How we collect, use, and protect your personal information
AD Conveyancing Services Pty Ltd (ABN 85 613 521 234) ("we", "us", "our") is a licensed conveyancing business operating under the Conveyancers Act 2006 (Vic). We are committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information we collect, hold, use, and disclose in the course of providing conveyancing services to our clients.
This Privacy Policy explains how we handle your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles ("APPs") set out in Schedule 1 to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) ("Privacy Act"), as amended by the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Cth).
This Policy applies to all personal information we collect in connection with our conveyancing services, whether collected from you directly, from third parties, or from publicly available sources. It also applies to personal information collected through our website, by telephone, by email, or in person.
"Personal information" means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not, and whether it is recorded in a material form or not (section 6(1) of the Privacy Act).
"Sensitive information" is a subset of personal information that includes information about an individual's racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, criminal record, health information, genetic information, biometric information, and membership of a professional or trade association (section 6(1) of the Privacy Act). We do not generally collect sensitive information in the course of providing conveyancing services, but where we do (for example, if health information is relevant to a client's capacity to transact), we will handle that information with additional care as described in this Policy.
The kinds of personal information we may collect and hold in the course of providing conveyancing services include:
Where reasonably practicable, we collect personal information directly from you. This may occur when you:
We may also collect personal information about you from third parties where it is necessary for our conveyancing work. These third parties may include:
We may collect personal information from publicly available sources, such as land title records held by the Registrar of Titles, planning scheme information, and publicly available company or business name records held by ASIC.
Under APP 2, you have the option of dealing with us anonymously or using a pseudonym where it is lawful and practicable to do so. However, in the context of conveyancing transactions, we are generally unable to provide our services without knowing your identity, as we are required to verify your identity under the Registrar's Requirements for Electronic Conveyancing and the Verification of Identity requirements applicable to conveyancing transactions.
We collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information for the following purposes:
We will not use or disclose your personal information for a purpose other than the purposes described in this Policy, or a purpose that is related to (or, in the case of sensitive information, directly related to) those purposes, unless you consent, or the use or disclosure is otherwise authorised or required by law (APP 6).
In the course of providing conveyancing services, we may disclose your personal information to the following categories of recipients:
Under APP 8, before disclosing personal information to an overseas recipient, we must take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient handles the information consistently with the APPs.
In the course of providing conveyancing services, your personal information is generally processed within Australia. However, where we use AI tools to assist with conveyancing work (as described in our AI Use and Call Recording Policy), your information may be processed on servers located outside Australia, including servers located in the United States of America.
The AI tool providers we currently use, and the countries in which their servers are located, include:
We select AI tool providers on the basis of their data handling terms and, where available, use providers whose terms restrict secondary use of client input data for model training or improvement. Details of the applicable provider terms are available on request.
If you do not wish your information to be processed overseas in connection with our use of AI tools, you may opt out of AI use on your matter by notifying the supervising conveyancer. See our AI Use and Call Recording Policy for further details.
We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we collect, use, and disclose is accurate, up to date, complete, and relevant (APP 10). Given the nature of conveyancing transactions, we rely on you and on the documents you provide to us to ensure the accuracy of your personal information.
If you believe that any personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading, please contact us so that we can take reasonable steps to correct it (see clause 11 below).
We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure (APP 11.1). Our security measures include:
Where we no longer need personal information for any purpose for which it may be used or disclosed under the Privacy Act, and the information is not contained in a Commonwealth record, we will take reasonable steps to destroy the information or ensure it is de-identified (APP 11.2). However, we are required to retain certain records for the periods prescribed by the Conveyancers Act 2006 (Vic) and our professional indemnity insurance obligations, and we will not destroy records in a manner that would breach those requirements.
In the event that we become aware of an eligible data breach (as defined in Part IIIC of the Privacy Act), we will comply with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme, including notifying the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner ("OAIC") and affected individuals as required by law.
As described in our AI Use and Call Recording Policy (which is published on our website and incorporated by reference into our cost agreement), we may use AI tools to assist with certain aspects of our conveyancing work, including drafting, research, document review, and quality checking.
When AI tools are used, your personal information (or de-identified versions of it) may be submitted to the AI tool provider's platform for processing. The AI tools we use, the purposes for which we use them, and the safeguards we apply are set out in detail in our AI Use and Call Recording Policy.
The Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) introduced new transparency requirements relating to automated decision-making, which take effect from 10 December 2026 (new APP 1.7).
Our position: We do not currently use AI tools or any other computer program to make, or to do a thing that is substantially and directly related to making, a decision that could reasonably be expected to significantly affect your rights or interests. All decisions in connection with your conveyancing matter (including decisions about title, settlement, contract interpretation, and advice) are made by the supervising licensed conveyancer exercising independent professional judgment.
AI tools are used as an internal working aid only. Their output is a preliminary input that is independently reviewed, verified, and (where necessary) corrected by the supervising conveyancer before any decision is made or any advice is provided.
If our use of AI tools changes in a way that engages the automated decision-making transparency requirements under APP 1.7, we will update this Policy and our AI Use and Call Recording Policy to reflect that change and will notify affected clients.
You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you. To make an access request, please contact us using the details set out in clause 14 below.
We will respond to your access request within 30 days. In most cases, we will provide you with access to your personal information. However, we may refuse access in the circumstances permitted by APP 12.3, including where:
If we refuse an access request, we will give you a written notice setting out the reasons for the refusal and the mechanisms available to you to complain about the refusal (APP 12.8, APP 12.9).
You have the right to request the correction of personal information we hold about you if you believe it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading. To make a correction request, please contact us using the details set out in clause 14 below.
We will respond to your correction request within 30 days. If we correct information that we have previously disclosed to a third party, we will take reasonable steps to notify the third party of the correction (unless it is impracticable or unlawful to do so) (APP 13.3).
If we refuse a correction request, we will give you a written notice setting out the reasons for the refusal and how you may complain about the refusal. You may also request that we associate a statement with the information to the effect that you consider it to be inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading (APP 13.4, APP 13.5).
When you visit our website, our web server may automatically collect certain information, including your IP address, the date and time of your visit, the pages you accessed, the referring URL, and your browser type. This information is collected for statistical and website administration purposes and is not used to identify you personally unless combined with other personal information you provide to us.
Our website may use cookies (small data files stored on your device) to improve your browsing experience and to collect anonymous usage data. You can configure your browser to refuse cookies or to alert you when a cookie is being sent. If you disable cookies, some features of our website may not function correctly.
We do not use cookies to collect personal information about you without your knowledge.
Our website may contain links to third-party websites (for example, PEXA, Land Use Victoria, or the State Revenue Office). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites and recommend that you review their privacy policies before providing them with your personal information.
If you submit an enquiry through our website contact form, we will collect the personal information you provide (such as your name, email address, and the content of your enquiry) for the purpose of responding to your enquiry. We will handle that information in accordance with this Policy.
If you believe that we have breached the APPs or that we have not handled your personal information in accordance with this Policy, you may lodge a complaint with us. Complaints should be directed to info@adconveyancing.com.au.
We will acknowledge your complaint within 7 days and will investigate and respond to your complaint within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may escalate your complaint to:
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, changes in applicable legislation, or developments in privacy law. The current version of this Policy will always be available on our website. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.
Where a change to this Policy is material, we will take reasonable steps to notify affected clients (for example, by email or by notice on our website).