What we are about
Charter
“To provide a stable source of long term finance at affordable rates of interest, for Catholic parishes and institutions of the Lismore Diocese and to provide a stable stated return to investors.”
About Us
The Diocesan Investment Fund – DIF – is a financial work of the Diocese of Lismore. We were established in 1964 and have a long and proud history of supporting development projects within the Catholic community.
Individuals and institutions by making an investment in the Fund receive a competitive rate of interest, free of any charges. Investors’ funds are used by the DIF to make loans to enable parish and diocesan development projects to be completed at low cost. Also the DIF’s surplus is used to help fund the pastoral works of the Diocese. Investors can be proud that their funds are being used to support Catholic education, health, aged care and other pastoral works of the Church.
Some recent development projects that have been funded by the DIF are:
- St Agnes Port Macquarie – Emmaus Nursing Home
- Nambucca Valley Parish – Land development
- Sawtell Parish – Marian Grove expansion
- Ballina Parish – Property Sub-division
- Maclean Parish – Rental Property
- Mary Help of Christians Primary School Sawtell
Additional Information
The fund has been established for over 50 years and only lends for Church related projects. We are audited annually and the most recent annual report is available here.
We welcome your investment with the DIF rather than with a profit oriented commercial organisation as a conscious commitment by you to support the Charitable, Religious and Educational works of the Catholic Church. The DIF is designed for investors who wish to promote it’s charitable purposes.
Please see our Identification Statement here.
Privacy Policy
The Diocesan Investment Fund (DIF) is committed to providing you with quality service including respecting the privacy of your personal information. We adopt the principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988(Cth) and the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012(Cth) which came into effect on 12 March 2014. We are committed to protecting personal information we may hold at any time in respect of any individual in accordance with these principles.
Personal Information
Personal information means information or an opinion about a reasonably identifiable individual. The DIF collects and stores your information, including personal and sensitive information, so that we may provide you with our level of service that we know you expect.
The DIF collects information from its investors – name, current mailing and residential addresses, telephone numbers, date of birth, gender, tax file number, bank account details, ID details, details of specific transactions, the balance of your DIF accounts, and any other information that we require to satisfy our obligations under relevant legislation.
How the Fund uses Personal Information
Your personal information is only used to provide you with the services you’ve requested from the Fund. It will only be used for the purposes for which you tell the DIF that it can be used, or to contact you to respond to your needs or enquiries.
We may use your personal information to keep you informed about other products or services that may be of interest to you. We do not disclose your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes.
Transfer of Information
We may disclose your personal information to:
- Any person where necessary in connection with the provision of our services, including to financial institutions;
- Government and regulatory authorities and other organisations as required by law:
- Our professional advisors, including our accountants, auditors and lawyers;
- Outsourced service providers including information and technology services;
- Your agents or your representatives with your consent.
Security
We take all reasonable steps to ensure the security of your personal information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access or disclosure, whether that information is in physical or electronic form. We use appropriate security measures, technology and internal procedures and access policies to protect your personal information.
You should be aware hat no data transmissions over the Internet can be guaranteed as fully secure. We do not have control over the transfer of personal information over the Internet and we cannot guarantee its security. You submit information over the Internet at your own risk.
Access to Personal Information
We take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is accurate, complete and up-to-date. You have a right to access your personal information at any time. You may also request that the Fund update your personal information if it is ever inaccurate or incomplete.
If any of your personal details are incorrect or you wish to have access to the personal information we hold about you, please contact us on 1800 802 516, email [email protected] or by post to Diocesan Investment Fund, PO Box 482, Lismore NSW 2480
Resolution of Privacy Concerns
If you have a complaint about our treatment of your privacy, please contact the Fund Manager using the contact details above. The Fund Manager will investigate your complaint and endeavour to resolve any issue to your satisfaction.
Complaints Policy
The DIF takes pride in our customer relationships with prompt and reliable service to our investors.
If you are not satisfied with our product or service, or if we do not meet your expectations, please contact us.
You can make a complaint:
- by post in writing and sent to The Fund Manager, PO Box 482, LISMORE, NSW 2480
- by email to [email protected]
- by phone on 02 6622 4237 or 1800 802 516
- in person at our office at 10 Orion Street, LISMORE, NSW 2480
A complaint is “any expression of dissatisfaction made to or about the DIF, related to its products, services, staff or the handling of a complaint where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected or legally required”.
Please provide us with:
- your name and preferred contact details
- your account number
- a description of your complaint
- any relevant supporting documents or information
- details of how you would like us to resolve your complaint
We will:
- deal with your complaint in an efficient and timely manner
- acknowledge your complaint within 1 working day
- investigate your complaint
- attempt to find a fair resolution to your complaint
- normally resolve your complaint within 5 working days
- make every effort to resolve your complaint within 30 days
- keep you informed on the progress of your complaint with regular updates
- respond to your complaint in writing
- provide assistance if you need help lodging your complaint
If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction you can refer your complaint to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), our external dispute resolution provider:
Phone: 1800 931 678
Email: [email protected]
Post : GPO Box 3, MELBOURNE VIC 3001
Web : www.afca.org.au
AFCA provides a fair and independent dispute resolution service that is free of charge.
Disclosure Statement
The Diocesan Investment Fund (the Fund) is required by law to make the following disclosure. The Fund is not prudentially supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority nor has it been examined or approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. An investor in the Fund will not receive the benefit of the financial claims scheme or the depositor protection provisions in the Banking Act 1959 (Cth). Investments in the Fund are intended to be a means for investors to support the charitable, religious and educational works of the Diocese of Lismore and for whom the consideration of profit are not of primary relevance in the investment decision. The investments that the Fund offers are not subject to the usual protections for investors under the Corporations Act (Cth) or regulation by Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Investors may be unable to get some or all of their money back when the investor expects or at all and any investment of the Fund are not comparable to investments with banks, finance companies or fund managers. The Fund’s identification statement may be viewed below or by contacting the Fund.
Diocesan Finance Council
The Diocesan Finance Council exists to assist the Bishop of Lismore in his role of steward and administrator of the temporal goods of the Diocese of Lismore. In performing its duties the Council seeks to ensure that the stewardship and administration of the temporal goods of the Diocese is in keeping with the spirit of the Gospel, the teaching of the Church and the provisions of the Code of Canon Law.
A function of the Diocesan Finance Council is to administer the Diocesan Investment Fund.
The full Council meets quarterly while the DIF Management Committee meets in between, as and when required.
Current membership of the Diocesan Finance Council:
Mr Mark Dougherty, Chair
Mr Peter Liddy, Deputy Chair
Rev Fr Paul Gooley, Vicar General
Rev Fr David Gilbey
Mr Geoff Dwyer
Mr Simon Waterworth
Mr Stephen Sawtell
Current membership of the DIF Management Committee
Mr Michael Shay, Chair
Mr Mark Dougherty
Rev Fr Max Gow
Mr Tony Bazzana
About our Diocese
Diocese of Lismore – www.lismorediocese.org
Catholic Schools Office– www.lism.catholic.edu.au
The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore
ABN 72 863 788 198. AFSL 503537.
