Privacy Policy

Peta Stewart Property Conveyancers  |  Peta Nicole Pty Ltd  ABN 79 674 643 915

Effective: 4 June 2026

1. Our Commitment to Your Privacy

Peta Stewart Property Conveyancers (trading as Peta Nicole Pty Ltd, ABN 79 674 643 915) is committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information. We comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and your rights in relation to it.

By engaging our services or providing us with your personal information, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information as described in this Policy.

We may update this Policy from time to time. The current version will always be available at petastewart.com.au.

2. Who We Are

Peta Stewart Property Conveyancers is a conveyancing practice based in Lavington, Albury NSW, providing residential and commercial conveyancing services across New South Wales and Victoria.

Contact details:

• Address: 343A Wagga Road, Lavington NSW 2641
• Phone: (02) 6041 4888
• Privacy enquiries: info@petastewart.com.au
• Website: petastewart.com.au

3. Personal Information We Collect

Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified, or reasonably identifiable, individual. We may collect the following types of personal information:

• Full name and date of birth
• Residential, postal, and property addresses
• Contact details including phone numbers and email addresses
• Identity document details (e.g. driver licence number, passport number, document type, date of expiry)
• Financial information relevant to your matter (e.g. bank account details for settlement)
• ABN, ACN, or trust and company details where applicable
• Marital or relationship status where relevant to your transaction
• Information about other parties to your transaction
• Any other information you provide to us in connection with your conveyancing matter

Sensitive Information

In some circumstances, particularly in connection with our obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act), we may need to collect sensitive information. This may include information relevant to identifying whether you are a politically exposed person or subject to sanctions. We will only collect sensitive information where required or authorised by law, or with your consent.

4. How We Collect Personal Information

We collect personal information directly from you in the following ways:

• In person, by telephone, by email, or via our online platforms and forms
• Completion of our client intake and instruction forms
• Through your instructions to us during the course of your matter
• Through telephone and video call recordings (see below)

We may also collect personal information from third parties such as:

• Solicitors, agents, or representatives acting for other parties to your transaction
• Government departments, statutory authorities, or land registries
• Financial institutions, lenders, or mortgage brokers
• PEXA or other electronic lodgement and settlement platforms
• Identity verification or credit reporting services used for AML/CTF compliance

Recording of Phone Calls

We record all telephone calls. Recordings are used to ensure accuracy of instructions, support file documentation, assist with training and quality assurance, and protect both you and our team in the event of a dispute.

All recordings are stored securely and are only accessible to authorised team members. Recordings are retained in accordance with our data retention obligations and then securely deleted.

If you do not wish for your telephone calls to be recorded, you must notify us in writing at info@petastewart.com.au or by post to 343A Wagga Road, Lavington NSW 2641. Please be aware that in some circumstances this may require us to confirm verbal instructions in writing before we can act on them.

5. AML/CTF Obligations

From 1 July 2026, conveyancers are ‘tranche 2 reporting entities’ under the AML/CTF Act. This means we have legal obligations to collect and verify personal information for customer due diligence (CDD) purposes before providing certain designated conveyancing services.

The Privacy Act 1988 applies to all personal information we handle in connection with our AML/CTF obligations, regardless of our size as a business.

As part of our AML/CTF obligations, we are required to:

• Verify your identity before we can provide conveyancing services
• Collect information about beneficial owners, company structures, and other relevant parties where applicable
• Monitor transactions and, in certain circumstances, submit reports to AUSTRAC
• Keep AML/CTF records for the periods required by law

We collect and retain only the information that is reasonably necessary for our AML/CTF obligations. We do not retain scanned copies or photocopies of identity documents. Instead, we record the relevant details extracted from those documents (name, date of birth, address, document number, document type, date of expiry, and the outcome of verification).

Please note: in certain circumstances the AML/CTF Act prohibits us from disclosing to you that a suspicious matter report has been made or that certain investigations are underway. This is a legal obligation known as the ‘tipping off’ prohibition. In such circumstances we may be unable to provide full information about why certain information is being requested or to provide access to all records we hold.

6. Why We Collect and Use Your Personal Information

We collect and use your personal information to:

• Provide conveyancing services in connection with the purchase, sale, or transfer of property in NSW and Victoria
• Communicate with you about your matter
• Verify your identity and conduct customer due diligence as required by law
• Meet our obligations under the AML/CTF Act and associated rules
• Process payments and manage accounts
• Comply with our legal, professional, and regulatory obligations
• Respond to enquiries, complaints, or requests from you
• Improve and administer our services
• Send you our newsletter and updates (see Section 8)

7. How We Contact You

By providing us with your contact details, you consent to us contacting you by telephone, SMS/text message, and email for purposes including:

• Providing updates and information about your conveyancing matter
• Following up on outstanding instructions, documents, or payments
• Providing reminders about key dates such as finance due dates, cooling-off periods, and settlement
• Sending you our newsletter and other communications about our services

If you wish to change how we contact you — for example, if you prefer email only or do not wish to receive SMS — please advise us in writing at info@petastewart.com.au or by post to our Lavington office.

Please note that for urgent or time-critical communications about your matter, we may need to contact you by phone even if you have requested a different preference.

8. Newsletter and Marketing Communications

When you engage our services or make an enquiry with us, you will be added to our client newsletter unless you ask us not to. Our newsletter includes property law updates, conveyancing tips, settlement information, and practice news relevant to property owners and investors in NSW and Victoria.

You may unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time by:

• Clicking the unsubscribe link in any newsletter or marketing email
• Emailing info@petastewart.com.au with ‘Unsubscribe’ in the subject line
• Writing to us at 343A Wagga Road, Lavington NSW 2641

Please allow up to five business days for your request to take effect. Opting out of marketing communications will not affect transactional communications about your active conveyancing matter.

9. Disclosure of Your Personal Information

We may disclose your personal information to third parties where necessary for the provision of our services or where required by law, including:

• Other parties to your property transaction and their legal or conveyancing representatives
• PEXA and other electronic lodgement and settlement platforms
• Land registries and government authorities (NSW Land Registry Services, Land Use Victoria)
• Financial institutions, lenders, and mortgage brokers
• AUSTRAC, where we are required to report under the AML/CTF Act
• Our outsourced support team who assist with file administration
• Our practice management software and IT service providers
• Our accountants and professional advisors
• Courts, tribunals, or law enforcement agencies where required by law

Named Third-Party Service Providers

The following key service providers may handle your personal information on our behalf:

Overseas Disclosure

Some of our service providers, including cloud-based software platforms and our outsourced administration support, may store or process data outside Australia. Where personal information is disclosed to overseas recipients, we take reasonable steps to ensure those recipients handle personal information consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles. In circumstances where disclosure is required or authorised by the AML/CTF Act, different rules may apply.

10. Security of Your Personal Information

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information we hold from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. Our security measures include:

• Secure, password-protected practice management software
• Multi-factor authentication on all systems holding personal information
• Role-based access controls so team members access only information relevant to their role
• Encrypted document and email transmission where practicable
• Regular software updates and security patches
• Staff training on privacy obligations and data security
• Data breach response procedures

Despite our best efforts, no data transmission or storage system is completely secure. If you become aware of any security concerns relating to your information, please contact us immediately at info@petastewart.com.au.

Data Breach Notification

We have data breach response procedures in place. If we experience an eligible data breach likely to result in serious harm, we will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

11. Retention and Deletion of Personal Information

We retain personal information for as long as it is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Under the AML/CTF Act, we are required to retain certain records for seven years following the end of the relevant business relationship or the date of the last transaction.

General conveyancing file records are retained for seven years following the completion of your matter, consistent with our professional obligations.

Once personal information is no longer required for any permitted purpose, we will take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify it.

12. Accessing and Correcting Your Personal Information

You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you, and to request correction of information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date. To make a request, please contact us:

• Email: info@petastewart.com.au
• Phone: (02) 6041 4888
• Post: 343A Wagga Road, Lavington NSW 2641

We will respond within 30 days. In some circumstances, particularly where information relates to an AML/CTF matter, we may be unable to provide full access and will explain the reasons for any refusal. We may charge a reasonable fee to cover administrative costs of providing access.

13. Privacy Complaints

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first:

• Email: info@petastewart.com.au
• Phone: (02) 6041 4888
• Post: 343A Wagga Road, Lavington NSW 2641

We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and aim to respond within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

• Website: www.oaic.gov.au
• Phone: 1300 363 992
• Mail: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001

14. Updates to This Policy

This Privacy Policy is effective from 4 June 2026. We may update it from time to time to reflect changes to our practices or applicable law. The current version will always be available at petastewart.com.au. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

Questions about this Privacy Policy? Contact us at info@petastewart.com.au.