Archer Lawyers Pty Ltd ACN 688 707 646, trading as Archer Lawyers (“Archer Lawyers”, “we”, “us” or “our”), is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information, and how you can access or correct the information we hold about you. We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, and in accordance with our professional obligations of confidentiality and legal professional privilege.
Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information is true or not and whether it is recorded in a material form or not.
The personal information we collect depends on our relationship with you and the nature of the matter. It may include your name, postal and email addresses, telephone numbers and other contact details; information about your legal matter, including the circumstances giving rise to it and the parties involved; financial information necessary to act for you, including billing details and information relevant to costs disclosure; identity verification information required for client identification purposes; information about your property, business, contracts or insurance where relevant to the matter; employment or professional information where relevant; and records of our communications with you.
Some of the information we collect is sensitive information under the Privacy Act — most commonly health information in medical negligence matters. We collect sensitive information only where it is reasonably necessary for the services we provide, and only with your consent or where we are otherwise permitted or required by law to do so.
Wherever it is reasonable and practicable, we collect personal information directly from you — through our website enquiry form, by telephone or email, in meetings, or through documents you provide to us. We may also collect personal information from others where it is necessary for your matter, including from other parties and their legal representatives, courts and tribunals, government agencies and regulators, hospitals and health services, medical and other experts, insurers, barristers, and publicly available sources such as land title registries and company registers. If you provide us with personal information about another person, you should ensure that person is aware of this Privacy Policy.
We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information to provide legal advice and representation and carry out your instructions; communicate with you about your matter; verify your identity and meet our regulatory obligations; issue invoices, receive payment and manage our accounts; identify and manage conflicts of interest; maintain and administer our files and business records; comply with our legal, regulatory and professional obligations; respond to enquiries made through our website; and send you information about our services, where you have not asked us to stop.
We may disclose your personal information to third parties where it is necessary for your matter or otherwise permitted by law, including to barristers and other legal practitioners, experts and consultants, courts, tribunals and regulatory bodies, other parties and their representatives, insurers, government agencies, our professional advisers and auditors, and our information technology and document management service providers. We do not sell personal information, and we do not disclose it for the purpose of allowing others to market their products or services to you.
We hold personal information in both electronic and physical form, and take reasonable steps to protect it from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include access controls on our systems, secure storage of physical files, and confidentiality obligations on our people. We retain client files for the period required by our professional and legal obligations, and destroy or de-identify personal information when it is no longer needed and we are no longer required to retain it.
When you visit our website, our servers may record information such as your IP address, browser type, the pages you visit and the time of your visit. We use this information in aggregate to understand how the site is used and to improve it. Our website uses cookies. You can set your browser to refuse cookies, though some parts of the site may not function as intended if you do. Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites, and we encourage you to read their privacy policies.
We may send you information about our services and legal developments we think may be relevant to you. You can opt out at any time by using the unsubscribe function in the relevant communication, or by contacting us using the details below. We will action your request promptly.
You may request access to the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. Please make your request in writing using the contact details below. We will respond within a reasonable period. In some circumstances we may decline a request — for example, where providing access would breach another person's privacy, or where the information is subject to legal professional privilege. If we decline, we will tell you why in writing.
If you believe we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles or otherwise mishandled your personal information, please contact us using the details below. We will acknowledge your complaint and investigate it, and will respond to you in writing. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version is always available on our website, and takes effect from the date it is published.
Archer Lawyers Pty Ltd ACN 688 707 646, Level 21, 133 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000. Telephone (02) 9127 6656. Email reception@archerlawyers.com.au.
