Privacy policy 

You can access a plain English version of this Privacy Policy here.

Housing Hub (ABN 14 663 443 758) is committed to protecting your privacy and confidentiality, and complying with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act), the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act, state and territory privacy laws and principles, and state and territory laws relating to the collection, storage, use and disclosure of health information where those laws apply.

When you share personal information with Housing Hub, it’s important that you know how we may use it. This Privacy Policy (Policy) describes how we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information. If you have any questions about how we will use your information or this document, please give us a call on 1300 616 463 or email privacy@housinghub.org.au.

Within this policy, "personal information" has the meaning given in the Privacy Act. Generally, it means any information or an opinion that could be used to identify you, and includes sensitive information and health information about you that we may collect or hold.

The types of information we collect

The type of information that we collect from you will depend on how you engage with us. We will only collect personal information that is necessary to deliver our services and to conduct any business activities that are necessary to support this, to respond to any questions you ask of us, or to assess your suitability if you have applied for employment with us. We may collect the following types of personal information from you, depending upon your interactions with us:

  • Your name, address and contact details (such as phone number and email address)
  • Your age, gender, marital status, family situation, current living arrangements, disability, next of kin, and if you have a guardian or representative appointed (and their details)
  • If you are a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant, your NDIS number, your NDIS plan, and any relevant data and information relating to your NDIS services
  • Information about your requirements for the services you have requested us to provide, including your preferred living arrangements, support needs, health needs, accessibility needs, health plans, behaviour plans, assessments and hospital discharge summaries
  • Your credit card or other payment details, if you are purchasing a product from us 
  • If you agree to take part in research, co-design or story-telling activities, direct quotes, opinions, photographs and videos of you, but only with your express approval at that time 

If you are a person who works with people with disability who engages with us in a professional capacity, we may also collect the name of the organisation you work for and your role.

If you apply for employment with us, we may also collect details of:

  • Your qualifications, occupation, and expertise
  • Information about your current or former employment or engagement, including your training, any disciplinary action undertaken, your resignation or termination, terms and conditions of employment, performance and conduct.

How we collect personal information

We collect your personal information directly from you where possible. If you are under 18 years of age, you must ask your parent or legal guardian for approval to provide your personal information before you provide it to us.

We may also collect your information from other persons or organisations using our services who provide us with your information, such as where you have a Support Coordinator, carer, advocate or representative who provides your information on your behalf, including as your contact person.

We will only collect your personal information from third parties if you give the third party your consent to provide the information to us or if it would be reasonably expected by us that you had. 

We may collect information in any of the following ways:

  • When we communicate with you or a person you have authorised on your behalf to provide information, in person, or by phone, email, mail or social media
  • When you complete a form, survey or poll, including online forms and surveys
  • When you register to be on one of our mailing lists and to receive communications
  • When you participate in an interview, workshop or group session with us
  • When you, your Support Coordinator or another person you have authorised on your behalf, registers details of the types of housing that you are interested in
  • From other persons and organisations on your behalf, but only as described above
  • When you use our website (www.housinghub.org.au)
  • When you purchase a product or service directly from us

You do not have to provide information to us, or consent to us collecting information from another person, but if you do not provide all of the information requested, we may not be able to provide you with the services that you have requested from us or respond to your queries.

If someone other than you provides us with personal information about you that we did not ask for, or you provide us with personal information that we did not ask for, we will only hold, use or disclose this information if we determine that we could have collected this information from you had we asked for it. If we determine that we could not have collected this personal information, we will de-identify or destroy that personal information.

If this occurs and the information was collected from another person, we will take all reasonable steps to notify you that the information was provided to us. If the information could only have been provided to us with your consent, we will seek your consent to retain that information.

How we use personal information

We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which it was given to us, or for purposes which are directly related to the provision of our services. This may include:

  • Responding to queries and feedback to that you have submitted to us
  • Providing you with the services that you have requested, which may include:
  • determining whether you are, or likely to  be, eligible for housing
  • determining whether the housing you have expressed interest in or applied for will meet the needs and preferences you have expressed to us
  • assessing your compatibility with residents already residing in, or applying to reside in, the housing you have applied for
  • determining whether you are, or will be, eligible for NDIS home and living support funding, and assisting you to apply for that funding
  • providing information, training and resources to meet your needs 
  • processing enquiries you make on our website for housing and related services
  • Evaluating the effectiveness of the services that we provide, which may include providing your contact details to research partners to invite you to participate in research projects
  • Providing you with information about other services we offer that you may find interesting, in which case you will be offered an opportunity to opt out of receiving further information

How we disclose personal information

In certain circumstances, it may be necessary for us to disclose your personal information to third parties in order to assist us in providing our services, or where disclosure is required by us to meet our legal and regulatory obligations. 

Third parties that we disclose information to may include, but are not limited to:

  • Our employees, contractors and service providers, for the purpose of providing services and information to you, to operate our website, and to perform other business functions, including software providers, web hosting providers, electronic network administrators, mailing houses, payment processors, professional advisers and consultants, but only to the extent reasonably necessary to perform services contracted by Housing Hub
  • Government, government agencies, government departments, the NDIS, law enforcement agencies and regulators, if reasonably necessary to do so or required by law
  • If we are helping you to find and apply for housing, to housing providers, support providers and other professionals that you authorise us to disclose the information to, but only where this is reasonably necessary to support you to find and apply for housing, and for those providers to determine whether to make an offer of housing to you 
  • If we are helping you to apply for NDIS home and living funding, to the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), your existing Support Coordinator, and other professionals who can help support your application for home and living funding
  • If we are helping you to leave hospital or residential aged care, your hospital discharge team or aged care provider, but only where reasonably necessary to do so
  • If you agree to participate in research, co-design or story-telling activities, to persons who access our website, our annual report, research reports, papers and communications, but only to the extent that you authorised at the time of agreeing to participate
  • If you are applying for employment with us, to your work referees, related companies, recruitment agencies, and other organisations who perform services on our behalf
  • Anyone else you have authorised us to provide information to, or authorised to receive information from us, or that we are required to disclose information to by law

Disclosure to overseas recipients

We may use third party service providers to store or process your personal information who are located outside of Australia, or use infrastructure that is located outside of Australia (commonly known as “cloud providers"). If we do this, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the service provider does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and Australian privacy laws, or that the service provider is subject to a law or binding scheme that provides similar protections. We will not disclose your information to overseas recipients for any other purpose.

When you provide your personal information to us, consent to another person providing you personal information to us, or use any of our services, you are taken to have consented to the transfer of your information in accordance with this policy. You may withdraw your consent at any time (using the contact details provided below), in which case we may not be able to continue providing you with the services you have requested and will advise you at the time.

When you use our website

When you use our website, we may also collect other information that will not normally be personal information, and may include details about the date and time of your visit, the pages you visited and the documents you downloaded, the address of the website you came from and your IP address (your IP address is the single numerical address for your computer in the internet).

We also use cookies on our website. A cookie is a small file which your web browser saves on your computer or device. Cookies help us to collect the above information, to understand how our website is used and can be improved, to manage advertising, and to provide functionality and content tailored to you as an individual, by gathering and remembering information about your preferences. Cookies do not give us access to your computer or any personal information.

If you do not wish us to use cookies, you can decline the first time you use our website, and you can usually modify your browser settings at any time to decline cookies if you wish.  You will still be able to use our website, but we may not be able to provide you with the best experience.

When we may send information to you

We use personal information about you for the primary purpose of providing you with our services. We may also use it for other purposes for which you might reasonably expect us to use that information, which may include making you aware of other services, events, information and opportunities that may be of interest to you. 

You can opt out of receiving these communications at any time. You agree and acknowledge that even if you opt out of receiving information about future events, opportunities or other services offered by us, we will still send you essential information that we are required to send you relating to the services we provide.

Security of your personal information

The security of your personal information is paramount to us and we use all reasonable endeavours to keep your information in a secure environment and to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We keep records of the personal information we gather from you in secure systems, limit access to those systems only to people who need access to the information in order to provide you with the services you have requested, and store information on secure servers or in locked facilities. 

If we no longer need your personal information, unless we are required under law to retain it, we will take all reasonable steps to destroy, securely delete, or permanently de-identify your personal information as appropriate.

Accuracy of your personal information

We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information held by us is accurate, complete and up to date. If you believe that any of your personal information is inaccurate, please contact us using the below details and we will take reasonable steps to correct it.

Access to your information and complaints

You may request access to the personal information we hold about you. If you do so, we will respond to your request within a reasonable period of time and, where reasonable and practicable, give access to the information in the manner you request.  This will be subject to any exemptions provided under the Privacy Act. You may request this information by writing to us.

If you wish to make a complaint about a breach of the Privacy Act by us, you may do so by providing your complaint in writing to the contact details listed below. You may also make a complaint verbally. We will seek to respond to any complaint within a reasonable period of time. We may seek further information from you in order to provide a comprehensive response.

The Privacy Officer

Email: privacy@housinghub.org.au

Address: Housing Hub, PO Box 108, Box Hill Victoria 3128

Phone: 1300 616 463

You may also make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). You may contact the Australian Information Commissioner via telephone on 1300 363 992, by submitting a complaint or inquiry online at www.oaic.gov.au, or by writing to the OAIC at GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001.

Anonymity and pseudonymity

Where it is practical to do so, when contacting us, you have the option to either not identify yourself or to use a pseudonym. However, most of our services will require collection of personal information to enable us to provide the requested services to you. We may also be required by law (or a court or tribunal order) to only deal with individuals who have identified themselves.

Variation of this policy

We may vary the terms of this Privacy Policy at any time. You should check this Privacy Policy regularly so that you are aware of any variations made to this Privacy Policy.


Version 9: Revised 7 December 2023

  • First published on 18 March 2019
  • Revised 20 November 2020
  • Revised 21 June 2021
  • Revised 19 July 2021
  • Revised 30 September 2021
  • Revised 15 March 2022
  • Revised 01 April 2022
  • Revised 6 December 2022

This page was last updated on Mon Sep 30 2024 01:46:50 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Privacy policy 

You can access a plain English version of this Privacy Policy here.

Housing Hub (ABN 14 663 443 758) is committed to protecting your privacy and confidentiality, and complying with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act), the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act, state and territory privacy laws and principles, and state and territory laws relating to the collection, storage, use and disclosure of health information where those laws apply.

When you share personal information with Housing Hub, it’s important that you know how we may use it. This Privacy Policy (Policy) describes how we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information. If you have any questions about how we will use your information or this document, please give us a call on 1300 616 463 or email privacy@housinghub.org.au.

Within this policy, "personal information" has the meaning given in the Privacy Act. Generally, it means any information or an opinion that could be used to identify you, and includes sensitive information and health information about you that we may collect or hold.

The types of information we collect

The type of information that we collect from you will depend on how you engage with us. We will only collect personal information that is necessary to deliver our services and to conduct any business activities that are necessary to support this, to respond to any questions you ask of us, or to assess your suitability if you have applied for employment with us. We may collect the following types of personal information from you, depending upon your interactions with us:

  • Your name, address and contact details (such as phone number and email address)
  • Your age, gender, marital status, family situation, current living arrangements, disability, next of kin, and if you have a guardian or representative appointed (and their details)
  • If you are a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant, your NDIS number, your NDIS plan, and any relevant data and information relating to your NDIS services
  • Information about your requirements for the services you have requested us to provide, including your preferred living arrangements, support needs, health needs, accessibility needs, health plans, behaviour plans, assessments and hospital discharge summaries
  • Your credit card or other payment details, if you are purchasing a product from us 
  • If you agree to take part in research, co-design or story-telling activities, direct quotes, opinions, photographs and videos of you, but only with your express approval at that time 

If you are a person who works with people with disability who engages with us in a professional capacity, we may also collect the name of the organisation you work for and your role.

If you apply for employment with us, we may also collect details of:

  • Your qualifications, occupation, and expertise
  • Information about your current or former employment or engagement, including your training, any disciplinary action undertaken, your resignation or termination, terms and conditions of employment, performance and conduct.

How we collect personal information

We collect your personal information directly from you where possible. If you are under 18 years of age, you must ask your parent or legal guardian for approval to provide your personal information before you provide it to us.

We may also collect your information from other persons or organisations using our services who provide us with your information, such as where you have a Support Coordinator, carer, advocate or representative who provides your information on your behalf, including as your contact person.

We will only collect your personal information from third parties if you give the third party your consent to provide the information to us or if it would be reasonably expected by us that you had. 

We may collect information in any of the following ways:

  • When we communicate with you or a person you have authorised on your behalf to provide information, in person, or by phone, email, mail or social media
  • When you complete a form, survey or poll, including online forms and surveys
  • When you register to be on one of our mailing lists and to receive communications
  • When you participate in an interview, workshop or group session with us
  • When you, your Support Coordinator or another person you have authorised on your behalf, registers details of the types of housing that you are interested in
  • From other persons and organisations on your behalf, but only as described above
  • When you use our website (www.housinghub.org.au)
  • When you purchase a product or service directly from us

You do not have to provide information to us, or consent to us collecting information from another person, but if you do not provide all of the information requested, we may not be able to provide you with the services that you have requested from us or respond to your queries.

If someone other than you provides us with personal information about you that we did not ask for, or you provide us with personal information that we did not ask for, we will only hold, use or disclose this information if we determine that we could have collected this information from you had we asked for it. If we determine that we could not have collected this personal information, we will de-identify or destroy that personal information.

If this occurs and the information was collected from another person, we will take all reasonable steps to notify you that the information was provided to us. If the information could only have been provided to us with your consent, we will seek your consent to retain that information.

How we use personal information

We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which it was given to us, or for purposes which are directly related to the provision of our services. This may include:

  • Responding to queries and feedback to that you have submitted to us
  • Providing you with the services that you have requested, which may include:
  • determining whether you are, or likely to  be, eligible for housing
  • determining whether the housing you have expressed interest in or applied for will meet the needs and preferences you have expressed to us
  • assessing your compatibility with residents already residing in, or applying to reside in, the housing you have applied for
  • determining whether you are, or will be, eligible for NDIS home and living support funding, and assisting you to apply for that funding
  • providing information, training and resources to meet your needs 
  • processing enquiries you make on our website for housing and related services
  • Evaluating the effectiveness of the services that we provide, which may include providing your contact details to research partners to invite you to participate in research projects
  • Providing you with information about other services we offer that you may find interesting, in which case you will be offered an opportunity to opt out of receiving further information

How we disclose personal information

In certain circumstances, it may be necessary for us to disclose your personal information to third parties in order to assist us in providing our services, or where disclosure is required by us to meet our legal and regulatory obligations. 

Third parties that we disclose information to may include, but are not limited to:

  • Our employees, contractors and service providers, for the purpose of providing services and information to you, to operate our website, and to perform other business functions, including software providers, web hosting providers, electronic network administrators, mailing houses, payment processors, professional advisers and consultants, but only to the extent reasonably necessary to perform services contracted by Housing Hub
  • Government, government agencies, government departments, the NDIS, law enforcement agencies and regulators, if reasonably necessary to do so or required by law
  • If we are helping you to find and apply for housing, to housing providers, support providers and other professionals that you authorise us to disclose the information to, but only where this is reasonably necessary to support you to find and apply for housing, and for those providers to determine whether to make an offer of housing to you 
  • If we are helping you to apply for NDIS home and living funding, to the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), your existing Support Coordinator, and other professionals who can help support your application for home and living funding
  • If we are helping you to leave hospital or residential aged care, your hospital discharge team or aged care provider, but only where reasonably necessary to do so
  • If you agree to participate in research, co-design or story-telling activities, to persons who access our website, our annual report, research reports, papers and communications, but only to the extent that you authorised at the time of agreeing to participate
  • If you are applying for employment with us, to your work referees, related companies, recruitment agencies, and other organisations who perform services on our behalf
  • Anyone else you have authorised us to provide information to, or authorised to receive information from us, or that we are required to disclose information to by law

Disclosure to overseas recipients

We may use third party service providers to store or process your personal information who are located outside of Australia, or use infrastructure that is located outside of Australia (commonly known as “cloud providers"). If we do this, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the service provider does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and Australian privacy laws, or that the service provider is subject to a law or binding scheme that provides similar protections. We will not disclose your information to overseas recipients for any other purpose.

When you provide your personal information to us, consent to another person providing you personal information to us, or use any of our services, you are taken to have consented to the transfer of your information in accordance with this policy. You may withdraw your consent at any time (using the contact details provided below), in which case we may not be able to continue providing you with the services you have requested and will advise you at the time.

When you use our website

When you use our website, we may also collect other information that will not normally be personal information, and may include details about the date and time of your visit, the pages you visited and the documents you downloaded, the address of the website you came from and your IP address (your IP address is the single numerical address for your computer in the internet).

We also use cookies on our website. A cookie is a small file which your web browser saves on your computer or device. Cookies help us to collect the above information, to understand how our website is used and can be improved, to manage advertising, and to provide functionality and content tailored to you as an individual, by gathering and remembering information about your preferences. Cookies do not give us access to your computer or any personal information.

If you do not wish us to use cookies, you can decline the first time you use our website, and you can usually modify your browser settings at any time to decline cookies if you wish.  You will still be able to use our website, but we may not be able to provide you with the best experience.

When we may send information to you

We use personal information about you for the primary purpose of providing you with our services. We may also use it for other purposes for which you might reasonably expect us to use that information, which may include making you aware of other services, events, information and opportunities that may be of interest to you. 

You can opt out of receiving these communications at any time. You agree and acknowledge that even if you opt out of receiving information about future events, opportunities or other services offered by us, we will still send you essential information that we are required to send you relating to the services we provide.

Security of your personal information

The security of your personal information is paramount to us and we use all reasonable endeavours to keep your information in a secure environment and to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We keep records of the personal information we gather from you in secure systems, limit access to those systems only to people who need access to the information in order to provide you with the services you have requested, and store information on secure servers or in locked facilities. 

If we no longer need your personal information, unless we are required under law to retain it, we will take all reasonable steps to destroy, securely delete, or permanently de-identify your personal information as appropriate.

Accuracy of your personal information

We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information held by us is accurate, complete and up to date. If you believe that any of your personal information is inaccurate, please contact us using the below details and we will take reasonable steps to correct it.

Access to your information and complaints

You may request access to the personal information we hold about you. If you do so, we will respond to your request within a reasonable period of time and, where reasonable and practicable, give access to the information in the manner you request.  This will be subject to any exemptions provided under the Privacy Act. You may request this information by writing to us.

If you wish to make a complaint about a breach of the Privacy Act by us, you may do so by providing your complaint in writing to the contact details listed below. You may also make a complaint verbally. We will seek to respond to any complaint within a reasonable period of time. We may seek further information from you in order to provide a comprehensive response.

The Privacy Officer

Email: privacy@housinghub.org.au

Address: Housing Hub, PO Box 108, Box Hill Victoria 3128

Phone: 1300 616 463

You may also make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). You may contact the Australian Information Commissioner via telephone on 1300 363 992, by submitting a complaint or inquiry online at www.oaic.gov.au, or by writing to the OAIC at GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001.

Anonymity and pseudonymity

Where it is practical to do so, when contacting us, you have the option to either not identify yourself or to use a pseudonym. However, most of our services will require collection of personal information to enable us to provide the requested services to you. We may also be required by law (or a court or tribunal order) to only deal with individuals who have identified themselves.

Variation of this policy

We may vary the terms of this Privacy Policy at any time. You should check this Privacy Policy regularly so that you are aware of any variations made to this Privacy Policy.


Version 9: Revised 7 December 2023

  • First published on 18 March 2019
  • Revised 20 November 2020
  • Revised 21 June 2021
  • Revised 19 July 2021
  • Revised 30 September 2021
  • Revised 15 March 2022
  • Revised 01 April 2022
  • Revised 6 December 2022

This page was last updated on Mon Sep 30 2024 01:46:50 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)