Privacy Policy

Home Energy Ratings Australia is operated by YOUR ENERGY FRIEND PTY LTD, ABN 44 669 457 792.

This policy explains how we handle personal information when you:

• use this website;
• request an existing-home energy assessment;
• proceed with an assessment and certificate;
• apply to join our team as an assessor;
• send a professional relationship enquiry; or
• contact us about a question, correction, complaint or accessibility barrier.

Our privacy approach is guided by the Australian Privacy Principles. We collect and use information for defined purposes, limit access and keep information only for as long as it is reasonably needed or legally required.

This policy does not replace the prescribed Client Information and Consent Form used for an existing-home assessment.

Assessment requests

When you submit an assessment request, we collect:

• your first and last name;
• email address and phone number;
• preferred contact method;
• state or territory, suburb and postcode;
• property type;
• your relationship to the property;
• the number of storeys and bedrooms;
• the approximate build period;
• the main reason for the request; and
• any optional property-complexity or access notes you provide.

Assessments and certificates

If your request progresses, we may also collect or create:

• the property address;
• information about your authority to arrange the assessment and required property access;
• plans, invoices, renovation records, appliance information or other documents you provide;
• the prescribed consent form and related declarations;
• appointment, communication and service records;
• assessment notes, measurements, photographs and other evidence;
• modelling inputs and technical records;
• the rating, certificate and related explanation; and
• records of corrections, re-performance, complaints or remedies.

An assessment can involve photographs or evidence that contains private information. The prescribed consent process explains the assessment information collected and how it may be used and disclosed.

Quotes and payments

We keep quote, invoice, booking, initial-payment, final-payment and transaction-reference information needed to administer the service and meet record-keeping obligations.

Our website forms do not collect card details. If you proceed, we send a separate Stripe payment link. Stripe handles the payment information entered through that link. We receive payment status and transaction information, but not your complete card details.

Assessor applications

If you apply to join our team as an assessor, we collect your:

• first and last name;
• email address and phone number;
• accreditation number;
• company;
• state or territory;
• base suburb and postcode;
• service area in kilometres; and
• completed-assessment capacity per week.

If an application progresses, we may request further business, accreditation, identity, insurance, software, agreement or verification information offline. We will explain the purpose when we request it.

Professional relationship enquiries

If you send a professional relationship enquiry, we collect your:

• first and last name;
• company and professional type;
• email address and phone number;
• state or territory; and
• optional relationship message.

Do not submit a client's personal information through this form.

Website and communication information

When you use the website or contact us, our systems and service providers may process:

• your IP address;
• browser, device and operating-system information;
• dates and times;
• pages viewed and actions taken;
• referring website and approved campaign parameters;
• security, error and form-delivery logs; and
• the content and history of emails, calls or other communications.

We collect information:

• directly from you through website forms, email, phone, payment and service communications;
• from a person who is authorised to act for you or the property;
• from the assigned assessor while the service is delivered;
• from official or public accreditation records when we verify an assessor application; and
• automatically through the website and the providers used to host, secure, measure and operate it.

If you provide information about another person, you must be authorised to do so and make sure the information is accurate.

Please do not send health, financial, identity or other sensitive information through a public website form unless we specifically request it through an appropriate process.

We use information to:

• review and respond to an assessment request;
• understand the property and decide whether the request can be serviced;
• confirm assessor availability, prepare a quote and arrange an appointment;
• manage consent, payment, assessor allocation, assessment, certificate delivery and technical follow-up;
• verify an assessor application and discuss possible next steps;
• respond to a professional relationship enquiry;
• provide receipts and operational communications;
• manage access, corrections, complaints, re-performance and refunds;
• keep required assessment, accreditation, audit, tax, legal and business records;
• protect the website and forms from error, misuse, spam and fraud; and
• understand aggregate website use and improve the customer journey.

We do not use assessment information for unrelated finance, upgrade, referral or marketing activity without a separate lawful basis and any consent required for that purpose.

You do not have to provide personal information to browse the general website.

If you do not provide the information marked as required in a form, we may be unable to review or respond to the request, application or enquiry. If required consent, authority, evidence or access is not available later, the assessment may be unable to proceed.

The website request and professional forms are intended for adults. A person accepting a quote and booking an assessment must be at least 18 years old and authorised to do so.

Any occupant consent required at the property is handled separately by the assessor under the current prescribed consent and assessment requirements. We do not ask a child or young person to submit a public website form.

We disclose information only where it is reasonably needed for the purpose for which it was collected, you have authorised it, or the law permits or requires it.

Recipients may include:

• the assessor assigned to your assessment;
• accredited assessment software and approved assessment tools;
• the NatHERS Administrator, CSIRO, accreditation, audit or assurance bodies where required for the existing-home assessment process;
• website hosting, form, email, payment, analytics, security and information-technology providers;
• professional advisers and insurers;
• regulators, courts, tribunals, law-enforcement bodies or other authorities where required or authorised by law; and
• another recipient you have separately authorised.

An assigned assessor receives only the information reasonably needed for consent, property access, the assessment, modelling, certificate delivery and technical follow-up. Assessors do not receive unassigned leads, assessor applications or professional relationship enquiries.

We do not sell personal information.

The privacy acknowledgement on the assessment-request form is not the prescribed Client Information and Consent Form.

If you proceed, the prescribed form is provided and completed separately before the onsite assessment. Its content is not changed. It explains the assessment information collected and how the assigned assessor, assessment tools, NatHERS Administrator, CSIRO and relevant assurance bodies may use or receive it.

Before the assessment, the assigned assessor must be able to make the privacy policies for the assessment tools they use available to you.

Separate consent is required before assessment information is used for unrelated services or to connect you with another business.

The website may use cookies or similar technologies needed for security, form operation and aggregate website measurement.

We do not intentionally send submitted form values, names, contact details, property details, postcodes, accreditation numbers or free-text messages to analytics.

Optional advertising measurement, remarketing and social-platform tracking features are disabled unless you grant the relevant consent and we separately enable an approved service. Browser tags do not receive submitted form fields. After an accepted form, a controlled server process may create a normalised SHA-256 value from an email address or phone number for approved conversion measurement, as described below.

Information may be held in email, cloud systems, assessment tools, payment and accounting systems, authorised devices and, where needed, paper records.

We take reasonable technical, organisational and physical steps to protect information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Access is limited according to role and purpose.

No storage or transmission method is completely secure. We do not promise absolute security.

Some service providers may store or process information outside Australia. The locations depend on the providers used for hosting, forms, email, payment, analytics and other operations.

We use a retention schedule based on the reason for holding each type of record and any legal, tax, accreditation, audit, complaint or insurance requirement.

Prescribed consent, project assessment, evidence and supporting records are retained for seven years unless another law requires a different period.

Payment and tax records are retained for the period required by applicable law.

Other requests, applications, professional enquiries, communications, complaints, website logs and analytics records are kept only for the period reasonably needed for their purpose. We delete or de-identify information when it is no longer needed and lawful retention is not required.

If we cannot currently service a location, we retain the request for future availability only with permission. You can withdraw that permission by contacting us.

You may ask for access to personal information we hold about you or ask us to correct information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading.

Contact us using the details below. We may need to verify your identity before releasing or changing information. We will respond within a reasonable time and explain if a request cannot be completed or if a record must still be retained by law.

You may withdraw a consent where that consent applies. Depending on the stage of the service, withdrawal may mean the assessment cannot continue.

Withdrawing consent does not require us or an assessor to erase a record that must lawfully be retained, and it does not undo handling that occurred lawfully before withdrawal.

Contact Home Energy Ratings Australia if you have a privacy question or complaint:

• Email: assessments@homeenergyratingsaustralia.com.au
• Phone: 0417 011 728

We acknowledge written complaints within one business day. If the matter remains unresolved, we provide a written progress update at least every five business days. This is an acknowledgement and update standard, not a guaranteed resolution date.

We record and investigate the issue, keep you informed and provide the outcome in writing. If the Privacy Act applies to the matter and you remain dissatisfied, you may be able to complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. The Commissioner generally expects you to raise the issue with us first.

If we become aware of a suspected data incident, we assess and contain it, investigate what happened and take reasonable corrective steps.

We notify affected people and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner where the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme or another law requires notification.

We may update this policy when our services, providers, information practices or legal obligations change.

The current version will show its effective and last-reviewed dates. If a change materially affects how we handle information already collected, we will take any additional notification or consent step required by law.

Home Energy Ratings Australia is operated by YOUR ENERGY FRIEND PTY LTD, ABN 44 669 457 792.

• Email: assessments@homeenergyratingsaustralia.com.au
• Phone: 0417 011 728
• Operating hours: Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm Sydney time (AEST/AEDT)

If you need this policy explained or provided in another reasonable format, contact us by email or phone.

These notices supplement the approved privacy acknowledgements. They appear immediately before the relevant privacy checkbox and do not replace it.

Assessment request

We collect and use this information to review your request, check whether the property can be serviced and prepare a quote.

If it progresses, we share only what is reasonably needed with the assigned assessor and service providers.

Without the required information, we may not be able to review the request.

Assessor application

We collect this information to review and verify your application, including checking current accreditation against official records, and to contact you about possible next steps. Without the required information, we cannot review the application.

Professional relationship enquiry

We collect this information to review and respond to your professional relationship enquiry. Do not include client personal information. Without the required information, we cannot review the enquiry.