Privacy Policy

Effective date: 6 May 2026

1. Who we are

In this Privacy Policy, the terms “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Nova Quest Pty Ltd (ABN 12 668 962 749) trading as Pay Off Home Loan. We operate as a mortgage broker under Credit Representative Number 520911, authorised by Australian Finance Group Ltd (Australian Credit Licence 389087).

2. Our commitment to your privacy

We take the privacy of your personal information seriously. This Policy explains how we collect, hold, use, disclose and protect personal information — including credit-related information — that we obtain in the course of providing our mortgage broking services.

We handle your information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), Part IIIA of the Privacy Act, and the Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code 2014, together with any other applicable laws.

3. What is personal information?

Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable. The personal information we hold about you may also include credit-related information.

Credit-related information

Credit-related information falls into two categories:

• Credit information — including identification details, the type and amount of credit you have applied for or hold, repayment history, financial hardship information, default information, payment information, new arrangement information, details of any serious credit infringements, court proceedings information, personal insolvency information and publicly available information.
• Credit eligibility information — credit reporting information supplied to us by a credit reporting body, together with any information we derive from it.

We use credit-related information to assess your eligibility for finance and to assist with the management of that finance.

4. The personal information we collect

The personal information we collect about you will depend on the products and services you ask us to assist with. It may include:

• Your name, date of birth, residential and postal addresses, contact numbers and email address;
• Identification details (for example, driver licence, passport or Medicare information used for identity verification);
• Employment details, income, expenses, assets and liabilities;
• Information about your dependants, co-borrowers or guarantors;
• Bank account, loan and other financial account details;
• Details of the property you are buying, refinancing or using as security;
• Credit-related information as described in section 3; and
• Any other information you provide to us, or that we reasonably need, in connection with your application.

When you visit our website or interact with us online, we may also collect technical information such as your IP address, device and browser type, the pages you view, the dates and times of your visits, and information collected through cookies and similar tracking technologies.

5. Why we collect your personal information

We collect personal information so that we can:

• Assess your needs and recommend suitable credit products;
• Submit and manage loan applications on your behalf;
• Verify your identity and meet our anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations;
• Communicate with you about your enquiry, application or loan;
• Manage our business, including risk management, training, audit and record-keeping;
• Send you marketing communications about products and services that may be of interest to you (where permitted); and
• Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

6. How we collect your personal information

Where it is reasonable and practical to do so, we collect personal information directly from you — for example, when you complete an enquiry form, speak with one of our brokers, send us documents, or use our website.

We may also collect personal information about you from third parties, including:

• Credit reporting bodies;
• Lenders and other credit providers;
• Mortgage insurers and other insurers;
• Your employer, accountant, financial planner, conveyancer or solicitor;
• Joint applicants, co-borrowers, guarantors or any person referring you to us; and
• Publicly available sources, such as public registers and social media.

7. Who we disclose your personal information to

In the course of providing our services, we may disclose your personal information to:

• Lenders, prospective lenders and other credit providers considering your application;
• Australian Finance Group Ltd, our licensee, and its related software and service platforms (including BrokerEngine, the loan-lodgement platform we use);
• Lenders mortgage insurers and other insurers;
• Credit reporting bodies;
• Valuers, conveyancers, settlement agents and other parties involved in your transaction;
• Our professional advisers, including auditors, lawyers and accountants;
• Service providers who assist us with information technology, document storage, marketing, mailing, customer support and similar functions;
• Our offshore parabroking service provider in India, which assists us with loan-processing and back-office support (see section 10);
• Any person you authorise to act on your behalf, such as a financial planner, solicitor or person holding your power of attorney;
• Co-applicants, guarantors and persons whose loans you guarantee; and
• Government agencies, regulators and law enforcement bodies, where we are required or authorised by law to do so.

Before we disclose your personal information to a third party, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient is bound by privacy obligations consistent with our own, or that you have consented to the disclosure.

8. Credit reporting and credit reporting bodies

We may exchange your credit-related information with credit reporting bodies for purposes including assessing your application, verifying information you have provided, and managing your loan.

The credit reporting body we primarily deal with is:

• Equifax Australia Information Services and Solutions Pty Limited — www.equifax.com.au

Lenders to whom we submit your application may also exchange information with other credit reporting bodies, such as illion Australia Pty Ltd (www.illion.com.au) and Experian Australia Credit Services Pty Ltd (www.experian.com.au).

You can obtain a copy of each credit reporting body’s policy regarding the management of credit information from their website. You may also contact a credit reporting body directly to:

• Request that your credit information not be used for the purpose of pre-screening direct marketing offers; or
• Notify them that you believe you have been, or are likely to be, the victim of fraud — in which case the credit reporting body must not use or disclose your credit information for 21 days unless you consent.

9. Notifiable matters

The law requires us to advise you of certain “notifiable matters” in relation to the way we handle your credit-related information. These include:

• The credit reporting bodies to which we may disclose your credit information (see section 8);
• That credit reporting bodies may include your credit information in reports provided to other credit providers to assist them in assessing your creditworthiness;
• That if you fail to meet your payment obligations, or commit a serious credit infringement, we (or a lender we have submitted your application to) may be entitled to disclose this to a credit reporting body;
• That you have the right to access and correct the credit-related information we hold about you (see section 14); and
• That you have the right to complain about how we handle your credit-related information (see section 16).

You may request a copy of this Policy or the notifiable matters in an alternative form by contacting us using the details in section 18.

10. Overseas disclosure

We do not store your personal information on servers located outside Australia. However, we engage an external parabroking service provider based in India to assist with back-office and loan-processing functions. The personnel performing this work are employees of that third-party provider, not of Pay Off Home Loan, and they may access personal information you have provided to us for the purpose of supporting your application.

Before disclosing personal information to any party located outside Australia, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient is bound by contractual and other obligations to handle that information in a manner consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles.

11. Direct marketing

From time to time we may use your personal information to send you information about our services, market updates, offers, events and other content we believe may be of interest to you. We may communicate with you by email, SMS, telephone or post.

You can opt out of receiving marketing communications from us at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link included in any marketing email we send you, or by contacting us using the details in section 18. We will action your request as soon as reasonably practicable and at no cost to you.

12. Cookies and website tracking

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to help us understand how visitors use the site, to improve user experience, and to support our marketing activities. This may include analytics and advertising tools provided by third parties.

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

13. Sensitive information

We will only collect sensitive information about you with your consent, or where we are required or authorised by law to do so. Sensitive information includes information about your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, membership of a professional or trade association or trade union, sexual orientation or criminal record.

14. Accessing and correcting your information

You may request access to the personal information and credit-related information we hold about you, and request that we correct it if you believe it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading.

To make a request, please contact us using the details in section 18. We will generally respond to your request within a reasonable time, and ordinarily within 30 days. There is no fee for making a request, although we may charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of providing access in certain circumstances.

If we refuse your request, we will provide you with written reasons and information about how you can complain about our decision.

15. Data security

We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include physical, technical and administrative safeguards such as secure storage, restricted access, password protection and the use of reputable third-party platforms (including BrokerEngine).

When personal information is no longer needed for any purpose for which it may be lawfully used or disclosed, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it, except where we are required by law to retain it.

16. Complaints

If you believe we have breached our privacy obligations, or you are dissatisfied with how we have handled your personal information, please contact us in the first instance using the details in section 18. We will acknowledge your complaint within seven (7) days and aim to provide a substantive response within thirty (30) days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may refer your complaint to:

• Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA)
  Phone: 1800 931 678
  Website: www.afca.org.au
• Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
  Phone: 1300 363 992
  Website: www.oaic.gov.au

17. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements or other factors. The current version will always be available on our website, and the effective date at the top of this Policy will indicate when it was last updated.

18. Contact us