Privacy Policy
Nicholas Weston Lawyers & Trade Marks Attorneys (and its associated entities) (“Nicholas Weston”) observes the Privacy Act 1988 and the National Privacy Principles (NPPs). This Privacy Policy governs the way we collect, use, disclose and secure your personal information as well as access to correct or update that information in accordance with the NPPs.
NPP 1: Collection
We will only collect and hold necessary personal information to attend to your legal matters. Very personal and detailed information is sometimes required to do that.
We will usually collect the personal information directly from you but at times may collect the information from other parties, such as your employer or from insurers or others involved in a transaction.
You will be advised of the purpose for which the information is collected where it is practical to do so.
NPP 2: Use and Disclosure
We only use and disclose your personal information in accordance with the terms of the Privacy Act.
We use the personal information collected principally for the purpose of assessing and advising you on your matter. This may include identifying issues and providing you with advice on the correctness of your position that you can use and act on. Where necessary, we may disclose information about you to third parties. For example, information may be provided to insurers, finance providers, barristers and Nicholas Weston associated entities. We might also use the information to contact you for marketing purposes, unless you have opted out.
NPP 3: Data Quality
NPP 4: Data Security
Personal information is held securely. To prevent misuse, loss, or unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, we:
- Control access to the information where it is kept.
- Use computer passwords.
- Use secure off-site storage of archived files.
- Only retain information relevant to our operations.
- Destroy files in a secure manner after the statutory archive period expires.
NPP 5: Openness
This Privacy Policy is available to anyone who asks for it.
If asked, we will take reasonable steps to let the person know, in general terms, what sort of personal information we hold, for what purposes, and how we collects, hold, use and disclose that information.
NPP 6: Access & Correction
You have a right to access any personal information that we hold about you on written request, unless one of the exceptions in the NPPs applies. The exceptions to providing access include (but are not limited to):
- unreasonable impact upon the privacy of other individuals.
- frivolous or vexatious requests for access.
- legal privilege.
- unlawful access.
- denying access is required or authorised by law.
- access that would be likely to prejudice the investigation of possible unlawful activity for various investigations of improper conduct, more fully described in the relevant privacy legislation.
- information given in confidence, subject to the relevant legislative requirements.
- commercially sensitive information.
Charges at our standard rates will apply to work done executing any request. Any charges that may apply will be advised when you make a written request. If you establish that information held is not accurate, complete or up to date, then we will take reasonable steps to correct the information.
Should you wish to access your personal information, please direct your request to your solicitor or our Privacy Officer. You may be required to provide suitable identification to enable us to protect the security and privacy of your personal information.
NPP 7: Identifiers
We will not use any personal identifiers issued by a government agency (eg. Tax file number or Medicare number) as an identifier in our records systems. Should legislation require us to ask you to provide your tax file number, we will only use that number for the purposes permitted by legislation and not as a general means of identifying you.
NPP 8: Anonymity
Our operational and legal obligations will generally require that you identify yourself to us in order for us to provide you with legal services.
NPP 9: Transborder (Overseas) Information Flow
In the ordinary course of business, it may be necessary for us to disclose personal information about you to a person or organisation in a foreign country. (eg. to overseas parties to a transaction and our international associates) We will not undertake the cross-border transfer of personal information save in the circumstances permitted under the relevant legislation. The permitted circumstances include (but are not limited) to the following situations:
- where you consent;
- where we reasonably believes that the recipient of the information is subject to privacy laws that are at least as strong as those which govern our own information practices;
- transfer is required to give effect to a contractual arrangement, subject to the relevant legislative requirements.
NPP 10: Sensitive Personal Information
We do not collect sensitive medical and health information apart from complaisant greetings (eg: How are you; I’m well thanks).
What We Expect
When you provide us with personal information about other people, we rely on you to have made them aware that you will or may provide their information to us, the purposes we use it for, the types of third parties to whom we might disclose it to and how they can access it (as described in this document). If the information is sensitive we rely on you to have obtained their consent.
If you have not done either of these things, you must tell us before you provide the information.
If we give you personal information, you and your representatives must only use it for the purposes we agree to.
Where relevant, you must meet the requirements of the NPPs and ensure that your agents, employees and contractors meet these requirements.
Opting Out
If you do not want us to send you marketing material about our services, or you do not want us to disclose your personal information to any other people you can opt out by contacting the person handling your file or our Privacy Officer.
Complaints or Concerns
If you have any complaints or concerns about privacy matters, please advise our Privacy Officer in writing as follows:
C/- The Privacy Officer,
Nicholas Weston, Lawyers & Trade Marks Attorneys,
Level 4, 90 William Street,
Melbourne, VIC. 3000 Australia
Telephone: 1300 132 551