This policy sets out how we collect, hold and use information gathered from you. The privacy obligations set out below are in addition to our obligations to you as lawyers and accountants.
Personal information we collect
As part of West Garbutt Pty Ltd (us or we) providing our services, we will collect personal information regarding you and entities you may control. Personal information collection is governed by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles.
Personal information means any information that identifies you or by which you could be reasonably identified. In the course of providing our services to you, we are likely to collect different types of personal information including:
- name;
- contact details;
- date of birth;
- job title;
- employer;
- financial information, such as information about your income and assets; and
- family information (such as details about relatives).
Sensitive information we may collect
Some information about you that we collect may be considered sensitive information under the Privacy Act. Sensitive information that we collect may include:
- racial or ethnic origins;
- religious beliefs;
- trade union memberships;
- sexual orientation or practices;
- criminal records; and
- medical records.
We will only collect sensitive information when it is strictly necessary in order to provide our services to you. We will not disclose sensitive information without your consent.
How we use your information
We will only use the personal information and sensitive information provided to us for the purposes for which it is provided and in accordance with the law.
We may use your contact details to send you news or alerts which we think may interest you. If at any time you wish to opt out of these alerts, please contact us by email or phone.
How we collect your information
We will generally collect your personal information or sensitive information directly from you. In other circumstances, we may collect personal information about you from your other advisers or from the Australian Taxation Office or other revenue authorities, as part of providing our services.
How we hold your information
We hold personal information:
- physically, in our premises;
- electronically:
- with third party storage providers;
- on our computers; and
- on internal servers.
We will take reasonable steps to ensure that any personal information held by third parties is held in a way that complies with the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles.
We take the security and integrity of the information we hold regarding our clients seriously. To ensure that your information is kept secure, we employ a variety of methods including up-to-date anti intrusion measures for our IT systems, confidentiality agreements with our employees, premise security measures and comprehensive document destruction (when appropriate).
Disclosure of your personal information
We will only disclose your personal information:
- where necessary in connection with the purpose for which it was collected;
- with your consent; or
- as required by law.
Consent may be given to us verbally or in writing.
We may need to disclose some of your personal information to third parties such as:
- the Australian Taxation Office or the State revenue authorities;
- other government bodies;
- external IT service providers; and
- barristers or experts engaged on behalf of a client.
We may, in providing our services to you, disclose personal information to overseas entities such as accountants or lawyers that are based overseas. Common countries in which these overseas entities operate are the United States of America and New Zealand, but there may be others from time to time. Where personal information is disclosed to third parties, including overseas entities, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the third party deals with the information in a way that is in accordance with the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles.
How you can access and correct your personal information
You can request access to your personal information that we hold at any time. We will provide that access within a reasonable amount of time and will endeavour to respond to any request within ten business days. However, in some situations a response may take longer due to the volume of information we hold. If this is the case, we will contact you so that we can work cooperatively towards providing the information in the most timely and efficient manner.
We may charge a fee for access to your information where that fee is reasonable in the circumstances.
If we hold any personal information that is incorrect, you can contact us and we will correct immediately.
We will not disclose any information to you that relates to another person, even if that information is in your file.
In limited circumstances, we may deny access to your personal information, in situations where:
- it may relate to an existing or anticipated action against West Garbutt Pty Ltd;
- where we consider the request is vexatious or frivolous; or
- where we are prohibited by law to provide the information.
If we refuse your request to access the information we will tell you why.
If you wish to access your personal information, please contact us at +61 7 3905 9488 or in writing to GPO Box 2466, Brisbane, QLD 4001.
If you have a complaint about how we use your personal information
If you believe we have collected, held, or used your personal information in a way that is inconsistent with the Privacy Act or the Australian Privacy Principles we encourage you to contact us directly at +61 7 3905 9488 or in writing to GPO Box 2466, Brisbane, QLD 4001.
We will investigate any complaint and seek to respond as soon as possible so we can resolve your complaint in a way that is satisfactory.
If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint, you can contact the Office of Australian Information Commissioner at the below details:
Post:
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Email:
Telephone:
1300 363 992