements, and the business sale, appraisal and Sale Readiness Assessment services we provide. We handle personal information in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles.

Much of the information we deal with is about businesses rather than people. Where business information identifies a person, such as a sole trader, a business owner or an employee, we treat it as personal information.

2. The personal information we collect

What we collect depends on how you deal with us.

If you are selling, or thinking of selling, a business: your name and contact details; identity documents, once you engage us to sell your business (see section 13); details of your ownership of the business; information about the business that identifies you or others, including financial records, tax and BAS information, payroll and staff details, customer and supplier details, contracts and leases; information you give us about your goals, timing and expectations for a sale; and payment details for our fees.

If you are buying, or interested in buying, a business: your name and contact details; your buying preferences and the kinds of business you are looking for; information about your financial capacity and proof of funds; identity documents, once you make an offer (see section 13); the entity you will buy through; and the confidentiality agreements you sign with us.

If you are a business's employee, accountant or adviser: your name, role, contact details and information about your work, which we receive from the business owner during an assessment or sale.

If you work with us as a specialist, contractor or referrer: your name, business details, contact details, qualifications, insurance details and payment details.

If you visit our website: the technical information described in section 11.

3. Sensitive information

Some information is "sensitive information" under the Privacy Act, such as information about criminal records or health. We collect sensitive information only with your consent and only where it is reasonably necessary. For example, we may ask a buyer to confirm in a confidentiality agreement that they have not been convicted of an offence.

4. How we collect personal information

We collect personal information:

• directly from you, when you contact us, meet with us, complete one of our forms or questionnaires, or sign an agreement with us;
• from the business owner, when we carry out an assessment or prepare a business for sale;
• from your accountant or other advisers, with your authority;
• from public sources and registers, such as ASIC and Australian Business Register records, the Personal Property Securities Register, and property title, court and tribunal records;
• from people who refer you to us; and
• through our website, as described in section 11.

If we receive personal information we did not ask for, we decide whether we could have collected it lawfully. If not, we destroy or de-identify it where it is lawful and reasonable to do so.

5. Recording meetings and calls

We may record and transcribe meetings and calls so we have an accurate record of what was discussed. We will tell you before we start recording and ask for your agreement. If you do not want a meeting recorded, tell us and we will take notes instead.

We use recordings and transcripts only for the matter they relate to. We share them only with the people involved in that matter and with the service providers that transcribe and store them for us, and we keep them secure in the same way as our other records.

6. Why we use personal information

We use personal information to:

• provide our services, including Sale Readiness Assessments, appraisals, and marketing and selling businesses;
• match buyers with businesses that suit them, and introduce them;
• prepare information memoranda and other sale documents;
• manage confidentiality agreements, enquiries, offers and the sale process;
• verify information and check it against public records;
• meet our obligations under the licensing laws for agents in Queensland and New South Wales, anti-money laundering law (see section 13), and other laws;
• bill for our services and manage our accounts;
• keep our records and run our business; and
• send you information about our services and businesses for sale, where you have agreed (see section 10).

7. Who we share personal information with

Selling a business means sharing information with the right people, under the right protections. We may share personal information with:

• buyers and sellers: for example, a buyer's details with the seller of a business they are interested in, and a seller's business information with buyers who have signed a confidentiality agreement;
• our specialists: independent professionals we engage to carry out parts of an assessment, such as financial and operational advisers, who are bound by written confidentiality, data security and independence obligations to us;
• professional advisers: your accountant, lawyer, financial adviser or lender, and ours, where needed for the service or the sale;
• service providers who support our business, such as electronic signing, forms and questionnaires, email and office software, customer relationship management, cloud storage, meeting recording and transcription, and AI tools (see section 8);
• identity verification and screening providers, who help us verify identity and check sanctions and politically exposed person lists (see section 13);
• AUSTRAC, where we are required to report under anti-money laundering law (see section 13); and
• regulators, courts and others, where the law requires or allows it, or to protect our rights or the safety of others.

We do not sell personal information.

8. Our use of artificial intelligence

We use AI tools to help us organise, analyse and summarise information, and to help prepare documents. We choose and set up these tools to give personal information an appropriate level of protection.

AI supports our work, but our people remain responsible for the advice we give and the decisions we make. We do not make decisions about you using a computer program without human involvement.

9. Overseas disclosure

We store most personal information in Australia. Some of our service providers, including the providers of our AI tools, may store or process personal information outside Australia, mainly in the United States, and in other countries where those providers operate.

Before we use these providers, we take reasonable steps to ensure they protect personal information in a way consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles.

10. Marketing

With your agreement, we may send you information about our services and about businesses for sale that match your interests, by email, SMS or phone.

You can opt out at any time by using the unsubscribe link in our emails, replying STOP to our SMS messages, or contacting us (see section 20). We never use the confidential information of a business we are selling, or of its owners, for marketing to others.

11. Our website and cookies

When you visit our website, our server records information such as the date and time of your visit, the page you came from, your browser type and your IP address. We use this to run and improve the website.

Our website uses cookies, which are small data files stored on your device. They help the website remember you, for example when you log in, and help us understand how the website is used. We may use analytics tools to understand how visitors use the website.

You can delete cookies, or stop them being saved, through your browser settings. Some parts of the website may not work properly without them.

Our website may link to other websites. We are not responsible for how those websites handle personal information.

12. How we protect personal information

We store personal information in secure systems, with access restricted to the people who need it and protected by reasonable technical and organisational safeguards. Our specialists and service providers are bound by confidentiality obligations.

Buyers receive confidential business information only after signing a confidentiality agreement. That agreement prohibits them from putting the information into AI tools or online services, or sharing it beyond their advisers.

13. Identity checks and anti-money laundering

Volt is a reporting entity under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth). These obligations apply when you proceed with us:

• sellers: when you engage us to sell your business; and
• buyers: when you make an offer on a business, or engage us to act for you.

We do not carry out these checks when you make a general enquiry, complete a questionnaire, sign a confidentiality agreement, or take part in a Sale Readiness Assessment.

At those points, we must:

• verify the identity of our customers, and of the people who own or control them, before we act and throughout our dealings;
• collect and check identity documents, and information about the source of funds and wealth where needed;
• check names against sanctions lists and lists of politically exposed persons;
• keep these records for at least 7 years; and
• report certain matters to AUSTRAC, the Australian Government's financial intelligence agency.

If you do not provide the information we need, we may be unable to act for you. The law may prevent us from telling you that we have made a report. We use information collected for these purposes to meet these obligations and as the law allows, and we handle it in line with the Privacy Act.

14. How long we keep personal information

We keep personal information for as long as we need it for the purposes in section 6, and for as long as the law requires, including the record-keeping requirements of our agent licences. We generally keep records of assessments and sales, and any identity records we are required to keep, for at least 7 years.

When we no longer need personal information, we securely destroy it or de-identify it.

15. Data breaches

If a data breach is likely to cause serious harm to the people whose information is involved, we will notify them and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, as required by the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

16. Dealing with us anonymously

You can make a general enquiry without giving your name. To receive confidential information about a business for sale, or to use our services, you will need to identify yourself and, as a buyer, sign a confidentiality agreement.

17. Accessing and correcting your information

You can ask us for access to the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it. Contact us using the details in section 20.

We will respond within 30 days. There is no fee for making a request. If we refuse a request, we will tell you why in writing, unless the law prevents us.

18. Making a complaint

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, contact our Privacy Officer using the details in section 20. Please describe the issue and what you would like us to do.

We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and aim to respond in full within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.

19. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always available on our website, with the date it was last updated.