Cameron Legal (referred to in this policy as “Cameron Legal”, “we”, “our” and “us”) recognise the importance of the security of your personal information. We are committed to protecting any personal information which we hold about you, and promoting confidence in the manner in which your personal information is handled by us. This policy outlines the obligations that we have in managing the personal information we hold about our clients, potential clients, contractors and others. We are bound by the National Privacy Principles (NPPs) as set out in the Privacy Act (Cth) 1988.
Personal information means information or an opinion about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be established, from the information or opinion.
Why we collect personal information We collect personal information in order to conduct our business, to provide and market our services and to meet our legal obligations. Generally, if appropriate, we will tell you why we are collecting personal information and how we plan to use it, or these things will be obvious when we collect the information. If you do not provide the information requested, we may not be able to provide you with appropriate legal advice or to fulfil another applicable purpose of collection. We do not collect personal information about you unless it is necessary for providing legal services to you. We will, where reasonable and practicable to do so, collect that information directly from you. How we collect personal information We will generally collect personal information by way of forms filled out by you, face-to-face meetings, interviews, business cards, telephone conversations, correspondence (letter, fax or email) and from third parties. The type of personal information collected The kinds of personal information we collect and hold will depend upon the services you request from us. However, in general, the type of information we may collect and hold includes (but is not limited to):
In most cases, if personal information we request is not provided, we may not be able to supply the relevant service. We may also collect sensitive information about you such as information about membership of a professional or trade association or health information. We will only collect sensitive information in limited circumstances including where:
In some circumstances, we collect personal information about you from a third party source. For example, we may collect personal information from a company for whom you work, other organisations with whom you have any dealings, a credit reporting agency, an information service provider or from a publicly maintained record. If we collect personal information about you in this way, we will take reasonable steps to contact you and ensure that you are aware of the purposes for which we are collecting your personal information and the organisations to which we might disclose your personal information. If you are our client or are employed by, contracted to, or an agent to a client of Cameron Legal, we may disclose your personal information to barristers or experts engaged in your matter; foreign law firms for the purpose of obtaining foreign legal advice; and other parties as necessary to conduct our business or fulfil our legal obligations.
We collect some information from you when you use our Website www.mcglawyers.com.au. Your use of the facilities and services available through our Website will determine the amount and type of information which we collect about you. We also use third parties to analyse traffic at the Website and collect information for web development and internal purposes which may involve the use of cookies. Some of the information collected will not be personal information because it will not reveal your identity. We use cookies in a limited manner when you visit our web site. Cookies are not used by us to collect and store your personal information. When you visit our website, our server attaches a small data file called a “cookie” to your computer’s memory. We make limited use of cookies on this website, they are used to measure usage sessions accurately, and to gain a clear picture of which areas of the sites attract traffic. We also use cookies to improve the functionality of our website. We use session (not permanent) cookies. This site will not store personal information such as email addresses or other details in a cookie. Most Internet browsers are set up to accept cookies. If you do not wish to receive cookies, you may be able to change the settings of your browser to refuse all cookies or to notify you each time a cookie is sent to your computer, giving you the choice whether to accept it or not.
Cameron Legal is bound by professional obligations of confidentiality and legal professional privilege. We have a duty to maintain the confidentiality of our clients’ affairs, including personal information. We treat and protect information we receive in accordance with these obligations. Any personal information which we collect about you will only be used and disclosed by us for the purposes for which it was collected; to enable us to provide you with the services that you have requested, to improve these services or otherwise to enable us to carry out our function as a professional legal service provider. Your personal information may also be used by us to provide you with information about other services offered by us. If you would prefer not to receive this information, please contact us and we will respect your request. Cameron Legal may disclose your information to any person where necessary or desirable in connection with our provision of legal services, such as regulatory authorities, or other parties or advisors (whether in Australia or overseas). Your personal information may also be disclosed confidentially to service providers, agents, contractors and strategic partners to help us to provide our services to you, and so that they can provide any services that we have contracted out to them. If we do this, we generally require these parties to protect your information in the same way we do. We do not disclose personal information to third parties for the purpose of allowing them to direct market their products and services. If you provide personal information to us about someone else you must ensure that you are entitled to disclose that information to us and that, without us taking any further steps required by privacy laws, we may collect, use and disclose such information for the purposes described above.
Your personal information may be stored as either hardcopy documents or as electronic data in our software or systems. We make all reasonable efforts to ensure the protection of personal information we hold from misuse and loss, unauthorised access, modification and disclosure. Physical security is maintained over our paper and electronic data stores and premises, such as locks and security systems. We also maintain computer and network security; for example, we use firewalls (security measures for the Internet) and other security systems such as user identifiers and passwords to control access to our computer system. The Internet is not a secure environment. If you use the Internet to send us any information, including your email address, it is sent at your own risk.
You may, at any time, request access to the personal information we hold about you unless there is an exception which applies under the Privacy Act. If we refuse to give you access we will provide you with reasons for our refusal and inform you of any exceptions relied upon under the Privacy Act. We encourage all requests for access to your personal information, or complaints concerning your information privacy to be directed to us via email or by otherwise writing to us. All requests for access to personal information will be dealt with as quickly as possible, and handled in accordance with the NPPs. We will require you to verify your identity and to specify what information you require. A fee may be charged for providing access, we will advise you of the likely cost in advance. Requests for large amounts of information, or information which is not currently in use, may require further time before a response can be given. We take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information held by us is accurate, complete, and up-to-date whenever we collect or use it. We encourage you to contact us as above if any of your personal information is inaccurate, incomplete or out-of-date, and we will take reasonable steps to correct this information or, if necessary, we will discuss alternative action with you.
We may transfer your personal information to foreign countries as part of our conduct of a matter, for example, for the purpose of obtaining foreign legal advice. However we will not send your personal information to recipients outside of Australia without:
We take reasonable steps to ensure that such recipients respect the confidentiality of this information by abiding by the NPPs or equivalent privacy laws.
Some personal information which we collect is also ‘sensitive information’. Sensitive information includes information relating to an individuals racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion, trade union or other professional or trade association membership, sexual preferences, criminal record, and health information. Sensitive information will be used and disclosed only for the purpose for which it was provided or a directly related secondary purpose, unless you agree otherwise, or where certain other limited circumstances apply (eg, where required by law).
Suite 13, Level 1, 41 Rawson Street EPPING NSW 2121
PO BOX 859 Epping NSW 1710
+61 2 9869 5200
+61 2 9869 5299
