Open home sign-in and privacy: a plain-English guide for Australian agents
Every open home collects names and mobile numbers. Handling them well protects buyers, protects your agency and makes buyers more willing to sign in. Here's what good practice looks like.
The rules that usually apply
Two sets of rules come up at open homes:
- The Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, which cover how personal information is collected, used, stored and shared. Many agencies are covered, and even those that aren't are expected by buyers and vendors to follow them.
- The Spam Act 2003, which covers marketing texts and emails. Commercial messages need consent, must say who they're from, and must include a working way to unsubscribe.
1. Tell buyers why you're collecting their details
When someone signs in, they should be told, briefly and at the time:
- who is collecting the details (your agency),
- why (for example, to contact them about this property and keep a record of who inspected),
- who else may see them (for example, the vendor sees anonymous feedback only),
- and where to find your full privacy policy.
A short line under the sign-in form is enough. A paper sheet on a clipboard rarely does this, which is one reason agencies are moving to digital sign-in.
2. Only collect what you need
Name and mobile are usually plenty. An email is optional. Avoid asking for things like dates of birth or finance details at the door.
3. Ask separately before marketing
Contacting a buyer about the home they inspected is expected. Texting them about other listings is marketing, so ask for that separately with a clear, unticked option such as “Let me know about similar homes”.
4. Make opting out easy, and honour it
Every marketing text should end with something like “Reply STOP to opt out”, and a STOP must actually stop the messages. Keep a record so nobody in the team texts that person again.
5. Keep details secure and private
- Don't leave a paper sign-in sheet where the next group can read it.
- Keep buyer names out of vendor reports. Share patterns and anonymous feedback instead.
- Limit access to the people in your agency who need it.
- Delete or de-identify details you no longer need.
6. Let people see or correct their details
If a buyer asks what you hold about them, or asks you to fix it, you should be able to find their record and respond.
How Openy helps
- Every sign-in shows a short collection notice with a link to the privacy policy.
- Marketing consent is a separate, unticked choice.
- Every marketing text includes “Reply STOP to opt out”, and a STOP reply stops texts from the whole agency.
- Vendors only ever see anonymous feedback, never buyer names.
- Each agency's data is kept separate. Read how we keep data safe.
Try Openy free for 14 days, or read 12 follow-up texts that get replies.