Privacy Statement

Privacy Policy

Distinction Realty Pty Ltd (ABN 63 667 868 215) (“Distinction Realty”, “we”, “us” or “our”) recognises the importance of protecting your privacy. We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act), including the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and are committed to complying with our obligations under that legislation.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information, how we keep it secure, and how you can access or correct personal information we hold about you.

What is personal information

Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information is true or not and whether recorded in a material form or not. This includes information such as your name, contact details and records relating to your dealings with us.

Sensitive information is a subset of personal information and includes information such as health information. We only collect sensitive information where it is reasonably necessary for our functions or activities and where permitted by law.

Collection of personal information:

Open homes and rental applications

When you attend an open home inspection conducted by Distinction Realty Pty Ltd, we may collect personal information such as your name, contact details and inspection attendance details. This information is collected for security, safety, property owner reporting, and to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

For rental applications, we collect personal information necessary to assess your suitability as a tenant and to comply with obligations under Queensland residential tenancy legislation. This may include identification documents, employment and income details, rental history, references, and information obtained from tenancy databases or referees where permitted by law.

If you do not provide the personal information requested for a rental application, we may be unable to process or assess your application.

Personal information collected at open homes and through rental applications is handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy and will only be used or disclosed for purposes you would reasonably expect in connection with property inspections, tenancy assessment, property management and related services.

We collect personal information from our clients, customers and other individuals by lawful and fair means. Wherever reasonable and practicable, we collect personal information directly from you.

In some circumstances, where it is unreasonable or impracticable to obtain personal information directly from you, we may collect it from third parties, including:

your authorised representatives (such as solicitors, accountants or financial advisers);
publicly available sources (including online sources);
strata managers or bodies corporate;
on-site managers;
vendors, purchasers, landlords and tenants.

The type of personal information we collect depends on the services we provide and the circumstances of collection and may include:

Clients and prospective clients (property services)

name, age and date of birth;
contact details;
employment and income details;
financial information (including assets, liabilities, rental payment history and related financial records);
identification documents (such as copies of photo identification);
insurance details;
banking and payment details;
references and information required to comply with legislative obligations.

Contractors, service providers and business associates

name and contact details; and
information relevant to engaging or providing services.

Employment applicants

name and contact details;
employment history, applications and resumes;
references and information relevant to assessing suitability for employment.

We do not collect tax file numbers unless required by law.

Why we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information

We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information for purposes including:

conducting and managing our real estate business;
providing real estate services, including property management, sales, leasing, advertising, appraisals and related services;
communicating with you and maintaining business records;
arranging inspections, tenancy applications, property transactions and maintenance;
recruitment and employment purposes;
providing information about our services that may be of interest to you (where permitted by law);
complying with legal and regulatory obligations; and
any other purpose disclosed to you and to which you have consented, or which you would reasonably expect.

Disclosure of personal information

We may disclose your personal information to:

your authorised representatives;
our employees and contractors;
service providers (including IT, cloud storage, payment processing and maintenance providers);
professional advisers such as lawyers, accountants and auditors;
government, regulatory or law enforcement bodies as required or authorised by law;
utility and service providers (such as electricity, gas, water, telecommunications or insurance providers) at your request or where required to facilitate tenancy or property services.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that third parties handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Overseas disclosure

Some of our third-party service providers may store or process personal information outside Australia. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure that overseas recipients handle personal information in a manner consistent with Australian privacy laws.

Security of personal information

We hold personal information in both electronic and paper-based form. We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

Our staff and contractors are required to maintain the confidentiality of personal information. Where personal information is no longer required, we take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it in accordance with legal requirements.

Cookies and online activity

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to improve functionality and user experience. Cookies do not identify you personally but may collect information such as browser type, operating system and IP address.

You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings, however this may affect website functionality.

Marketing and opting out

We may use your personal information to provide you with information about our services where permitted by law. You may opt out of receiving marketing communications at any time by contacting us using the details below or by using an unsubscribe facility where provided.

Accessing and correcting personal information

You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you and to request correction of that information if it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading.

Requests for access or correction should be made in writing using the contact details below. We may charge a reasonable fee for providing access. If we refuse access or correction, we will provide written reasons as required by law.

Complaints

If you have a complaint about how we have handled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details below. We will investigate your complaint and respond in writing.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Contact details

Privacy Officer
Kellie Barton
Distinction Realty Pty Ltd
PO Box 1113, Morayfield QLD 4506
Phone: 0484 676 122
Email: property@distinctionrealty.com.au

OAIC contact details:
Phone: 1300 363 992
Website: www.oaic.gov.au

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version will be available on our website and will apply from the date of publication.