Privacy Policy

What Personal Information We Collect

We collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for us to provide legal and advisory services and to carry out our business functions. The types of personal information we may collect include:

• Identity information — name, date of birth, residential address, and government identifiers (such as ABN, ACN, or tax file number where required)
• Contact information — email address, telephone number, and postal address
• Financial information — income, assets, liabilities, credit history, bank account details, and information about business interests
• Legal matter information — details of disputes, transactions, insolvency positions, corporate structures, and any other information provided to us in the course of legal representation
• Health or sensitive information — where relevant to your legal matter or to meet our duty of care obligations (collected only with your consent or as otherwise permitted by law)
• Employment information — where relevant to your legal matter or your engagement with us as an employee or contractor
• Website usage data — IP address, browser type, pages visited, and other technical information collected via cookies or analytics tools

We only collect sensitive information (as defined under the Privacy Act) with your consent or where otherwise permitted or required by law.

How We Collect Personal Information

We collect personal information in a number of ways, including:

• Directly from you — when you contact us by telephone, email, or through our website; when you engage us as a client; or when you provide information during the course of a matter
• From third parties — with your authorisation, from other lawyers, accountants, insolvency practitioners, financial advisers, courts, tribunals, government agencies, and counterparties to a transaction or dispute
• From publicly available sources — such as ASIC, the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA), Land Titles offices, court registers, and the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR)
• Automatically — via cookies and similar technologies when you visit our website

Where it is lawful and practicable to do so, you may deal with us anonymously or using a pseudonym. However, in most cases we will need to know who you are to provide our services.

Why We Collect and Hold Personal Information

We collect, hold, and use personal information for the following primary purposes:

• Providing legal advice and representation, including in litigation, insolvency, commercial, and estate planning matters
• Fulfilling our obligations as lawyers under applicable legislation, including the Legal Profession Uniform Law (Vic) and related rules
• Complying with our obligations under anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, including verification of identity under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth)
• Conflict-of-interest checking prior to accepting an engagement
• Administering and managing our client relationships, including billing, trust accounting, and file management
• Corresponding with courts, tribunals, regulators, and third parties on your behalf
• Complying with our professional and ethical obligations, including mandatory reporting requirements
• Improving our website and understanding how it is used
• Sending you updates or information about our services where you have consented or where permitted by law

We will not use or disclose your personal information for a purpose other than the primary purpose of collection, or a directly related secondary purpose, unless you have consented or an exception under the Privacy Act applies.

Disclosure of Personal Information

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

• Barristers, expert witnesses, and other legal practitioners engaged on your matter
• Courts, tribunals, arbitration bodies, and regulatory authorities
• Counterparties and their legal representatives, where necessary for the conduct of your matter
• Accountants, insolvency practitioners, financial advisers, and other professional consultants engaged on your behalf
• Government bodies, including ASIC, AFSA, the ATO, and Land Titles offices
• Our information technology, document management, and practice management service providers
• Law Mutual (WA) or other professional indemnity insurers, where required for claims handling or risk management
• Our external auditors, compliance advisers, and legal advisers

We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. We require all third parties to whom we disclose personal information to handle it in accordance with applicable privacy laws.

Disclosure to Overseas Recipients

We primarily hold and process personal information in Australia. In limited circumstances, personal information may be disclosed to recipients located overseas — for example, where a matter involves foreign proceedings, overseas counterparties, or where we use cloud-based service providers whose servers are located outside Australia.

Where we disclose personal information to an overseas recipient, we will take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient does not breach the APPs in relation to that information. In some cases, where we are unable to ensure the same standard of protection applies, we will seek your consent before making that disclosure.

Security of Personal Information

We take all reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and from unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. Our security measures include:

• Secure, encrypted file management and document storage systems
• Password-protected and access-controlled IT systems
• Physical security measures for paper-based files and records
• Confidentiality obligations on all staff, contractors, and agents
• Regular review of our information handling practices

When personal information is no longer required for any purpose for which it was collected and we are not required by law to retain it, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it.

In the event of an eligible data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme under the Privacy Act.

Legal Professional Privilege

Much of the information we hold about you in the context of legal representation will be subject to legal professional privilege. Legal professional privilege belongs to you as our client and protects confidential communications made for the dominant purpose of obtaining or providing legal advice, or for use in anticipated or existing litigation, from compelled disclosure.

We will not disclose privileged communications without your informed consent, except where required by law or where a relevant exception applies. Privilege does not protect communications made to facilitate a crime or fraud.

Trust Account Information

Where we hold money on your behalf in our trust account, we are required to maintain records in accordance with the Legal Profession Uniform Law and the Legal Profession Uniform General Rules 2015. Trust account records are subject to audit and may be inspected by the Legal Services Board + Commissioner. We hold trust account information securely and retain it for the period required by law.

Cookies and Website Analytics

Our website may use cookies and similar tracking technologies to improve user experience and to understand how visitors use our site. Cookies are small text files stored on your device. You may configure your browser to refuse cookies, but doing so may affect the functionality of our website.

We may use third-party analytics tools (such as Google Analytics) that collect aggregated, anonymised information about website usage. We do not use website analytics data to identify individual users.

Access and Correction

Under the Privacy Act, you have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you, and to request that we correct information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading.

To make an access or correction request, please contact us using the details below. We will respond to your request within a reasonable time and, in any event, within 30 days. We will not charge a fee for making a request, but we may charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of providing access (for example, photocopying costs).

In some circumstances, we may be unable to give you access to certain information — for example, where doing so would be unlawful, would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of others, or where the information is subject to legal professional privilege. Where we refuse access or correction, we will give you written reasons.

Complaints

If you believe we have handled your personal information in a way that does not comply with the Privacy Act or this Privacy Policy, we encourage you to contact us first so that we can attempt to resolve your concern.

We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and investigate it within a reasonable timeframe. We will provide you with a written response to your complaint within 30 days of receipt.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:

• Website: www.oaic.gov.au
• Phone: 1300 363 992
• Post: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001

If your complaint relates to our conduct as legal practitioners, you may also contact the Victorian Legal Services Commissioner:

• Website: www.lsbc.vic.gov.au
• Phone: 1300 796 344

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or for other reasons. The current version of this policy will always be available on our website. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Any material changes will be communicated to active clients directly.

Contact Us

For any privacy-related queries, requests, or complaints, please contact us: