Accessibility
This site is designed to be accessible as possible. Read more information about our accessibility features.
Disclaimer
The Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) does not, and cannot, provide legal advice. The materials and information available on the SBDC website are general in nature and do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. For legal advice specific to your particular facts and circumstances, please contact a lawyer.
The information and advice provided is made available to the general public in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate at the time of release on the internet. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed within the website and that they should verify all relevant representations, statements, and information.
By accessing information at or through this site each user waives and releases the SBDC, the State of Western Australia, and their respective officers, employees, and agents to the full extent permitted by law from any and all claims (including claims in negligence) relating to the usage of the material made available through the website, including in regard to any omission and/or errors. In no event shall the SBDC, the State of Western Australia, or its respective officers, employee or agents be liable for any incident or consequential damages resulting from use of, or reliance on the material.
Translation service disclaimer
This website provides information in languages other than English to improve accessibility and assist understanding for a broader audience.
Translated content may be produced through machine translation tools (including Google Translate) and/or human translation services. While reasonable efforts are made to provide accurate translations, no translation is perfect, and translations may not capture the full meaning, intent, or technical or legal nuance of the original English text. Errors or omissions may occur.
The English version of this website is the official and authoritative version. Where there is any inconsistency, ambiguity, or discrepancy between the English version and a translated version, the English version prevails. Any differences in translation have no legal effect and are not binding for compliance, enforcement, or decision-making purposes.
Translated content is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice. Users should not rely solely on translated content when making decisions that may affect legal rights, obligations, eligibility, compliance requirements, timeframes, or access to programs, services, dispute resolution processes, or financial assistance. Users are encouraged to refer to the English version before acting on any information.
Some content, such as images, videos, or interactive elements, may not be accurately translated due to technical limitations.
If you require clarification, or if the information is important to you, please consult the English version of this website or contact the Small Business Development Corporation for assistance.
Copyright
All material published on any SBDC website is subject to copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non-commercial use or use within your organisation. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved.
Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the SBDC.
Use of the SBDC and other WA Government logos - Logos relating to the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) and the WA Government are not to be used by third parties in hard copy or online publications or communication materials (including, but not limited to, advertising, promotion or display materials) without written permission from the SBDC.
When permission is given, it relates to the logo being used as a means of recognising the SBDC’s support of a particular event, program or initiative; it does not in any way imply general support of the third party’s organisation or any of its other activities.
Photographs of SBDC staff members or its Board members are only to be used in relation to the promotion of events, presentations etc. with the permission of the SBDC. Photographs or logos should not be taken from this website.
The process to obtain permission is as follows:
- Contact us clearly stating your reason for wanting to use the SBDC’s logo and/or photographs of SBDC representatives, also include the name of your main contact at the SBDC.
- Once permission is granted you will receive a copy of the logo and guidelines associated with its use.
- Before print or online publication, final artwork should be forwarded to our Communications and Marketing team for approval.
Privacy
Introduction
The Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) is committed to protecting the privacy of individuals who interact with us, our services, and that we understand that your privacy is important to ensure the effective operation of your business and in your own personal protection.
This Privacy Statement outlines how SBDC collects, uses, stores and discloses personal information in accordance with the Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Act 2024 (WA) (PRIS).
What is personal information?
Personal information is information or an opinion about an individual, whether living or deceased, whose identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained, and may include:
- Name, date of birth, address and contact details
- Location and business-related information
- Government identifiers (e.g. drivers licence number)
- Financial information
- Employment or contractor information
- Technical or online identifiers and communication preferences
- Features of an individual
What is sensitive personal information?
Sensitive personal information can include information that relates to an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, political opinions and associations, religious beliefs, membership of a trade union or association, or criminal record.
It includes health, genetic, genomic and biometric information.
How do we collect personal information?
The SBDC will collect personal information that is necessary to delivery and be effective in our services to you and small businesses throughout Western Australia.
Sensitive personal information will only be collected in limited circumstances as required and permitted under the PRIS Act, including where an individual has consented or where required or authorised by law.
The SBDC will collect information that is fair, reasonable and not unreasonably intrusive, including:
- Directly from you when you contact us, complete any of our forms, attend our workshops, events or interact with our services.
- Through digital platforms
- From authorised representatives acting on your behalf
- From other government agencies, organisations supporting the SBDC or service providers contracted to undertake specific functions directed by or under contract for the SBDC
Where practicable, the SBDC will provide a collection notice explaining why the information is being collected and how it will be used.
Where lawful and practicable, you may interact with SBDC anonymously or using a pseudonym. Please note that this may limit our ability to provide you with specific information or respond to your enquiry.
How we use and disclose personal information
The SBDC only uses and discloses personal information for the purpose of which it was collected, for a purpose you would reasonably expect or as otherwise authorised or required by law.
The SBDC commonly uses and discloses personal information for the purpose of:
- Providing services and responding to enquiries
- Managing marketing and key performance surveys
- Understanding current business operational trends or challenges
- Managing employees, contractors and service providers
- Responding to ministerial or government queries or reporting obligations
- Meeting legal, safety and reporting obligations
- Improving our services, systems and operations.
The SBDC may disclose information to a range of organisations, including but not limited to:
- Local, state and federal government agencies
- Contracted service providers
The SBDC will never sell your personal information.
Examples of how we collect and use personal information
| When you | We may collect | Why we collect it |
|---|---|---|
Contact the SBDC for the purpose of one or more of the following:
| Name, email, contact details, location information, business details, enquiry details | To respond to your enquiry, provide advice or assistance. |
| Attend any of our workshops or events | Attend any of our workshops or events | To ensure you get the most out of our events and to improve our services. Participate in post workshop or event evaluations. |
| Visit our website or interact with our social media pages | IP address, device and browser information, usage data, comments or messages | To improve services, manage digital platforms, respond to enquiries and monitor our performance. |
| Subscribe to communications, including our newsletters, workshops and online forms like the ABR sign up | Name, email, phone number post code, suburb and preferences | To provide requested updates and communications. |
| Seek assistance regarding a business dispute. | Name, email, contact details, business, third party business and contact details, business financial or contract details | To provide advice and initial methods of triaging the dispute and to contact the third-party business on your behalf to negotiate dispute resolution. |
| Apply for grants on behalf of your business | Name, email, contact details, business stage, unique identifiers, business registration and financial data relevant for the application, social media data, other relevant authorised contacts in the business. | To assess your eligibility and viability for business funding. |
| Apply for business migration sponsorship | Name, date of birth, demographic information, email, contact details, unique identifier evidence (Passport and visa), authorised representative contact details, personal and business financial, asset evidence and declarations. | To assess your eligibility and that you have met requirements under the business visa for sponsorship of business investment in Western Australia. |
| Provide services to the SBDC | Authorised contact name, contact details, contract and payment information, business ABN, business address, financial information relevant for those services. | To manage our contracts and service delivery. |
| Apply for a position or being employed at the SBDC | Name, date of birth, contact details, demographic information, qualifications, criminal history, screening information, financial details, employment history, next of kin or emergency contact details. | To assess your eligibility for positions, manage recruitment processes and establish your suitability for employment. |
Storage and security of personal information
The SBDC will take all reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure and that we do so in line with other relevant legislation and WA Government policies and guidelines.
We do this through authorised access controls, patching and back-ups of systems and ensuring that the appropriate systems are utilised for the collection, use and storage of personal information.
Access and correction of personal information
You have the right to request access to your personal information held by the SBDC, or to request correction of personal information if you believe the information is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete or misleading.
In some instances, access to your personal information may be refused or limited as permitted by law.
To make a request for correction or update of your personal information, please contact the SBDC via the details below.
You may request access to documents held about you by the SBDC under the Freedom of Information Act 1992, through our online form.
Transfer of personal information outside of Australia
In limited circumstances the SBDC may disclose personal information to authorised third parties (i.e. migration agents) outside of Australia.
The SBDC will take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is handled securely and in accordance with applicable law and only when you have consented to or authorised the disclosure.
Automated decision making
An automated system is defined as an automated electronic system, including a computer information-processing system or artificial intelligence system.
Automated decision-making is a process under which a decision is made by an automated system without the involvement of any individual, or the making of a decision is materially assisted by an automated system.
Where the SBDC intends to or uses automated systems to assist in decision making involving personal information, we will:
- Undertake an assessment and evaluation on the impact of the automated decision making on the personal information to minimise any harm, bias or discrimination
- Notify you that Automated decision-making is being used
- Evaluate the operation and effectiveness of the process
- Reassess if changes are made to or in the automated decision-making process; and
- De-identify information where practicable.
Privacy complaint
Privacy complaints must be made initially to the SBDC, and can be submitted via our Privacy Complaint Form.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the complaint, you may seek to complain to the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) through their website.
Information Breach
The SBDC is committed to protecting its information and responding appropriately to any suspected, perceived or actual information breach, including practical measures to minimise harm to individuals.
What is an information breach?
An information breach is unauthorised access to, disclosure of or loss of personal information, collected, used, held and shared by the SBDC.
Information breaches can occur through the loss of any information due to human error, insider threats, malicious attacks, systems failure or physical security incidents.
The SBDC is committed to the security and integrity of its information and managing the risk of potential information breaches by ensuring:
- Access to information is granted based on defined roles and responsibilities, and on a need-to-know basis, allowing SBDC employees to effectively carry out their duties.
- Information is only collected and used as required to enable the SBDC to effectively perform its functions.
- Information is shared or disclosed where authorised
- Information is stored in approved systems and managed accordingly, including secure deletion or disposal when no longer required or in accordance with applicable legislation or policy.
- Security updates are applied in a timely manner to SBDC managed systems to reduce risk of malicious activity.
- All SBDC devices are secured in accordance with organisation and State Government security requirements.
- Contracted third parties are bound by SBDC policies and procedures relating to collection, use, storage and disposal of personal information.
Our commitment
We recognise that the privacy of individuals information is important and the security of it has a likely immediate and ongoing impact to any individual and will treat the information as if it is our own personal information.
If a suspected, potential or actual breach occurs, the SBDC will:
- Contain: act quickly to stop further unauthorised access to or disclosure and secure affected information.
- Assess: Undertake an initial assessment of the information involved and the potential impact of the information breach.
- Investigate: Establish the cause of the information breach, how it occurred and confirm what information was affected.
- Mitigate: Take appropriate steps to limit the impact of the information breach and reduce any ongoing risk to the security of the information.
- Notify: Inform the WA Information Commissioner, Chief Data Officer and affected individuals where required, and keep the community informed where appropriate.
- Review: Reassess the incident and strengthen our systems, processes, and training to reduce the risk of occurrence.
Accountability and transparency
- The SBDC maintains a register of suspected, perceived and actual breaches.
- Where required breaches will be reported to the Office of Digital Government and the Office of the Information Commissioner as appropriate.
Your role
If you believe your personal information may or has been involved in an information breach by the SBDC, or you become aware of a possible incident, please report it as soon as possible to the SBDC.
Contact
Privacy Officer
E: PRIS@smallbusiness.wa.gov.au
Level 2, 140 William Street Perth WA 6000
Read the SBDC's privacy policy
Information collected
When you look at this website, our web server makes a record of your visit and logs the following information for statistical purposes:
- your server address
- your top level domain name (eg. .com, .gov, .au, .org)
- date and time of the visit to the site
- pages previously accessed and documents downloaded
- previous site visited
- type of browser used
Our website uses cookies to track usage patterns and traffic trends, and to improve your experience. The information about your use is only analysed on a bulk basis for broad demographic content. Individual use is not analysed.
The SBDC uses industry standard Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption to ensure the highest security for credit card and personal details submitted via our website.
Links to external websites
Material on this website contains links to other external websites not hosted on our domain (www.smallbusiness.wa.gov.au).
Links to external sites are provided in good faith as a service only and do not represent endorsement or recommendation of any information, company, product or service. It is the responsibility of the user to make their own decisions about the accuracy, currency and reliability of information found on external sites.
Downloading material
Where this website includes material intended for download it is provided without charge. Although we have made every effort to ensure that the material provided in the download is complete, current, reliable, free from error and virus contamination, we do not warrant or make any representation about the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of the information or whether the download has been corrupted or tainted by viruses.
