Who we are

 

Buildforms Pty Ltd (ACN 648 005 225) (Buildforms, us, we) owns and operates the Buildforms platform, a set of applications for the building industry including digital forms, electronic signing and document sharing, specifications and addenda, supplier catalogues, scheduling and estimating (Buildforms App). Buildforms is based in Perth, Western Australia. The services offered by Buildforms include the Buildforms App, our website at www.buildforms.com.au, and any other features, content or applications offered from time to time by Buildforms using the Buildforms App or in connection with the Buildforms App (collectively, the Buildforms Services).

 

This document should be read in conjunction with the Buildforms Terms of Use, which are available at www.buildforms.com.au/terms-of-use.

 

Application of this Privacy Policy

 

Buildforms respects and is committed to protecting your privacy.

 

The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to explain:

 

• the application of this Privacy Policy;
• the kind of information we collect about you and why we collect it;
• how we collect and store that information;
• how we may disclose that information;
• how you can access and correct the information we hold about you;
• when we may use your information to contact you; and
• our use of cookies to collect information, and how you can control or delete these cookies (if implemented within the Buildforms Services).

 

This policy informs you of your rights to privacy and describes how we comply with our privacy requirements as set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012 (Cth).

 

This policy deals with how we collect, manage, store and disclose your "personal information". Certain parts of this Privacy Policy also apply to "sensitive information". This term is discussed below.

 

Your Consent

 

By using the Buildforms Services you consent to the privacy practices set out in this policy.

 

If you do not agree with the policy and consent please discontinue use of the Buildforms Services.

 

You have the option of remaining anonymous or use a pseudonym in your dealings with us. However, in most situations we will be unable to provide you with a good or service if you do not provide us with your personal information. We need to have your details in order to supply the Buildforms Services via the Buildforms App to you.

 

If you have concerns about your rights to anonymity or the use of a pseudonym, you can contact our Privacy Officer (see below details under the heading "Complaints") on a no-names and confidential basis.

 

What is personal information and sensitive information

 

We collect personal information in the course of our business dealings with you. The term "personal information" is defined by the Privacy Act. Personal information is information or an opinion that can be used to identify you. This might include personal details like your name, address, date of birth, other contact information like your email address and phone number and financial information like your credit card number or bank details.

 

"Sensitive information" is a type of personal information. Sensitive information can include information like your racial or ethnic origin, health, political opinions, membership of a political association, professional or trade association or trade union and criminal record.

 

This policy applies to personal information and sensitive information collected by us, whether we have asked for the information or not.

 

The kind of personal information we collect and hold

 

The information that Buildforms collects about you depends on how you use the Buildforms App and Buildforms Services, and the nature of our dealings with you.

 

Personal information we may collect includes:

 

a) names;

 

b) contact details, including address, phone number and email address;

 

c) signatures, and information recorded when documents are signed electronically (such as names, email addresses, mobile numbers, verification codes, IP addresses, devices and the time of each step);

 

d) dates of birth;

 

e) details regarding property ownership;

 

f) details regarding property you own including property addresses, certificate of title details, land usage and zoning, shire and council information and details of any development or proposed development;

 

g) bank account and credit card details;

 

h) employment details;

 

i) tax file numbers;

 

j) financial details;

 

k) information about your projects, including specifications, selections, schedules, estimates and documents;

 

l) information about other people that our customers enter or upload, such as their clients, property owners, staff, suppliers and contractors;

 

m) opinions about our services, products and staff; and

 

n) any information sent to us through correspondence.

 

Sensitive Information

 

Generally, we do not collect sensitive information. If we think any sensitive information is reasonably necessary to allow us to perform our functions or activities we will ask for your consent to collect this information. We will comply with the Privacy Act in this regard.

 

Why we collect personal information

 

We collect personal information for a number of reasons including:

 

a) to deliver products or provide our services including to provide you with relevant information and systems regarding your building project (such as approvals required, interests affecting the land, council and shire information and other land and development information);

 

b) to communicate with you, including sending documents to you to view or sign on behalf of a Buildforms customer;

 

c) to provide electronic signing, including keeping an audit trail of each signing and sharing it with the parties to the document;

 

d) measure our performance and to improve our services;

 

e) for verification purposes;

 

f) to develop new services;

 

g) to generate revenue;

 

h) for analysis of usage of our services;

 

i) for marketing and promotion purposes;

 

j) to better understand your requirements and preferences and improve our products and services;

 

k) to recruit employees and engage contractors and subcontractors;

 

l) to perform other administrative functions;

 

m) to comply with legal requirements; and

 

n) for purposes directly related to any of the above.

 

We may not be able to do these things without your personal information and may not be able to manage your profile, receive payments or contact you.

 

How we collect personal information

 

Buildforms collects personal information from you in a number of ways including:

 

a) from you directly by personal contact when you create an account as well as through mail, telephone, email and online communications and interactions;

 

b) your account activity when you use the Buildforms Services;

 

c) from third parties including:

 

(i) contractors or recruitment agencies;

 

(ii) government agencies (including local governments and Landgate);

 

(iii) property information providers (such as REIWA and realestate.com.au);

 

(iv) law enforcement bodies;

 

(v) publicly available records and registries;

 

(vi) court or tribunal records;

 

(vii) ratings and search agencies;

 

(viii) regulatory and licensing bodies;

 

(ix) service providers;

 

(x) parties to whom you refer us, including previous employers and referees;

 

(xi) recruitment agencies;

 

(xii) online searches; and

 

(xiii) social media (such as X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook).

 

If you send us any personal information electronically, be aware that the information may be insecure in transit, particularly where no encryption is used (e.g. email, standard http). You agree that, even though Buildforms uses reasonable endeavours to secure your personal information, Buildforms cannot guarantee that any information sent or accessed electronically is secure.

 

If you supply us with the personal information of a third party (for example, your clients, property owners or contractors) we accept that information on the condition that you have all the rights required from that third party to provide that personal information to us to use for our functions and activities. When a Buildforms customer sends you a document to view or sign, we handle your information on that customer's behalf to provide the service.

 

How we store personal information

 

We hold your personal information in electronic form, with the assistance of our service providers and via the Buildforms Services.

 

We store electronic personal information on the Buildforms App and Buildforms Services, our computer systems and computer servers. Most of our systems and servers are used and hosted by third party providers and are located in secure data centres that are managed by third parties. Some systems and servers are cloud hosted.

 

We prefer to use hosting companies that have servers physically located in Australia. However, we cannot guarantee that your personal information will always reside on servers that are physically located in Australia. Your personal information may be stored on servers located overseas, including in the United States of America. We also may use service providers and contractors located overseas, and your personal information may be disclosed to them.

 

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that any overseas recipient complies with the Privacy Act, where we are aware that they are located overseas. Where your personal information is stored or hosted overseas, access to and use of that personal information will be governed by laws that apply in those overseas locations.

 

Only our authorised personnel have access to our server and computer systems, which are all protected by password.

 

All of our employees who might come into contact with personal information are educated about the terms of our Privacy Policy.

 

We regularly update our anti-virus software in order to protect our computer systems and take steps, like engaging professional IT service providers, to ensure that our computer systems and networks are secure.

 

You may also assist Buildforms in keeping your personal information secure by maintaining the confidentiality of your account information and notifying Buildforms immediately if there is any unauthorised use of your account, or any other breach of security relating to your account.

 

We require our external service providers with access to personal information to sign data processing agreements that require them to take necessary and reasonable steps to protect the personal information provided to them.

 

In the unlikely event of a suspected data breach, we will within 30 days assess and evaluate whether a breach has in fact occurred and will, if required, notify the relevant data protection authority unless the breach is not likely to present any risk to your rights.

 

Connected storage (OneDrive, Google Drive and Dropbox)

 

Buildforms Documents lets you connect your company’s own Microsoft OneDrive or SharePoint, Google Drive or Dropbox account. You choose which service to connect, and you can disconnect it at any time.

 

When connected, Buildforms reads the names and details of the folders and files you link to your company and projects. It opens, uploads, renames, moves and downloads files only when you or your team ask it to. Your files stay in your own storage account. Buildforms keeps only the links to your folders and the sign-in token needed to reach them, and the token is stored encrypted. File contents pass through Buildforms only while you are working with them and are not kept.

 

We do not sell this information, use it for advertising, or use it to train AI models. When you disconnect a service, we delete its sign-in token and your folder links.

 

Buildforms’ use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

 

Connected email, calendar, contacts and tasks

 

Buildforms’ desktop apps, such as Mail, Calendar, Contacts and Tasks, let you connect accounts you already use with Google (Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Contacts and Google Tasks), Microsoft (Outlook, Microsoft 365 and Microsoft To Do) or Apple iCloud, depending on the app. A company admin can connect company accounts, and each person can connect their own personal accounts. You choose what to connect, and you can disconnect at any time in Settings › Connected accounts.

 

What Buildforms accesses. When an account is connected, Buildforms reads your emails and attachments, calendar events, contacts and tasks so that they can be shown to you inside Buildforms. It sends, files, archives, moves or deletes emails, and creates or changes events, contacts and tasks, only when you or your team ask it to.

 

What Buildforms keeps. Your emails, events, contacts and tasks stay in your own account; Buildforms does not keep copies of them on its servers. We keep only the sign-in token (or, for Apple iCloud, the app-specific password) needed to reach the account, which is stored encrypted; which email conversations you have filed to which project; email signatures you save in Buildforms; and a log of actions taken, for security and support. Your browser keeps emails you have opened for the rest of that session so that they open faster, and clears them when you close the tab.

 

Buildforms AI. When you ask Buildforms AI to search, summarise, draft or tidy something, or open an email that Buildforms AI makes suggestions about, the relevant content from your connected accounts is sent to our AI provider, Anthropic (Claude), which is based in the United States. It is used only to produce that answer or suggestion for you, at that time. Our AI provider processes it on our behalf under terms that do not allow it to use the content to train its models. Buildforms AI prepares drafts and suggestions only; it never sends an email, books an event or deletes anything unless you confirm it. If you rate an answer, we keep a short extract of your question and the answer so we can improve how Buildforms AI responds to you.

 

No AI training. We do not use content from your connected accounts, including any information received through Google Workspace APIs, to develop, improve or train generalised or non-personalised artificial intelligence or machine learning models, whether our own or anyone else’s, and we do not transfer it to any third-party AI tool for that purpose.

 

Who can see it. We do not sell this information or use it for advertising. Buildforms staff do not read your emails, events, contacts or tasks unless you ask us to (for example, when you pass a Buildforms AI conversation to our support team), where it is needed for security, such as investigating abuse, or where the law requires it.

 

Disconnecting. When you disconnect an account, we delete its sign-in token straight away and Buildforms can no longer reach it. The record of which conversations were filed to which project is kept so that your filing is still there if you reconnect; it is deleted on request, or with your company’s other content as set out under “Destroying personal information”.

 

Buildforms’ use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

 

How we use AI and automated tools

 

Buildforms may use artificial intelligence and other automated processing tools in the delivery of the Buildforms Services. These tools may be used, without limitation:

 

a) to populate, draft, format or check forms, documents, specifications, schedules and estimates;

 

b) to prepare bespoke documents at the request of a Customer, in accordance with the Buildforms Terms of Use;

 

c) to categorise or index data submitted by you or imported through third party interfaces, and to build and update supplier catalogues and product information;

 

d) to suggest or carry out tasks within the Buildforms Services;

 

e) to improve the accuracy, functionality or performance of the Buildforms Services; and

 

f) to provide customer support.

 

Where an AI or automated tool is used to process personal information:

 

a) we take reasonable steps to select tools and vendors that provide appropriate confidentiality, security and data protection commitments;

 

b) we do not authorise the use of your personal information to train any third party general-purpose AI model, unless we obtain your prior consent. Content from accounts you connect to Buildforms, including information received from Google APIs, is never used to train any AI model – see “Connected email, calendar, contacts and tasks” above;

 

c) we retain human oversight of AI-assisted outputs where the output is used in a legally binding or safety-critical context; and

 

d) it remains your responsibility, consistent with the Buildforms Terms of Use, to check any output produced with the assistance of AI tools before using or relying on it.

 

Some AI or automated tools that we use may be hosted overseas. Where this is the case, the provisions of this Privacy Policy regarding overseas storage and disclosure of personal information also apply to that processing.

 

If you have questions about the AI or automated tools that Buildforms uses, or wish to enquire about opting out of AI-assisted processing where practicable, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details set out under "Complaints" below.

 

How we disclose personal information

 

We may disclose your personal information to third parties for the following purposes:

 

a) to provide the products or services you wish to use, including sharing documents, signatures and signing audit trails with the other parties to a document;

 

b) to customise and promote our services which may be of interest to you;

 

c) to assist us to run competitions and offer giveaways;

 

d) to provide support to you in connection with your use of the Buildforms Services;

 

e) if permitted or required by law; or

 

f) otherwise, if we have your consent.

 

We may also provide your personal information to our related bodies corporate and our service providers who assist us with customer contact, archival, auditing, accounting, legal, business consulting, banking, delivery, data processing, website or technology services. We will take reasonable and practicable steps to ensure third parties we deal with take steps to protect your privacy. All of our employees are required to maintain the confidentiality of any personal information held by us.

 

We will never sell your personal information to anyone.

 

In some circumstances we are permitted or authorised by or under a law or a court/tribunal order to use or disclose your personal information. For example, if our disclosure of your information will reduce or prevent a serious threat to life, health or safety or our disclosure is in response to any unlawful activity.

 

If you use Buildforms Services overseas then your personal information may be made available to Buildforms' overseas partners and suppliers. Where these overseas partners and suppliers are located outside of the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA) Buildforms will put in place appropriate measures in accordance with its legal requirements.

 

Buildforms may share aggregated, non-personally identifiable information publicly, for example, to show trends about the general use of Buildforms Services.

 

Internet cookies

 

Data collection devices, called "cookies", are files placed on your electronic devices to collect information. Buildforms may use cookies to enhance the use of the Buildforms Services. Cookies can record information about your visit to assist us in better understanding your needs and requirements. You should be aware that any Internet browser you use will generally be set to automatically accept cookies. Our website uses cookies, tracking pixels and related technologies and uses cookies dropped by us or third parties for a variety of purposes including to operate and personalise the website.

 

Cookies may contain the following information:

 

a) the address of your server;

 

b) the date and time of your visit to our website;

 

c) the pages on our website that you access and download; and

 

d) the type of browser and search engine that you use.

 

If you do not want any cookies to be placed on your electronic devices, you can alter your browser settings to refuse to accept cookies. However, this may also limit the way you can use the Buildforms Services if we use cookies.

 

Cookies may also be used to track how you use the site to target ads to you on other websites. We may use third party vendor remarketing tracking cookies, including Google Adwords tracking cookies. This means we may show adverts to you across the internet, including via Google and other commercial services and networks. Third-party vendors, including Google, may utilise cookies and web browsers in order to serve adverts to you based on visits to our website. This allows us to market our goods and services to those who have shown interest in our goods and services. To opt out of this you can visit the DAA opt-out site www.aboutads.info or the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out site at networkadvertising.org/choices, or for those in Europe, the EDAA opt out site at youronlinechoices.eu.

 

Direct Marketing

 

We may use your personal information to send marketing materials to you if the marketing material is related to the purpose for which we collected that information.

 

We will ask for your consent before we use your personal information for marketing purposes if we have not collected that personal information directly from you or where sensitive information is involved.

 

If you receive marketing offers from us and do not wish to receive them in the future, please contact us.

 

Links

 

The Buildforms Services may contain links to third party websites. Buildforms is not responsible for the information on these sites, or their privacy policies. Buildforms may keep track of your interactions with third party websites provided on the Buildforms Services in order to improve the Buildforms Services and to aggregate statistics.

 

Destroying personal information

 

We will destroy, or take steps to de-identify, personal information when this is no longer required by us.

 

We keep the forms, projects, documents and other content you create in the Buildforms Services for 12 months after your subscription ends, so you can return to them if you subscribe again. Please download anything you need to keep before then. After that period we delete or de-identify that content.

 

We keep account, billing and payment records for 7 years, as required for financial record keeping.

 

We will also destroy or de-identify personal information when required to do so by law.

 

Access and correction of personal information

 

Buildforms takes reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information it collects, uses and discloses is accurate, up-to-date and complete. Buildforms will also take reasonable steps to protect personal information that we hold from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. However, the accuracy of that information depends to a large extent on the information you provide. We therefore recommend that you:

 

a) let us know if there are any errors in your personal information we hold; and

 

b) keep us up-to-date with changes to personal information you have previously provided.

 

Your privacy rights

 

Your Australian privacy rights

 

Under the Privacy Act you have the right to request access to your personal information that is held by us about you. You also have the right to request correction of any of your personal information that we hold.

 

Please contact us if you would like to request access to the personal information we hold about you. You will need to put your request in writing for security reasons, and send it to the Privacy Officer. Please provide us with as much detail as you can about the particular information you seek, in order to help us retrieve it. We will use commercially reasonable endeavours to provide the information within 10 business days of receiving your request. Please note that Buildforms may charge a fee to cover the cost of meeting your request.

 

You are able to change or update your account information at any time through the Buildforms Services.

 

In some cases, we may refuse to provide you with access to your personal information. We will only do this if an exception in the Privacy Act applies. If access is refused, we will write to you and explain why.

 

Your European privacy rights

 

If you are a data subject in Europe under the General Data Protection Regulations 2016/679 ('GDPR') you have the right to:

 

a) request access to and obtain copies of the personal information we have collected from you in an easily readable format;

 

b) modify or rectify your personal information if it is no longer accurate;

 

c) exercise the "Right to be Forgotten" and request that we erase your personal information if you believe it is no longer required for the purposes for which we originally collected it; and

 

d) object to or restrict the collection or processing of the personal information we have collected from you.

 

Please contact us if you wish to exercise any of these rights. Please send your request to our Privacy Officer.

 

Complaints

 

If you have any questions or complaints about the way we have handled your personal information you can contact our Privacy Officer as follows:

 

By email: support@buildforms.com.au

 

By telephone: (08) 6555 7000

 

We take all enquiries seriously and will attend to your question or complaint promptly.

 

If you are not happy with the way we deal with your privacy complaint you can make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner at the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). More information about making a complaint to OAIC is available at http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints

 

Updates to this Privacy Policy

 

We will review and update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make any changes to this Privacy Policy, we will upload them to our website.

 

This Privacy Policy is available on our website, or we can email you a copy on request.

 

For more information about privacy issues, you can visit the OAIC website at http://www.oaic.gov.au

 

Last Revision Date: 16 October 2026