We are committed to protecting the privacy of all persons we deal with, including personal information provided to and held by us.

We are subject to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (“the Privacy Act“) and will adhere to the Australian Privacy Principles (“APPs“) when collecting, using, disclosing, securing, correcting,  updating and providing access to personal information

Where there is any inconsistency between this Policy and the provisions of the Privacy Act, the provisions of the Privacy Act will prevail.

 

What is ‘Personal Information’?

Personal information is any information, including any opinion, about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable whether the information or opinion is true or not; and whether the information or opinion is recorded in material form or not.

 

What is ‘Sensitive Information’?

Sensitive information is a type of personal information that has a greater level of protection under the APPs because of its specific nature.  For example, sensitive information will include information about your health, financial status, memberships and associations.

We are required to ensure that sensitive information is only collected with your consent and that reasonable steps are taken to ensure the appropriate use, disclosure and protection of your sensitive information.

We only collect such information where we are permitted to do so under the APPs and if such information is necessary to provide our service to you, or where we are required to collect this information by law.

 

Whose Personal Information We Collect

We may collect and hold information including (but not limited to) personal information about clients, business associates, visitors to our website, job applicants and others we come into contact with.

 

What Personal Information We Collect

The personal information we collect and hold may include contact details, referral details and information collected from you so that we may provide or market our services.

If you do not provide the personal information that we request, we may not be able to provide the level of service necessary.

Where it is lawful and practical to do so, you can remain anonymous or use a pseudonym if you wish, however it may reduce the type and quality of products or services we will be able to provide.

 

How We Collect Personal Information

Personal information may be collected from you in a number of different ways including face to face meetings, telephone conversations, correspondence and documentation provided to us and third parties.

 

Use Of Your Personal Information

Your personal information may be used by us in various ways, including to provide the services you requested from us; researching, developing and enhancing or services; or complying with our legal obligations.

In some circumstances, personal information is provided to us by third parties or other organisations conducting activities on your behalf.  Such third parties would include for example your accountant or medical practitioner.  It is assumed that you have provided consent for your personal information to be used and disclosed to us this way.

 

Disclosure Of Your Personal Information

Personal information we have collected may be transferred to third parties where it is necessary to meet the purpose for which you have submitted the information. By submitting data to us electronically, you are providing explicit consent to trans-border transmission of data collected via our website.

The people/organisations which we disclose your personal information to may include our staff members, contractors, your authorised representatives, our professional advisors, government and regulatory authorities or our related entities.

We do not share personal information with third parties except as necessary to provide our products or services; or as required by law or other legal processes; or with your consent. Please note that we do not sell or give its client databases or mailing lists to any third parties.

 

Overseas Transfer Of Personal Information

We use internet service providers that have servers located overseas, including social media and cloud service providers.  This means that your personal information supplied to us through our website or our social media sites may sometimes be transferred overseas.

If you elect to provide personal information to us through any of our online services you are deemed to consent to the overseas transfer of such information.

 

Changes And Access To Your Personal Information

We are committed to keeping the personal information we collect, use or disclose accurate, up-to-date and complete and we encourage you to tell us when your details change.

You can request access to the personal information we hold about you if you wish to do so.  If we are unable to provide you with access, we will explain why.

 

Security Of Your Personal Information

We are committed to protecting your personal information from misuse and loss, and from unauthorised access, interference, modification, disclosure and unintentional destruction and will take reasonable steps to do so.  We have security measures in place which are designed to protect personal information.

If we no longer need or are no longer required to hold your personal information, we may destroy or permanently de-identify that information, without further notice to you.

 

Online Dealings With Us

“Cookies” (small text files placed on your computer when you first visit our website) are used on some parts of our website. Most browsers now recognise when a cookie is offered and permit you to refuse or accept it. If you are not sure whether your browser has this capability, you should check with the software manufacturer, your company’s technology help desk or your internet service provider.

Cookies are primarily used to enhance your online experience and are not used to track the navigational habits of identified visitors, unless we obtain your permission to do so. If you visit our website to read or download information, such as e-Alerts or articles, much of the information we do collect is statistical only and is not personally identifiable.

Our website is hosted by a cloud service provider and we may also use the services of other online service providers from time to time.  Our service provider’s use of cookies is not covered by our Privacy Policy.

Our website includes hyperlinks which enable access to third party websites. These third party websites are not subject to this Privacy Policy.

We reserve the right to collect more extensive information about any attempted access to our website that raises security issues and make the appropriate disclosures to the relevant authorities.

 

Automatic Collection Of Your Personal Information

When you visit our website, our Internet Service Provider automatically records the following information about you for statistical purposes:

 

• your server address;
• the website you visited immediately prior to ours;
• your domain name;
• date and time of your visit to our website;
• pages you accessed and the information or documents you downloaded; and
• type of browser you used.

Emails

We encourage the use of email communication to increase efficiency in communications. Emails sent to or by us are routinely monitored by our information technology staff for systems administration, quality control and compliance purposes.

We will only record your email address if you send an email to us. Email enquiries will be passed to the most appropriate staff member, who will be asked to respond to you directly.

 

Direct Marketing/Online Subscriptions

We may also contact you to provide you with information about our products and services through our direct marketing systems. You may opt out of receiving such promotional material at any time .

If you wish to subscribe to any online information service which we may offer on our website from time to time, you will need to supply us with your full name, email address, occupation and industry and areas of interest.

We will use this data to send information and publications to you via email. If you are included on a group email mailing list for this purpose, we will send you the information in such a way that your email address will not be visible to other mailout recipients.

If you have previously asked to be added to our mailing list and have since changed your mind, or if you have received an email mailout from us that you do not wish to receive in future, please send an email stating your wishes to [email protected] and we will remove you from our mailing list.

 

Disposal And Destruction Of Your Personal Information

If we no longer need or are no longer required to hold your personal information, we may destroy or permanently de-identify that information, without further notice to you.

 

Changes To This Policy

This Policy is not intended to create a contract between us and any individual or entity which provides us with personal information.  From time to time, it may become necessary for us to review or amend this policy.  Any changes will be made as and when required.  We will advise you of any changes by posting an updated version of our Policy on our website, www.macdonnells.com.au. An up-to-date copy of this policy will be available in hard copy at all times at each of our offices.

 

Further Information/Complaints

We recognise our responsibility for protecting the privacy of your personal information. If you have questions or comments about our administration of your personal information, please contact us at the contact details below. You may also use these contact details to communicate any concerns you may have regarding compliance with our Privacy Policy.

If you are not satisfied with how we handled your complaint, you can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at:

Telephone: 1300 363 992 (or +61 2 9284 9749 if calling from outside Australia).
TTY: 133 677 (then ask for 1300 363 992)
Post: GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001
Facsimile: +61 2 9284 9666
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.oaic.gov.au

 

Contacting Us

If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about this Privacy Policy or our information handling policies you should contact us at:

Privacy Officer
MacDonnells Law
Cnr Shields and Grafton Streets
PO Box 5046 Cairns QLD 4870
Telephone (07) 4030 0600
Facsimile (07) 4030 0699
E-mail: [email protected]