Privacy Policy - Mclaws Property

OUR COMMITMENT TO PROTECT YOUR PRIVACY

Real Excellence Pty Ltd (Mclaws Property) seeks to provide the best possible service to our clients by providing the best possible experience along your real estate journey.

We understand how important it is to protect your personal information. This document sets out our Privacy Policy commitment in respect of personal information that you may provide to us and will give you a more comprehensive explanation of how your data is handled by Mclaws Property.

By using our services, you consent to us collecting, maintaining, using and disclosing your personal information in the way described in this Privacy Policy.

If there is anything that is not clear from this privacy policy, please feel free to email us at [email protected].

OUR PRINCIPLES

Real Excellence Pty Ltd (“we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (“Privacy Act”) and the Australian Privacy Principles (“APPs”). We will also ensure that we comply with other privacy policies, laws or regulations where we are legally obliged to do so. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and manage your personal information.

Our obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act):

This privacy policy sets out how we comply with our obligations under the Privacy Act. As an Australian based organisation, we are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in the Privacy Act which regulate how organisations may collect, use, disclose and store personal information, and how individuals may access and correct personal information held about them.
In this privacy policy, ‘personal information’ has the same meaning as defined by section 6 of the Privacy Act: information or an opinion (including information or an opinion forming part of a database), whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion.

COLLECTION

We collect your personal information so that we can provide you with the products, services or information that we supply. This may include (but is not limited to) your first name, last name, location, age, property details, phone number, email address, postal address, identity details, utility details and account/payment details that you have provided when interacting with us.

If you do not provide some of the information requested or any other information we require in order for us to provide our services to you, we may be unable to provide our services to you in an effective manner, or at all.

Our services, and support are provided through numerous platforms including but not limited to: websites, mobile applications, apps/plugins, email, telephone, paper forms or in-person meetings. The specific platform and product, service, or support you interact with may affect the personal data we collect.

We may also collect information on how you use our website, your product preferences, opinions and other personal preferences. Other information that may be automatically collected when you visit our website includes (without limitation) your Internet Service Provider (ISP), operating system, browser information, Internet Protocol (IP) address or other device identifiers, location and time/date stamp.

At times, we may collect personal information from platforms that are outside of our control, maintained by a third-party provider – for example through social media or messaging services – or from a publicly available source or platforms we may be subscribed to, and in such instances the platform will be governed by its own Privacy Policy. We only collect this information from companies or sources that are allowed to disclose it to us and any information collected by us is governed by this Privacy Policy.

Below you will find a breakdown of the different ways your personal information is collected.

HOW DO WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM YOU?

We will endeavour to collect personal information about you, directly from you. In some circumstances it may be necessary for us to verify the information which you provide to us and to obtain copies of documents and/or contact third parties to obtain documents or information.

Directly From You

In our agency business we use personal information collected from current and prospective vendors, tenants, landlords and buyers and other clients so that we can provide you with the services, products or information that we supply, and so that we are able to perform our duties and obligations set out under our agency agreements.

Open House Inspections

Personal information will be collected from you during an open house inspection for:

security purposes
so that we may contact you in relation to that property and other properties which we believe may interest you
to offer other services our agency performs such as Asset Management and referral to third party companies which offer services that may be of interest (such as home loans).

User Contact Forms

When you fill out a contact form on our website, we will collect that information and use it to get in touch with you in response to your query. We may use the information to reach out to you to inform you of some of the services we provide, provided it is in line with your original query.

Mailing List

If you sign up to one of our mailing lists, this means that you have opted-in and have consented to us sending you emails relating to the services or products we provide as a company.

WHAT WE COLLECT AND RECEIVE FROM OTHER SOURCES

We may collect personal information about you from other sources where permitted by the Act. We will only collect personal information from other sources where it is reasonably necessary for us to do so in relation to, or in connection with, any services we are supplying in connection with our real estate business. Examples of such sources of personal information include:

from agents, other owners, insurers and underwriters, contractors, legal, financial and other advisors in relation to or in connection with any tenancy, lease or contract for sale of a property;
from public registers including those managed by the National tenant database (TICA);

Social Network Widgets And Buttons

By clicking or using any social network widgets on our website, you understand that you do so in accordance with the terms and privacy policy of those services. ‘Liking’ or ‘Following’, and content posted using these widgets, may become visible to your social network.

WHAT WE COLLECT FROM YOUR ONLINE ACTIVITY

mclaws.com.au uses cookies and other digital identifiers that fall into the following three categories:

Site performance indicators: these give us information on how our website is used, so that we can make the necessary improvements or amendments to make your experience better.
Analytics Cookies: these give us the statistics to understand how many people are on our website, which areas are popular and which areas we need to work on.
Advertising Cookies: we use these cookies to understand what type of advertising would be better suited to someone like you. That way, you would receive ads that are more likely to be relevant to you.

Cookie rights: You can always disable the use of cookies by changing the security settings of your browser. However, please bear in mind that this may affect how some items are displayed on our website.

USE AND DISCLOSURE

We only use personal information for the purpose which was requested of us, or for the purposes which directly relate to one of our functions or activities (for example, direct marketing purposes and to see potential clients through promotional activities).

We may disclose this information to other parties including:

Potential purchasers or vendors; media organisations; publicly on the internet or in print media; to clients of the agent (both existing & potential); as well as to parties engaged to manage or evaluate the property (e.g. Pest & Building inspectors, Owners’ corporation; Financial institutions; Valuers). We will not provide your information to these third parties unless you have consented to this, or you would reasonably expect, or have been informed, that information of such kind would be passed on to those individuals, entities or bodies.

Suppliers and other third-party service providers including IT and data consultants with whom we have commercial relationships for business, marketing and related purposes.
- Your personal information may be held or processed on our behalf outside Australia, including ‘in the cloud’, by our third-party service providers. We take reasonable steps to ensure that any overseas recipient complies with the Australian Privacy Principles or is subject to laws or binding schemes that offer similar protection of personal information.
- Our third-party service providers include E VA Business Process Outsourcing which is based in the Philippines to undertake administrative work under our direction and instruction. They are bound by contract to only use your personal information on our behalf, under our instructions.
- We utilise third party artificial intelligence technologies, including Google Gemini & ChatGPT, to process personal information for purposes such as enhancing customer service and analysing property preferences. We ensure that any personal information processed by these AI tools is handled in compliance with applicable privacy laws and our data protection policies.

We do not trade or sell your information, however with your prior consent, we may share your data with third party service providers such as Financial Services or Service Connection companies.
if we enter into, or propose to enter into, any agreement or arrangement with any party (including its legal, financial and other professional advisers) for the purpose of, or in connection with, the acquisition of our business (including any part of our business that includes personal information) then we may provide that party with personal information in relation to or in connection with those arrangements.
Where it is otherwise required or authorised by law, or reasonably necessary for the enforcement of a criminal law or of a law imposing a pecuniary penalty, or for the protection of public revenue. Examples of such circumstances include disclosing your personal information to a Court or Tribunal in response to a request or subpoena, or to the Australian Taxation Office.
Where it may prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to somebody’s life or health.

Prior to disclosing any of your personal information to another entity, body or party, we will take all reasonable steps to satisfy ourselves that the third party has a commitment to protecting your personal information at least equal to our commitment.

Where sensitive information is collected, stored, used or transferred about you, we will only use this information if you have given consent for us to do so, or in the exercise or defence of a legal claim. Sensitive information is information relating to your racial or ethnic origin, political persuasion, memberships in trade or professional associations or trade unions, sexual preferences, criminal record, or health.

In providing this information you consent to us using your information in this way, unless you advise us differently.

DIRECT MARKETING

We may use your personal information to provide you with current information about Mclaws Property and the real estate market, our community and local area, changes to our organisation, or new products or services being offered by us or any company we are associated with.

Opt Out

If you do not wish to receive marketing information, you may at any time decline to receive such information by using the “unsubscribe” facility included in the Direct Marketing Communication or by contacting our office at [email protected] and we will take all reasonable steps to meet your request at the earliest possible opportunity.

QUALITY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We do our best to ensure your personal information is up-to-date and accurate at all times, as this allows us to deliver a better service to you. If any information we have on you needs to be corrected, please contact us via [email protected].

DATA SECURITY

We take active steps to protect the personal information we hold against loss, unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure, and against other misuse. Once we collect your personal information, we will either hold it securely and store it on infrastructure owned or controlled by us or with a third-party service provider who has taken reasonable steps to ensure they comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Furthermore, each and every Mclaws Property employee or agent must abide by this policy. While we cannot share with you details of the security systems and procedures we have in place for security reasons, if you have any questions, you can always contact us at [email protected].

ACCESS AND CORRECTION

At Mclaws Property, we do everything we can to keep your personal information accurate. If you find that any information we hold about you is incorrect, you can contact us at [email protected] or as per the contact details below and we will endeavour to assist you with your questions. Please bear in mind that under Australian privacy laws, there may be situations where we cannot provide access to such personal information. For instance, if it would reasonably affect someone else’s privacy or may pose a threat to someone’s life, health or safety; if this information relates to an existing or anticipated legal proceeding with you, or if your request is vexatious. An explanation will be provided to you if we deny you access to your personal information that we hold.

For any personal information that is collected by third parties, even when you are visiting our website, it is best to view their privacy policy and seek assistance from those parties directly.

CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY

We are constantly reviewing all of our policies and attempt to keep up to date with market expectations. Technology is constantly changing, as are the law and marketplace practices.

As a consequence, we may change this Privacy Policy from time to time or as the need arises.

COMPLAINTS HANDLING

If you have any complaints or feel that there has been a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles, or a registered APP code, you can contact us at [email protected] or via another option below.

HOW TO CONTACT US

We understand that your personal information is important to you and want you to feel confident that any personal information we collect from you or that is received by us, will be treated with appropriate respect. If you have any questions or concerns about this policy or our practices, you can get in touch with us in the following ways:

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 02 8880 8889
Address: Shop 5, 1 Crofts Avenue, Hurstville NSW 2220