Your information, handled with care.

01About this policy

Bendigo Body Corporate Services Pty Ltd (ABN 86 703 987 875) provides body corporate and owners corporation management services to plan of subdivision communities across Bendigo and Central Victoria. This policy explains how we handle personal information in the course of that work.

We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the thirteen Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) it contains. This policy applies to information we handle through our website, our forms, our correspondence and our day-to-day management of your owners corporation.

02What information we collect

The information we hold depends on our role for your owners corporation, but it commonly includes:

• Identity and contact details — names, postal addresses, email addresses for lot owners, committee members, occupants and their authorised representatives.
• Owners corporation records — lot and plan details, levy contributions and payment histories, minutes, notices, rules and insurance information.
• Financial details — bank account details needed for levy payments, reimbursements and supplier payments, plus invoices and tax records.
• Correspondence — emails, letters, maintenance requests and complaints relating to the owners corporation.
• Sensitive information — only where it is genuinely necessary (for example, accessibility requirements for meetings or safety incident reports) and generally with your consent or where the law requires it.

We do not request more than we reasonably need to perform our role, and we do not collect information about you from third parties for marketing purposes.

03How we collect information

• directly from you — through enquiry and quotation forms, email, our onboarding documents, and general or committee meetings;
• from the existing records of your owners corporation when we are appointed as manager;
• from parties you authorise — such as your solicitor, conveyancer or outgoing manager — during a handover; and
• from publicly available sources or official registers where it is reasonable and permitted to do so.

Where it is practical, we will let you know when we collect personal information and the main purposes for which it will be used.

04Why we collect and use it

Our primary purpose is to carry out the management services set out in your owners corporation management agreement. That includes:

• levy raising, receipting, arrears follow-up and budget preparation;
• preparing financial statements and maintaining the financial records of the owners corporation;
• convening annual general and committee meetings, issuing notices and keeping minutes;
• arranging and renewing insurance, and assisting with claims;
• coordinating maintenance, repairs and contractor engagements;
• meeting record-keeping and other obligations under the Owners Corporations Act 2006 (Vic) and associated regulations.

We may also use contact details to respond to enquiries, to issue invoices for our fees, and to improve our services. If we ever wish to send you updates that are not related to the management of your owners corporation, we will seek consent or provide a clear way to opt out, in line with APP 7.

05When we disclose information

We keep personal information within our business wherever we can. We disclose it only when the task requires it, to people such as:

• lot owners and other persons entitled to access records under Victorian owners corporation legislation;
• the committee of management of your owners corporation;
• our professional advisers, including accountants, auditors and solicitors;
• insurers, brokers and assessors for insurance renewals and claims;
• tradespeople and contractors engaged for the property — provided with only the details they need;
• software and cloud providers that host the records we maintain on your behalf;
• debt recovery specialists, tribunals (such as VCAT) or courts, where proceedings make it necessary; and
• other bodies where disclosure is required or authorised by law.

We never sell personal information, and we do not disclose it for third-party advertising.

06Storage, security and retention

Most records are held electronically on password-protected systems, with limited hard-copy files kept securely at our Bendigo office. Access is restricted to team members who need it to perform their role, and we take reasonable steps to protect information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access or disclosure.

We retain records for as long as Victorian legislation requires — for example, financial records must generally be kept for at least seven years — and we destroy or de-identify personal information once it is no longer needed for a lawful purpose and any minimum retention period has passed.

07Our website, cookies and analytics

When you use bodycorpbcs.site, we receive the details you choose to submit through our forms and basic, aggregated analytics such as pages viewed, browser type and approximate region. This helps us keep the site useful and secure.

Cookies may be used for site functionality and anonymised analytics. You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings; the site will remain usable if you do. We do not run advertising trackers or sell browsing data.

08Overseas disclosure

Some of the technology we rely on — cloud hosting, email and accounting software — may store or process data on servers located outside Australia. Where that occurs, we take reasonable steps, consistent with APP 8, to ensure the recipient handles the information consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles.

09Access, correction and complaints

You may request access to the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct anything that is inaccurate, out of date or incomplete. Email ceo@bodycorpbcs.site and we will respond within a reasonable period — usually within 30 days. There is no charge for making a request; we may pass on the reasonable cost of providing copies.

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please raise it with us first. Tell us what happened, and we will investigate fairly and respond within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au.

10Changes to this policy and contact details

We may update this policy from time to time as our practices, technology or the law change. The current version is always published on this page, and the date above shows when it was last reviewed.

For any privacy matter, contact our Privacy Officer:

Bendigo Body Corporate Services Pty Ltd
Attention: Privacy Officer
Email: ceo@bodycorpbcs.site
Bendigo VIC, Australia · ABN 86 703 987 875