Privacy Act

The Privacy Act 1988 (the Privacy Act) sets out rules for how an individuals’ personal information is handled.

As an individual, you have the power to exercise more control over how your personal information is managed with the help of the Privacy Act. The legislation allows you to:

• Know why your personal information is being collected, how it will be used, and who will have access to it
• Choose to remain anonymous or use a pseudonym in certain circumstances
• Request access to your personal information, such as your health records
• Stop receiving unsolicited marketing materials
• Ask for your personal information to be amended if it is incorrect
• Lodge a complaint about an organisation or agency the Privacy Act covers if you think they´ve mishandled or misused your personal information.

Our Privacy Policy

At Repute Law, we are committed to providing our clients with the highest standard of legal services. To achieve this, it may be necessary to collect and manage personal information. However, the specific information required will vary depending on the nature of your legal matter. Rest assured, any information received in connection with your case will be treated with the utmost confidentiality.

Our privacy policy is in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles laid out in the Privacy Act. We reserve the right to update and modify this policy as necessary.

The term ‘personal information’ refers to information relating to an identifiable individual or someone who can be reasonably identified. This may include opinions about the individual, regardless of whether they are accurate or not and whether the information is stored in a physical or other form.

How We Collect Personal Information

At the start of every case, we usually require important information from you, including your name, address, phone number(s), email and other relevant contact details. Additionally, we will also need the contact information of any other involved parties. Our goal is to ensure a thorough and seamless process, and having this necessary information allows us to provide you with the best legal services possible.

We may also need to request additional information from you by telephone, writing or in person. This could include:

• The financial records you keep, which may include details of your assets and liabilities
• Your employment history details
• Your personal relationships, including family circumstances
• Details about your business, including customers, employees and third-party contractors
• Medical history
• Criminal history
• Driving record
• Other personal/sensitive information.

Personal information may be collected by the following means:

• Taking your instructions
• From another source, with your consent
• From another party as part of legal proceedings
• Other valid means that conform to both the law and the Australian Privacy Principles.

Website Collection

When you visit our website, we gather specific information to help us assess the success of our online marketing strategies and the site’s overall functionality. Some of the information collected through our website includes but is not limited to the following:

• Your IP address
• Your browser type
• The search terms you used to find our website
• How much time you spent on each page.

Third Party Collection

In some instances, we may gather personal data regarding individuals or organisations without their explicit consent. This can happen when you supply us with details about a third party connected to a case or provide us with documents related to another party.

If we are unable to collect your personal information from you directly, we may seek your permission to obtain the information from other parties. If we receive personal information from a third party, it’s their responsibility to ensure they have the authority to disclose such information to us for our use.

Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

We respect your privacy; hence, we will only reveal your personal information if compelled to do so. Furthermore, we do not send personal data to overseas third parties.
There may be circumstances where we have to access or share your personal information for reasons beyond the provision of legal services (the primary purpose). When there is a need to use or divulge your personal details for a reason other than the primary purpose, we call it a secondary purpose.

We will only share your personal information for a secondary purpose when it is required for the following situations:

1. Both of the following apply:
   1. The primary purpose of using or disclosing your personal information is linked to the secondary purpose. In the case of sensitive information, as defined by the Privacy Act, the secondary purpose of using or disclosing the information is intrinsically tied to the primary purpose; and
   2. We may be reasonably expected to use or disclose your information for the secondary purpose; or
2. We have your permission; or
3. The use or disclosure of health information is crucial for conducting research, or for compiling and analysing statistics that have significant implications for public health and safety; or
4. We have a justifiable belief that the use or disclosure is essential for minimizing or preventing the following:
   • A severe or impending threat to the life, health or safety of an individual; or
   • A serious public health or safety threat; or
5. Any use or disclosure of the information is required by or under law; or
6. The Australian Privacy Principles allow for the disclosure or use of secondary information.

Repute Law will treat your personal information according to this privacy policy, regardless of how it was collected.

Direct Marketing

Repute Law may occasionally reach out to you with updates about our additional services and offerings that may benefit you. These may include promotions, special offers, or significant changes to our company that we feel may be of interest to you. Rest assured, we will never disclose your personal information to any third party for marketing purposes unless you explicitly grant us permission to do so.

To opt-out of receiving marketing materials from us, please click here or call 1800 888 228.

Personal Information Security

At Repute Law, we take all appropriate measures to ensure your personal and confidential information is safeguarded from unauthorized access, loss, interference, modification, misuse or disclosure. To achieve this, we employ a range of methods, such as:

• Comprehensive shredding procedures
• Keeping computer firewalls and security systems up to date
• Strict internal security measures that restrict access to your personal information
• Confidential and sensitive information is securely stored
• All members of staff have signed confidentiality agreements
• All information is securely contained in files­ ­and all stored data is encrypted at rest, using AES-256, military grade encryption.
• Staying up to date with the latest technology advancements to ensure security.

Additionally, once your case is concluded and all the invoices are settled, we will continue to electronically store all the related documents using latest technology advancements to ensure security. This archive can only be accessed by authorised personnel when required or requested. After seven years, your data will be properly and securely disposed of if we no longer need your personal information.

Updating Your Personal Information

To seamlessly manage your legal matter, we require your personal information to be up to date. Kindly inform us of any changes to your personal details so we can update our records accordingly.

The quickest and easiest way to update your information is to give us a call on 1800 888 228. If you prefer, you can click here to contact us, and we will take care of everything for you.

If at any point you would like us to stop using your personal information, please inform us. Call 1800 888 228 or click here to advise us of your wishes. We will inform you in writing if we determine that updating or deleting your personal information is not feasible.

Accessing Your Personal Information

If you would like to review the personal information we have on record for you, simply click here to contact us with your request in writing. Depending on the information requested, you may need to provide us with identification from the individual or organisation the information concerns.

In some instances, there may be costs involved in retrieving the information. You will be responsible for covering any reasonable expenses incurred while retrieving it.

In the event that providing you with the requested information is not justifiable or appropriate, we will give you a clear written explanation detailing the reasons behind our decision.

Changes To This Privacy Policy

As a responsible legal firm, Repute Law constantly monitors updates in the law, regulations, policies and Australian standards. As a result, the details of our privacy policy may change without prior notice to you. Our policy may also need to be revised to accommodate terminology and marketing practice changes. Therefore, we reserve the right to modify our privacy policy as necessary.

Complaints

We value our clients’ privacy and are committed to complying with the Australian Privacy Principles and our own standards. If you feel we have fallen short, please bring it to our attention. Click here to contact or call us on 1800 888 228.

If you have notified us of your complaint but remain unsatisfied with how we have addressed your issue, you can refer the matter to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by calling 1300 363 992 or by writing to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001 (https://www.oaic.gov.au).

Further information

If you need additional details about how we collect, use, secure and disclose your personal information, please do not hesitate to contact us on 1800 888 228.