Last updated: 01/07/2025

Texas Rural Agencies (“we”, “us”, “our”) values your privacy and recognises the importance of protecting the personal information we collect, hold and use. We are committed to handling personal information in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) and the Queensland Privacy Principles, as well as any other applicable privacy laws.

This policy applies to all personal information we collect, hold, use or disclose in connection with our business of providing real estate services in Queensland (including property sales, property management, rentals and associated services). It applies to personal information collected through our website, by email, telephone, in person or otherwise.

1. What is personal information?

‘Personal information’ means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is

reasonably identifiable, whether the information is true or not and whether it is recorded in a material form or not.

This includes, for example, your name, contact details, date of birth, identity documents, financial information,

rental history, property preferences, and other information you provide to us.

2. What information we may collect

Depending on our relationship with you, we may collect and hold personal information such as:

• your full name, date of birth, gender;
• contact information (address, email, telephone/mobile number);
• identity verification information (such as driver licence, passport, Medicare number) where required;
• property ownership details, tenancy or rental history, employment/financial details for rental or sale transactions;
• preferences, requirements, and other information relevant to property search, sale or management;
• communication and transaction records (correspondence, service requests, inspections, viewings); and
• any other information that you provide to us or that we are required to collect by law or under our industry obligations.

3. How we collect personal information

We generally collect personal information directly from you when you:

• contact us to enquire about our services;
• engage us to provide services (e.g., property sale, management, leasing);
• submit an application to lease or purchase a property;
• visit or use our website; or
• otherwise communicate with us (by phone, email, in-person).
• In some cases, we may collect information from third parties (for example referees, credit reporting agencies, other real estate agents or property owners) if reasonably necessary, and where you have consented or it is lawful.

4. Purpose of collection

We collect information where it is reasonably necessary for us to provide our real estate services and to carry out our functions, including but not limited to:

• marketing properties for sale or lease;
• managing sale or lease transactions;
• performing property inspections and management;
• communicating with you about your property, tenancy, sale or leasing requirements;
• conducting credit, reference or background checks (where applicable and lawful);
• fulfilling our legal and regulatory obligations;
• improving our business, services and customer experience; and
• marketing and promotional communications (with your consent, where required).

5. Use and disclosure of personal information

We will only use or disclose your personal information for the purpose for which it was collected (or a related purpose) unless you have consented, or it is required or authorised by law. Examples include:

• disclosing to third-party service providers (such as IT or data management services) who assist us in providing services;
• disclosing to other real estate agents, property managers, landlords, tenants, prospective purchasers or lessors as necessary in the transaction process;
• disclosing to credit reporting agencies or referees in accordance with legal and industry obligations;
• disclosing where required by law or a court/tribunal order;
• disclosing aggregated or de-identified data for reporting or analytical purposes (which does not identify individuals).
• If we disclose your personal information overseas (for example via cloud services or external service providers), we will take reasonable steps to ensure it is protected.

6. Data security and storage

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. This includes appropriate physical, electronic and managerial security measures. We hold your personal information in secure environments and will destroy or de-identify information when it is no longer needed, in accordance with applicable retention periods.

7. Access and correction

You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you, and to request correction of any inaccurate, incomplete, out-of-date or misleading information. To make such a request, please contact our Privacy Officer (see section 8). We will respond to your request within a reasonable time, subject to applicable legislation. In some cases we may refuse access or correction where the law permits.

8. Complaints

If you believe we have breached the Information Privacy Act or the Queensland Privacy Principles, please contact our Principal:

Susan Spencer

Texas Rural Agencies

Email: susan.texasrural@outlook.com

Phone: 0458 130 578

We will endeavour to respond to your complaint within a reasonable time. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may also contact the Office of the Information Commissioner Queensland (OIC) for further information.

9. Changes to this policy

We may review and update this Privacy Policy from time to time to ensure it remains current with our practices, legal obligations and technology.