Society Real Estate respects the privacy of the people we deal with, and uphold high standards of privacy practice and security. The policy explains how we handle personal information and how we interact with you online.
Whenever we handle personal information, we take steps to ensure that the appropriate standards of privacy practice and security are applied.
Society Real Estate sets out why we need to collect personal information, how we collect it, what we do it, how it is stored an who might we share it with. The policy also describes how you can access or correct information we hold about you, how you can ask further questions or make a complaint, and information about our websites and online activities.
The Information we collect
For most property enquiries and transactions, it is necessary for us to collect ”personal information’ such as your name, identity, photos, contact details and transaction information. We may also need to collect other personal details such as gender, marital status, family details and financial information, and other information from which you will be identified.
Sensitive Information
Generally, we do not collect sensitive information about you unless required or permitted by law, or by where you consent to for us to do so. Sensitive information will only be collected if it is relevant to your transaction and/or enquiry or function you are engaging us to provide. If applicable, this will be communicated to you. To support the management of COVID-19 related risks and compliance with our local obligations, we may collect, store, use and or otherwise process some forms of health information.
We will not collect sensitive information about you where this is expressively prohibited by local law.
Why we collect your Personal Information
We collect personal information about you which is reasonably necessary to:
- provide you with quality products, services or transaction opportunities. This may include services directly conducted by Society Real Estate and/or its related entities, or services and activities provided and/or undertaken by entities involved in the various advisory and activities undertaken by Society Real Estate and its related entities.
- consider enquiries, transactions and approaches you make to us
- conduct marketing and social functions
- maintain your contact details
- fulfil our legal obligations
- Without such information, we may not be able to process your enquiry or provide you with an appropriate level of service. In such circumstances, we will process your enquiry and provide you with the most appropriate level of service that we can.
How we collect your information
We collect personal information directly from you – this can be in person, in documents you give us, from telephone calls, emails, your access to our website, or from transactions you have engaged us. We take reasonable steps to be transparent about how and why we collect personal data.
How we store your Information
We keep personal information in physical and electronic records, at our premises and the premises of our service providers, which may include processing or storage in the cloud, which may mean in practice this information is stored outside of Australia. Where this occurs, we take steps to protect the security and integrity of personal information.
We also keep records of our interactions with you (including by telephone, email and online).
How we use your Information
We use personal information about you for the purpose for which it was provided to us, including to:
- process enquiries and transactions
- administer and manage our services
- model and test data
- related analytical tools
- communicate and deal with or investigate any complaints and enquiries
- We may also:
- anonymise your data for our own purposes including market research and new product and/or services development
- use personal information about you for the prevention and mitigation of fraud and other financial crimes
- use or permit our affiliates to use your personal information for related purposes to the extent that is lawful to do so without your express permission. For example, we may from time to time use your personal information to inform you of opportunities or to provide information about products and services which we expect to be of interest to you. However, if you don’t want to receive such communications you can tell us by using one of the methods listed below.
While we may sometimes – where it is lawful and with your permission if necessary – share personal information with companies we do business with (eg. in product development, joint venture arrangements or agency agreements), we do not sell personal information for marketing purposes to other organisations or allow such companies to do this.
When your Information is Disclosed
Subject in all cases to local law, we may share personal information within Society Real Estate’s related entities, and may disclose personal information outside of Society Real Estate.
Keeping Information up to date and accurate
We take reasonable steps to ensure all information we hold is as accurate as possible. You are able to contact us at any time and ask for its correction if you feel the information we have about you is inaccurate or incomplete.
How can you access or correct your information
You can contact us to request access to or correction of your personal information. In normal circumstances we will give you full access or make the requested corrections to your information. However, they may be some legal or administrative reasons to deny these requests. If your request is denied, we will provide you with the reason why (if we can). Where where we decide not to make a requested correction to your personal information and you disagree, you may ask us to make a note of your requested correction with the information.
Cookies
A ‘cookie’ is a packet of information places on a user’s computer by a website for record keeping purposes. Cookies are generally used on Society Real Estate’s website to:
- access online services
- manage advertising
- monitor traffic
- monitor your use of our website
You can also configure your browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies, or notify you when a cookie is sent. (Each browser is different, so check the Help menu of your browser to learn how to change the settings of your cookie preferences).
if you disable the use of cookies on your web browser or remove or reject specific cookies from Society Real Estate’s website or linked sites, then you may not be able to gain access to all of the content and facilities on those websites.
Data Breach Notification
Society Real Estate has processes in place to investigate data breaches involving personal information and will notify you of a data breach when we are required to do so under local legislation or as is otherwise appropriate in circumstances. Where notification is required, we will do so promptly and in accordance with the time period for notification provided for under local legislation.
Training
Society Real Estate delivers training to staff to help ensure that requirements of this policy are addressed and supported.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or complaints regarding privacy or information handling, please write to nathan@societyrealestate.com.au or contact us via phone. Please mark communications to the attention of our Privacy Officer. We will respond to let you know who will be handling your matter and when you can expect a further response.
If your concerns are not resolved to your satisfaction, you may be able to escalate your complaint to an external dispute resolution scheme or to a regulatory authority.
