With a diverse membership spanning the finance sector, the Australian Finance Industry Association (AFIA) needed a way to simplify privacy management for their members. Helios Salinger took the time to understand their needs and developed a compliance toolkit tailored to members.
AFIA represents more than 150 members in the finance industry, including bank and non-bank lenders, finance companies, fintechs, providers of vehicle and equipment finance, car rental and fleet providers, and more. Since 2000, AFIA has advocated for the advancement of the finance industry by promoting competition, innovation, and better customer outcomes.
One of the biggest challenges for AFIA’s members has been keeping up with their privacy obligations. With ongoing changes to Australia’s Privacy Act, and increasing customer expectations around data handling, members wanted simple, easy-to-understand privacy guidance.
That’s when AFIA began looking for a solution. “We needed something that would simplify privacy management for our members,” explains AFIA Executive Director Membership Services, Melynda Carpenter. “Ultimately, we wanted to empower our members to focus on what they do best: serving their customers.”
In 2024, AFIA partnered with Helios Salinger due to their strong reputation for practical privacy compliance advice. Helios Salinger developed a Privacy Compliance Toolkit for AFIA members that included privacy compliance checklists, templates of key policy documents, plain language guidance, self-assessment tools, and a how-to video. The toolkit is designed to help AFIA members comply with privacy regulations, while also providing guidance for building stronger systems and processes to better protect customers in the financial space.
“Members have told us that the Privacy Compliance Toolkit has been invaluable in helping them meet their privacy obligations and requirements,” says Carpenter. “The result isn’t just a toolkit – it’s also a resource that builds confidence and capability across the industry.”
Helios Salinger works with a wide range of sectors, from finance, education, technology and health to government and community services. With each sector facing unique privacy challenges, Helios Salinger Partner Anna Johnston says it’s important to tailor privacy materials to meet the current and future demands of a sector.
“The privacy compliance challenges for organisations in retail for example are quite different to those operating in education or health,” explains Johnston. “When it comes to financial services, it’s all about strengthening investor and customer trust, and ensuring a return on technology investments, with robust data governance and privacy practices.”
“That’s what we brought to AFIA’s Privacy Compliance Toolkit. Not only does it help to meet their members’ most immediate privacy compliance needs, it also offers a roadmap for organisations to uplift the maturity of their practices as the regulatory landscape changes.”
Johnston recommends that industry and professional associations consider commissioning a similar toolkit for their members, so they can help to address the complexity of their members’ privacy needs. “It’s an extremely valuable addition for any industry organisation whose members need to comply with privacy law.”
Carpenter agrees, saying “partnering with Helios Salinger can make a complex area like privacy compliance far more manageable for your members. It’s a great way to deliver real value to your members, strengthen trust, and demonstrate leadership.”
Helios Salinger can provide industry associations and peak bodies with pragmatic resources, tailored for your members. Find out more.
Let’s connect
Helios Salinger can provide a tailored solution for your privacy and data governance needs.
