Australian Privacy Principles

Our Privacy Policy sets out how we will manage your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (“the APPs”) established by the Privacy Act 1988 (“the Act”).  Your privacy is important to us and we will manage your personal information in an open and transparent manner in accordance with the APPs.

The APPs are available at http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-act/australian-privacy-principles and guidelines and information are available from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at http://www.oaic.gov.au/.

The APPs establish standards for the way we must deal with personal information including:

  • our openness about our Privacy Policy;
  • the way we collect your personal information;
  • the way we use and disclose your personal information;
  • our data quality and security for storage and integrity of your personal information;
  • your right of access to, and correction of, your personal information; and
  • any international transfer of information.

Confidentiality and Legal Requirements

Apart from the APPs, we may have obligations of confidentiality in relation to information provided to us in the course of providing legal services.  We will comply with our obligations to keep information confidential. We will also handle all client information in accordance with our professional obligations including under the Legal Practitioners Act 1981 (SA) and the South Australian Legal Practitioners Conduct Rules. Nothing in this Privacy Policy limits a client’s rights or our obligations in relation to legal professional privilege.

What is“Personal Information”?

Personal Information is any information or opinion (whether fact or not) which either identifies an individual or from which the identity of an individual can reasonably be determined. Personal Information can only relate to human beings (individuals) and information about companies and other legal entities is not covered by the provisions of the Act.

What is“Sensitive Information”?

A higher level of privacy protection is generally afforded to sensitive information, as this is defined. Sensitive Information is personal information that includes information about an individual’s:

  • race or ethnic origin;
  • membership of political association;
  • political opinions;
  • religious beliefs or affiliations;
  • philosophical beliefs;
  • sexual preferences or practices;
  • criminal record;
  • membership of professional or trade association;
  • membership of a trade union;
  • health;
  • other genetic information;
  • biometric information for automated biometric verification or biometric identification;
  • biometric templates.

Why we collect personal information

  1. Legal services

    The main reason that we collect personal information is to provide legal services.  These services may be to you, or to a person or entity associated with you, or others. We also collect personal information for purposes necessary for the conduct of our business, including employment of staff and marketing activities. If we are providing services to you, we do need to obtain your personal information.  We will not collect any information unless the information is relevant to a matter for which you have engaged us or is otherwise reasonably necessary for or directly related to one or more of our functions or activities.  We may also collect personal information for employee records, or for applications for employment or work experience. 

  2. Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing

We have obligations in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (AML/CTF Act) and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules 2025 (AML/CTF Rules). These obligations are stringent and are intended to ensure that our practice meets its legal obligations and is protected from being misused for financial crime.

These obligations do not arise in all circumstances and only apply when we are engaged to provide a designated service, as that is defined in the AML/CTF Act. In brief summary, some common examples of designated services include assisting in the purchase, sale or transfer of real estate (conveyancing transactions), assisting in the sale or transfer of companies, or of trusts or partnerships (which are called “legal arrangements”) or receiving or holding money or property in connection with transactions. We will determine whether work in a matter may be, or involve, a designated service.

If a matter is, or involves, a designated service, we will carry out due diligence, and in some cases enhanced due diligence, as required by the AML/CTF Act including verification of the identity (VOI) of our clients, persons on whose behalf a client is receiving a designated service, persons acting on behalf of clients, and beneficial owners of entities such as companies and trusts or other legal arrangements. This will require us to collect and hold personal information.

Personal information that may be collected for AML/CTF purposes may include (but is not limited to):

Name

Date of birth

Residential address

Contact details photographic identification 

Occupation

Business holdings and structures

Information about beneficial ownership and control

Information about persons acting on behalf of a client

Information about sources of funds and sources of wealth

Information about the nature and purpose of the business relationship or transaction; and

Details of the legal services or transactions sought or provided.

Personal information obtained in the course of VOI or other due diligence for the purposes of the AML/CTF Act and the AML/CTF Rules will be used and dealt with in accordance with the Act and the Rules and otherwise in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

  1. Sensitive Information 

At times, we may request sensitive information, for example health information if we are assisting you with a personal injury claim.  All such requests for information will be relevant and necessary to a matter in which we  have been engaged. 

  1. Marketing Activities 

We may also collect and use personal information for direct marketing or other marketing purposes and for publication of information on topics.  These communications may include:

newsletters;

emails, legal alerts or articles;

invitations to seminars, discussion forums or networking events.

You consent to us collecting and using personal information for these purposes, however you may at any time elect not to receive any marketing material by selecting the unsubscribe option on email communications, or by notice to our Privacy Officer.

Can you object to giving your personal information?

Should you choose to engage us to provide legal services, or apply for employment or work experience with us, we will require personal information so that we are able to provide services and comply with our obligations as legal practitioners and as an employer. If you are making initial enquiries in relation to our services or other matters, it may be possible for you to deal with us anonymously or by a pseudonym, but if you wish to engage us to provide legal services, or to obtain employment or work experience with us, it will be necessary for your identity to be disclosed to us. You will also be obliged to provide personal information for the purposes of due diligence, if required, for AML/CTF purposes.

How we collect personal information

Generally, and where possible, we will collect your personal information directly from you.  Sometimes, however, personal information will be collected about you from other sources such as your organisation or someone acting on your behalf. If we are providing legal services to you, it is likely that personal information may be obtained from other parties with whom we are dealing or from Government or other records or databases. Information may be collected from you in face-to-face meetings, or may be submitted by you by email or in writing.  In addition, our website offers you an opportunity to submit other personal information which may include, but is not limited to:

  • submitting your contact details;
  • seeking additional information on topics of interest;
  • providing feedback;
  • registering for an event, conference or newsletter; or
  • submitting your resume and job application.

When submitting any personal information about yourself on the internet, it is important to note that internet security is not absolute.  While we take all reasonable steps to ensure our website is protected from unauthorised external access, we encourage you to ensure your computer is adequately protected. If you post personal information on our website, we will consider that you have consented to the collection of this information.  In all instances, regardless of the method of collection, we will manage your personal information in accordance with this policy.

We outsource certain functions under the AML/CTF regime such as client onboarding, verification of identity and risk assessment to easyAML (ABN 30 688 823 145). Clients will be required to provide all necessary information to easyAML. EasyAML is required to collect, hold and deal with personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act. The Privacy Policy of easyAML may be viewed at https://easyaml.com/privacy-policy/.

Will your personal information be disclosed to anyone?

In certain In certain circumstances it will be necessary to disclose your personal information, for instance:

  • briefing a barrister who is assisting with representing you;
  • preparing pleadings or other documents which will be filed in a Court;
  • preparing commercial or other documents for transactions;
  • completing and filing forms which may be necessary to comply with laws or regulations;
  • if required, in accordance with the AML/CTF Act or the AML/CTF Rules and specifically where we form a suspicion about a matter or transaction that must be reported to AUSTRAC (the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre) noting that in certain circumstances we may be prohibited from informing you if any disclosure of information is made to AUSTRAC.

We will only use or disclose personal information for the primary purpose for which the information has been provided to us, or for a secondary purpose that is related to the primary purpose, or directly related if sensitive information, or for other purposes with your consent.  We will also use or disclose information where this is required under an Australian law or by a court or tribunal order, or under other specific situations where use or disclosure is required under the APPs. In the event you are submitting a job application for employment with us, we limit who is able to access this information within the organisation and will not disclose your personal information to any other organisations unless authorised by you.

Cross-Border Disclosure

Your personal information will not be sent outside Australia unless:

  • you have instructed us to do so;
  • it is reasonably necessary for the legal services we are providing to you; or
  • there is a legal requirement to disclose this information.

If our firm is involved in a merger, acquisition, restructure or sale of practice assets, personal information may be disclosed in confidence as part of due diligence in relation to the transaction and may be transferred to a new owner or practice entity.

Keeping your personal information up-to-date

We will take steps to ensure that your personal information is accurate, up to date and complete, and to update information where we are advised of changes. To ensure we can provide you with the best possible service, it is important to ensure your information is accurate, up to date and complete.  Should there be any change to your personal information, we ask that you update us as soon as practicable.  We will update your details upon receiving instructions from you to do so.

How safe is your personal information?

DW Fox Tucker will endeavour to take all reasonable steps to protect your personal information:

  • from misuse, interference and loss; and
  • from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

Some examples of the steps include:

  • installing, maintaining and upgrading appropriate firewalls and security measures for electronic data storage;
  • internal policies and protocols for IT and data access and security;
  • ensuring the maintenance of our building security;
  • utilising secure document destruction service; and
  • ensuring our staff are trained and adhere to our security protocols.

How long will personal information be kept?

As a general rule, once a matter is completed, it is our usual practice to securely archive the file for the matter for a period of seven ( 7 ) years.  At the conclusion of this period, the file will then be destroyed.  If it is not likely that any further reference to the file may be required, a shorter period of two ( 2 ) years may apply, or if it is possible that ongoing reference may be required, a file may be retained for a longer period, subject to periodical review. There are some variations to these general practices, including:

Job applications

Should you apply for a specific role and not be successful in securing employment with us, we will retain your information for a period of 12-months.  At the conclusion of this time, we will destroy your information and remove it from our data base unless you have provided advice to the contrary.Where your application has been unsolicited, we will retain your information for a period of up to 12-months.  At the conclusion of this time, we will destroy your information and remove it from our data base unless you have provided advice to the contrary.It is important to note that you can request the removal of your information at any time.

Storing documents on your behalf

Should you request us to store documents in safe custody on your behalf, for instance wills, Certificates of Title, agreements or any other documents in our secure deeds safe, we will store these documents indefinitely or until you request their release.

Ongoing reference records

In some matters it may be appropriate to retain records of information for reference or other periods for a definite period subject to review.  Such matters may include estate planning or commercial transactions to which you are a party.  Files containing information will be stored for a period of seven or 10 years and will be reviewed at the expiration of the period, or at the expiration of any further period, to determine whether it is appropriate to retain information for reference or other necessary purposes.

Can you access your personal information?

You may request access to your personal information at any time, and we will provide access to your information unless this is contrary to the APPs.  In order to respond to your request we may require the following information to be provided:

  • your name and address;
  • your contact telephone number(s); and
  • the basis of our relationship (i.e. legal services provided currently or historically; job application).

This service is usually provided free of charge and we ask that the request be made in writing.  Should the information you require be held in our archives, there may be a small administration fee charged to assist with meeting this cost.  Prior to acting upon your request we will advise you of any fees which may be payable. We will act on all such requests as soon as reasonably possible on receipt of the request.

Can you be denied access to your personal information?

In certain circumstances, we may not be required by the APPs to give you access to your personal information.  The circumstances in which we may not be required to give access to your personal information are set out in APP 12.3. Should your request to access personal information be denied, we will advise you in writing:

  • the reasons for the refusal, except to the extent that, having regard to the grounds for the refusal, it would be unreasonable to do so; and
  • the mechanisms that you have available to complain about the refusal,

including an explanation for any commercially sensitive reasons that require that access not be given.

Correction of your personal information

You may at any time, by notice to our Privacy Officer, request correction of any personal information that we hold about you, and we will take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to correct the information to ensure that, having regard to the purpose for which it is held, the information is accurate, up to date, complete and relevant and not misleading.  If we do not believe that it is reasonable to correct information that you request, we will advise you in writing of:

  • the reasons that we decline to make the correction that has been requested, except to the extent that it would be unreasonable to do so; and
  • the mechanisms available to you to complain about the refusal.

If we have declined to correct personal information as requested by you, you may also request us to associate with the information a statement by you that you believe that the information is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading, as the case may be. We will deal with all requests for correction of your personal information as soon as reasonably possible, and will not make any charge for correcting information or associating a statement by you. There may be times, when information, which is commercially sensitive, is involved.  In these circumstances, we may provide you with an explanation of the decision instead of direct access to the information. Where we are not required to provide you with access to personal information, there may be the opportunity to consider whether a mutually agreed third party would be appropriate to meet both your needs and ours.

Can you complain about a breach of your privacy?

If you believe that we have not protected your personal information in line with our Privacy Policy you may lodge a request or complaint with our Privacy Officer.  The request or complaint should be in writing or by email and should contain sufficient information in order for us to identify the person or information concerned and any issues that you have in relation to the protection of the information.

Contact Us

We have a dedicated Privacy Officer who can be contacted in relation to any privacy issue or concern you may have.  You may contact the Privacy Officer by:

Copies of this Privacy Policy

You may obtain a copy of this Privacy Policy free of charge on request to our Privacy Officer.