Privacy Policy Australia

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 OVERVIEW
First American Title Insurance Company of Australia Pty Limited and the First Mortgage Services Group of entities (together “the Group”) are wholly owned subsidiaries of First American Financial Corporation, a New York Stock Exchange listed global financial conglomerate.

1.2 ABOUT FMS AND FIRST TITLE
First Mortgage Services (“FMS”) provides mortgage processing and loan servicing services.
First Title is the trading name of First American Title Insurance Company of Australia Pty Limited ABN 64 075
279 908 (“First Title”). First Title offers title insurance products to consumers and businesses.

1.3 WHAT IS TITLE INSURANCE
Title insurance protects the insured against loss caused by a range of property ownership and use risks related to the insured’s legal interest in the land. For lenders, it ensures that they have a valid and enforceable mortgage that ranks in first priority. A Title Insurance policy is one of indemnification, so all an insured has to establish is that they have suffered loss under a covered risk. An additional benefit of title insurance is that it covers all costs, legal fees and expenses in resolving a claim.

1.4 WHAT ARE MORTGAGE PROCESSING AND LOAN SERVICING SERVICES?
These are the mortgage documentation, settlement, discharge and loan servicing services provided by FMS to the lender.

1.5 PRIVACY POLICY
We want you to know your privacy is important to us and we are serious about protecting your personal information.

Part 1 of this Privacy Policy tells you how First Title and FMS (together, "we" or "us") collect and hold your personal information, what we use your personal information for and who we disclose your personal information to. It also contains information about how you can seek access to and the correction of the personal information we hold about you and how you can lodge a complaint about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles (Appendix A).

In Part 2 of this Privacy Policy, we set out how FMS manages credit information and credit eligibility information it holds about you.

1.6 CHANGES TO PRIVACY POLICY
This privacy policy is current as at 31 January 2024. From time to time we may make changes to our systems, procedures, processes and policies. This may affect how we handle your personal information, including your credit information and credit eligibility information. Where relevant, this privacy policy will be updated to reflect any changes. We will post an updated version of the policy on this website every time it is updated.

1.7 DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:
• All terms defined in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) have the same meaning when used in this Privacy Policy.
• "Lender" means "credit provider" as that term is defined under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

2. PART 1 - PERSONAL INFORMATION

2.1 WHY COLLECT, HOLD, USE AND DISCLOSE PERSONAL INFORMATION?
To enable First Title to offer title insurance products and manage existing products and for FMS to provide mortgage processing and loan servicing services to you or your lender, we need to collect personal information about you or have other parties collect it on our behalf.

Your lender, mortgage broker, legal representative/conveyancer or agent may disclose personal information about you to us in order to provide you or your lender with requested products and services.

The personal information we collect about you from your lender, the existing lender (where there is a refinance), your broker, your agent, your legal representative/conveyancer or you directly will only be relevant to the business relationship we have with you or your lender or representative and will be used to provide you or your lender or representative with title insurance and mortgage processing and loan servicing services.

The reason First Title collects, holds, uses and discloses your personal information is:
•   To assess the risk of providing title insurance to you or your lender.
•   For the subsequent administration or variation of the title insurance policy.
•   For reporting and enforcement activities in circumstances where we are required to report on claims to other parties or organisations which are related bodies corporate of First Title.
•   To claim recovery action in circumstances where First Title is entitled to recover its loss as a result of making payment on a claim.
•   To deal with claims and to enforce a loan in place of a lender if First Title pays out an insurance claim on the lender’s loan.
•   To administer title insurance products issued to you.
•   To comply with legislative and regulatory requirements under the Insurance Act 1973, Corporations Act 2001, Privacy Act 1998, Insurance Contracts Act 1984, ASIC Regulatory Guides and APRA Prudential Standards as amended from time to time.

The reason FMS collects, holds, uses and discloses your personal information is:
•   To assist your lender in documenting the loan transaction and providing other mortgage processing services such as registering the new mortgage over your security property or in the case of a refinance; discharge your existing mortgage over the security property and assist in registering the new mortgage.
•   To enable the provision of loan servicing services.

2.2 TYPES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTED AND HELD
The kinds of personal information First Title collects and holds about you includes, but may not be limited to personal information about you contained in a conveyancer’s or lender’s file to enable First Title to provide title insurance services to you or to your lender.

The kinds of personal information FMS collects and holds about you includes, but may not be limited to: information about your financial arrangements when you apply for a loan from your lender and will include information like the loan amount, security property and other relevant loan information or details of your existing loan where this is being refinanced by your lender.

The kinds of personal information both FMS and First Title collect and hold about you includes information that identifies you like your name, residential address, security property, purchase price, loan amount, assets and liabilities and other contact details.

2.3 HOW PERSONAL INFORMATION IS COLLECTED
Whenever it is possible to do so, First Title collects personal information about you directly from you. This is usually done through application forms for title insurance, over the phone or even in person if you visit our office.

In other instances, First Title may collect personal information about you from other parties. First Title may collect personal information about you from other parties in the following examples (but may not be limited to the examples listed below):
•   Your representatives (such as your legal adviser, conveyancer or broker) who are acting for you in a purchase or refinance and have been instructed by you to obtain a title insurance policy for your benefit.
•   Government agencies such as a state or territory land titles office when we do a search of the land title over your property in order to issue a title insurance policy.
•   When you approach your lender and its agents for a loan and your lender needs a title insurance policy or certain other services for the benefit of the lender.
•   The information we collect may also come to us through our website at www.firsttitle.com.au through the use of our eTitle portal.

FMS may collect personal information about you from other parties in the following examples (but may not be limited to the examples listed below):
•   When your lender engages FMS to provide mortgage processing and loan servicing services.
•   Government agencies such as a state or territory land titles office when we do a search of the land title over your property.

2.4 COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION FOR OTHER PURPOSES
We may collect, hold, use and disclose personal information about you including your name, contact details, educational details, employment information and information about your referees in order to assess your suitability for employment with us as an employee or contractor. We may collect this information directly from you or through a third party (for example, where you are referred to us through a recruiting agent).

We may also collect, hold, use and disclose personal information about you including your contact details and payment details in order to do business with you. We usually collect this information directly from you.

First Title may also collect personal information that is publicly available about currently practicing lawyers.

2.5 USE AND DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
We use and disclose the personal information we collect so that we may continue to conduct our businesses of providing title insurance and providing mortgage processing and loan servicing services to you or your lender.

2.6 COLLECTION OF SOLICITED PERSONAL INFORMATION OTHER THAN SENSITIVE INFORMATION
We do not collect sensitive information about you. Sensitive information includes information about your religious beliefs, political opinions, personal health information, ethnicity, criminal records or sexual preferences.

2.7 CROSS BORDER DISCLOSURES BY FIRST TITLE TO RELATED BODIES CORPORATE
First Title is likely to disclose personal information about you to a related body corporate who is likely to be located in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Malaysia and New Zealand.

2.8 OUTSOURCING AND USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION OVERSEAS
We work with third parties to provide some types of sales, business and customer support on our behalf. They may have access to systems that include your personal information. These companies are subject to strict controls that protect your information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification
or disclosure and limit their access to your personal information to the extent necessary to do their job.

Some of the parties mentioned above are located overseas, but again, we do not release the handling of your personal information from our effective control and we only give them secure access to the personal information they need to do their job on our behalf. These overseas companies are involved in providing services like data storage and customer and technical support, and they do it from countries like the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Malaysia and New Zealand.

In order to maintain effective control of your personal information at all times, we ensure that parties located overseas are subject to strict controls that limit access and subsequent handling of your information to the extent strictly necessary to perform the relevant function and protect your information from unauthorised use and disclosure. If there is a need for us to disclose personal information overseas for claims reporting, reinsurance, audit purposes, or mortgage processing and loan documentation services, in a way other than set out above, we will do it in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (see Appendix A).

2.9 DIRECT MARKETING
Other than issuing you or your lender with a title insurance policy and providing mortgage processing and loan servicing services, we may use your personal information to market to you new products or services we offer. We will not however market these products and services if you inform us you do not wish to receive such material.

We may also use your personal information for other reasons such as telling you about other products or services we think may interest you - unless you inform us you do wish to know of these products or services. However, we do not usually supply, sell, or trade your personal information to any organisation for the purposes of direct marketing.

If you don’t want to receive marketing offers, please contact the privacy officer at:

The Privacy Officer
Level 1, Tower B, 799 Pacific Highway
Chatswood NSW 2067
Tel: (02) 4003 6873

2.10 SECURITY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
We usually hold personal information about you on electronic databases or in hard copy records. Our systems and processes are up-to-date and continually improved in line with industry standards to ensure security of your personal information. Our systems including our network systems have the appropriate firewalls, appropriate encryption technology and passwords to help reduce the risk of unauthorised access to your personal information, virus scanning tools and management of access privileges to ensure that only those who really need it can see your personal information.

Our premises have security systems to help prevent unauthorised entry.

2.11 ACCESS TO PERSONAL INFORMATION
Subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act, you may have access to your personal information which is collected and held by us. You can access the personal information we have collected, if we have retained it, by contacting the privacy officer as per the details above.

2.12 QUALITY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
We rely on the personal information we hold to efficiently continue our working relationship with you and your lender. For this reason it is of utmost importance that the personal information we collect from you is accurate, complete and up to date. At each contact, we will ask you to inform us of any changes to your personal information, however, you can contact us at any time to update your personal information or inform us if any information we hold is inaccurate or incomplete. We strive to maintain the reliability, accuracy and completeness of the personal information we hold and to protect its privacy and security.

2.13 CORRECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
We make it a point to only collect personal information as and when we need it and directly from you if possible. This ensures the information we collect is complete, up-to-date and accurate at the time of collection. We also ask you to tell us as soon as your details change and you need your information updated.

We will also correct, amend or delete any personal information that we agree is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading or if an individual requests us to correct the information. The correction should occur within a reasonable period (usually 30 days) after the request is made.

To request correction of your personal information, please contact our privacy officer. Contact details are set out elsewhere in this policy.

Should we make a correction to your personal information, we will inform you in writing.

2.14 COMPLAINT HANDLING
We encourage you to approach us if you have any queries or comments in relation to our information-handling practices. If you feel we have not adequately answered your query or if you wish to make a complaint about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles, we ask you to contact our privacy officer. Our privacy officer will investigate your complaint and will endeavour to respond to your complaint within a reasonable period of time.
If you are still unhappy, you could contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) on the privacy hotline: 1300 363 992 or review your rights by visiting the website at www.oaic.gov.au. Alternatively, you may contact the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. AFCA provides a free and independent mechanism for investigating and resolving complaints. Time limits may apply to lodging complaints with AFCA and guidance or information should be sought from AFCA. AFCA may be contacted on any of the following channels:

Online: www.afca.org.au
Email: info@afca.org.au
Phone:1800 931 678
Mail: Australian Financial Complaints Authority, GPO Box 3, Melbourne, VIC 3001

3. PART 2 - CREDIT INFORMATION AND CREDIT ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

3.1 OVERVIEW
This section of our Privacy Policy tells you how FMS manages credit information and credit eligibility information.

3.2 TYPES OF CREDIT INFORMATION COLLECTED AND HELD
FMS usually collects and holds the following credit information about you:
•   Identification information.
•   Consumer credit liability information.
•   Repayment history information about the individual.
•   A statement that an information request has been made in relation to you by a lender, mortgage insurer or trade insurer.
•   The type of consumer credit or commercial credit, and the amount of credit, sought in an application that has been made by you to a lender and in connection with which the provider has made an information request in relation to you.
•   Default information.
•   Payment information.
•   New arrangement information.
•   Court proceedings information.
•   Personal insolvency information.
•   Publicly available information about the individual:
- that relates to the individual’s activities in Australia or the external Territories and the individual’s credit worthiness

and

- that is not court proceedings information about the individual or information about the individual that is entered or recorded on the National Personal Insolvency Index
or
- The opinion of a lender that you have committed, in circumstances specified by the provider, a serious credit infringement in relation to consumer credit provided by the provider to you.
FMS usually collects credit information about you in credit reporting information FMS obtains about you from your lender.

3.3 TYPES OF CCREDIT ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION HELD
The kinds of credit eligibility information FMS usually holds about you includes credit information FMS obtains about you in credit reporting information it obtains from your lender (set out above) and information about you that your lender derives from that credit reporting information.

3.4 HOW CREDIT INFORMATION AND CREDIT ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION ABOUT YOU IS HELD
FMS usually holds credit information and credit eligibility information about you on electronic databases or in hard copy records.

3.5 TYPES OF INFORMATION DERIVED FROM CREDIT REPORTING INFORMATION
FMS does not usually derive any information from credit reporting information it obtains about you.

3.6 WHY YOUR CREDIT INFORMATION AND CREDIT ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION IS COLLECTED, HELD, USED AND DISCLOSED
FMS collects, holds, uses and discloses credit information and credit eligibility information about you for the purposes of providing mortgage processing and loan servicing services including mortgage documentation, settlement and discharge services to you or your lender.

3.7 HOW CREDIT ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION ABOUT YOU IS ACCESSED
Subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act, you may have access to your credit eligibility information which FMS holds. You can access that information by contacting the privacy officer as per the details above.

3.8 CORRECTION OF CREDIT INFORMATION OR CREDIT ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION
You may seek the correction of credit information or credit eligibility information about you that is held by FMS by contacting the privacy officer. Contact details are set out above in this Privacy Policy.

3.9 COMPLAINT HANDLING
If you believe that FMS has failed to comply with the credit reporting provisions found at Division 3 of Part IIIA of the Privacy Act or the Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code 2014, you are entitled to make a complaint.

To make a complaint, please contact the privacy officer. The privacy officer will, within 7 days after the complaint is made, give you a written notice that acknowledges the making of the complaint and sets out how we will deal with the complaint.

After we have investigated your complaint, we will, within 30 days from the day you make your complaint or such longer period you agree to in writing, make a decision about the complaint and give you a written notice that sets out the decision and state that, if you are not satisfied with the decision, you may access the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. The written notice will contain the contact details of those entities and the contact details are also provided above.

3.10 OVERSEAS DISCLOSURES
FMS is unlikely to disclose credit information or credit eligibility information about you to overseas recipients.

Privacy Policy New Zealand

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 OVERVIEW
This First American group of companies consists of the following (jointly and severally, as relevant, the “Group”,“We” and “Us”):
•   First Mortgage Services Limited (incorporated in NZ). (“FMS”)
•   FMS Administration Limited (incorporated in NZ).
•   First Mortgage Services Pty Ltd ABN 49 110 202 429 (incorporated in Aust) (“FMSA”)
•   First Mortgage Services Australia Pty Ltd ABN 37 159 300 580 (incorporated in Aust).
•   First American Title Insurance Company of Australia Pty Ltd ACN 075 279 908 (“First Title”)
•   Propel-lc Ltd Company Number 3061754
•   First American Title Insurance Company of Australia Pty Ltd Company Number 1022212

We respect your and each individual’s (together “you” and “your”) right to privacy and are committed to protecting any personal information provided to us.

FMS and FMSA provide back office services to the mortgage industry from both New Zealand and Australia and First Title provides refinance services to New Zealand lenders. We collect personal information from individuals on behalf of various lenders and other entities in the mortgage industry in order to provide those services. In providing such services, FMS, FMSA and First Title acknowledge we are bound by:
•   The New Zealand Privacy Act 2020.
•   The Australian Privacy Act 1988, as amended (both the “Acts”).
•   The New Zealand Information Privacy Principles. A summary of the Principles is found in NZ Privacy Principles.
•   The Australian Privacy Principles (both the “Principles”). The Principles set out the minimum standard of privacy protection in relation to the collection, holding, use, disclosure, management, access, correction and disposal of personal information.

1.2 SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF POLICY
This Policy applies to all Group employees. The Policy sets out minimum standards Group employees must observe when dealing with any personal information relating to customers and clients. Personal information is any information or an opinion about an individual from which their identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained.
This policy is not intended to apply to personal information held in relation to employees and contractors.

1.3 YOUR ROLE
You should be familiar with the contents of our internal policies relating to privacy and our external Privacy Policy. Compliance with privacy legislation and our policies and procedures is mandatory.

We have set out in this Policy further detail on how we collect, use and disclose personal information. You should not collect, use or disclose personal information unless you have a good reason and in accordance with our internal policies (including this Policy). In general, you should only use and share personal information where necessary to carry out the functions for which we collected it, or if required by law.

1.4 PRIVACY BREACH
We are required to notify certain privacy breaches to regulators (such as the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner) and affected individuals.

Privacy breaches can be categorised as one or more of the following:
•   Confidentiality or integrity breach – unauthorised or accidental access to, or disclosure, alteration, loss, or destruction of, the personal information; or
•   Availability breach – an action that prevents us from accessing the information on either a temporary or permanent basis.

If you suspect or become aware of a privacy breach, it is very important that you refer to our Incident Management Policy and Incident Management Guidelines. The breach must be managed following our approved and regularly reviewed Incident Management Policy and Incident Management Guidelines. This Policy and Guidelines include further detail on notifying individuals and regulators (such as the Office of the Privacy Commissioner) when a notifiable data breach has occurred.

1.5 RELATED DOCUMENTS
•   Information Security Policy
•   Incident Management Policy and Incident Management Guidelines
•   Records Management Policy

1.6 MORE INFORMATION
Should you have a question or require further information regarding this Policy or the way we manage personal information, please contact:

The Privacy Officer
First Mortgage Services Limited
Level 1, 110 Mount Eden Road, Mount Eden, Auckland 1024

PO Box 2873, Auckland 1140
Tel + 61 2 4003 6873

www.firstms.com
privacy@nz.firstms.com

2. PERSONAL INFORMATION

2.1 TYPES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION HELD

Generally, FMS, FMSA and First Title holds personal information about all parties to an application for a secured loan, as well as the settlement, transactional history and discharge of such loans. The personal information may consist of various types of information and data relating in some way to the above, including the:
•   Name, address and contact details.
•   Age, marital relationship and dependants.
•   Ownership of property and estimated property value.
•   Amounts and nature of a secured financial transaction.
•   Loan and mortgage terms and conditions and nature and extent of each individuals’ obligations.
•   Financial transactions and interest allocations for the life of the loan
•   In the case of a refinance transaction, details of the outgoing and incoming lender and details as to the quantum of the outgoing loan.

2.2 HOW PERSONAL INFORMATION IS COLLECTED
Generally, FMS, FMSA and First Title act for lenders in the mortgage industry, though in some instances may act for individual borrowers. Accordingly, FMS, FMSA and First Title collects personal information by way of the following sources (as authorised by the individual):
•   The individual.
•   The individual’s mortgage broker or consultant.
•   Legal adviser.
•   Lender.
•   Lender’s title or mortgage insurer.
The information comes to FMS, FMSA and First Title either through direct data links between FMS, FMSA and First Title and those sources (data transported over these links is secured using firewall-to-firewall IPSEC protocols) or as forms, both paper and electronic, by telephone, facsimile or e-mail.
You must not collect information via unlawful means or by means that are unfair or intrude to an unreasonable extent on the personal affairs of the individual concerned.

2.3 HOW PERSONAL INFORMATION IS USED
Unless otherwise permitted by our policies, you should only use the personal information we collect in furtherance of the services we provide to our clients. Those services include:
•   Verification of the individual’s identity and assisting in providing information regarding the loan transaction and providing a quality service.
•   The approval process and underwriting of mortgage lending.
•   The preparation of loan and mortgage documentation.
•   Obtaining title insurance and updating the insurer’s network.
•   The settlement of loan transactions.
•   The registration of mortgage documentation.
•   The enforcement of outstanding loans.
•   The provision of relevant refinance services to the incoming lender.
•   For other uses that are specifically authorised by the individual.

Within the Group, access by Group employees to data and personal information is limited to only that access required by the role of the employee in order to perform their role. This means that you should only access personal information on a “need to know” basis.

2.4 SHARING PERSONAL INFORMATION
You should only use personal information for the purposes for which it was collected.

Unless we obtain the individual's consent or we are compelled by law, you should only share the individual’s personal information with the following parties:
•   The individual concerned;
•   The individual’s mortgage broker or consultant, adviser, lender or lender’s insurer
•   The individual’s legal adviser
•   Any other party as authorised by the individual
•   Members of the Group
•   Sanderson Weir Pty Ltd ABN 97 110 336 359 (incorporated in Australia) where this is required to complete a refinance
•   Sanderson Weir Ltd Company Number 4163338 where this is required to complete a refinance or a multi-party eDealing; and/or Governmental authorities or regulatory bodies where it is required to complete a transaction (for example rates enquiries or registration of a security) or we are under a legal obligation to do so (for example, in connection with an investigation of fraud or any activity that is illegal or that exposes us to legal liability)

From time to time, it may also be necessary for us to disclose an individual's personal information to external service providers we engage to assist with the services we provide to our clients (as set out in How Personal Information is Used above).

When dealing with an individual’s legal adviser, we rely on the information we have already received to take reasonable steps in the circumstances to verify whether the legal adviser is acting for the individual concerned. For example, the individual will normally specify on an application for a loan who is acting as their legal adviser.
FMS does not sell, rent or otherwise make available any personal information, or any information regarding the loan and mortgage transaction to any other party unless specifically authorised by the individual.

2.5   STORAGE AND SECURITY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
We comply with the Acts and ensure that all personal information is protected by a security system as is reasonable under the circumstances, against loss, unauthorised access, use, modification, disclosure or misuse. This includes physical security, computer and network security, communications security and personnel security.

We store personal information in the form of data, correspondence and other documentation within the confines of the secure offices in New Zealand and Australia during the life of an individual transaction. We also employ professional agents to attend to storage of completed correspondence files for individual transactions. We must only retain personal information for as long as we have a lawful purpose to keep it. You should destroy or de-identify personal information that is no longer needed for a business activity or function and where it is not required to be held in accordance with applicable legislation. Unless an exception exists, completed files are retained either electronically or in storage for 7 years, after which period they are destroyed, pursuant to our Information Security Policy and Records Management Policy.

We use 128-bit encryption technology to help prevent unauthorised access. All Internet-accessible data can only be accessed via authorized logons to https websites secured using a combination of Verisign and Thawte digital certificates.

You must protect the confidentiality of personal information and comply with the Information Security Policy.

2.6   HOW TO GAIN ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
An individual has the right to request access to their personal information held by us. By requesting access, we will confirm whether or not we hold information about an individual and, if so, arrange for the individual to inspect the documents or obtain either a copy, summary, written transcript or oral summary of the information where required. There may be a cost for accessing such information depending on where it is held and how accessible it is and the resources required to provide that access.

If the information held is inaccurate, incomplete or not up to date, the individual may request us to correct the information.

Under the Acts, we may withhold personal information within the exceptions that are provided. We are required by law to respond to privacy requests within certain time periods. It is therefore important that you notify the Privacy Officer (at privacy@nz.firstms.com) as soon as possible to ensure that we can meet the response time requirements.

2.7   MANAGING A COMPLAINT ABOUT HOW PERSONAL INFORMATION IS HANDLED
Individuals have a right to complain about the way we handle personal information. Complaints should be directed to the Privacy Officer whose contact information is detailed below. If you become aware of a complaint, please notify the Privacy Officer as soon as possible.