Personal Information Collection Notice

Anderssen & Co Lawyers Pty Ltd T/As Terry Anderssen Lawyers (ACN 685 601 558) (“Terry Anderssen Lawyers”) has obligations in relation to how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (PA) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), as well as under the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) (IPA) and the Information Privacy Principles (IPPs).

Why have I received or been referred to this notice?

This notice has been given to you, or you have been referred to it, because we need to collect your personal information and there are some things you should be aware of before you provide your personal information to us.

What is personal information?

The PA and IPA define what personal information means, but in summary it is any information or an opinion about an individual who is reasonably capable of being identified from that information or opinion. It does not include information which has been de-identified.

What personal information are you collecting about me?

The types of personal information we collect depend on the legal services we are providing to you and the nature of your matter. This may include:

• your name, date of birth, contact details, residential and postal address and preferred method of communication;
• information to verify your identity, such as copies of identification documents;
• your occupation, employment details and employer information;
• your marital or relationship status and details of your spouse, former spouse, de facto partner, children, dependants or other family members where relevant to your legal matter;
• financial information, including your income, expenses, assets, liabilities, bank account details, superannuation, investments, trusts and business interests where relevant to your legal matter;
• property ownership details, including information about real property, mortgages and other interests in land;
• billing and payment information;
• records of communications with us, including emails, letters, telephone calls, meetings and other correspondence;
• information about your legal matter, including documents, correspondence, evidence, instructions and records you provide to us or that are created while acting for you;
• information collected from third parties with your authority or where authorised or required by law; and
• any other personal information reasonably necessary for us to provide legal services, respond to your enquiries, administer your matter, comply with our legal and professional obligations, or otherwise conduct our business.

Depending on the type of legal services we are providing, we may also collect:

Estate Planning (Wills and Estate Planning)

• details of your family structure and relationships;
• details about the contents of a will, death certificate, marriage certificate or other document;
• information about your assets and liabilities;
• details of companies, trusts, partnerships and self-managed superannuation funds;
• information about your executors, attorneys, guardians and beneficiaries;
• your testamentary wishes and succession planning objectives;
• details of gifts, inheritances and charitable intentions.

Estate Administration and Estate Litigation

• information about the deceased person;
• copies of wills, codicils and estate planning documents;
• death certificates and probate documents;
• details of estate assets, liabilities and beneficiaries;
• information regarding family relationships and potential claimants;
• financial records and correspondence relevant to the administration or dispute;
• documents and information relating to family provision applications, contested wills or other estate disputes.

Family Law

• information about your relationship history, marriage or de facto relationship;
• details of children, parenting arrangements and care arrangements;
• information regarding family violence or safety concerns where relevant;
• financial information including income, expenses, assets, liabilities, businesses, trusts, superannuation and financial resources;
• information regarding child support, spousal maintenance and property interests;
• court documents, agreements, Child Impact Reports, Family Reports, Court Orders, valuations and other documents relevant to your matter.

Conveyancing and Property Transactions

• details of the property being bought, sold or transferred;
• title information and property ownership details;
• contract documentation;
• mortgage and finance details;
• settlement information;
• rates, water and body corporate information where applicable;
• information required to prepare and complete settlement documentation;
• taxation information where relevant to the transaction.

In some circumstances, we may also collect sensitive information (such as health information, criminal history information, child safety or biometric information) where it is reasonably necessary for your legal matter, where you have provided your consent, or where the collection is otherwise authorised or required by law.

Why are you collecting my personal information?

Usually, the purpose we are collecting personal information, and the reason it is being collected, will be apparent from the relevant form or context.

If we are collecting personal information on a form because it is authorised or required by a law, such as the LPA or Professional Standards Act 2004 (Qld), that law will be noted on the relevant form. In other contexts, we will tell you if it is being collected under a law if it is reasonable for us to do so in the circumstances.

There may be more than one reason that we are collecting your personal information and those additional reasons will be noted on the form or otherwise explained to you at the time of collection. Where the personal information is optional for a given purpose, this will also be noted on the form.

If you do not understand why we are asking for your personal information please contact us as provided below.

What if I don’t provide you with my personal information?

Without your personal information we may not be able to process your application or request, answer your enquiry or deal with your complaint, perform our statutory functions or provide you with goods or services. For example, we may not be able to process your application to renew your practising certificate or your registration to attend a CPD event.

Who do we disclose your personal information to?

We may disclose your personal information to third parties where it is reasonably necessary to provide legal services to you, where you have authorised us to do so, or where we are required or permitted by law. Depending on the nature of your matter, we may disclose your personal information to:

• courts, tribunals and dispute resolution bodies;
• government departments and agencies;
• law enforcement agencies and regulatory authorities;
• other solicitors, barristers, counsel and independent legal practitioners;
• experts and consultants, including valuers, accountants, financial advisers, tax advisers, actuaries, medical practitioners, psychologists, counsellors, occupational therapists, engineers, building consultants and other expert witnesses;
• mediators, arbitrators, family dispute resolution practitioners and conciliators;
• process servers, investigators and litigation support providers;
• financial institutions, lenders, mortgage brokers and other finance providers;
• superannuation funds, trustees and administrators;
• insurers and insurance brokers;
• real estate agents, conveyancers, settlement agents, property managers, surveyors and body corporate managers;
• title registries, land registries and government authorities responsible for property transactions;
• executors, administrators, trustees, attorneys, guardians, beneficiaries and other persons involved in estate administration or estate disputes;
• interpreters and translators;
• your authorised representatives, including family members or support persons where you have authorised us to communicate with them;
• service providers who assist us in operating our practice, including information technology providers, secure cloud storage providers, document management providers, software providers, electronic signing platforms, identity verification providers, secure client portal providers, legal research providers, archiving providers, shredding providers and other administrative service providers;
• banks and payment service providers for billing and trust account transactions;
• auditors, insurers and our professional advisers;
• any person or organisation you authorise us to disclose information to; and
• any other person or organisation where disclosure is reasonably necessary to provide legal services or is authorised or required by law.

Where appropriate, we take reasonable steps to ensure that third parties who receive your personal information are required to protect its confidentiality and handle it in accordance with applicable privacy laws.

Will we use or disclose your personal information for direct marketing?

We may use your personal information to keep you informed about our legal services, updates to the law, seminars, newsletters, events or other information that we believe may be of interest to you.

We will only send you direct marketing communications where permitted by law. You may opt out of receiving these communications at any time by using the unsubscribe link included in our electronic communications or by contacting our office using the details provided in this Privacy Policy.

We do not sell or disclose your personal information to third parties for their own direct marketing purposes without your consent. We do not use the sensitive or confidential information you provide to us in connection with your legal matter for direct marketing purposes.

Will you disclose my personal information overseas?

We may disclose or store your personal information overseas where it is reasonably necessary to provide legal services to you, where you have authorised us to do so, or where we are required or permitted by law.

Some of the third-party service providers we use to assist us in operating our practice, such as cloud-based software providers, information technology service providers and secure document storage providers, may store or process personal information on servers located outside Australia or permit access from overseas.

Where we disclose personal information overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal information and that any overseas recipients handle your information in accordance with applicable privacy laws or contractual obligations.

If we are likely to disclose your personal information to an overseas recipient in circumstances not described above, we will notify you where required by law.