Privacy Policy

This Privacy Statement details Property Essentials practice and use of personal information.

Should you wish to issue a confidential complaint regarding privacy issues please email to privacyofficer@propertyessentials.com.au.

Your Personal Information
Personal information is any information about you that identifies you or information by which your identity can be reasonably discovered. As a Body Corporate Manager, we are likely to collect information about you such as: your name, address, Lot details (building name, Certificates of Title, car-park number etc.), unit entitlement or lot liability, marital status (Mr, Mrs, Ms), email address, credit card information (for payment of fees through an outside source whom act on behalf of the Body Corporate), Company Details (if applicable), tenant information (if applicable). Unless advised in writing, Property Essentials will only allow only the Body Corporate Committee to have access to your personal information.Why We Collect Personal Information
Collecting your personal information is necessary for us to provide services as Body Corporate Managers to the Body Corporate and Lot Owners.

In providing the services, we will conduct activities that the Body Corporate is authorised to conduct, such as:

• to repair and maintain the common property; the chattels, fixtures, fittings and services related to the common property or its enjoyment;

• to manage and administer the common property;

• to take any action necessary or desirable to ensure that the Rules of the Body Corporate and the Subdivisions (Body Corporate) Regulations (Vic) 2001 are complied with;

• to set fees intended to cover general administration and maintenance, insurance and other recurrent obligations of the Body Corporate;

• to provide services or to enter into agreements for the provision of services to members of the Body Corporate and the Occupiers of Lots;

• keep proper books of accounts covering all income and expenditure of the Body Corporate and assets and liabilities of the Body Corporate;

• to undertake action to recover any amount owed to the Body Corporate in a court of competent jurisdiction;

• to maintain the Owners roll and minute book;

• to issue notices of meetings, distribute minutes of meetings, issue levy notices, and to distribute financial information of the Body Corporate to members of the Body Corporate.

How We Collect Personal Information
Where possible we collect your personal information directly from you but personal information is generally collected during the course of the provision of services to the relevant Body Corporate.

We may also obtain your personal information from other organisations to whom you have already provided information to. For example, you may have provided information to a Real Estate Agent, Solicitor, Conveyancer or Insurance Company. These organisations may then provide this information to us.

In most cases we will not seek your written permission when collecting personal information. We now advise you however that we do collect such information.

We will always seek your permission if we are to collect Sensitive Information. Sensitive Information can be about racial or ethnic origin; political opinions; membership of a political association; religious beliefs or affiliations; philosophical beliefs; membership of a professional or trade association; membership of a trade union; sexual preferences or practices; criminal record; or health information about an individual.

We only collect, use or disclose Sensitive Information about you as allowed by law, where we have received your consent to do so, or the collection is necessary for us to provide the Body Corporate Management Service to the Body Corporate.

How We Use Personal Information
We use your personal information to provide Body Corporate Management Services to you and to the Body Corporate in accordance with our contractual arrangements. This may involve displaying your personal information on our website in order to facilitate our Body Corporate Management Services.

We are likely to post your personal information on a Website, the access to which is restricted by a password. This will limit the number of users that may view your personal information. The internet however is not a fully secure environment and we direct you to the section of the Privacy Policy on the security of your personal information.

As we are likely to engage parties to assist us in providing the Body Corporate Management Services, your information may be given to builders or those providing building maintenance services, solicitors, real estate agents or insurance companies. We may be engaging these parties or we may be acting as agents for these parties.

Direct Marketing
We may use your personal information to provide you with information about our products and services. Please feel free to advise us that you do not want to receive any of this information.

Ensuring Your Personal Information Is Accurate
We will seek your confirmation that your personal information is accurate and current. This will happen on a regular basis.

The Security Of Your Personal Information
We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

We take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify personal information if it is no longer needed for any of our purposes.

You should be aware that e-mail is not a secure way to communicate your personal information.

Accessing Your Personal Information
You may request access to any of the personal information we hold about you. Sometimes your request may require a detailed investigation or possible retrieval and supply of information at a cost to you.

Refusal of Your Request
We may refuse you access to personal information where the information would disclose personal information or sensitive information about another Lot Owner or Member, or tenant of a Lot in the Plan of Subdivision. We may also refuse to provide information that is subject to legal professional privilege.

Personal Information Identifiers
A Commonwealth identifier is a Commonwealth Government identification number such as your Tax File Number (TFN) or Medicare number.

We do not use these as a way of identifying the information we have about you.

Do I Have To Be Identified At All?
The service we provide necessarily requires you to be identified.

Information Collected Automatically When You Visit our Website
When visiting this Website, we automatically collect and store statistical information used to monitor the usage of our website. The information collected does not fall within the category of “personal information”.

Information Collected When You Use Our Website
Your e-mail address and the contents of your message will be collected if you send an email to our site. Your e-mail address and the information included in your message will be used to respond to you and/or to address issues you identify. Your e-mail address is not collected for commercial purposes.

The information collected by our Website may be disclosed by Property Essentials for those purposes that may be reasonably ascertained from the nature and terms of the transaction in connection with which the information was submitted. Such a transaction may include paying Body Corporate fees online, providing responses to surveys, contributing to discussion issues for meetings.

Disclosure of Information Collected Through This Website
Participation in an online transaction resulting in the disclosure of personal information to Property Essentials by the user, whether solicited or unsolicited, constitutes consent to the collection and disclosure of the information by Property Essentials for the purposes reasonably ascertainable from the nature and terms of the transaction.

Property Essentials may disclose personal information to federal or state law enforcement authorities to enforce Property Essentials rights against unauthorised access or attempted unauthorised access to Property Essentials information technology assets or against other inappropriate use of this Website.

Retention of Information Collected Through this Website
Information collected by Property Essentials through this Website is kept for only as long as required and is deleted from electronic records after this period.

Access to and Correction of Personal Information Collected Through This Website
Access and correction to your information collected through this Website can be obtained by request in the form of a formal letter to the Privacy Officer of Property Essentials. Within this letter of request you must identify and prove your identity. If the privacy officer is not satisfied with the request the information requested may not be provided.

Confidentiality and Integrity of Personal Information Collected Through This Website
Property Essentials is strongly committed to protecting personal information collected through this Website against unauthorised access, use, or disclosure.

Our Privacy Policy May Change From Time To Time
We shall endeavour to maintain our most recent Privacy Policy on our Website for your information.

Queries About Your Privacy
If you have a question about this Policy or wish to lodge a request to access your personal information or you believe we have not protected your personal information please contact our Privacy Officer at privacyofficer@propertyessentials.com.au. If you are not satisfied with the response, you can refer your complaint to the Federal Privacy Commissioner by telephoning 1300 363 992.