Privacy Policy

Newcastle Document & Apostille Services ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our document facilitation services. We adhere to the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

1. Collection of Personal Information

We collect personal information necessary to provide notarisation, apostille, and legalization services. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Identity Data: Name, date of birth, passport details, and driver's license numbers.
• Contact Data: Email address, phone number, and physical billing/shipping addresses.
• Document Data: Content contained within the documents you provide for processing (e.g., university degrees, birth certificates, marriage certificates, police checks, power of attorney documents).
• Sensitive Information: In limited cases (e.g., police checks), we may handle sensitive information strictly for the purpose of submission to government authorities.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your data solely for the purpose of fulfilling your service request. Specifically:

• To verify your identity as required by Notaries Public and DFAT.
• To prepare applications for Apostille or Authentication with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
• To book appointments with third-party Notaries Public on your behalf.
• To generate shipping labels for couriers (DHL, FedEx, Australia Post) to return your documents.
• To communicate with you regarding the status of your application.

3. Disclosure to Third Parties

To complete our services, strictly necessary information must be disclosed to the following third parties. By using our service, you consent to these disclosures:

• Government Bodies: The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and foreign Embassies/Consulates for legalization.
• Notaries Public: Independent legal practitioners who witness or certify your documents.
• Logistics Providers: Courier companies (DHL, FedEx, Australia Post) for the transport of your physical documents.

Important: We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal identification information to marketing agencies or unauthorized third parties.

4. Cross-Border Disclosure

If you request us to ship documents overseas or submit them to a foreign Embassy, your personal information will be transferred out of Australia to the destination country. You acknowledge that overseas recipients may not be subject to the Australian Privacy Act.

5. Data Security & Retention

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your digital and physical data.

• Digital Security: All form submissions are encrypted via SSL. Digital copies of documents are stored on secure, encrypted cloud servers.
• Physical Security: Physical documents pending processing are stored in secure, lockable storage.
• Retention Policy: Digital copies of your documents are retained only as long as necessary to confirm successful delivery or for record-keeping required by law (typically deleted 30-90 days after job completion).

6. Limitation of Liability

While we take every precaution to protect your documents, we act as a facilitator. We are not liable for:

• Loss, damage, or delay of documents once they are in the custody of third-party couriers (DHL/FedEx/AusPost).
• Data breaches affecting third-party government agencies (DFAT) or Embassies.

7. Your Rights

Under the Privacy Act, you have the right to access the personal information we hold about you and to ask for it to be corrected if it is inaccurate. To request access, please contact us using the details below.

8. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact our Privacy Officer: