1. About this policy This policy explains how Marcelino Assaf Pty Ltd trading as City Peak Conveyancing (ABN 49 689 304 354, corporation licence 08293700) collects, uses, stores and discloses personal information. In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" mean City Peak Conveyancing. We handle personal information in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) to the extent they apply to us, including in connection with our obligations as a reporting entity under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (AML/CTF Act). Where the Privacy Act may not strictly apply to part of our business, we still aim to follow the APPs as good practice. We also comply with our confidentiality and record-keeping obligations under the Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003 (NSW) and the Conveyancers Licensing Regulation 2021 (NSW). This policy applies to clients, prospective clients, people who use our website or quote calculator, and other people we deal with in a conveyancing matter, such as co-purchasers, agents and lenders.
2. The personal information we collect We only collect information that is reasonably necessary to provide our services, meet our legal obligations and run our practice. Depending on your matter, this may include: Contact details: your name, email address, phone number, postal and residential address. Identity information: date of birth, driver licence, passport, Medicare card or other identity documents, and the results of identity verification checks. Property and transaction information: the property address and title details, contract of sale, purchase or sale price, deposit, settlement dates, and details of the other party, agent and lender. Financial information: bank account details for settlement and refunds, loan and mortgage details, source of funds and source of wealth information, and trust account records. Tax and residency information: citizenship or residency status, foreign purchaser status, first home buyer status, and information needed for transfer duty, land tax or foreign resident capital gains withholding. Ownership and relationship information: who will own the property and in what shares, relationships between buyers or sellers, and details of any company, trust or SMSF involved, including directors, trustees and beneficial owners. Enquiry and quote information: the answers you give in our online quote calculator or enquiry forms, and records of our calls, emails and messages with you. Website information: technical information collected when you visit our website, explained in section 6. We do not usually need sensitive information such as health information. If a matter requires it (for example, a deceased estate or a power of attorney), we will only collect it with your consent or where the law allows. You can contact us without giving your name, for example to ask a general question. We cannot quote for or act on a matter without identifying you.
3. How we collect personal information We collect most information directly from you: when you use our quote calculator, fill in a form, email or call us, meet with us, or sign our costs agreement. We may also collect information from other people, where that is reasonably necessary for your matter, including: real estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders, and the other party's conveyancer or solicitor; people who refer you to us; search providers, NSW Land Registry Services, Revenue NSW, councils, water authorities and strata managers; PEXA and other electronic conveyancing platforms; and identity verification and AML/CTF screening providers. If we receive information about you that we did not ask for, we will keep it only if we could have lawfully collected it. Otherwise we will destroy or de-identify it.
4. Why we collect and use personal information We use personal information to: respond to your enquiry and prepare a quote; open and conduct your conveyancing matter, including contract review, searches, exchange, settlement and reporting; communicate with you and the other people involved in your transaction; receive, hold and pay money through our trust account, and keep the records the law requires; verify your identity and authority and protect you against fraud, including payment redirection fraud; meet our obligations under the AML/CTF Act, described below; meet our tax, insurance, licensing, audit and record-keeping obligations; manage billing, complaints and costs disputes; and improve our services and website. Identity checks and AML/CTF. From 1 July 2026, conveyancing services are covered by Australia's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. We must identify and verify our clients, their representatives and beneficial owners, understand the purpose of the transaction, assess risk and, where required, ask about source of funds or source of wealth and complete sanctions and politically exposed person checks. We may be required to report information to AUSTRAC and may be prohibited by law from telling you that we have done so. If required checks cannot be completed, we may be unable to act for you. If you do not give us the information we ask for, we may not be able to verify you, give proper advice or continue with your matter.
5. Who we share personal information with We only disclose personal information where it is reasonably necessary for your matter or our legal and practice obligations, or where you have agreed or the law requires it. This may include: licensed conveyancers, employees, contractors and consultants who work on files under City Peak Conveyancing's supervision; our accountant, bookkeeper, trust account auditor, insurer, external legal adviser and regulators; practice management and service providers we use, including TriConvey and triSearch, search, identity verification, AML/CTF, e-signing, payment, email, CRM, cloud storage, backup and cybersecurity providers; PEXA, Revenue NSW, NSW Land Registry Services, AUSTRAC, the Australian Taxation Office, councils, water authorities, strata and community managers, and other government agencies; the other party and their representative, real estate agents, lenders, mortgage brokers, valuers, building and pest inspectors, surveyors and insurers involved in your transaction; and anyone you authorise us to deal with, or to whom disclosure is required or permitted by law. We require our contractors and service providers to use personal information only for the purpose we provide it and to keep it secure and confidential. We do not sell personal information. Overseas disclosure. Some of the service providers we use may store or process information outside Australia. These include providers of email and office software (such as Microsoft 365), accounting (such as Xero), payments (such as Stripe), document and e-signing tools (such as Adobe), and website, analytics and advertising services (such as Google). Depending on the provider and the service, information may be stored or processed in countries including [the United States, and other countries to be confirmed]. Where we use overseas providers, we take reasonable steps to make sure they handle personal information consistently with the APPs.
6. Direct marketing We only send marketing emails or SMS messages (for example, a reminder about your quote or occasional updates about our services) where you have agreed to receive them, or where your consent can reasonably be inferred from our existing relationship, as the Spam Act 2003 (Cth) allows. Every message identifies City Peak Conveyancing as the sender, includes our contact details, and has a simple way to unsubscribe. We act on unsubscribe requests within 5 business days. Opting out of marketing does not stop us sending messages about an active quote or matter. We do not use your matter information for unrelated marketing, and we do not share or sell it to other businesses for their marketing.
7. Our website, quote calculator, cookies and analytics Quote calculator and enquiry forms. When you request a quote, we collect the details you enter (such as whether you are buying or selling, the suburb and type of property, your stage in the process, and your contact details). We store this in our database and customer relationship management (CRM) system, use it to prepare and send your quote by email, and contact you about it. We also record how you found our website (for example, the advertisement or search you came from) so we can understand which marketing works. Cookies and analytics. Our website uses cookies and similar technologies, including Google Analytics, to understand how visitors use the site, such as pages viewed, time on site, device and browser type and approximate location. This information is generally not used to identify you. Advertising. We use Google Ads. Google may use cookies to show our ads to people who have visited our website and to measure whether an ad led to an enquiry. You can manage ad personalisation in your Google account settings, and you can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Some parts of the site may not work properly if you do. Links to other websites. Our website may link to other sites, such as Revenue NSW or PEXA. We are not responsible for their privacy practices. Automated calculations and decisions. Our quote calculator automatically works out an indicative price from the answers you give, and tells you when a matter needs a tailored quote. A person reviews every matter, including identity and AML/CTF checks, before we agree to act. We do not currently use automated systems to make decisions that significantly affect you without human involvement. If that changes, we will update this policy to explain how.
8. How we protect personal information We store information electronically in secure, access-controlled systems and limit access to people who need it for their role. We use reasonable security measures such as passwords, multi-factor authentication and secure cloud providers. Protect yourself from payment fraud. We will never change our trust account details by email. Before transferring money to us, always confirm our bank details by calling us on 02 8999 3380. If you think your email, phone or device has been compromised, tell us immediately. If a data breach is likely to cause serious harm, we will notify the people affected and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) where the law requires.
9. How long we keep information We keep conveyancing file records and trust records for at least the period the law requires, generally 7 years, and AML/CTF records for the period the AML/CTF Act requires. After that we securely destroy or de-identify information unless the law, insurance or a legal hold requires us to keep it longer.
10. Accessing and correcting your information You can ask for access to the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it, by contacting us using the details below. We will respond within a reasonable time, usually 30 days. We may need to verify your identity first. In some cases the law allows or requires us to refuse access (for example, information about AML/CTF reporting); if so, we will tell you why where we are allowed to. We do not charge for a request, but may charge a reasonable fee for providing copies of large files.
11. Complaints If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first using the details below. We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and aim to respond in full within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.
12. Contact us Privacy contact: Marcelino Assaf, Licensee in Charge City Peak Conveyancing PO Box 126, Padstow NSW 2211 Phone: 02 8999 3380 Email: info@citypeakconveyancing.com.au
13. Changes to this policy We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be on our website.