Privacy Policy

Purpose

We know that how we collect, use, disclose and protect your information is important to you, and we
value your trust. That’s why protecting your information and being clear about what we do with it is
a vital part of our relationship with you.
The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to inform our clients and any users of our digital platforms (i.e.
our website, social media pages (Refer to Appendix A) about how we comply with the requirements
of the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 (“the Privacy Act”) in managing personal information.

Consent to Privacy Policy


Please note that when you contact us through our website, digital Platforms and social media pages
you are agreeing to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, please do not
contact us through any of our digital platforms, but call us on 03 441 0120 (Privacy Officer).

Collection of personal information


Personal Information is defined in the Privacy Act as information about an identifiable individual (a
natural person as opposed to a company or other legal entity).

Types of personal information we collect


The types of personal information we collect will vary depending on the nature of your dealings with
us. We only collect personal information that is necessary. Where reasonable and practicable, we
will collect your personal information directly from you and inform you that we are collecting it.
We mainly collect personal information directly from you, for example:

  • Over the telephone or a video call (such as over Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Skype) e.g. when
    you contact our staff;
  • Through one of our digital platforms like our website, social media pages and app (including
    through any online chat, virtual assistant or bots).
  • When you email or write to us; or
  • When you participate in a marketing campaign, competition or promotion (or a similar
    event) administered by us or our representatives.

If it is not obvious that we are collecting personal information from you, we will do our best to make
it clear to you so that you are always aware when information is being collected.
Generally, the types of personal information we collect and hold include your:

  • Name
  • Contact details (such as your email address, postal address, phone number)
  • Details relating to any service offered by us
  • Details of your enquiry
  • Details of any preferences you tell us about (such as your price range to purchase property).

We may also collect personal information about you from:

  • Publicly available sources e.g. via the internet
  • Your professional advisers e.g. Solicitor or your Accountant

We collect your personal information from the above parties (other than publicly available sources)
where we have received your express consent to do so. We are not responsible for the privacy or
security practices of the above parties and the parties described above are not covered by this
Privacy Policy.

Online device information and cookies


If you are visiting us through our website, Digital Platform and social media pages, then we collect
information about your use and experience on these by using cookies. Cookies are small pieces of
information stored on your hard drive or on your mobile browser. They can record information
about your visit to the site, allowing it to remember you the next time you visit and provide a more
meaningful experience.

The cookies we send to your computer, mobile phone or other device cannot read your hard drive,
obtain any information from your browser or command your device to perform any action. They are
designed so that they cannot be sent to another site or be retrieved by any non- New Zealand
Sotheby’s International Realty website or app.
When you interact with us through our website, Digital Platform or social media pages the
information collected through the cookies may include:

  • When you interact with us through our website, Digital Platform or social media pages the
    information collected through the cookies may include:
  • The date and time of visits;
  • Website page (or pages) viewed;
  • The website from which you accessed the internet and our website or other digital platform;
  • How you navigate through the website and interact with pages (including any fields
    completed in forms and applications completed (where applicable));
  • Information about your location;
  • Information about the device used to visit our digital platform; and
  • IP address (or addresses), and the type of web browser used.

We will not ask you to supply personal information publicly over Facebook or any other social media
platform that we use. Sometimes we may invite you to send your details to us through a private message, for example, to answer a question. You may also be invited to share your personal
information through secure channels to participate in other activities, such as competitions, but we
would require your express consent prior to us including you in such activities.

A Bot


A bot is a piece of software that is programmed to do certain tasks, such as responding to certain
phrases with programmed responses. A bot acts in accordance with its instructions, imitating a
human user’s behaviours, but without a human behind it. When you talk to a bot from a third party
platform such as Facebook Messenger, our third party service provider Google Analytics will
temporarily store and analyse your conversation so that the bot can talk back to you. You can read
Google’s privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy

The third party platform provider (i.e. Facebook Messenger) may also store your bot conversation.
You can read Facebook’s privacy policy at https://m.facebook.com/privacy/explanation We
recommend that you do not share sensitive personal information, such as bank account details, with
a bot.

Purpose of collection and use of personal information


Any personal information you provide to us may be used to:
Check whether you are eligible for the product or services offered by us;

  • Facilitate those services;
  • Provide information that you request; and / or
  • Provide you with further information about our other products and services

We also have an obligation to maintain personal information to disclose to regulatory and similar
bodies - see “Disclosure of your personal information” below. These bodies have a legal right to
such information.

Storage and protection of your personal information


We may electronically record and store personal information which we collect from you. When we
do so, we will take all reasonable steps to keep it secure and prevent unauthorised disclosure.
However, we cannot promise that your personal information will not be accessed by an
unauthorised person (e.g. a hacker) or that unauthorised disclosures will not occur. If we provide
you with any passwords or other security devices, it is important that you keep these confidential
and do not allow them to be used by any other person. You should notify us immediately if the
security of your password or security device is breached, this will help prevent the unauthorised
disclosure of your personal information.

Some information we hold about you will be stored in paper files, but most of your information will
be stored electronically on physical hard drives [and/or] on the cloud, by cloud service providers –
see “Cloud-based service providers” below.
We use a range of physical and electronic security measures to protect the security of the personal
information we hold, including:

  • Access to information systems is controlled through identity and access management;
  • Our buildings are secured with a combination of locks, monitored alarms and cameras to
    prevent unauthorised access;
  • Employees are bound by internal information security policies and are required to keep
    information secure;
  • Employees are required to complete training about information security and privacy;
  • When we send information overseas or use service providers to process or store
    information, we put arrangements in place to protect your information;
  • We regularly monitor and review our compliance (and our service providers’ compliance)
    with internal policies and industry best practice.
  • We only keep information for as long as we need it, or as long as the law requires us to. We
    have a records management policy that governs how we manage our information and
    records to make sure we destroy any information that is outdated, irrelevant or
    unnecessary.

Cloud-based service providers


We use third party service providers to store and process most of the information we collect. We
use Appserv, Property Suite & AML Solutions cloud servers located in Australia and New Zealand.
We ensure that our cloud-based service providers are subject to appropriate security and
information handling arrangements and that the information stored or processed by them remains
subject to confidentiality obligations.

Timeframes for keeping personal information


We take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify any personal information as soon as
practicable after the date of which it has no legal or regulatory purpose, or we have no legitimate
business purpose with it.

In the case of information that relates to our advice services or products or services we have
provided, we are required by law to hold this information for seven years. After this time, provided
that the personal information is no longer relevant to any service we are providing you, we will take
reasonable steps to safely destroy or de-identify any personal information.

We have a records management policy that governs how we manage our information and records to
enable us to destroy any information that is outdated, irrelevant or no longer necessary.

If there is a privacy breach


We work hard to keep your personal information safe. However, despite applying strict security
measures and following industry standards to protect your personal information, there is still a
possibility that our security could be breached. If we experience a privacy breach, where there is a
loss or unauthorised access or disclosure of your personal information that is likely to cause you
serious harm, we will, as soon as we become aware of the breach:

  • Seek to quickly identify and secure the breach to prevent any further breaches and reduce
    the harm caused;
  • Assess the nature and severity of the breach, including the type of personal information
    involved and the risk of harm to affected individuals;
  • Advise and involve the appropriate authorities where criminal activity is suspected;
  • Where appropriate, notify any individuals who are affected by the breach (where possible,
    directly);
  • Where appropriate, put a notice on our website advising our clients of the breach; and
  • Notify the Privacy Commissioner.

Disclosure of your personal information


We may disclose your personal information to others outside New Zealand Sotheby’s International
Realty where:

  • It is necessary to enable us to achieve the purpose that we collected the information for;
  • We are required or authorised by law or where we have a public duty to do so;
  • You have expressly consented to the disclosure or your consent can be reasonably inferred
    from the circumstances; or
  • We are permitted to disclose the information under the Privacy Act 2020.

Parties we may disclose your information to


Your personal information may be used by us for the purpose of providing advice and services to you
and may also be used by agencies such as, but not limited to:

  • Any out-sourced service provider who assists in the services we are required to carry out
    such as auditors and external compliance reviewers;
  • Our external dispute resolution service;
  • The Regulator;
  • Credit reporting and debt collecting organisations;

If we don’t need to share your information with a third party in order to provide advice and services
to you, we will not pass on your information to them without your consent. Under no circumstances
will we sell or receive payment for disclosing your personal information.

Sending your information overseas


We may send your personal information outside New Zealand, including to overseas members of
New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty related companies and overseas service providers or
other third parties who process or store our information, or provide certain services to us.

Where we do this, it does not change any of our commitments to you to safeguard your privacy.
We make sure that appropriate security and information handling arrangements are in place and
the information remains subject to confidentiality obligations.

All countries have different privacy laws and information protection standards. If we need to send
your personal information to a country that has lower standards of information protection than in
New Zealand, we will take appropriate measures to protect your personal information. Where it is
not possible to ensure that appropriate security and information handling arrangements are in
place, we will let you know and gain your consent prior to sending your personal information
overseas.

Third party websites


Through our website or our other social media pages, you may be able to link to other websites
which are not under our control. We are not responsible for the privacy or security practices of
those third-party websites and the sites are not covered by this Privacy Policy. Third party websites
should have their own privacy and security policies and we encourage you to read them.
In addition, we have no knowledge of (or control over) the nature, content, and availability of those
websites. We do not sponsor, recommend, or endorse anything contained on these linked websites.
We do not accept any liability of any description for any loss suffered by you by relying on anything
contained or not contained on these linked websites.

Right to access, correct and delete personal information


You have the right to request access to, correct and, in some circumstances, delete your personal
information. You can do so by contacting us at:

  • New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty
    1st Floor, Mountaineer Building, Cnr Shotover and Rees Street, Queenstown, New Zealand
    Phone 03 441 0120
    Or via email at info@nzsir.com

When you contact us with such a request, we will take steps to update or delete your personal
information, provide you with access to your personal information and/or otherwise address your
query within a reasonable period after we receive your request. To protect the security of your personal information, you may be required to provide identification before we update or provide
you with access to your personal information.

We are only able to delete your personal information to the extent that it is not required to be held
by us to satisfy any legal, regulatory, or similar requirements.

There is no fee for requesting that your personal information is corrected or deleted or for us to
make corrections or deletions. In processing your request for access to your personal information, a
reasonable cost may be charged. This charge covers such things as locating the information and
supplying it to you.

There are some circumstances in which we are not required to give you access to your personal
information. If we refuse to give you access or to correct or delete your personal information, we
will let you know our reasons, except if the law prevents us from doing so.
If we refuse your request to correct or delete your personal information, you also have the right to
request that a statement be associated with your personal information noting that you disagree with
its accuracy.

If we refuse your request to access, correct or delete your personal information, we will also provide
you with information on how you can complain about the refusal.

What happens if you do not provide us your information?


If you do not provide information we have requested, you may be unable to obtain or access our
services for which the information is required. Please ask us if you are unsure what information is
important and how this might affect you.

Changes to the Privacy Policy


We review this Privacy Policy periodically to keep it current and available on our website. If the
changes are significant, we may advise you directly. You may also obtain a copy of the latest version
by calling us on 03 441 0120

Privacy Policy queries and concerns


If you are concerned about how your personal information is being handled or if you feel that we
have compromised your privacy in some way, please contact us at:

  • Privacy Officer
    New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty
    1st Floor, Mountaineer Building, Cnr Shotover and Rees Street, Queenstown, New Zealand
    Phone 03 441 0120
    Or via email at info@nzsir.com

We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days of its receipt. We will let you know if
we need any further information from you to investigate your complaint.

We aim to resolve complaints as quickly as possible. We strive to resolve complaints within five
working days, but some complaints take longer to resolve. If your complaint is taking longer, we will
let you know what is happening and a date by which you can reasonably expect a response.

If you are not satisfied with our response to any privacy related concern you may lodge a complaint
on the Privacy Office website (www.privacy.org.nz) or send a complaint form to the Privacy

Commissioner at:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner
P O Box 10-094
Wellington 6143, New Zealand
Fax: 04- 474 7595
Email: enquiries@privacy.org.nz

Telephone: 0800 803 909
Website: www.privacy.org.nz

 

APPENDIX 4 - What we collect via Marketing Channels

We gather information to allow us to develop, tailor and personalise our services and inform our
marketing and advertising. The actual information we collect and our use of such personal
information varies depending upon the nature of our relationship and the channel in which we
interact.

We collect personal information you provide to us when you contact us, when you interact with the
marketing communications we send you or promote on social media. Information we may collect
includes but is not limited to:

  • Personal information you provide when you interact with us via our website or a third party
    service such as Facebook
  • Aggregated anonymised information generated by third party systems (such as Google
    Analytics)

Our Website 

We may collect personal information from you when you use our website
(www.nzsothebysrealty.com), for instance if you make an enquiry, sign up to our newsletters or
interact with our chatbot we will receive your name, email address, phone number and other
information you freely provide.

To help us manage our website performance and improve your experience when using the website,
we also use automated data collection technologies such as cookies and tracking pixels. Information
collected from cookies can include your IP address, browser type, domain and other use information
such as your username. You can refuse the use of cookies by turning them off in your browser.
Information collected by our website may be used to provide you with marketing communications,
improve our website experience, tailor content to provide you with a personalised experience or for
market research.

Social Media

We use social media sites Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest to promote our business and
reach a relevant audience. If you choose to create or log in to your account with a social media
service and interact with us via that service, we may receive personal information about you or your connections from that service. Your interactions with these platforms are governed by the privacy
policy of the third party providing it and to the maximum extent permitted by law we are not
responsible for the actions of those third parties.

Marketing

We advertise in a number of ways, including online through managed social media presences, and
on other unaffiliated sites and mobile applications. To understand how our advertising campaigns
are performing, and better understand the visitors to our website we work with partners who
provide us advertising services. These partners may also measure ad performance and report
aggregate statistics to us. While ad performance and statistics are reported to us, it is the third party
and not us that collects the information in these cookies from your use of our website. Accordingly,
the use of such information is governed by the third party’s privacy policy.

How your information is used

We may use your personal information for any purpose which is stated to you at the time of
collection or otherwise authorised to:

  • Send you newsletters
  • Communicate with you for general contact or enquiries
  • Analyse the usage of our website, improve the content of the website and customise the
    website to your preferences
  • Carrying our marketing and promotional activities including direct marketing
  • To show you advertising and information that is relevant to your interests