Geoff Dillon & Co Lawyers is committed to providing quality services to you and this policy outlines our ongoing obligations to you in respect of how we manage your Personal Information. We have adopted the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988(Cth) (the Privacy Act). The APPs govern the way in which we collect, use,disclose, store, secure and dispose of your Personal Information. A copy of theAustralian Privacy Principles may be obtained from the website of The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at https://www.oaic.gov.au/.
What is Personal Information and why do we collect it?
Personal Information is information or an opinion that identifies an individual. Examples of Personal Information we collect include names, addresses, email addresses, phone and facsimile numbers. We may also collect other Personal Information from you where such information is necessary for us to provide services to you. This Personal Information is obtained in many ways including interviews, correspondence, by telephone and facsimile, by email, from documents you provide to us, from media and publications, from other publicly available sources and from third parties.
We collect your Personal Information for the primary purpose of providing our services to you. We may also use your Personal Information for secondary purposes closely related to the primary purpose, in circumstances where you would reasonably expect such use or disclosure. When we collect Personal Information we will, where appropriate and where possible, explain to you why we are collecting the information and how we plan to use it. Please note however that we do not collect any Personal Information through our website.
Sensitive Information
Sensitive information is defined in the Privacy Act to include information or opinion about such things as an individual's racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious or philosophical beliefs, membership of a trade union or other professional body, criminal record or health information. We will only collect Sensitive Information where it is necessary for us to provide our services to you. Sensitive information will be used by us only;
• for the primary purpose or which it was obtained;
• for a secondary purposethat is directly related to the primary purpose; and
• with your consent orwhere required or authorised by law.
Please note however that we do not collect any Sensitive Information through our website.
Third Parties
Where reasonable and practicable to do so, we will collect your Personal Information only from you. However, in some circumstances we may be provided with information by third parties. In such a case we will take reasonable steps to ensure that you are made aware of the information provided to us by the third party.
Disclosure and Use of Personal Information
We will only use your Personal Information forthe purpose for which you have provided it and in accordance with our obligations under the APPs and the Privacy Act. Your Personal Information may be disclosed in a number of circumstances including the following:
• Third parties where you consent to the use or disclosure; and
• Where required orauthorised by law.
We may engage the services of third parties in the context of your matter and we may disclosePersonal Information to these third-party service providers where necessary. We acquire third-party services for various reasons including IT administration, data storage and management, identity verification, litigation support, conveyancing support, banking and financial services, accounting support and delivery and courier services. When we engage third-party service providers, we take steps to ensure that those stakeholders comply with their obligations under the APPs. If we act for you in a conveyancing transaction, we will use the Property Exchange Australia (PEXA) platform to conduct your conveyancing transaction. PEXA is an electronic conveyancing platform where each conveyancing transaction has its own electronic workspace. All parties to a conveyancing transaction such as a vendor, purchaser, incoming mortgagee and mortgagee on title will have access to the PEXA electronic workplace. Relevant Personal Information such as your name, date of birth, address and telephone number will be disclosed on the electronic workspace when preparing the workspace in readiness for the conveyancing transaction. When you engage us to act for you in a conveyancing transaction and provide your Personal Information to us you consent to us:
• disclosing your Personal Information to PEXA and for use in connection with an electronic workspace;
• disclosing your Personal Information to other participants in the electronic workspace and/or conveyancing transaction;
• using and disclosing Personal Information by PEXA and the other participants in an Electronic Workspace or in a Conveyancing Transaction the subject of an Electronic Workspace;
• collecting, using, handling and disclosure of Personal Information,at least to the extent necessary to enable PEXA to provide the Services in accordance with the requirements of our Participation Agreement with them; and
• disclosing of Personal Information to a Registrar or Duty Authority.
A copy of the PEXA Privacy Policy can be obtained from the PEXA website at https://www.pexa.com.au/privacy-policy/
Security of Personal Information
Your PersonalInformation is stored in a manner that reasonably protects it from misuse and loss and from unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. When yourPersonal Information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify your Personal Information. However, most of the Personal Information is or will be stored in client files which will be kept by us for a minimum of 7 years asrequired by legislation governing the conduct of our practice.
Access to yourPersonal Information
You may access the Personal Information we hold about you and to update and/or correct it, subject to certain exceptions. If you wish to access your Personal Information, please contact us in writing. Geoff Dillon &Co Lawyers will not charge any fee for your access request, but may charge an administrative fee for providing a copy of your Personal Information. In order to protect your Personal Information we will require identification from you before releasing the requested information.
Maintaining the Quality of your Personal Information
It is important to us that your Personal Information is up to date. We will take reasonable steps to make sure that your Personal Information is accurate, complete and up-to-date. If you find that the information we have is not up to date or is inaccurate, please advise us as soon as practicable so we can update our records and ensure we can continue to provide quality services to you.
Policy Updates
This Policy may change from time to time and will be available to anyone who requests it. It is also available on our website.
Privacy Policy Complaints and Enquiries
If you have any queries or complaints about our Privacy Policy please contact us at reception@geoffdillonlawyers.com.au