Privacy and Credit Reporting Policy
DEFINITIONS
‘Personal Information’ is defined in the Privacy Act to mean information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable:
‘Privacy Act’ means the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) as amended from time to time.
‘Sensitive Information’ is defined in the Privacy Act to include things such as race, sexual orientation, political opinions, members of a trade association or trade union, criminal record or health information.
‘Credit Reporting Information’ is used in this Policy to describe Credit Information, as defined in the Privacy Act, including, where the context requires, information obtained from Credit Reporting Bodies, as defined in the Privacy Act.
OVERVIEW OF THIS POLICY
This Policy details how we comply with the Privacy Act, including Australian Privacy Principles and the Credit Reporting Code, which have been introduced under the Privacy Act.
This Policy does not apply to the collection or use of information about corporations.
We may from time to time review and update this Policy to take into account new laws and technology, our operations and practices. We encourage you to check our website from time to time to ensure that you are aware of our current Policy.
If you would like a hardcopy of this Policy, please contact Elaine Farrell on elaine@hamlan.com.au or 03 52225555
THE TYPE OF INFORMATION WE COLLECT
Personal Information
The type of Personal Information we collect and hold includes:
Sensitive Information
We may at times, subject to this Policy, collect and hold Sensitive Information.
Credit Reporting Information
The type of Credit Reporting Information we collect and hold includes:
COLLECTION
We collect Personal Information, Sensitive Information and Credit Reporting Information only by fair and lawful means where it is reasonable and practicable to do so.
If you do not provide us with the Personal Information, Sensitive Information or Credit Reporting Information we reasonably request, we may not be able to provide the requested products or services to you. We also may not be able to provide you with the information about the products or services that you may want.
How we Collect Information
We generally will only collect such information about you if you voluntarily submit it to us by:
Website usage and Cookies
We may use cookies when you visit our websites (www.hamlan.com.au) and (www.geelonghomes.com.au)
We may collect certain information from you such as:
This information is used by us to analyse and improve our website, products and services.
Collection of Information from Third Parties
We will not collect Personal Information about you from third parties unless:
If it is unclear to us whether you have consented to the collection of Personal Information from a third party, we will take reasonable steps to contact you to ensure that you are aware of the reason and purpose of the collection.
We may also collect Credit Reporting Information from Credit Reporting Bodies, as well as from publicly available information.
If we collect Personal Information from a third party, we will inform you that Personal Information has been collected and the circumstances of such collection.
If we are required to collect Personal Information, Sensitive Information and Credit Reporting Information about you under an Australian law, we will inform you of this, including details of the law requiring the collection.
Unsolicited Information
Where we receive unsolicited Personal Information or Sensitive Information about you, we will check whether that information is reasonably necessary for our functions or activities. If it is, we will handle this information in the same way we do other information we seek from you. If not, we will destroy or de-identify it.
REASON FOR COLLECTION, DISCLOSURE & USE
Personal Information
We will not collect Personal Information unless the information is reasonably necessary to:
We may disclose Personal Information to our related entities.
Sensitive Information
We will not collect Sensitive Information about you unless:
Credit Reporting Information
We collect, use and hold your Credit Reporting Information:
In addition, we use Credit Reporting Information that we obtain from Credit Reporting Bodies to derive information in relation to your creditworthiness and eligibility for credit. This is known as “Credit Eligibility Information”.
We may disclose Credit Reporting Information about you to Credit Reporting Bodies and debt collection companies where you are in payment default. We will only make a disclosure in these circumstances if we have given you written notice of our intention to disclose and at least 14 days has passed since giving you such notice.
The types of Credit Reporting Information that we may disclose includes:
Subject to the above, we will not disclose Credit Reporting Information, including Credit Eligibility Information, about you unless you have authorised the disclosure or it is otherwise in accordance with the Australian law.
MARKETING
We may use and/or disclose your Personal Information in order to:
Only with your express consent will we use or disclose Personal Information (including Sensitive Information) about you for the purposes of direct marketing. You can ask us not to do this at any time by writing to info@hamlan.com.au
We will not sell your Personal Information, Sensitive Information or Credit Reporting Information.
SECURITY
We take reasonable steps to protect your Personal Information, Sensitive Information and Credit Reporting Information against misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification and disclosure. The protective steps we take include:
CORRECTION
We aim to ensure that the Personal Information, Sensitive Information and Credit Reporting Information we hold is accurate, up-to-date and complete. Please ensure any information you provide is accurate, up-to-date and complete, and notify us if you believe we hold information that is outdated, inaccurate, misleading, irrelevant or incomplete so that it can be corrected.
If we are satisfied that the information is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading, then reasonable steps will be taken to correct the information within 30 days, or a longer period as we agree with you in writing.
We will not charge you for a correction.
If we determine that the correction is not required, we will provide you with written notice stating the reasons why the correction was not made and refer you to our complaints procedure.
If a correction is made to any information that was previously disclosed to a third party, as long as it is reasonable to do so, we will give each such recipient written notice of the correction within a reasonable period. We will also notify you that the correction has been made.
ACCESS
You are entitled to access your Personal Information, Sensitive Information and Credit Reporting Information held by us.
If you wish to access this information, you must lodge a request for access by contacting Elaine Farrell by email on elaine@hamlan.com.au or by post to
Att: Elaine Farrell, Hamlan Homes 359 Moorabool St Geelong 3220
We may charge a fee to cover our reasonable costs in meeting an access request. You will be provided with access to the information within 30 days of the request (unless unusual circumstances apply).
We are not required to give you access to this information if:
If we do not give you access to the information requested you will receive written notice that explains the reason for the refusal.
COMPLAINTS
Complaints about alleged breaches by us of the Privacy Act, the Australian Privacy Principles, the Credit Reporting Code or this Policy can be made by contacting If you do not consider that your complaint has been adequately dealt with by us, you may make a further complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, which has complaint handling responsibilities under the Privacy Act.
FURTHER INFORMATION
For further information about privacy, the protection of privacy and credit reporting, visit the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s website at www.oaic.gov.au