Utilised ("we", "us" or "our") provides monthly advisory services — sounding board, board advisory, and capital-raise support — to ANZ-based founders building accounting technology and vertical software with fintech built in. We are committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information we hold, and we handle personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), and any other applicable law. This policy explains what personal information we collect, how we collect, use, store and disclose it, and how you can access it, correct it, or make a complaint.
This policy applies to personal information we collect through our website, in the course of providing advisory services, and through any other interactions we have with clients, prospective clients, business contacts, and service providers.
1. The personal information we collect
Depending on our relationship with you, the personal information we collect may include:
- Identity and contact details — name, job title, employer, email address, phone number
- Professional and business information — company details, corporate structure, financial and operating metrics, capitalisation tables, board and shareholder information, and other commercially sensitive information you share with us for the purposes of an advisory engagement
- Financial information — billing details, and information relevant to valuations, transactions or funding processes we assist with
- Technical information — IP address, browser and device type, and basic website usage data collected through standard web hosting logs
- Communications — records of correspondence, meeting notes, and information you provide when you contact us or engage our services
We do not intentionally collect sensitive information (as defined in the Privacy Act, e.g. health information, racial or ethnic origin) unless it is volunteered to us and reasonably necessary for our engagement, in which case we will only do so with your consent or as otherwise permitted by law.
2. How we collect personal information
Wherever practicable, we collect personal information directly from you — for example, when you email us, engage our services, or provide information during the course of an advisory engagement. We may also collect personal information:
- From publicly available sources (e.g. company registers, LinkedIn, published company filings)
- From third parties you have authorised to share information with us, such as co-investors, existing advisers, accountants or legal counsel involved in the same engagement
3. Why we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information
We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information for purposes including:
- Providing our advisory services, including sounding-board review, board advisory, and capital-raise support
- Communicating with you about our services and managing our relationship with you
- Preparing proposals, engagement terms and invoices, and processing payments
- Complying with our legal, regulatory and professional obligations
- Improving our website and services, and for internal record-keeping and business administration
We only use and disclose personal information for the purpose it was collected, a directly related purpose you would reasonably expect, or a purpose you have separately consented to, unless the law requires or permits otherwise.
4. Disclosure of personal information
We may disclose personal information to:
- Professional advisers (e.g. lawyers, accountants) who need it to provide our services
- Third parties involved in a transaction or engagement with your consent or knowledge (e.g. co-investors, counterparties, other advisers)
- Service providers that support our business, such as cloud storage, email and hosting providers
- Regulatory bodies, government agencies or law enforcement where required or authorised by law
- A prospective buyer or successor in the event of a sale, merger or restructure of our business
We do not sell personal information to third parties.
5. Direct marketing
We do not run a mailing list or marketing communications program. If this changes in future, you will be able to opt out at any time by contacting us (see Section 12) or using the unsubscribe function in any marketing communication. We will not use sensitive information for direct marketing purposes.
6. Disclosure of personal information overseas
We may store or process personal information using cloud-based service providers, some of which may store or process data outside Australia (for example, in the United States). Where we disclose personal information to an overseas recipient, we take reasonable steps to ensure that recipient handles the information consistently with the APPs, including through contractual protections, except where an exception under APP 8 applies.
7. Data quality and security
We take reasonable steps to ensure the personal information we hold is accurate, complete and up to date, and to protect it from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include:
- Access controls limiting who can view personal information
- Encryption of data in transit and, where applicable, at rest
- Use of reputable, security-vetted third-party service providers
- Secure destruction or de-identification of personal information once it is no longer required, unless we are required by law to retain it
8. Access and correction
You may request access to the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. To make a request, contact us using the details in Section 12. We will respond within a reasonable period (normally no more than 30 days). We may need to verify your identity before providing access, and there may be limited circumstances in which we are permitted to refuse a request — if we refuse, we will explain why and how you can complain about that decision.
9. Cookies and website analytics
Our website does not currently use analytics or tracking cookies. If we introduce a tool such as Google Analytics in future, this section will be updated to reflect it.
10. Data breaches
If we become aware of a data breach involving personal information that is likely to result in serious harm to an individual, we will notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and affected individuals in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme under the Privacy Act, and take reasonable steps to contain and remediate the breach.
11. Automated decision-making
Where we use automated tools (including AI-assisted analysis) to help generate benchmarking outputs, valuation ranges or other recommendations that could significantly affect you, we will disclose this in our privacy policy or engagement materials, describe in general terms how the process works, and ensure a person is involved in reviewing any output before it is relied upon.
12. Complaints
If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first using the details below, so we can try to resolve it directly:
Privacy Officer: Guy Pearson, Founder
Email: hello@utilised.io
Address: Sydney, NSW, Australia
We will acknowledge your complaint and aim to resolve it within a reasonable time, generally within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal obligations. The current version will always be available on our website, and the "Last updated" date at the top of this document reflects the most recent revision.
14. Contact us
Utilised
Sydney, NSW, Australia
hello@utilised.io
utilised.io