Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Biggin Scott recognises the importance of protecting the privacy and the rights of individuals concerning their personal information. This Privacy Statement sets out how we collect and manage personal information and the steps we take to protect it.

Biggin Scott respects its customer’s privacy under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Act) to ensure we handle personal information by the Act and complies with all of the Act’s requirements in respect of the collection, management and disclosure of personal information, including the Australian Privacy Principles.

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

• what type of personal information Biggin Scott collects
• how Biggin Scott collects your personal information
• the purposes for which Biggin Scott uses and discloses that information
• how Biggin Scott maintains and keeps the information secure
• how you may access, correct or update any personal information that Biggin Scott 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 the customer’s 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?

Biggin Scott may collect any of the following information about customers if they are a current or prospective vendor, purchaser or rental provider or renter 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 them provided to us directly through our websites or indirectly through the 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.

If you are a current or prospective renter for a rental property, Biggin Scott may collect the following additional information:

• contact details (including, name, address, telephone number and email address)
• personal information (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.

We may also collect some information that is not personal information because it does not identify customers. 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?

Biggin Scott collects personal information directly from customers unless it is unreasonable or impracticable to do so. When collecting personal information, we may collect in various ways, including through when customers write to or email us, when customers access and use our website and during conversations between customers and our representatives, by contracting with us, promotions or requesting information or material from us, completing surveys or providing feedback.

Biggin Scott may also collect information about customers 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
• representatives (lawyers, accountants and financial advisers)
• employers
• 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 Biggin Scott, and
• publicly available sources of information or any other organisation where you have given your consent.

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

To some extent customers can preserve their anonymity when they deal with Biggin Scott. They can browse our website without providing any personal information, they can access our real-estate advertising in various publications and in some instances whereby the auction is held on the street and they do not intend to bid, and they may not be requested to provide personal information.

What happens if we can’t collect personal information?

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

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

Biggin Scott collect personal information so that we can perform our business activities and functions and provide the best possible quality of customer service.  

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

• to provide products and services to customers and to send communications requested by them
• to answer enquiries and provide information or advice about existing and new products or services
• to provide customers 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 Biggin Scott, its related bodies corporate, contractors, franchisees, franchisees’ real estate agents or service providers
• for tenancy verification and identity purposes
• to provide customers updated personal information to our related bodies corporate, contractors or service providers
• to update our records and keep contact details up to date
• to process and respond to any complaint made by customers, 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).

Biggin Scott will not share, sell, rent or disclose personal information other than as described in this Privacy Policy.

To whom do we disclose personal information?

We may disclose personal information to:

• our employees, related bodies corporate, contractors, franchisees, franchisees’ real estate agents or service providers for the purposes of the operation of our website or our business, fulfilling requests by you, and to otherwise provide products and services to you including, without limitation, web hosting providers, IT systems administrators, mailing houses, couriers, payment processors, data entry service providers, electronic network administrators, debt collectors, and professional advisors such as accountants, solicitors, business advisors and consultants
• suppliers and other third parties with whom we have commercial relationships, for business, marketing, and related purposes.

Biggin Scott’s disclosures of personal information to third parties are on a confidential basis or otherwise in accordance with the law.  Biggin Scott may also disclose your personal information with customer consent or if disclosure is required or authorised by law.

If Biggin Scott wishes to use or disclose any personal information in any other ways than described above, Biggin Scott will not do so unless it:

• has the customer’s express consent to do so
• has reasonable grounds to believe that the use or disclosure is necessary to prevent a threat to life or health, or
• has reasonable grounds to believe that the use or disclosure is required by law or to enforce the law.

How can customers access and correct their personal information?

Customers may request access to any personal information we hold about them at any time by contacting us (see the details below). Where we hold information that they are entitled to access, we will try to provide them with suitable means of accessing it (for example, by mailing or emailing it to them).

Biggin Scott may not be able to provide access to information in some situations, including:

• where in Biggin Scott’s opinion providing customer access may create a serious threat to the life or health of any individual or maybe an unreasonable intrusion into the privacy of another individual
• where a customer’s request for access is, in Biggin Scott’s opinion, frivolous or vexatious, or
• where providing access would be unlawful, may prejudice an investigation of possible unlawful activity, may prejudice enforcement of the law, or denying access is specifically authorised by law.

To obtain access to personal information:

• customer’s will have to provide proof of identity to ensure that personal information is provided only to the correct individuals and that the privacy of others is protected, and
• Biggin Scott requests that customers be reasonably specific about the information they require.

If customers believe that personal information we hold about them is incorrect, incomplete or inaccurate, then they may request us to amend it. We will consider if the information requires amendment. If we do not agree that there are grounds for amendment then we will add a note to the personal information stating that the customer disagrees with it.

Biggin Scott will endeavour to respond to requests to access or correct personal information within 30 days from the request.  If Biggin Scott refuses the request to access or correct personal information, Biggin Scott will provide written reasons for the refusal and details of complaint mechanisms. Biggin Scott will also take steps reasonable in the circumstance to provide customers with access in a manner that meets customer needs and the needs of Biggin Scott.

What is the process for complaining about a breach of privacy?

If customers believe that their privacy has been breached, they can contact us using the contact information below and provide details of the incident so that we can investigate it. We will deal with the complaint following our Complaints Handling Procedure.

At all times, privacy complaints:

• will be treated seriously
• will be dealt with promptly
• will be dealt with confidentially, and
• will not affect your existing obligations or affect the commercial arrangements between the customer and Biggin Scott.

Security

Biggin Scott will take reasonable steps to ensure information Biggin Scott collects, uses or discloses is stored in a secure environment that is accessed only by persons authorised by Biggin Scott to prevent interference, misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. If the personal information is no longer needed for any purpose, Biggin Scott will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify the personal information. Biggin Scott endeavours to provide a secure environment and a reliable system but customers 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.

Contacting us

If customers have any questions about our privacy policy, any concerns or a complaint regarding the treatment of their privacy or a possible breach of their privacy, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details set out below.

We will treat their requests or complaints confidentially. Our representative will contact them within a reasonable time after receipt of the complaint to discuss their concerns and outline options regarding how they may be resolved. We will aim to ensure that the complaint is resolved in a timely and appropriate manner.

Privacy Officer, Biggin Scott
Post: 10 Illowa Street, Malvern East VIC 3145
Email: corporate@bigginscott.com.au
Changes to our Privacy Policy

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time and any updates will be communicated to employees.