Victor Dominello, the NSW minister for customer service and digital government, has taken steps to restrict the amount of data that the real estate sector keeps.
Dominello has enquired as to whether it is possible to verify people using the Rental Bonds online platform rather than gathering a wealth of data about potential tenants.
The rising frequency of cyberattacks against Australian companies has drawn attention to the methods used to obtain real estate data.
Dominello has stated his disapproval of the industry’s methods for gathering data.
Even renting out a vacation property, he claimed, could entail gathering more data than necessary: “Some services ask for a range of identity information. For other holidays, you give them and do so repeatedly.
Furthermore, a lot of real estate franchises are too tiny to fall under the purview of the Privacy Act.
According to Dominello, he started his plan by making a request to NSW Fair Trading.
In an article published on Wednesday on LinkedIn, Dominello stated, “I’ve written to NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Natasha Mann to investigate opportunities with key stakeholders on whether we can use the Rental Bonds online platform to securely collect and validate information from prospective tenants in a tell us once approach.”
This can lessen information sharing that is excessive. Additionally, it might make it easier for landlords and brokers to gather and preserve personal data.
Dominello requested that the Rental Bond Board look at ways to use the Rental Bond Online platform as a one-stop shop to securely collect and validate information provided by potential tenants in his letter to the fair trading commissioner.
This would lessen the burden on managing agents and landlords to gather and keep this sensitive information while protecting tenants.