Privacy Policy

What we collect

Information we collect

The kinds of personal information we collect depend on how you interact with us. Generally we collect:

• Contact details - your name, postal and email addresses, and phone numbers
• Property and project information - the address of the property to be certified, owner and applicant details, and details of the proposed or completed works
• Building documentation - architectural plans, engineering reports, specifications, surveys, development consents, certificates of currency for builders and other documents required to assess and issue certificates
• Photographs and inspection notes taken during site inspections
• Payment information - billing details required to process invoices (we do not store credit card numbers; payments are handled by third-party payment processors)
• Correspondence - records of communications between you and us
• Website usage information - including IP address, browser type, pages visited and referrer, collected through cookies and analytics tools as described below

We collect personal information directly from you when you submit an enquiry or quote request, lodge an application via the NSW Planning Portal, attend a site inspection, send us correspondence or otherwise engage our services. In some cases we receive information from third parties such as your builder, designer, solicitor, real estate agent, the local council or the NSW Planning Portal in connection with your project.

Why we collect it

How we use your information

We use the personal information we collect to:

• Provide quotes and respond to enquiries
• Assess applications and issue Construction Certificates, Complying Development Certificates, Occupation Certificates, Pool Compliance Certificates and related documents
• Conduct site inspections and prepare inspection reports
• Communicate with you, your representatives, your builder and other parties involved in your project
• Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations as a registered certifier under the Building and Development Certifiers Act 2018 (NSW), the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW), the Swimming Pools Act 1992 (NSW) and related regulations
• Administer accounts, invoice and process payments
• Improve our website and services

Who we share with

Disclosure of personal information

We may disclose your personal information to:

• Local councils and other consent authorities, including Wollongong City Council, Shellharbour City Council and Kiama Municipal Council, where required to assess or issue a certificate
• The NSW Planning Portal, where applications and certificates are lodged in accordance with NSW legislation
• The Building Commission NSW (formerly the Department of Customer Service and NSW Fair Trading) and other regulators, where required by law
• Other certifiers, surveyors, engineers and consultants engaged in connection with your project, with your knowledge
• Our service providers, including IT, hosting, accounting, professional indemnity insurance and payment processing providers
• Courts, tribunals and law enforcement agencies, where required or authorised by law

We do not sell your personal information. We do not disclose your personal information overseas other than where website hosting, email and analytics providers store data outside Australia. Where this occurs we take reasonable steps to ensure that overseas recipients handle personal information in a way that is consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles.

Records and retention

How long we keep your information

As a registered certifier we are required to retain certain records of our work for extended periods. These obligations are set out in the Building and Development Certifiers Act 2018 (NSW) and accompanying regulations and may include retention of certificate files, inspection records and supporting documentation for a minimum statutory period after the issue of a certificate or completion of certification work.

Where we no longer need personal information for any purpose for which it may be used or disclosed, and we are not required by law to retain it, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it.

Cookies and analytics

Website cookies and analytics

This website uses cookies - small text files stored on your device - to remember your preferences and to help us understand how the site is used.

We use Google Analytics to collect aggregated, non-identifiable information about visits to this website (such as pages viewed, time on site and approximate location). Google Analytics may set its own cookies. You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on or by adjusting your browser cookie settings.

You can configure your browser to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If you do so, some parts of our website may not function correctly.

Keeping it safe

Security of your information

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include access controls on our systems, secure storage of physical records, the use of reputable hosting providers and staff awareness of privacy obligations.

No method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure. While we take reasonable steps to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Your rights

Access, correction and complaints

You can request access to the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it if you believe it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. To make a request, please contact us using the details below. We will respond within a reasonable period (usually within 30 days).

If you have a complaint about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first so that we can try to resolve your concerns. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

• Website: www.oaic.gov.au
• Phone: 1300 363 992
• Post: GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001

Changes

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or to comply with legal requirements. The current version will always be available on this page, with the date of the most recent update shown above.

Get in touch

Contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact:

Wollongong Certificates
ABN 79 659 372 111
Attention: Angus Brooks, Privacy Officer
Email: angus@wollongongcertificates.com.au
Phone: 0490 410 472