Towers Property & Co is committed to protecting your personal information. This policy outlines how we collect, use and manage personal information for the purposes of selling, renting, leasing and managing property and providing other property related services.
When collecting, using and handling personal information, Towers Property & Co is bound by the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988.
In this policy, ‘personal information’ means information or an opinion about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable. ‘Personal information’ when used in this policy also includes sensitive information. ‘Sensitive information’ is personal information about an individual.
Collection of Personal Information
Towers Property & Co needs to collect personal information about individuals who:
- apply or are associated with people who apply, for a tenancy;
- are currently renting a property we manage ;
- seek advice in relation to property investment or management;
- seek or receive services from us in respect of the purchase or sale of a property;
- seek or receive services from us in respect of the leasing or management of a property or property portfolio.
We also collect personal information about staff and about individuals who are or are associated with our contractors, business partners and service providers.
The types of personal information Towers Property & Co collects depends on the type of service sought or provided. To provide any of our real estate services, whether to a tenant or owner, our minimum requirement would be to collect names and contact information. In addition, we also collect the following types of information:
With tenancy applications, we may collect:
- identity verification information (e.g. driver license or other ID details);
- emergency contact details;
- details of any current tenancy and/or rental history;
- details of current home ownership;
- if you are employed, details of current and previous employment (including information about your employer(s) and the income received)
- if you are self-employed, information about your business and business advisors (e.g. solicitor or accountant);
- if you are a student, information about your place and course of study, income and parents;
- if you are in receipt of social security or other benefits, details of the type and amount of benefit;
- details of vehicle and pet ownership where applicable; and
- names and contact details for referees.
In the case of new or established tenancies, we may need to collect:
- information about your use of the property (for example to provide maintenance or utility connections); and
- sensitive or health information (for example if there are special circumstances that you would want taken into account by the property manager or owner).
In the case of property owners or purchasers, we usually need to collect:
- emergency contact information;
- information about the property;
- banking details; and
- if we are providing advice about property for investment purposes, financial information.
How do we collect the personal information?
Where possible, we will collect your personal information directly from you. We may do this in person, in writing, by telephone, email or through our website.
For prospective tenants, personal information will mainly be collected through our online application platform or hard copy tenancy application forms when applying to rent a property.
For property owners, personal information will mainly be collected when the owner or agent asks us to sell or manage a property on the owner’s behalf.
We may also collect personal information indirectly, including from:
- prospective tenants that provide us with personal information about another applicant, emergency contact or referee on a tenancy application form;
- mercantile agents, tenancy databases, courts, tenancy tribunals, rental bond authorities or insurers in respect of a tenant;
- an estate agent who has engaged us to manage a property; and
- utilities, tradespeople and contracts who are providing services in relation to a property.
We rely on tenants, prospective tenants and owners to ensure that, if they provide personal information about a third party, they obtain that third party’s consent or if that is not practicable, that they make the third party aware of the fact that their personal information has been provided to Towers Property & Co.
Use and Disclosure of personal information
Towers Property & Co only uses and discloses personal information it collects for purposes that are related to the services it provides.
Depending on the type of services, we may use your personal information for the following purposes:
- assessing a tenancy application;
- managing a tenancy;
- effecting or assisting with the rental, financing, sale or purchase of a property;
- managing or assisting with a property portfolio;
- enforcing a tenancy agreement;
- effecting payment or refund of a bond;
- resolving tenancy disputes;
- arranging repairs or maintenance of a property;
- arranging services or utility connections;
- recording or accessing information with residential or retail tenancy authorities, land title registries or other government agencies;
- recording or accessing information on tenancy information services or databases;
- client and business relationship management; and
- marketing of related products and services.
It is our general policy not to disclose your personal information to external organisations. However, Towers Property & Co may sometimes need to disclose personal information to third parties for the purposes set out above. In particular, we may disclose personal information to:
- related entities of Towers Property & Co;
- tenants and prospective tenants;
- people listed as co-tenants and agents of a tenant;
- property owners and purchasers and their lawyers, advisers and contractors;
- estate agents who engage us to sell or manage properties;
- utilities, tradespeople and contractors who provide services in relation to a property;
- rental bond authorities and insurance providers;
- tenancy tribunals and courts;
- tenancy database operators;
- mercantile agents;
- referees you have nominated; and
- media organisations, in connection with advertising or publicising a property.
Towers Property & Co may also disclose information to data and call centres, IT service providers, mail houses and other service providers it engages to help manage its information resources. These persons are generally located within Australia.
When we collect personal information using our standard application forms, we may require you to consent to us making some or all of these disclosures. Where we disclose information to third parties, we seek to ensure that they do not use personal information for anything other than the purpose for which we supplied that information to them.
If you subscribe to Towers Property & Co mailing list, we may use your contact details to send you news and information about Towers Property & Co and details of products and services that we think may be of interest. Where we do this electronically, we will provide you with a functional opt out facility. If at any time you decide that you no longer wish to receive this sort of information, please let us know and we will remove your details from the mailing list.
However, if the law requires us to provide you with information about our products or services, we will provide that information to you even if you have elected not to receive information about those products or services generally.
Towers Property & Co may disclose personal information to other persons or organisations if required to do so by the order of a court or tribunal or if the disclosure is otherwise authorised or required by law. For example, disclosure may be authorised or required where it is necessary to:
- eliminate or minimise a risk to public health or safety;
- investigate or deal with unlawful activity or serious misconduct;
- locate missing persons; or
- establish or defend a legal claim.
Apart from the circumstances outlined above, your information will only be seen or used by persons working in or for Towers Property & Co.
Storage and Security
This policy also applies to personal information that you email to Towers Property & Co or provide when using our website. There are inherent risks in transmitting information across the internet. Towers Property & Co cannot guarantee the security of personal information transmitted to us via online channels. Towers Property & Co uses appropriate security to encrypt data sent via the internet for the online portal and smartphone apps. Once we receive personal information online, we take steps to protect that information from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification and disclosure in accordance with this policy. If you are concerned about conveying personal information to Towers Property & Co via the internet, you may prefer to contact us by telephone, mail or in person at our Towers Property & Co agency.
Our website uses cookies and web beacons. A cookie is a small piece of code that is placed on your computer. A web beacon is a piece of code that is placed on each page that communicates the cookie’s content once the page is visited. Cookies and web beacons may collect the following information about:
- each page of the website that you visit;
- your server address;
- the type of browser you are using;
- your operating system;
- your top level domain name;
- the date and time that each page is accessed; and
- documents that you download.
Use of cookies and web beacons does not involve the retrieval or recording of any personal information (such as a name or email address) by Towers Property & Co. To the extent that this data could make you identifiable, Towers Property & Co will not attempt to identify you from these records.
Complaints and further information
If you believe your privacy has been interfered with and want to make a complaint, please contact our Privacy Officer. The Privacy Officer will investigate your complaint and notify you of the outcome.
If you would like further information on our privacy policy or if you have any concern about the protection of your personal information, please contact:
Privacy Officer
Towers Property & Co
Shop 2/96 Gill Street
CHARTERS TOWERS QLD 4820
or via email at admin@towerspropertyco.com.au