Property Investment Specialists Pty Ltd - ACN 697 029 360

Property Investment Specialists Pty Ltd ACN 697 029 360 (Property Investment Specialists, we, us, our the company) and any “Related Entities” Related entities being those entities that are owned, controlled, or trading in conjunction with Property Investment Specialists Pty Ltd, is committed to protecting the privacy, confidentiality and security of personal information entrusted to us.

This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) explains how we collect, hold, use, disclose, protect and otherwise manage personal information in connection with our business, our website, our services and our dealings with clients, prospective clients, referral partners, suppliers, contractors and other individuals.

We are committed to handling personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) to the extent that they apply to us, as well as other applicable Australian privacy laws.

Providing your personal information is voluntary and by using our website, submitting information to us or engaging with our services, you acknowledge that your personal information may be handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy. 

Personal information

Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable. The nature and extent of the personal information we collect will depend on your dealings with us and the services you request. Because our business involves property investment strategy, property acquisition and related advisory and referral services, some of the information we collect may be detailed financial and property-related information.

The types of personal information we may collect and hold include:

Identity and contact information including your name, date of birth, residential and postal address, email address, telephone and mobile numbers, occupation and employment details, employer or business details, residency status, marital or relationship status, number of dependants, identification information where reasonably required; andother information necessary to identify or communicate with you.

Financial and property information

We may collect information about your financial position and investment circumstances, including: income and sources of income, employment and business income, savings and cash reserves, assets and liabilities, existing investments, property ownership, estimated property values, home and investment property loan balances, mortgage and loan information, credit providers and lenders, interest rates, borrowing capacity and finance information, bank statements and transaction information, taxation information, tax returns where relevant, superannuation information, self-managed superannuation fund information, company, trust or other entity information where relevant, investment objectives, financial goals, investment timeframes, property preferences, investment experience, risk considerations, information contained in contracts or other property transaction documents; and information provided by your accountants, mortgage brokers, financial advisers, solicitors, conveyancers or other professional advisers where you have authorised this.

Together, this information may be referred to in this Policy as Financial and Property Information.

Information relating to our services

We may also collect: records of enquiries and consultations, strategy session information, property selection information, records of properties considered, recommended or acquired, appointment and meeting records, correspondence between you and us, notes made during our dealings with you, records of telephone, video or other communications where recording is permitted and you have been appropriately notified, feedback, reviews and survey responses, information relating to referrals to third-party service providers; and any other information you voluntarily provide to us.

Website and technology information

When you visit our website or interact with our electronic communications, we may collect information including: your Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type, device type, operating system, pages viewed, time spent on pages, referring website, website navigation activity, approximate geographic location based on technical information, cookies and similar technologies; and information about how you interact with emails, advertisements or digital content.

Sensitive information

We do not generally seek to collect sensitive information unless it is reasonably necessary for our functions or activities.

Where we are required to collect sensitive information, we will do so with your consent where required by law or where another lawful basis permits the collection.

We will not use sensitive information for direct marketing without any consent required by law.

How we collect personal information

Where reasonably practicable, we collect personal information directly from you.

We may collect personal information when you: contact us by telephone, email, SMS, online messaging or social media, complete a form on our website, request information from us, make an enquiry about our services, participate in a consultation or strategy session, attend an appointment, webinar, seminar or event, subscribe to our communications, provide documents to us, engage us to provide services, communicate with one of our employees or representatives, participate in a survey or provide feedback, interact with an advertisement or marketing campaign; or otherwise provide information to us.

We may also receive information about you from third parties where permitted by law, including: referral partners, mortgage and finance professionals, accountants, financial advisers, solicitors and conveyancers, property professionals, developers and builders, marketing and lead-generation providers, service providers, publicly available sources; and another person acting with your authority.

Where appropriate, we may combine information collected from different sources to maintain a more complete record of our relationship with you.

Information about another person

If you provide personal information to us about another individual, including a spouse, partner, family member, business partner, trustee, director or other person, you should only provide that information where you have that person's authority or are otherwise permitted to do so.

You should make that person aware that their personal information may be provided to us and handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Why we collect, hold and use personal information

We may collect, hold and use personal information for purposes including: responding to your enquiries, understanding your circumstances, objectives and property investment goals, providing property investment strategy and related services, assisting with property research and selection, assessing whether particular services or opportunities may be appropriate for your circumstances, facilitating property transactions, providing ongoing client support, communicating with you regarding your appointments, enquiries or services, referring you, where appropriate, to third-party professionals or service providers, facilitating introductions to mortgage brokers, finance providers, accountants, solicitors, conveyancers, property managers, insurance providers and other professionals, administering our relationship with you, maintaining business and client records, processing payments and managing accounts where applicable, responding to complaints or disputes, improving our products, services and client experience, conducting internal business analysis, research and quality assurance, operating, maintaining, testing and improving our website, systems and technology, preventing or investigating fraud, misuse, security incidents or unlawful activity, protecting our legal rights or those of our clients and others, complying with legal and regulatory requirements, managing our business operations, conducting marketing and advertising activities permitted by law; and any other purpose that is reasonably necessary in connection with our business and has been disclosed to you or is otherwise permitted by law.

Disclosure of personal information

We do not sell your personal information.

Where reasonably necessary to provide our services, operate our business or as otherwise permitted by law, we may disclose personal information to third parties including: mortgage brokers and finance professionals, banks, lenders and other finance providers, accountants and taxation professionals, financial advisers, solicitors and conveyancers, property developers, builders, real estate agents, buyer's agents, property managers, valuers, quantity surveyors, insurers and insurance brokers, property research and data providers, other professional advisers, contractors and consultants, payment processing providers, information technology providers, website hosting providers, cloud storage providers, customer relationship management and business software providers, communications, email and SMS providers, marketing, advertising and analytics providers, administrative and operational service providers, our legal, accounting, auditing and professional advisers, government agencies, regulators, courts, tribunals or law-enforcement authorities where required or authorised by law; and other parties where you have authorised or requested us to make the disclosure.

Where your personal information is provided to a third party so that the third party can provide separate services to you, that organisation may have its own privacy policy and privacy obligations.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies and terms of any third-party providers you choose to engage.

Referral partners

As part of our services, we may introduce or refer clients to independent third-party service providers.

These may include mortgage brokers, accountants, financial advisers, solicitors, conveyancers, property managers, insurance professionals and other property-related service providers.

Where required, we will obtain your consent or authority before providing personal information to a referral partner.

Unless expressly stated otherwise, these referral partners operate independently from Property Investment Specialists and are responsible for their own services and handling of personal information.

Overseas disclosure and storage

Some of the technology, cloud computing, communications, marketing, administration or other service providers used by us may store or process information outside Australia.

The countries in which information may be stored or processed can vary depending on the providers and systems we use from time to time.

Where we disclose personal information to an overseas recipient and Australian privacy laws require us to do so, we will take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient handles the information consistently with applicable Australian privacy requirements.

You may contact us if you would like further information about overseas service providers relevant to information we hold about you.

Direct marketing

Where permitted by law, we may use your personal information to communicate with you about: our services, property investment information, property opportunities, market updates, educational information, seminars and events, offers and promotions, services offered by selected referral or business partners; and other information we reasonably believe may be relevant to you.

Marketing communications may be sent by email, SMS, telephone, mail, social media or other electronic means where permitted.

You may opt out of receiving marketing communications from us at any time by:

• using the unsubscribe link contained in an email;

• replying STOP to an SMS where that functionality is available; or

• contacting us directly and requesting that marketing communications cease.

We will process opt-out requests within a reasonable period and will not charge you for making such a request.

Opting out of marketing communications will not prevent us from contacting you where reasonably necessary in connection with an existing enquiry, appointment, transaction, contractual relationship or service.

Cookies and website analytics

Our website may use cookies, pixels, web beacons and similar technologies.

A cookie is a small data file stored on your device that assists a website in recognising your browser and remembering information about your visit.

We may use these technologies to: operate our website, remember preferences, understand how visitors use our website, measure website traffic, identify popular pages and content, improve website performance, understand the effectiveness of our advertising, provide more relevant content, measure engagement with communications and support advertising and remarketing activities.

We may use third-party analytics and advertising services such as Google or Meta services where appropriate.

These third parties may use cookies, pixels or similar technologies in accordance with their own privacy policies.

Most browsers allow you to control or reject cookies through browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect the functionality of some parts of our website.

Remarketing and online advertising

We may use online advertising and remarketing services to communicate advertisements to people who have previously visited or interacted with our website or digital content.

Third-party advertising platforms may use cookies, pixels or similar technologies to help display advertisements considered more relevant to users and to measure advertising performance.

Information collected directly by those third-party platforms is subject to their respective privacy policies and settings.

Where required by law, we will obtain any necessary consent for the use of relevant tracking or advertising technologies.

Security of personal information

We recognise that Financial and Property Information can be particularly sensitive and take reasonable steps to protect personal information from: misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, unauthorised modification; and unauthorised disclosure.

Depending on the nature of the information and our systems, security measures may include: password and access controls, multi-factor authentication where appropriate, secure cloud and technology providers, antivirus, firewall and security software, role-based access restrictions, secure backup arrangements, confidentiality obligations applying to staff and contractors, physical security measures, internal processes for managing confidential information.

No method of transmission or electronic storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We therefore cannot guarantee that unauthorised access or disclosure will never occur.

15. Data breaches

We maintain processes for responding to suspected or actual data breaches involving personal information.

Where a data breach occurs, we will investigate the circumstances and take appropriate steps to contain and remediate the incident.

Where the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme or another applicable law requires notification, we will notify affected individuals, and the relevant regulator as required.

Security, Storage and Data Retention

Property Investment Specialists Pty Ltd (is committed to protecting the confidentiality, integrity and security of the personal information entrusted to us.

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Personal information may be stored electronically within our business systems, cloud-based platforms, customer relationship management systems, email and document storage systems, website hosting environments and with trusted third-party service providers. Where applicable, information may also be retained in physical or hard-copy form.

We use appropriate administrative, technical and physical safeguards to help protect the personal information we hold. Depending on the nature of the information and the systems involved, these safeguards may include: secure, reputable cloud-based technology and hosting providers, password protection and access controls, multi-factor authentication where appropriate, firewalls, anti-virus software and other security technologies, secure data backup and recovery processes, restrictions on access to personal information based on business requirements, confidentiality obligations applying to employees, contractors and service providers, appropriate procedures for the secure handling, storage and disposal of information.

Access to personal information is limited to authorised employees, contractors and trusted third-party service providers who require access in order to perform their duties or provide services to us. Where we engage external service providers, we take reasonable steps to ensure that they handle personal information securely, confidentially and consistently with applicable privacy requirements.

Some of the technology, cloud storage, software, administration or other service providers we use may store or process information outside Australia. Where this occurs, we will take reasonable steps, where required by law, to ensure that personal information is handled in a manner consistent with applicable Australian privacy requirements.

While we take the protection of personal information seriously and implement reasonable safeguards, no method of electronic transmission, data storage or information security can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Accordingly, we cannot guarantee that unauthorised access, disclosure, loss or misuse will never occur.

Retention of Personal Information

We retain personal information only for as long as it is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, for the operation of our business, or as required or permitted by law.

This may include retaining information for purposes such as: providing and administering our property investment services, maintaining appropriate client and transaction records, managing our ongoing relationship with clients, responding to enquiries, complaints or disputes, complying with legal, taxation, accounting, regulatory or contractual obligations, protecting or enforcing our legal rights, maintaining business records, supporting internal audit, quality assurance and risk management processes, improving and developing our services and business operations.

The period for which we retain information will depend on the nature of the information, the purpose for which it was collected and any applicable legal or regulatory requirements.

When personal information is no longer required for any lawful purpose, we will take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify it.

Where immediate deletion is not reasonably practicable, including where information is contained within secure system backups or archives, we will take reasonable steps to protect that information from further use or disclosure until it can be securely deleted or de-identified through our normal systems and retention processes.

Where information is retained for statistical, research, analytical or service-improvement purposes, we may take steps to remove or de-identify information that directly identifies an individual and use the information to understand broader trends, client needs and the performance of our services rather than to analyse the personal characteristics of a specific individual.

Accuracy and correction of personal information

We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information we hold is accurate, complete and up to date.We also rely on you to notify us when your circumstances or information change. If you believe information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, please contact us and request that it be corrected.

We may take reasonable steps to verify your identity before changing personal information.

Access to your personal information

You may request access to personal information that we hold about you.

Requests should be made in writing using the contact details at the end of this Privacy Policy.

Before providing access, we may require reasonable evidence to verify your identity.

In some circumstances, Australian law permits or requires us to refuse access to some or all of the information requested. This may include circumstances where providing access would: have an unreasonable impact on another person's privacy, be unlawful, prejudice an investigation, reveal commercially sensitive information in circumstances where access is not required by law, relate to legal proceedings or legal professional privilege or otherwise fall within an exception permitted by law.

Where we refuse access and are legally required to provide reasons, we will explain the basis for the refusal.

We will not charge you for making an access request. Where permitted by law, we may charge a reasonable amount for costs incurred in providing access to large or complex records, and we will notify you before doing so.

Anonymity and pseudonyms

Where lawful and practicable, you may have the option of dealing with us anonymously or by using a pseudonym.

However, due to the nature of property investment and related professional services, in many circumstances we may require your identity and accurate financial or personal information in order to provide services or facilitate a transaction.

Third-party websites and external links

Our website may contain links to websites operated by other organisations. A link to another website does not mean that we control, sponsor or endorse that website or its privacy practices. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content or security of third-party websites. You should review the privacy policy of a third-party website before providing personal information to it.

Business transfers

If Property Investment Specialists undergoes a restructure, merger, acquisition, financing arrangement, sale of assets or transfer of all or part of its business, personal information may be disclosed to professional advisers, prospective purchasers, financiers or other relevant parties where reasonably necessary.

Where appropriate, we will require recipients to maintain the confidentiality of information disclosed during such a process.

Complaints and privacy concerns

If you believe we have interfered with your privacy, breached this Privacy Policy or failed to comply with an applicable privacy obligation, please contact us.

Please provide sufficient information for us to understand and investigate your concern.

We will: 1. acknowledge your complaint within a reasonable period, 2. investigate the matter appropriately, 3. contact you if we require further information; and 4. aim to provide a substantive response within 30 days.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect: changes to our business, changes to our systems or service providers, changes in technology, changes to our information-handling practices or changes to legal or regulatory requirements.

The current version will be published on our website and will state the date on which it was last updated. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

Contact us

If you have any questions, requests, complaints or concerns regarding privacy or the way we handle your personal information, please contact:

Property Investment Specialists Pty Ltd

ACN 697 029 360

Address: Suite 602/7 Railway St, Chatswood NSW 2067

Email: admin@propertyinvestmentspecialists.com.au

Website: www.propertyinvestmentspecialists.com

Attention: Privacy Officer