Conveyancer licences - privacy collection notice

On this page

• Who we are
• Why we collect your personal information
• The kinds of information we collect
• Failure to provide information
• How we may use this information
• Who we may share your information with
• Protecting your information
• Your rights
• Contact us

Who we are

Your information is being collected by the Department of Customer Service (the Department) on behalf of the Commissioner for NSW Fair Trading. NSW Fair Trading gives priority to protecting the privacy of your personal information, in accordance with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act) and Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (HRIP Act).

If you have any questions about this document, or how we handle your personal information, you can contact our Privacy team using the contact details at the end of this notice.

Why we collect your personal information

• NSW Fair Trading is collecting your personal information for the purpose of assessing your application to apply for, update, renew or replace a conveyancer’s licence in accordance with the Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003 and the Licensing and Registration (Uniform Procedures) Act 2002.
• NSW Fair Trading is also collecting changed contact details you provide for the purpose of keeping your conveyancer’s licence up-to-date.

The kinds of information we collect

We may collect the following information:

• Your full name, date of birth, driver’s licence number and contact details (address, email, and phone number) and any previous names or aliases
• Proof of identity information, which may include your photo identity documents, like a passport or driver licence, your Medicare card details and/or other proof of identity
• Qualification details, employment history and referee contact details
• Criminal offences recorded in the last ten years
• Details of relevant civil or disciplinary proceedings
• Some financial information, including information about bankruptcy, insolvency and debts
• Details of mental incapacity, where applicable^*
• The names, date of births, licence numbers, contact details (address, email and phone number), proof of identity documents and signatures of third parties, such as licensees-in-charge, business owners, partners, unlicensed persons, director’s or secretaries
• Applicant corporation details
• Details of other licences held, including those you hold in other Australian states (including territories) or in New Zealand
• Details of relevant disqualifications or suspensions
• Additional personal information if it is required to satisfy the eligibility requirements for the licence.

^* This information is ‘health information’ and attracts a higher level of protection under the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (HRIP Act). We note as part of the application process, if you select yes to being a “mentally incapacitated person”, you may be asked to provide medical evidence from a medical practitioner. This will assist NSW Fair Trading in determining whether you are able to be issued with a licence under the Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003.

Failure to provide information

Your information is provided voluntarily however if you choose not to provide your information, we may be unable to process your application.

How we may use this information

We may use the information we collect in the following ways:

• To assess your application for a licence in accordance with Part 2 of the Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003 and Part 2 of the Licensing and Registration (Uniform Procedures) Act 2002.
• Where applicable, to determine an application for recognition of your occupation in New South Wales in accordance with the Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003, Part 2 of the Licensing and Registration (Uniform Procedures) Act 2002, the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition (New South Wales) Act 1996 and the Mutual Recognition (New South Wales) Act 1992.
• Internal administrative purposes, including liaising with you in relation to your application, and in relation to compliance, investigations, and enforcement of the Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003 or Fair Trading Act 1987.
• To administer and update your licence, including to send you information that we consider important such as reminders to renew licences and to confirm your details if you make any subsequent applications in relation to any licence or authority issued by the Department on behalf of the Commissioner for Fair Trading.
• To support more informed policy making, program management, evaluation, research, and service planning as it can facilitate more efficient service delivery for residents and business in NSW.
• To verify your proof of identity documents with the Document Verification Service.
• To record information on a public register which is published online (as required by section 162 of the Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003 and section 34 of the Conveyancers Licensing Regulation 2021). This will include your name, suburb, licence type and number, role, licence status and expiry date, licence conditions, the date the licence was first issued, primary and additional premises addresses, associated parties, timeline of updates of the licence and compliance information.
• Other directly related purposes.

Who we may share your information with

If required, we may make enquiries and exchange information with other NSW Government agencies, or other States, Territories and/or the Commonwealth for the purposes of assessing your application and for compliance purposes. We may also share your personal information with third-party providers, CGI Inc. and Calytera as part of their technical support functions. We may disclose your information to such bodies for these purposes.

We will not disclose your information to anybody else unless we are authorised or permitted to do so by law or where you have given consent. Our Privacy Statement describes when this may occur.

Service NSW

Service NSW provides a digital front door, and your MyServiceNSW Account will be used to initiate this application and verify your identity. Service NSW collects and uses your personal information to:

• Initiate the application using your MyServiceNSW Account details.
• Verify your identity with the Document Verification Service.
• Share details from your MyServiceNSW Account with NSW Fair Trading.

Service NSW also maintains and uses your personal information for internal administrative purposes, including for the purposes of our interactions with you.

Other information you provide through the application to demonstrate your eligibility for a licence or certificate will be collected and stored by NSW Fair Trading only.

For more information about how Service NSW handles personal information, please visit the Service NSW Privacy Statement.

Digital NSW

We are partnered with Digital NSW (part of the Department of Customer Service) who assist us with our business operations by providing software and storing data on our behalf. Digital.NSW have a Privacy Statement which outlines how they look after this data.

Protecting your information

We will store and manage your personal information and health information in accordance with the provisions under the PPIP and HRIP Acts.  We have measures in place to help protect your personal information from loss, unauthorised access, use, modification, disclosure, or other misuse.

We will only keep information for as long as we need it to fulfil the purposes we collected it for. After which, the information will be disposed of securely in accordance with the State Records Act 1998 and any other applicable legislation.

See our Privacy Management Plan for more information about how we handle your personal information.

Your rights

Subject to certain conditions, you have the following rights in relation to your personal information:

• The right to request access to your personal information
• The right to request correction of your personal information

If you wish to invoke any of the above rights, please contact us using the details below.

Contact us

If you would like to make a privacy enquiry or complaint, you can contact us on (02) 9219 3999 or at [email protected].