Privacy Statement

At Real Choice Mortgages Pty Ltd we understand how important it is to protect your personal information. This Privacy Statement sets out our privacy policy in respect of personal information that you may provide to us.

Our commitment in respect of personal information is to abide by the National Privacy principles for the protection of personal information, as set out in the Privacy Act and any other relevant law.

• Who is Real Choice Mortgages Pty Ltd?
• Our commitment to privacy protection
• Personal information
• Why we collect your personal information
• How we collect your personal information
• Privacy on the Internet
• Cookies
• Online links to 3rd parties
• Other internet privacy matters
• To whom will we disclose your personal information?
• Direct marketing
• Updating your personal information
• How we store your personal information
• Access to your personal information
• If you are denied access to personal information
• Business without identifying you
• How safe and secure is your personal information?
• Further information
• Changes in our privacy policy
• How to contact us regarding privacy

Who is Real Choice Mortgages Pty Ltd?

Real Choice Mortgages Pty Ltd (Real Choice Mortgages) is a company that offers financial products and services within the mortgage industry. We process and assess information in respect of loan applications. We locate lenders suitable to provide loans to you. We also market other products.

Our commitment to privacy protection

We understand how important it is to protect your personal information. This document sets out our privacy policy commitment in respect of personal information that you may provide to us.

Our privacy policy ensures your right to privacy as we recognise that any personal information we may collect about you will only be used for the purposes indicated in our policy. It is important to us that you are confident that any personal information we collect from you or is received by us will be treated with appropriate respect ensuring protection of your personal information.

Our commitment in respect of personal information is to abide by the National Privacy Principles for the protection of personal information, as set out in the Privacy Act and any other relevant law.

Personal information

When we refer to personal information, we mean information from which your identity is apparent. This information may include information or an opinion about you, from which your identity can reasonably be ascertained.

Why we collect your personal information

We collect and receive personal information from our customers or from other business referrers in order to conduct our business, including assessing and obtaining approval for loans. From time to time we may offer other products and services.

To enable us to maintain a successful business relationship with you, we may disclose your personal information with other organisations that provide products or services used or marketed by us.

The types of organizations to which we are likely to disclose information about you include other lenders, valuers, lenders mortgage insurers, surveyors, accountants, credit reporting agencies and lawyers. We may also disclose your personal information to any other organization that may have or is considering having an interest in your loan, or in our business.

How we collect your personal information

Real Choice Mortgages collects personal information in a number of ways, including directly from you when you enter your personal details on our website whilst enquiring about or applying for products and services, when you provide information by phone; and/or in documents such as an application form, from third parties such as our affiliate partners, from publicly available sources of information, or from our own records.

Privacy on the Internet

Real Choice Mortgages owns and operates the internet site: www.realchoicemortgages.com.au and our policy regarding the confidentiality of information and the privacy of individuals also applies to information gained from the internet.

Cookies

If gaining information through www.realchoicemortgages.com.au site, you may receive ¿cookiesî - data that a web site transfers to a visitor's hard drive for record-keeping purposes.

Cookies can facilitate a user's ongoing access to and use of a site. They also allow us to track usage patterns and to compile data that can help us improve our content.

If you do not want information collected through the use of cookies, there is a simple procedure in most browsers that allows you to deny or accept the cookie feature. It should noted, however, that Cookies may be necessary to provide you with features such as merchandise transactions or registered services.

Online links to 3rd parties

Real Choice Mortgages may establish relationships with business partners that allow visitors to our internet site to link directly to sites operated by these partners, however, these sites may not be operated or maintained by or on our behalf. These sites may collect personal information from you that may be shared with us. This Privacy Statement will apply to any personal information we obtain in this manner.

Real Choice Mortgages is not responsible for the content or practices of web sites operated by third parties that are linked to our sites. These links are meant for the user's convenience only. Links to third party sites do not constitute sponsorship, endorsement or approval by Real Choice Mortgages of the content, policies or practices of those third party sites. Once you have left our site via such a link, you should check the applicable privacy policy of the third party site.

Other internet privacy matters

Remember to close your browser when you have finished your user session. This is to ensure that others cannot access your personal information and correspondence if you share a computer with someone else or are using a computer in a public place like a library or Internet cafÿ. As an individual, you are responsible for the security of and access to your own computer.

Whenever you voluntarily disclose personal information over the Internet, this information can be collected and used by others. In short, if you post personal information in publicly accessible online forums, you may receive unsolicited messages from other parties in return.

Ultimately, you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your username and passwords and any account information. Please be careful and responsible whenever you are using the Internet.

To whom will we disclose your personal information?

Where possible, we will inform you at or before the time of collecting your personal information, as to the types or organisations to which we intend to disclose your personal information.

Prior to disclosing any of your personal information to another organisation, we will take all reasonable steps to satisfy ourselves that the organization has a commitment to protecting your personal information at least equal to our commitment; and that you have consented to us doing so.

Sometimes we are required or authorised by law to disclose your personal information. Circumstances in which we may disclose your personal information would be to a Court or Tribunal in response to a request or in response to a subpoena or to the Australian Taxation Office.

Direct marketing

From time to time we may use your personal information to provide you with current information about mortgage loans, special offers you may find of interest, changes to our organisation or new products or services being offered by us or any company we are associated with.

If you do not wish to receive marketing information, you may at any time decline to receive such information by advising us by email to info@realchoicemortgages.com.au or by writing to us at Real Choice Mortgages Suite 6, 3-5 Hewish Road, Croydon VIC 3136. We will not charge you for giving effect to your request and will take all reasonable steps to meet your request at the earliest opportunity.

Updating your personal information

It is important to our relationship that the personal information we hold about you is accurate and up to date.

During the course of our relationship with you we may ask you to inform us if any of your personal information has changed. If you wish to make any changes to your personal information, you may contact us. We will generally rely on you to assist us in informing us if the information we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete.

How we store your personal information

Safeguarding the privacy of your information is important to us, whether you interact with us personally, by phone, mail, over the Internet or other electronic medium. We hold personal information in a combination of secure computer storage facilities and paper-based files and other records, and take steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

Your personal information will also be kept at a secure location by your Real Choice Mortgages personal lending manager after your loan has settled, for the purposes only of assisting in future dealings. If you do not wish your information to be kept, please advise your personal lending manager directly or call 9723 1200 and we will arrange for your file to be made available for personal collection by you.

Access to your personal information

We will provide you with access to the personal information we hold about you. You may request access to any of the personal information we hold about your at any time. To access personal information that we hold about you, please use the contact details specified above.

We may charge a fee for our costs in retrieving and supplying the information to you.

If you are denied access to personal information

There may be situations where we are not required to provide you with access to your personal information. For example, such a situation would be information relating to an existing or anticipated legal proceeding with you, or if your request is vexatious.

An explanation will be provided to you, if we deny you access to your personal information we hold.

Business without identifying you

In most circumstances it will be necessary for us to identify you in order to successfully do business with you. However, where it is lawful and practicable to do so, we will offer you the opportunity of doing business with us, without requiring you to provide us with personal information. Such a situation would be where you make general inquiries about interest rates or current promotional offers.

Where sensitive information is collected, stored, used or transferred about you, we will only use this information if you have consented, or in the exercise or defense of a legal claim.

Sensitive information is information relating to your racial or ethnic origin, political persuasion, memberships in trade or professional association or trade unions, sexual preference criminal record or health.

How safe and secure is your personal information?

We will take reasonable steps to protect your personal information by storing it in a secure environment, and when the information is no longer needed for any purpose for which the information may be used or disclosed, it will be destroyed or permanently de-identified. We will also take reasonable steps to protect any personal information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

Further information

You may request further information about the way we manage your personal information by writing to us by post or by email.

Changes in our privacy policy

We are constantly reviewing all of our policies and attempt to keep up to date with market expectations. Technology is constantly changing, as is the law and market place practice. As a consequence we may change this privacy policy from time to time or as the need arises.

How to contact us regarding privacy

Please attention any correspondence relating to Real Choice Mortgages Privacy Statement to the Privacy Officer at:

Real Choice Mortgages
55 Main Street
Croydon VIC 3136; or

Ready to talk home loans? 1300 139 284 Just ring us, and let us know your requirements. We will have one of our Personal Lending Managers make immediate contact with you to discuss your specific needs and the available options - Quick, Easy, Personal. You can also CLICK HERE to access our online form.