Privacy Policy

This Policy was last updated on 17 October 2026.

Introduction

In the course of the business of Distinct Property Management Pty Ltd, trading as Distinct Properties (Distinct), there may be circumstances where Distinct collects personal information and the Distinct Privacy Policy has been developed to ensure that such information is handled appropriately.

Distinct is committed to complying with the Privacy Act 1988 in relation to all personal information it collects. This commitment is demonstrated in this Policy. The Privacy Act includes the Australian Privacy Principles and, except as outlined below, personal information held by Distinct will be treated in accordance with those Principles, regardless of any exemptions which may apply under the Privacy Act.

This Policy sets out the broad controls which Distinct has adopted to govern the way it uses personal information, the circumstances in which it might disclose personal information to third parties, how persons can access their personal information held by Distinct and what they can do if they are unhappy with Distinct’s treatment of their personal information.

Who is Distinct?

In this Policy, “Distinct” refers to Distinct Property Management Pty Ltd, trading as Distinct Properties, ABN 23 147 076 882, ACN 147 076 882, registered as a company in Canberra on 28 October 2010.

Who does the Distinct Privacy Policy apply to?

This Policy applies to any persons in respect of whom Distinct currently holds, or may in the future collect, personal information.

What information does the Distinct Privacy Policy apply to?

This Policy applies to personal information. ‘Personal information’ is information or an opinion, whether true or not, regarding a person where the identity of the person is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained from the information or opinion. In this Policy there are also references to ‘sensitive information’. ‘Sensitive information’ is information or an opinion about a person’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, membership of a professional or trade association, membership of a trade union, sexual preferences or practices, criminal record or health. Sensitive information is a subset of personal information.

What information is not personal information?

Information where Distinct has removed any reference to a person and provided that the identity of the person can no longer be ascertained from the information, is not personal information.

Distinct may use this information for its own purposes and commercial gain. For example, the fact that x users aged 30-35 have accessed the Distinct website is not personal information.

How and when does Distinct collect personal information?

Distinct collects personal information in a variety of ways in the course of conducting its businesses, including:

providing goods and services to customers;
collecting detailed information for the completion of forms such as Tenancy Agreements;
responding to questions regarding our products and our business;
interacting with people via our websites; and
conducting trade promotions and competitions.

Where reasonable and practicable, Distinct will collect personal information directly from the person and inform the person that this is being done.

However in some circumstances, it is necessary for Distinct to collect personal information through third party service providers or agents (e.g. Distinct customer information received from Government Agencies, Lessors, Lessees and Referees) or from a source of publicly available information (e.g. a telephone book).

At or soon after the time when Distinct collects personal information, Distinct will take reasonable steps to ensure that the person is aware Distinct has undertaken the collection, the purpose(s) of the collection, the types of organisation (if any) to which the information may be disclosed and any law that required the particular information to be collected.

Collection of sensitive information

Distinct will not collect sensitive information without the consent of the person to whom it relates unless the collection is required by law, is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the person’s (or another person’s) life or health or is necessary in relation to legal proceedings (current, anticipated or potential).

How does Distinct use personal information?

The use to which we can put personal information depends on the reason for which it was collected.

Distinct may use personal information for its primary purpose of collection (e.g. the delivery of services to the person) or for any related secondary purpose that we could reasonably be expected to use the personal information for.

In certain circumstances, Distinct may use personal information for promotional or direct marketing purposes. However, a person may at any time request Distinct not to use their personal information for sending direct marketing material to that person. Such a request can be made by contacting Distinct either in writing, by email or by telephone at the contact details below. There is no fee for making such a request.

Disclosure of personal information

Distinct respects the privacy of personal information and we will take reasonable steps to keep it strictly confidential.

Distinct will disclose personal information to third parties if it is necessary for the primary purpose of collecting the information, or for a related secondary purpose, if the disclosure could be reasonably expected (e.g. disclosure to a delivery contractor for the purpose of delivering goods ordered from Distinct). Where such a disclosure is necessary, Distinct will require that the third party undertake to treat the personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles.

Otherwise, Distinct will only disclose personal information to third parties without the consent of the person to whom it relates if the disclosure is:

necessary to protect or enforce Distinct’s legal rights or interests or to defend any claims;
necessary to prevent or lessen a serious threat to a persons’ health or safety; or
required by law.

Under no circumstances will Distinct sell personal information without the consent of the person to whom it relates.

Disclosure between companies in Australia

Distinct in Australia may disclose personal information to a related company in Australia, subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act. In such circumstances, the related company will only use the personal information for the same purposes that the disclosing company is authorised to use the personal information for.

Service providers, including artificial intelligence tools

We use other businesses to help us run our agency, and they handle personal information about owners, tenants, applicants and others for us. The main ones are:

PropertyMe (PropertyMe Pty Ltd, Sydney), our property management system. It holds our records of the properties we manage, of owners, tenants and applicants, and of tenancies, rent, maintenance jobs and inspections. PropertyMe’s terms say it stores the personal information we give it in Australia. Its privacy policy says it passes some information to its own service providers in Australia and the United States.
Microsoft 365 (Microsoft), our email, calendars, document storage and Microsoft Teams messages. Microsoft may transfer this information to, and process it in, the United States and other countries where Microsoft or its service providers operate. Microsoft’s terms say it will not use this information for advertising or similar commercial purposes.
Claude (Anthropic PBC, United States), an artificial intelligence assistant. Our staff use it to help write and check emails, including difficult ones; to keep a record of what happens on each property; to compare inspection reports, such as an entry condition report with an exit report or a routine inspection, and set the differences out side by side; to prepare reports from our records; and to find information in our procedures and files. Claude can read records in PropertyMe, through PropertyMe’s AiMe Connect feature, and in our Microsoft 365, but only records that the staff member using it is already allowed to see. AiMe Connect is read only: it cannot change anything in PropertyMe. Anthropic stores this information in the United States and may process it in other countries, including in Europe, Asia and Australia.

People check the AI’s work. When an AI tool drafts a document, letter or email for us, a member of our team reviews it before it is sent. Decisions about a tenancy or a property are made by our staff, or by the owner where the decision is the owner’s, such as choosing a tenant.

Training AI models. Distinct does not use your personal information to train or fine-tune AI models. Anthropic’s commercial terms do not allow it to train its models on the information we put into Claude, unless one of our staff chooses to send Anthropic feedback on a particular response. PropertyMe’s terms allow it to use the information in its system to improve its services, including to train its own models and algorithms.

Computer programs that help us make decisions

We use computer programs, including the artificial intelligence tools described above, to help our staff prepare some decisions that can significantly affect you. Examples are comparing an entry condition report with an exit report before a bond claim, and preparing correspondence about rent arrears or a breach of a tenancy agreement. The programs use personal information such as names and contact details, property and tenancy details, rent and payment information, maintenance, inspection and bond records, and what you have told us. No decision about your tenancy or your property is made by a computer program alone: a member of our team checks the program’s work, and the decision is made by our staff or the owner.

Disclosure outside Australia

Some of our team members work from the Philippines, and some of the service providers described above store or process personal information outside Australia. The countries where this is likely to happen are the United States and the Philippines. Anthropic may also process information in other countries in Europe and Asia, and Microsoft in other countries where it or its service providers operate.

Before we disclose personal information to anyone outside Australia, we take reasonable steps to make sure they do not breach the Australian Privacy Principles in relation to it, including by using providers whose contracts require them to protect it.

Information Security

Distinct will take all reasonable steps to ensure that all personal information held by Distinct is secure from any unauthorised access or disclosure. However, Distinct does not guarantee that personal information cannot be accessed by an unauthorised person (e.g. a hacker) or that unauthorised disclosures will not occur.

Distinct will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify personal information if it is no longer needed for the purposes for which Distinct is authorised to use it.

Accessing personal information

A person may request to access personal information about them held by Distinct. Such a request must be made in writing to the address below. Distinct will grant a person access to their personal information as soon as possible, subject to the circumstances of the request.

A request to access personal information will be rejected if:

the request is frivolous or vexatious;
providing access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of another person;
providing access would pose a serious and imminent threat to the life or health of any person;
providing access would prejudice Distinct’s legal rights; or
there are other legal grounds to deny the request.

Distinct may charge a fee for reasonable costs incurred in responding to an access request. The fee (if any) will be disclosed prior to it being levied.

Correcting personal information

Distinct will take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the personal information we hold. However, if a person believes that any personal information that we hold about them is inaccurate or out of date, then they should contact Distinct in writing at the address below.

Contact Distinct

If you have a question about this Policy or about how we, or one of our service providers, handle your personal information, if you want to see or correct the personal information we hold about you, or if you want to make a complaint, please contact our Privacy Officer:

Email: info@distinctproperties.com.au
Phone: 02 6140 5900
Post: Privacy Officer, Distinct Properties, PO Box 4721, Kingston ACT 2604

We will look into any complaint and respond in writing, usually within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.