Privacy policy
OwnHome Technologies Pty Ltd (OwnHome) is committed to providing quality services to you and this policy outlines our ongoing obligations to you in respect of how we manage your Personal Information.
We have adopted the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act). The NPPs govern the way in which we collect, use, disclose, store, secure and dispose of your Personal Information.
A copy of the Australian Privacy Principles may be obtained from the website of The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.aoic.gov.au
What is Personal Information and why do we collect it?
“Personal Information” is information or an opinion that identifies an individual. Examples of Personal Information we may collect include: names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, bank account information and date of birth.
This Personal Information is obtained in many ways including interviews, correspondence, by telephone and facsimile, by email, via our website ownhome.com, from cookies and from third parties. We don’t guarantee website links or policy of authorised third parties.
We collect your Personal Information for the primary purpose of providing our services to you, providing information to our clients and marketing. We may also use your Personal Information for secondary purposes closely related to the primary purpose, in circumstances where you would reasonably expect such use or disclosure. You may unsubscribe from our mailing/marketing lists at any time by contacting us in writing.
When we collect Personal Information we will, where appropriate and where possible, explain to you why we are collecting the information and how we plan to use it.
Sensitive Information
Sensitive information is defined in the Privacy Act to include information or opinion about such things as an individual's racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious or philosophical beliefs, membership of a trade union or other professional body, criminal record or health information.
Sensitive information will be used by us only:
- For the primary purpose for which it was obtained
- For a secondary purpose that is directly related to the primary purpose
- With your consent; or where required or authorised by law.
Third Parties
Where reasonable and practicable to do so, we will collect your Personal Information only from you. However, in some circumstances we may be provided with information by third parties. In such a case we will take reasonable steps to ensure that you are made aware of the information provided to us by the third party.
Disclosure of Personal Information
Your Personal Information may be disclosed in a number of circumstances including the following:
- Third parties where you consent to the use or disclosure; and
- Where required or authorised by law.
Collection of Personal Information
We may collect personal information about you when you use and access our website.
While we do not use browsing information to identify you personally, we may record certain information about your use of our website, such as which pages you visit, the time and date of your visit and the internet protocol address assigned to your computer.
We may also use ‘cookies’ or other similar tracking technologies on our website that help us track your website usage and remember your preferences. Cookies are small files that store information on your computer, TV, mobile phone or other device. They enable the entity that put the cookie on your device to recognise you across different websites, services, devices and/or browsing sessions. You can disable cookies through your internet browser but our websites may not work as intended for you if you do so.
We may also use cookies to enable us to collect data that may include personal information. For example, where a cookie is linked to your account, it may be considered personal information under the Privacy Act. We will handle any personal information collected by cookies in the same way that we handle all other personal information as described in this Privacy Policy.
Security of Personal Information
We may hold your Personal Information in either electronic or hard copy form and your Personal Information may be stored on behalf of third- party service providers. We take reasonable steps to protect your Personal Information from misuse, interference and loss, as well as unauthorised access, modification or disclosure and we use a number of physical, administrative, personnel and technical measures to protect your Personal Information. Measures to protect your personal information include:
- Using appropriate information technology and processes;
- Restricting access to your Personal Information to our employees and those who perform services for us who need your Personal Information to do what we have engaged them to do;
- Protecting paper documents from unauthorised access or use through security systems we deploy over our physical premises;
- Using computer and network security systems with appropriate firewalls, encryption
- Technology and passwords for the protection of electronic files;
- Securely destroying or “de-identifying” Personal Information if we no longer require it
- Subject to our legal obligations to keep some information for certain prescribed periods; and
- Requesting certain Personal Information from you when you wish to discuss any issues relating to the products and services we provide to you.
However, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information.
When your Personal Information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify your Personal Information. However, most of the Personal Information is or will be stored in client files which will be kept by us for a minimum of 7 years.
Access to your Personal Information
You may access the Personal Information we hold about you and to update and/or correct it, subject to certain exceptions. If you wish to access your Personal Information, please contact us in writing.
OwnHome will not charge any fee for your access request, but may charge an administrative fee for providing a copy of your Personal Information.
In order to protect your Personal Information we may require identification from you before releasing the requested information.
Maintaining the Quality of your Personal Information
It is an important to us that your Personal Information is up to date. We will take reasonable steps to make sure that your Personal Information is accurate, complete and up-to-date. If you find that the information we have is not up to date or is inaccurate, please advise us as soon as practicable so we can update our records and ensure we can continue to provide quality services to you.
Policy Updates
This policy may change from time to time and is available on our website. We reserve the right to amend this policy at any time. Visitors to this website are responsible for consulting this page on a regular basis to inform themselves of any amendments that may have been made. The amended Privacy Policy will apply between us whether or not we have given you specific notice of any change.
Privacy Policy Complaints and Enquiries
If you have any queries & concerns about this policy or the way OwnHome uses information, please contact us at 0455 039 297 or email us at hello@ownhome.com.
If you have a complaint about how we handle your personal information, you can also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
Website: www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: 1300 363 992
Fax: +61 2 9284 9666
Postal Address: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, GPO Box 5218, Sydney, NSW, 2001