Northwest Healthcare Properties Australia and Vital Healthcare Property Trust (New Zealand)

1. Overview

This Privacy Policy applies to individuals in:

  • Australia who engage with the Northwest Group.
  • New Zealand who engage with the Vital Group.

In this Privacy Policy:

Northwest refers to the entity in the Northwest Healthcare Properties Australia Group that you have engaged with, which may include any of the Northwest Healthcare Properties Australian corporate entities from time to time including Northwest Healthcare Australian Property Limited and Northwest Healthcare Australia Investments Pty Ltd and its wholly owned subsidiaries (and Northwest Group refers to all of those entities).

Vital refers to the entity in the Vital New Zealand Group that you have engaged with, which may include Vital Healthcare Property Trust, Vital Healthcare Property Limited and any of its related companies from time to time (and Vital Group refers to all of those entities).

We, us or our refers to Northwest or Vital (as applicable to you).

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. It applies to any personal information that you provide to us, or authorise us to collect. By accessing our websites at www.nwhproperties.com.au or www.vitalhealthcareproperty.co.nz (our websites) or otherwise providing Northwest or Vital with personal information, you authorise Northwest or Vital to collect, use and disclose your personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

2. Your rights in relation to privacy

We understand the importance of protecting the privacy of an individual’s personal information. This Policy sets out how we aim to protect the privacy of your personal information, your rights in relation to your personal information that we manage and the way we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information.

In handling your personal information, we will comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act (AU)) and with the 13 Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act (AU) (if you are in Australia) and the Privacy Act 2020 (Privacy Act (NZ)) and the 13 Information Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act (NZ) (if you are in New Zealand).

To the extent Northwest handles your credit information, we will also comply with the Credit Reporting Code (AU) (if you are in Australia).

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time by posting an updated version of this Privacy Policy on our websites. The updated version of this Privacy Policy will take effect immediately on such notice (or, if applicable, on the date specified in the updated Privacy Policy) and will apply to all personal information that we hold about you. We may also take additional steps to bring the changes to your attention, including by notifying you directly. We will update you of any material changes as required by law.

3. What kinds of personal information do Northwest and Vital collect?

Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified, or reasonably identifiable, individual.

During the provision of our products and/or services, we may collect your personal information.

Generally, the kinds of personal information we collect are:

  • contact and identification information such as your name, address, telephone number, email address, date of birth and drivers licence number;
  • where you are the director or guarantor of a commercial entity with which we transact, financial information about your assets, occupation and income, account balances, account activities, payment history and transactions with us or third parties;
  • where you are the director or guarantor of a commercial entity with which we transact, credit information, being credit related personal information lawfully created and accessible within the Australian or New Zealand credit reporting systems including:
    • identification information;
    • consumer credit liability information which includes information about your credit providers and credit accounts, including the dates on which the accounts are opened and closed, their limits, and their terms and conditions (or any changes to their terms and conditions);
    • whether you have or have not met any monthly repayment obligations
    • whether you have defaulted on a payment to Northwest (ie. a payment that is at least 60 days overdue and over AU$150 in value) provided Northwest or Vital has first notified you of the overdue payment in accordance with the Privacy Act (AU) (if you are in Australia);
    • whether you have defaulted on a payment to Vital (ie. a payment that is at least 30 days overdue and over NZ$125 in value) provided Vital has first notified you of the overdue
      payment and taken other steps to recover the amount of the overdue payment from you;
    • whether you have paid any amount previously reported as being in default;
    • that a credit provider has sought credit-related personal information about you from a credit reporting body;
    • information about the types of consumer or commercial credit, and the amounts of credit, you have sought from a credit provider;
    • information about court proceedings related to credit provided to you or for which you have applied;
    • personal insolvency information and other publicly available information relating to your credit worthiness;
    • a credit provider’s reasonable belief that you have committed a serious credit infringement; and
    • any other information lawfully obtainable within the Australian or New Zealand credit reporting system;
  • where you are the director or guarantor of a commercial entity with which we transact, credit eligibility information which is credit-related information about you that we obtain from a credit reporting body such as illion, together with information we derive from such information based on our own analysis including internally generated scores, ratings and other assessments used to evaluate your credit worthiness. We generally receive from illion information about existing credit accounts, previous defaults and repayment history information.
    illion’s contact details are as follows:illion Australia Pty Ltd
    479 St Kilda Road
    Melbourne VIC 3000
    Telephone: +61 13 2333
  • sensitive information including, where you are applying for a position with Northwest or Vital, criminal record information and/or health information where relevant to Northwest or Vital’s assessment of whether you are able to perform the inherent requirements of the particular role; and
  • other information such as:
    • details of enquiries you make (e.g. by completing a form on our website) and from other communications you have with us;
    • details of your marketing preferences;
    • lease information, including details of tenant or guarantor name, address and phone number; and
    • details of any feedback or comments that you provide to us or through our website.

In some circumstances Northwest and Vital may also hold other personal information provided by you.

4. How do Northwest and Vital collect personal information?

Generally, we collect your personal information directly from you, through the completion of a manual or online form, an interaction or exchange in person or by way of telephone, facsimile, email, post or through the use of the websites.

There may be occasions when we collect your personal information from other sources such as from:

  • your employer, where necessary for us to provide our products and services to your employer through you;
  • the completion of an application form by another person or entity that lists you as a director, guarantor or trade reference;
    if you are a unitholder, the Registrar of Computershare Investor Services Limited;
  • where you are the director or guarantor of a commercial entity with which we transact, your accountant;
  • illion or other credit reporting body;
  • an information services provider;
  • a publicly maintained record or other publicly available sources of information including social media and similar websites;
  • our own records about you, or records about you held by another company in the Northwest Group or Vital Group, from which we may internally generate our own scores, assessments or deductions, particularly in relation to your credit worthiness; or
  • if for recruitment purposes, an external recruitment or background
    screening services provider.

Generally, we will only collect your personal information from sources other than you if it is unreasonable or impracticable to collect your personal information from you.

In addition, we may collect information about you and your use of the websites though the use of automatic data collection tools. These tools collect certain standard information about your access and computer, such as your browser type, operating systems and language, access times and your Internet Protocol (IP) address.

5. Why do we need your personal information?

We collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information where it is reasonably necessary for the following purposes:

  • for the general operation of our business (including asset management and the provision of other products and/or services);
  • where you are the director or guarantor of a commercial entity with which we transact, to conduct credit checks to assess your creditworthiness;
  • to manage our relationship with you or an entity you represent (including to notify you of changes to this Privacy Policy, our website or our terms and conditions, and respond to queries or complaints);
  • accounting, billing and other internal administrative purposes;
  • identifying and informing you of products and services that may be of interest to you from Northwest, Vital or selected third parties;
  • assessing your application for employment with us or otherwise for the purpose of engaging you as a contractor or consultant;
  • to ensure the security of our networks and systems, protect against, identify and prevent fraud and other claims;
  • to analyse your use of our website, and personalise and improve your experience on our website using cookies and similar technologies;
  • to facilitate our internal business operations (including for training, risk management and for developing, maintaining and testing our IT systems and infrastructure); and
  • any other legal requirements.

We may also use your personal information for purposes related to the above purposes and for which you would reasonably expect us to do so in the circumstances, or where you have consented or the use is otherwise in accordance with law.

Where personal information is used or disclosed, we take steps reasonable in the circumstances to ensure it is relevant to the purpose for which it is to be used or disclosed. You are under no obligation to provide your personal information to us. However, without certain information from you, we may not be able to provide our products and/or services to you.

6. To whom do we disclose your personal information?

We disclose your personal information for the purpose for which we collect it. That is, generally, we will only disclose your personal information for a purpose set out at paragraph 5. This may include disclosing your personal information to:

  • another company in the Northwest Group or Vital Group;
  • third parties engaged by us to perform administrative or other business management functions;
  • people or entities considering acquiring an interest in Northwest or Vital’s enterprise or assets;
  • our professional advisors, contractors, consultants and related bodies corporate;
  • insurance providers;
  • regulatory bodies; and
  • any other party authorised by you or to whom we are required or authorised to disclose personal information in accordance with applicable law.

We will not disclose your personal information, including your credit information, to lenders or credit providers.

If we use the services of a credit reporting body (such as illion) we will exchange your personal information with the credit reporting body (including information about your default and repayment history). Credit reporting bodies may retain that information and provide that information to other customers who use their services.

Our disclosures of your personal information to third parties are on a confidential basis or otherwise in accordance with law. We may also disclose your personal information with your consent or if disclosure is required or authorised by law.

7. Overseas disclosure

We may disclose personal information, including credit related personal information, to overseas recipients to provide our products and/or services and for administrative, data storage or other business management purposes. Recipients of such disclosures (including entities that are part of the global Northwest Group or Vital Group) are located in Canada, North America, Brazil, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Overseas recipients may have different privacy and data protection standards. However, if you are in Australia, before disclosing any personal information to an overseas recipient, Northwest takes steps reasonable in the circumstances to ensure that:

  • the overseas recipient complies with the Australian Privacy Principles;
  • the overseas recipient is bound by a substantially similar privacy scheme unless you consent to the overseas disclosure; or
  • the disclosure is otherwise required or permitted by law.

If you are in New Zealand, before disclosing any personal information to an overseas recipient, Vital will ensure that it has a reasonably held belief that:

  • the overseas recipient complies with the Privacy Act (NZ);
  • the overseas recipient is bound by safeguards that are substantially similar to the Privacy Act (NZ); or
  • it is otherwise required or permitted by law to disclose your personal information to the overseas recipient.

If you have any queries regarding or objections to such disclosures, please contact our Privacy Compliance Officer on the details set out in paragraph 12.

8. Direct marketing

We may use and disclose your personal information to inform you of products and services that may be of interest to you. If you do not wish to receive such communications, you can opt-out by contacting us via the contact details set out in paragraph 12 or through any opt-out mechanism contained in a marketing communication to you.

We will not use or disclose credit-related personal information for direct marketing purposes except to the extent permitted under the Privacy Act (AU) and Privacy Act (NZ).

9. Cookies

We may collect information through cookies on our websites. Cookies are small pieces of information that are stored on a user’s computer. We may also use cookies to personalise your experience on our websites, make it easier for you to navigate our websites, and improve your experience by storing your search or login details (if any).

Cookies can be disabled via your website browser; however, doing so may limit your access to some of the websites’ content and features. We may also use cookies to track non-personally identifiable information such as usage and volume statistics, for research purposes to further develop our website.

10. Security of your personal information

We take steps reasonable in the circumstances to ensure that the personal information we hold is protected from misuse, interference and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We hold personal information in both hard copy and electronic forms in secure databases on secure premises, accessible only by authorised staff. Credit eligibility information, such as information we receive from illion for the purpose of assessing credit worthiness, is stored through equally secure methods. Our staff are bound by security policies, which are regularly revised and re-issued.

We will destroy or de-identify personal information in circumstances where it is no longer required, unless we are otherwise required or authorised by law to retain the information.

If you believe on reasonable grounds that you have been, or are likely to be, a victim of fraud, you may request the relevant credit reporting body not to use or disclose credit related personal information it holds about you by contacting them directly.

11. Can you access and correct the personal information that Northwest and Vital hold about you?

We take steps reasonable in the circumstances to ensure personal information we hold is accurate, up-to-date, complete, relevant and not misleading. Under the Privacy Act (AU) and Privacy Act (NZ), you have a right to access and seek correction of your personal information that is collected and held by us. If at any time you would like to access or correct the personal information that we hold about you, or you would like more information on our approach to privacy, please contact our Privacy Compliance Officer on the details set out in paragraph 12 below.

We will grant access to the extent required or authorised by the Privacy Act (AU) or Privacy Act (NZ) (as applicable) or other applicable law and take steps reasonable in the circumstances to correct personal information where necessary and appropriate.

Where necessary to resolve a request for correction of your credit related personal information, we may also consult with other relevant entities, including but not limited to illion or any other applicable credit reporting body. Our use or disclosure of your credit related personal information for correction purposes is permitted by the Privacy Act (AU) and Privacy Act (NZ).

To obtain access to your personal information:

  • you will have to provide proof of identity to ensure that personal information is provided only to the correct individuals and that the privacy of others is protected;
  • we request that you be reasonably specific about the information you require; and
  • we may charge you a reasonable administration fee, which reflects the cost to us, for providing access in accordance with your request.

Alternatively, if you would like to access personal information held about you by illion or any other credit reporting body, please contact them directly.

We will endeavour to respond to your request to access or correct your personal information within 30 days from your request (if you are in Australia) or 20 days from your request (if you are in New Zealand). If we refuse your request to access or correct your personal information, we will provide you with written reasons for the refusal and details of complaint mechanisms. We will also take steps reasonable in the circumstance to provide you with access in a manner that meets both your needs and our needs.

If you are dissatisfied with our refusal to grant access to, or correct, your credit related personal information, you may make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or Office of the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner (as applicable).

12. How to contact us

For further information or enquiries regarding your personal information, or if you would like to opt-out of receiving any promotional or marketing communications, please contact our Privacy Compliance Officer at 03 8609 8410 if you are in Australia or 0800 225 264 if you are in New Zealand.

13. Privacy complaints

Please direct all privacy complaints to our Privacy Compliance Officer. At all times, privacy complaints:

  • will be treated seriously;
  • will be dealt with promptly;
  • will be dealt with in a confidential manner; and
  • will not affect your existing obligations or affect the commercial arrangements between you and us.

Specifically, if you are in Australia and your complaint relates to credit related personal information and/or Northwest’s failure to comply with its obligations regarding credit related personal information under the Privacy Act (AU) and/or the Credit Reporting Code:

  • Northwest will acknowledge your complaint within 7 days of receipt and endeavour to resolve it within 30 days, unless Northwest informs you otherwise and seeks your agreement in writing;
  • Northwest may consult with relevant third parties, such as illion, to sufficiently and expeditiously resolve the complaint; and
  • if your complaint relates to Northwest’s refusal to provide access to, or correct, your credit related personal information, you may complain directly to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

Northwest’s Privacy Compliance Officer will commence an investigation into your complaint. You will be informed of the outcome of your complaint following completion of the investigation. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint, or an extension to the time in which Northwest will resolve it, you may refer the complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.