Privacy Policy | TCC Real Estate

Ellion Group Pty Ltd (ACN 688 079 361) trading as TCC Real Estate recognise the importance of protecting the privacy and the rights of individuals in relation to their personal information. This Privacy Policy sets out how we collect and manage personal information and the steps we take to protect it.

Ellion Group Pty Ltd is committed to collecting, using and disclosing personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

This Privacy Policy is intended to inform you about the following:

what type of personal information Ellion Group Pty Ltd collects;
how Ellion Group Pty Ltd collects your personal information;
the purposes for which Ellion Group Pty Ltd uses and discloses that information;
how Ellion Group Pty Ltd maintains and keeps your personal information secure;
how you may access, correct or update any personal information that Ellion Group Pty Ltd holds about you; and
the process for complaining about a breach of privacy.

What is Personal Information?

When used in this privacy policy, the term “personal information” has the meaning given to it in the Act. In general terms, it is any information that can be used to personally identify you. This may include your name, address, telephone number, email address and profession or occupation. If the information we collect personally identifies you, or you are reasonably identifiable from it, the information will be considered personal information.

What personal information do we collect and hold?

Ellion Group Pty Ltd may collect information about you and your interactions with us. The types of information that we collect will depend on our dealings with you.

Current and prospective vendors, purchasers or landlords.

We may collect any of the following information about you if you are a current or prospective vendor, purchaser or landlord of real estate:

contact details (including, name, address, telephone number and email address);
personal information (age or birth date, profession/occupation/job title);
driver’s license number;
property ownership details including details of properties sold or acquired, current holdings;
desired property ownership details; and
any additional information relating to you that you provide to us directly through our websites or indirectly through use of our websites or online presence, through our representatives or otherwise and information you provide to us through our service centre, customer surveys or visits by our representatives from time to time.

Information we collect about tenants or when you make a residential tenancy application.

If you are a current or prospective tenant for a rental property, Ellion Group Pty Ltd may collect the following additional information from you:

contact details (including, name, address, telephone number and email address);
personal information (age or birth date, profession/occupation/job title);
driver’s license, passport and/or other forms of identification;
employment details such as your employment status, employer, salary, length of employment;
other sources of income; and
personal and financial referees whom we may contact about your application.

Other information we collect that may not be personal information

We may also collect some information that is not personal information because it does not identify you or anyone else. For example, we may collect anonymous answers to surveys or aggregated information about how users use our website.

How do we collect your personal information?

Ellion Group Pty Ltd collects your personal information directly from you unless it is unreasonable or impracticable to do so. When collecting personal information from you, we may collect in various ways, including:

when you write to or email us when you access and use our website; during conversations between you and our representatives;
by contracting with us;
when you enter competitions, promotions or request information or material from us;
when you complete surveys or provide us with feedback; and
when you make enquiries with us or a listing website (such as realestate.com and Domain).

Ellion Group Pty Ltd may also collect information about you from the following third-party sources:

various databases in the public domain such as Telstra White Pages, Australia Post DPID database, Titles Office or other property databases;
your representatives (lawyers, accountants and financial advisers);
your employer;
the National Tenancy Database (NTD) operated through Veda Advantage Information Services and Solutions Limited (Veda);
law enforcement agencies and other government entities;
referrals and recommendations from existing clients of Ellion Group Pty Ltd;
listing websites such as realestate.com and Domain when you make an enquiry on a listing and a Ellion Group Pty Ltd agent is the responsible agent for that listing; and
publicly available sources of information or any other organisation where you have given your consent.

In some cases, we may also collect your information through the use of cookies. When you access our website, we may send a “cookie” (which is a small summary file containing a unique ID number) to your computer. This enables us to recognise your computer and greet you each time you visit our website without bothering you with a request to register. It also enables us to keep track of products or services you view so that, if you consent, we can send you news about those products or services. We also use cookies to measure traffic patterns, to determine which areas of our website have been visited and to measure transaction patterns in the aggregate. We use this to research our users’ habits so that we can improve our online products and services. If you do not wish to receive cookies, you can set your browser so that your computer does not accept them.

We may log IP addresses (that is, the electronic addresses of computers connected to the internet) to analyse trends, administer the website, track users movements, and gather broad demographic information.

Can I be anonymous when I deal with Ellion Group Pty Ltd?

To some extent you can preserve your anonymity when you deal with Ellion Group Pty Ltd. You can browse our website without providing any personal information, you can access our real-estate advertising in various publications and in some instances whereby the auction is held on the street and you do not intend to bid, and you may not be requested to provide personal information.

What happens if we can’t collect your personal information?

If you do not provide us with the personal information described above, some or all of the following may happen:

we may not be able to provide the requested products or services to you, either to the same standard or at all;
we may not be able to provide you with information about products and services that you may want; or
we may be unable to tailor the content of our websites to your preferences, and your experience of our websites may not be as enjoyable or useful.

For what purposes do we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information?

Ellion Group Pty Ltd collects personal information so that we can perform our business activities and functions and to provide best possible quality of customer service.

We collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information for the following purposes:

to provide products and services to you and to send communications requested by you;
to answer enquiries and provide information or advice about existing and new products or services;
to provide you with access to protected areas of our website;
to assess the performance of the website and to improve the operation of the website;
to conduct business processing functions including providing personal information to our related bodies corporate, contractors, service providers or other third parties;
for the administrative, marketing (including direct marketing), planning, product or service development, quality control, survey and research purposes of Ellion Group Pty Ltd, its related bodies corporate, contractors, franchisees, franchisees’ real estate agents or service providers;
for tenancy verification and identity purposes;
to provide your updated personal information to our related bodies corporate, contractors or service providers;
to update our records and keep your contact details up to date;
to process and respond to any complaint made by you; and
to comply with any law, rule, regulation, lawful and binding determination, decision or direction of a regulator, or in co-operation with any governmental authority of any country (or political sub-division of a country).

Disclosure of personal information

To whom do we disclose personal information?

We may disclose your personal information:

within Ellion Group Pty Ltd and to Ellion Group Pty Ltd related bodies corporate.
to Ellion Group Pty Ltd employees and our contractors or service providers for the purposes of operation of our website or our business, fulfilling requests by you, and to otherwise provide services to you;
to parties associated with delivering the service of buying/selling properties;
if you are a tenant of any property that we are managing, to the National Tenancy Database;
to suppliers and other third parties with whom we have commercial relationships, for business, marketing, and other commercial purposes;
to third party business partners for the purpose of offering you products or services that Ellion Group Pty Ltd considers relevant to you;
to government and law enforcement bodies where required by law, including to the Titles Office and the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority; and
to any organisation for any authorised purpose with your express consent.
Sometimes Ellion Group Pty Ltd may need to outsource some of our administrative and other property-related functions to external organisations such as advertising agencies, signwriters, building and garden maintenance contractors or consultants such as accountants, lawyers, surveyors and other advisors. Other third-parties may include web hosting providers, IT systems administrators, mailing houses, couriers, payment processors, data entry service providers, electronic network administrators, debt collectors, and other business advisors and consultants.

Do we disclose your personal information to anyone outside Australia?

We may disclose your personal information to entities located outside of Australia, including the following:our related bodies corporate, located in foreign countries including the United States of America, New Zealand, Hong Kong, China and Singapore; and other third parties located in various countries including New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Collection of personal information by Ellion Group Pty Ltd agents directly

Ellion Group Pty Ltd real estate agents may collect personal information from you directly when you make enquiries about a listing, inspect a property, or ask to receive communications from that agent. If an agent ends their employment with Ellion Group Pty Ltd, the agent may continue to use your personal information from any new place of employment.

Agents are required to only use your personal information for the purpose for which it was collected. If you no longer wish to receive communications from an agent, you should use the opt-out facility in the communication or otherwise contact the agent directly. If you are still not satisfied with the handling of your personal information, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (see contact details below).

Direct marketing materials

We may send you direct marketing communications and information about our products and services that we consider may be of interest to you. These communications may be sent in various forms, including mail, SMS, fax and email, in accordance with applicable marketing laws, such as the Spam Act 2003 (Cth). If you indicate a preference for a method of communication, we will endeavour to use that method whenever practical to do so. In addition, at any time you may opt-out of receiving marketing communications from us by contacting us (see the details below) or by using opt-out facilities provided in the marketing communications and we will then ensure that your name is removed from our mailing list.

How can you access and correct your personal information?

Requesting access to your personal information

You may request access to any personal information we hold about you at any time by contacting us (see the details below). Where we hold information that you are entitled to access, we will try to provide you with suitable means of accessing it (for example, by mailing or emailing it to you). Ellion Group Pty Ltd may charge you a reasonable fee to cover its administrative and other reasonable costs in providing the information to you. Ellion Group Pty Ltd will not charge for simply making the request and will not charge for making any corrections to your personal information.

Ellion Group Pty Ltd may not be able to provide access to information in some situations, including:

where in Ellion Group Pty Ltd opinion providing your access may create a serious threat to the life or health of any individual or may be an unreasonable intrusion into the privacy of another individual;
where your request for access is, in Ellion Group Pty Ltd opinion, frivolous or vexatious; or
where providing access would be unlawful, may prejudice an investigation of possible unlawful activity, may prejudice enforcement of law, or denying access is specifically authorised by law.

To obtain access to your personal information:

we may request proof of identity to ensure that personal information is provided only to the correct individuals and that the privacy of others is protected; and
Ellion Group Pty Ltd requests that you be reasonably specific about the information you require.

Requesting correction of your personal information

If you believe that personal information we hold about you is incorrect, incomplete or inaccurate, then you may request us to amend it. We will consider if the information requires amendment.

Ellion Group Pty Ltd will endeavour to respond to your request to access or correct your personal information within 30 days from your request. If Ellion Group Pty Ltd refuses your request to access or correct your personal information, Ellion Group Pty Ltd will provide you with written reasons for the refusal and details of complaint mechanisms. Ellion Group Pty Ltd will also take steps reasonable in the circumstance to provide you with access in a manner that meets your needs and the needs of Ellion Group Pty Ltd.

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER-TERRORISM FINANCING

Privacy collection notice for customer due diligence

This privacy collection notice from Ellion Group Pty Ltd ACN 688 079 361 outlines why we collect your personal information, what we collect, how we collect it and who we share it with.

Why we need to collect your information?

We collect your personal information to comply with the ‘Customer Due Diligence’ requirements in the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act). This includes to:

establish and verify your identity before providing certain services to you or the person you are acting on behalf of
assess and manage potential money laundering, terrorism financing, proliferation financing risks or related compliance risks associated with the provision of our services
make reports required by law under the AML/CTF Act
meet record keeping obligations under the AML/CTF Act.

What personal information we collect?

We collect the following types of personal information:

your full name, date of birth, residential address, gender
photo ID and unique identifier, such as a passport or driver’s licence number
country of residence and location date; and
country of citizenship

We also collect the following sensitive information:

whether you are a member of any political associations, professional or trade associations may be used to verify your occupation or determine whether you are a politically exposed person.

How we collect your information

Where possible, we will generally collect your personal information required for Customer Due Diligence from the customer directly. We may also collect information about customers from publicly available sources or related parties where we are permitted to do so under the Privacy Act, including where it is impractical or unreasonable to collect from the customer or relevant person directly.

Collection of personal information through AMLHUB.

Ellion Group Pty Ltd engages the AML/CTF provider trading as AMLHUB to assist us with our Know Your Customer and other obligations under the AML/CTF laws. We may decide to change our AML/CTF provider, which could change the way in which your Know Your Customer information is handled, and the location in which it is stored and processed.

AMLHUB and its affiliates may collect the following types of personal information from you on our behalf (as well as the information listed above):

IP address, device ID, domain server;
type of device, operating system and browser used;
photos/selfies/videos;
identity documents;
country of residence and location data; and
other documents that you provide to AMLHUB.

AMLHUB and its affiliates may also collect sensitive information about you on our behalf including the following:

biometric data such as faceprints;
racial or ethnic origin; and
other categories of sensitive information contained in documents uploaded by customers into the AMLHUB platform

AMLHUB may automate decisions regarding our AML/CTF obligations

We may use the information and analysis generated by AMLHUB to form an opinion about whether a customer presents an AML/CTF risk and to assist us in meeting our notification obligations to law enforcement bodies such as AUSTRAC under the AML/CTF laws.

AMLHUB uses personal information it holds to prepare an AML/CTF risk assessment report and attribute an AML/CTF risk rating to individuals and clients. AMLHUB’s risk assessment is based on algorithms which are designed to detect and rate AML/CTF risk.

If AMLHUB flags an AML/CTF risk in relation to a client, AMLHUB will notify us of that potential risk. We review each risk report generated by AMLHUB to form a view on whether there is an AML/CTF risk, and whether we are required to report the identified risk to AUSTRAC or take any other such steps required under the AML/CTF laws.

Identity verification

We may be required to verify your identity under the AML/CTF laws. We engage AMLHUB to facilitate this process, which uses credit reporting bodies including Equifax Limited (a company and credit reporting body registered in England under Registered No. 2425920 (Equifax) as a sub-processor to undertake online identity verification services. Your personal information may be disclosed outside of Australia (to England) for that purpose.

Where we have engaged AMLHUB to assist us in verifying your identity, AMLHUB will disclose your personal information to Equifax so that Equifax can verify your identity and provide the results to us. We are authorised to disclose personal information to Equifax for the purpose of verifying an individual’s identity under section 35A of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth).

What happens if we cannot collect your information?

If you do not provide us with the information we request or otherwise we do not have the information we require to conduct Customer Due Diligence, we may not be able to verify your identity and complete the required AML/CTF checks, and may not be able to provide you (or the person you are acting on behalf of) with the services you have requested.

Location of processing and transfer of personal information outside of Australia.

AMLHUB has affiliates based in New Zealand which may provide support to AMLHUB and act as sub-processors of your personal information. Your personal information may be disclosed to New Zealand for that purpose. AMLHUB engages other sub-processors located outside of Australia, including in Austria, the United States, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Your personal information may be disclosed to those countries by AMLHUB. AMLHUB may change its sub-processors from time to time which may change the manner and location in which your personal information is handled and processed. Further information about AMLHUB’s data handing practices and sub-processors can be found in its privacy statement and Data Processing Addendum.

Security

Ellion Group Pty Ltd will take reasonable steps to ensure information Ellion Group Pty Ltd collects, uses or discloses is stored in a secure environment to mitigate interference, misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Ellion Group Pty Ltd endeavours to provide a secure environment and a reliable system but you should be aware that there are inherent risks associated with the electronic storage and transmission of information (particularly via the internet) which cannot be guaranteed to be 100% secure.

How long do we hold your Know Your Customer Information?

We are required to keep records under the AML/CTF laws about certain transactions and our identity verification procedures. We are generally required to keep such records for at least seven years, although we may hold those records for longer in certain circumstances.

Your privacy rights and our privacy policy

Our Privacy Policy contains further information about how we will handle your personal information and how you can access and correct your personal information. It also outlines how to lodge a complaint and how that complaint will be managed if you are concerned about how we handled your information. [Insert link to Privacy Policy and/or explain how it may be physically accessed, for example upon request in the entity’s offices.

How to contact us about your privacy?

If you have any questions about our privacy policy, any concerns or a complaint regarding the treatment of your privacy or a possible breach of your privacy, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details set out below. We will aim to ensure that your complaint is resolved in timely and appropriate manner.

Attn: Privacy Officer

Post: 27 Victoria St, Macedon VIC 3440

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 0404 491125