Privacy Policy | Elders Real Estate Hervey Bay

Privacy Policy

Heymonk Pty Limited, trading as Elders Real Estate Curra Country and Elders Real Estate Hervey Bay (referred to in this Privacy Policy as “Heymonk”, “we”, “our” or “us”), recognises the importance of protecting your personal information and is committed to safeguarding your privacy.

We manage personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Act), including the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and other applicable laws and regulations.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information, how you may access or request correction of your personal information, how you may make a privacy complaint and how we manage such complaints. It also explains how we manage the disclosure of personal information to third parties, including overseas recipients where applicable.

What is your personal information?
Under the Act, “personal information” means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not, and whether it is recorded in a material form or not.

Personal information we may collect includes, but is not limited to:

Your name, address, telephone number and email address;
Your occupation, employment and contact details;
Financial information, including banking details where required;
Information relating to properties you own, occupy, rent, purchase or sell;
Identification information, including details from your driver’s licence, passport or other identification documents;
Information relating to property transactions, tenancy applications and agreements; and
Other information reasonably necessary to provide our Services or comply with our legal obligations.
We collect personal information by lawful and fair means and, where reasonable and practicable, directly from you.

Where we receive personal information that we have not requested, we will determine whether we could have lawfully collected that information. If we could not have collected it and are not otherwise required to retain it, we will destroy or de-identify it as soon as practicable, where lawful and reasonable to do so.

Why do we collect personal information?
We provide a range of real estate services, including property appraisals, property sales, purchases, leasing, property management, advertising and related real estate activities (Services).

We collect personal information where reasonably necessary to provide these Services, manage our business operations and meet our legal and regulatory obligations.

If you do not provide the personal information we reasonably require, or if the information provided is incomplete or inaccurate, we may be unable to provide some or all of our Services or proceed with certain transactions.

In some circumstances, we are legally required to collect and verify particular information before providing a service or completing a transaction.

How do we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information?
We may collect personal information directly from you through enquiries, property inspections, applications, agreements, correspondence, telephone conversations, electronic communications and other interactions with our agency.

Where permitted by law, we may also collect personal information from third parties, including solicitors, conveyancers, financial institutions, government authorities, other real estate agencies, property owners, tenants and service providers.

When collecting personal information, we will take reasonable steps to inform you of the purpose of collection, whether the collection is required or authorised by law, and any consequences of not providing the requested information.

We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information where reasonably necessary to provide our Services, conduct our business activities and fulfil our responsibilities as a real estate agency and property manager.

This may include the following purposes:

To provide our Services and respond to enquiries or communications from you;
To facilitate the rental, sale, purchase, management and advertising of properties;
To arrange and manage property inspections, appraisals and appointments;
To maintain records of persons entering properties for inspections, surveys, appraisals or other authorised purposes;
To provide information about properties or services in which you have expressed an interest;
To prepare, administer and manage agency agreements, contracts, tenancy agreements and other property-related documentation;
To communicate with sellers, buyers, landlords, tenants, solicitors, conveyancers, financial institutions and other parties involved in a property transaction or tenancy;
To disclose relevant information to employees, contractors, professional advisers, government and regulatory authorities, and third-party service providers where reasonably necessary for our Services or as permitted or required by law;
To process payments, deposits, refunds and other financial transactions;
To maintain and update our records and contact information;
To respond to enquiries, requests, disputes and complaints;
To conduct direct marketing activities where permitted by law;
To improve our Services and business operations;
To protect our legitimate business interests and comply with our professional and regulatory responsibilities; and
To comply with applicable laws and regulatory obligations, including the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) and associated rules.

We will only use or disclose personal information for the purpose for which it was collected, or for another purpose where you have consented, where you would reasonably expect the use or disclosure and it is sufficiently related to the original purpose, or where otherwise permitted or required by law.

Identity Verification and Anti-Money Laundering Requirements
As part of our legal obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) and associated rules, we may be required to collect, verify and retain personal information for customer identification and due diligence purposes.

This may include:

Verifying your identity using documents such as a driver’s licence, passport, birth certificate or other acceptable identification;
Collecting your full name, date of birth, residential address and other information required for identification;
Conducting customer due diligence and other verification checks;
Requesting additional information about a property transaction or the parties involved where required by law; and
Maintaining records of identity verification and customer due diligence in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
We may engage third-party service providers, including PEXA Clear, to assist with identity verification and customer due diligence processes.

Where necessary, personal information may be provided to these service providers for verification, compliance and record-keeping purposes, subject to applicable privacy and legal requirements.

We may also be required to disclose information to AUSTRAC or other relevant government and regulatory authorities where required or authorised by law.

Certain identification and transaction records must be retained for prescribed periods under applicable legislation, even after our professional relationship or property transaction has concluded.

Disclosure to Third Parties
We may disclose personal information to third parties where reasonably necessary to provide our Services, carry out our business activities or meet our legal obligations.

These third parties may include:

Solicitors, conveyancers, accountants and other professional advisers;
Financial institutions and payment processing providers;
Property owners, buyers, tenants and other relevant parties to a property transaction;
Contractors and service providers engaged in property-related services;
Technology, customer relationship management, document management and identity verification providers;
Government departments, statutory authorities and regulatory bodies; and
Other parties where you have consented to the disclosure or where disclosure is otherwise permitted or required by law.

We may engage third-party service providers to assist with information technology, cloud storage, property management software, marketing, electronic communications and other business functions.

These service providers may need to access or process personal information in connection with the services they provide to our agency.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information disclosed to third parties is handled appropriately and in accordance with applicable privacy obligations.

Elders Real Estate Network
Heymonk Pty Limited operates Elders Real Estate Curra Country and Elders Real Estate Hervey Bay as part of the Elders Real Estate network.

In connection with providing our real estate services, we may disclose personal information to Elders-related entities, network service providers and authorised support personnel where reasonably necessary for business administration, technology services, marketing, compliance, professional support or other purposes related to the operation of our agencies.

Any such disclosure will be undertaken in accordance with applicable privacy laws and our obligations under this Privacy Policy.

Disclosure of Personal Information Overseas
Some third-party technology and service providers may store, process or access personal information outside Australia.

Where personal information is disclosed to overseas recipients, we will comply with the requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles, including taking reasonable steps to ensure that overseas recipients do not breach applicable privacy obligations, unless an exception under the Act applies.

Further information about overseas disclosures may be requested by contacting our Privacy Officer.

Government-Related Identifiers
We will not use government-related identifiers, such as Medicare numbers, as our own identifiers or use or disclose such identifiers except where permitted or required by law.

Where government-issued identification documents are collected for identity verification or compliance purposes, we will handle the information in accordance with applicable privacy and regulatory requirements.

Direct Marketing
We may use your personal information to provide you with information about properties, real estate services, market updates and other information that may be of interest to you, where permitted by law.

Marketing communications may be sent by email, telephone, SMS or post.

We will only use or disclose personal information for direct marketing purposes where permitted under the Australian Privacy Principles and applicable electronic marketing laws, including the Spam Act 2003 (Cth).

Where required, we will obtain your consent before sending direct marketing communications.

You may request at any time that we stop sending you direct marketing communications.

You may also request that we do not use or disclose your personal information for the purpose of facilitating direct marketing by other organisations.

Where required by law, we will provide information about the source of personal information used for direct marketing upon request.

Opt Out Procedure
You can opt out of receiving marketing or promotional material from us at any time by contacting our office using the details provided below.

Where available, you may also use the unsubscribe option included in our electronic marketing communications.

We will process your request within a reasonable timeframe and in accordance with applicable legal requirements. There is no charge for requesting to opt out of direct marketing.

Access to and Correction of Your Personal Information
You may request access to the personal information we hold about you or request that inaccurate, incomplete, outdated, irrelevant or misleading information be corrected.

To make a request, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details provided below.

We may need to verify your identity before providing access to personal information.

We will respond to requests within a reasonable period and in accordance with our obligations under the Privacy Act.

In certain circumstances, we may be unable to provide access to particular information where an exception under the Act applies. If access is refused, we will provide an explanation and information about available complaint mechanisms where required by law.

If we refuse to correct personal information, we will provide written reasons where required by law and explain how you may make a complaint.

Where requested, we will take reasonable steps to associate a statement with the information indicating that you believe it to be inaccurate, incomplete, outdated, irrelevant or misleading.

Where we have previously disclosed information that is subsequently corrected, we will take reasonable steps to notify relevant third parties of the correction where required by law.

You may also request that we delete personal information that is no longer required.

However, we may be legally required to retain certain records, including property transaction, financial, identification and customer due diligence records, for prescribed periods.

Where personal information is no longer required for any lawful purpose, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it in accordance with our legal obligations.

We do not charge a fee for making an access or correction request, or for correcting personal information.

Where permitted by law, a reasonable administrative fee may apply to providing access to personal information. Any applicable fee will be communicated before proceeding.

Data Quality
We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we collect, use and disclose is accurate, complete and up to date, and that information we hold is relevant to the purposes for which it is used.

We encourage you to notify us if your personal information changes or if you believe any information we hold is incorrect.

Data Security and Retention
We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification and disclosure.

These measures may include secure electronic systems, access controls, confidentiality obligations and appropriate procedures for handling personal information.

We may store personal information electronically or in physical records, including through third-party systems and service providers used in the operation of our business.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that employees, contractors and service providers who have access to personal information understand their responsibilities regarding confidentiality and privacy.

We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide our Services, conduct our business activities and comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

Where personal information is no longer required and we are not legally required to retain it, we will take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify it.

In the event of a data breach, we will assess and respond to the incident in accordance with our obligations under the Privacy Act, including the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme where applicable.

Anonymity and Pseudonymity
Where lawful and practicable, you may deal with us anonymously or by using a pseudonym.

However, due to the nature of real estate transactions and our legal obligations, including identity verification and customer due diligence requirements, we may be required to identify you before providing certain Services.

Sensitive Information
Sensitive information includes certain categories of personal information, such as information about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, political opinions, sexual orientation, health information and biometric information used for automated identification or verification.

We will only collect sensitive information where you have consented and the collection is reasonably necessary for our functions or activities, or where collection is otherwise permitted or required by law.

Where sensitive information is collected, we will take reasonable steps to protect it in accordance with applicable privacy requirements.

Privacy Complaints
If you have any questions or concerns about how we collect, hold, use or disclose your personal information, or believe that your privacy has been breached, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details below.

We take privacy complaints seriously and will investigate complaints in a fair, confidential and timely manner.

We will acknowledge your complaint and aim to provide a response within 30 days. If additional time is required, we will advise you accordingly.

If you are not satisfied with our response, or we have not responded within a reasonable period, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Further information is available at:

Website: https://www.oaic.gov.au

Telephone: 1300 363 992

Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our business operations, legal obligations or privacy practices.

The most current version of this Privacy Policy will be made available through our agency or relevant websites.

Contacting Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to access or correct your personal information, or would like to make a privacy complaint, please contact:

Privacy Officer: Kiah Monk
Company: Heymonk Pty Limited
Trading as: Elders Real Estate Curra Country and Elders Real Estate Hervey Bay

Postal Address:
Shop 1, Birdwood Drive
Gunalda QLD 4570

Email: kiah.monk@eldersrealestate.com.au
Telephone: 07 5484 6755