Offshore Workers or Economic Slavery?

Realty At the Bay is proud that all our staff are licensed in Queensland & located on the northern Gold-Coast. We do not support the current industry practice of using unlicensed “assistants” who are only paid 50% of the award wage to access your private information from an offshore location.

We are lucky to have our dedicated and experienced team in both Property Management and Sales.  The majority of our employees have been with us for many years (something our competitors strive to achieve) providing a continuity of tenure.   Consequently, you are not constantly dealing with a new property manager.  Our team regularly attends training and update sessions with the REIQ & other industry professionals ensuring they are up to date with the latest regulations.

When in doubt, Ask a local.

Another prominent Australian realtor was recently compromised and lost private customer data.  Investigations pointed to a “remote worker” who was ultimately responsible for the breach.  A spokesman for the company said the property database was used by the franchisee’s service provider, Stafflink, to provide administrative support.

“In this particular instance the rental property database was accessed by an unknown third party.”
“It is not known how many people were impacted by the breach.” the spokesman said.

Source: “Aussie real estate agency reveals names, addresses possibly compromised in cyber attack“

Unfortunately, offshore workers who are employed under contract are not restricted from accessing any private information that their workplace may have access to.  Please see the reply from the Federal Office of the Australian Information Commissioner(www.oaic.gov.au) after I reported what I considered a breach of the Information Privacy Act(2009):

The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Act) is technology neutral and it is up to regulated organisations to ensure they comply with it. The Act regulates the handling of personal information by Australian Government agencies and many private organisations through the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

Before an entity discloses personal information to an overseas recipient, APP 8.1 requires the entity to take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure that the overseas recipient does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles in relation to the information.  Generally a contract may be used to meet the reasonable steps requirement.  There is no requirement in the Act for information to be stored on servers in Australia.

Unsurprisingly, examples can be found in other sectors too.  This issue is not restricted to the Gold Coast Real-Estate industry alone – The old adage “You get what you pay for” rings true:

*Established 1997 RealtyAttheBay has helped over 4000 buyers find their dream home.  Offering both Property Management & Sales service to the Runaway Bay, Labrador, Paradise Point, Biggera Waters, Anglers Paradise, Helensvale, Pacific Pines, Oxenford, Coomera, Southport & other areas of the Gold-Coast, our Experience & Expertise creates wealth for our clients.

Published 13th December 2022