PRIVACY POLICY
MGB Legal follows the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988, and the Australian Privacy Principles, as amended from time to time. This Policy sets out and explains to you the way in which we collect, use, store and disclose personal information and comply with our obligations under the Privacy Act and other legislation that impacts the way we provide services to you. When you engage our services, you acknowledge and agree that you accept that we will deal with your private material in the way set out in this Privacy Policy.
Terms which are defined in the Privacy Act or Australian Privacy Principles have the same meaning in this Privacy Policy.
As a legal practice operating in Western Australia, we are also reporting entities under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counterterrorism Financing Act 2006 (“AML Act”). Therefore, the information that we collect pursuant to those obligations also falls within the scope of this Privacy Policy.
The type of information we might collect from you
In order to complete our services to you, we may collect personal information, including the following:
• full name;
• date of birth;
• residential postal address;
• email address and telephone number;
• information which can be used to help identify you, such as driver’s licences, passports, Medicare cards, birth certificates and the like;
• financial and banking information including account details;
• details relating to a transaction or proposed transaction which you wish to undertake;
• information containing correspondence or documents relating to a transaction;
• personal or sensitive information which is provided to you by both yourself, and third parties who may be required to provide this information, in relation to our correspondence or communication.
We will only collect information that is reasonably necessary for us to comply with our legal obligations. Due to our obligations under the AML Act, we may ask for information regarding source of funds for you where you are undertaking a transaction.
How we collect personal information from you
This may be by written correspondence, emails, telephone calls and meetings with you. We will generally only collect information from you in relation to matters in which we are engaged with you. If, however, you raise enquiries with us, we may ask you to provide us information so that we can assess your matter before deciding whether or not we can assist you and offer to provide services to you. Information given in that context will still be covered by this Privacy Policy.
We may collect the information directly from you, or from third parties. For example, we may refer you to, or be referred by, another professional such as an accountant, settlement agent, real estate agent and so on, and they can provide information to us.
When we undertake transactional work, we are required to undertake searches of certain registers. So we may receive information as a result of those enquiries from government agencies, third-party information providers, Landgate, PEXA (which is the electronic settlement platform used to complete settlement of property transactions), or service providers with whom we engage. For example, we may conduct verification of identity work through third parties such as Australia Post, Scantek, or First AML.
We may also receive information from settlement agents, real estate agents, other law firms or other professionals, as a part of our work. To the extent that this comprises personal information and sensitive information, that information will be kept and dealt with in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Why do we collect information and how do we use it.
We collect personal information for the purpose of carrying out work that you have instructed us to undertake. We also collect information to comply with our own legal obligations in providing work to you. This may include things such as verification of identity requirements imposed by regulatory authorities such as Landgate, and it may include our obligations under the AML Act. We may also have to provide the information to, for example, our insurers, in the event of a claim being made in respect of your matter.
We may have to collect information for the purpose of preparing documents, managing and dealing with our business obligations, and maintaining and operating our trust account. The operation of our trust account may mean we have to provide information to our auditors to comply with the requirements of our Legal Practice Board in relation to maintaining that trust account. All of the things above, or things to which you consent by virtue of engaging us in our services and we are able to do this pursuant to the terms of the Privacy Act. In general terms, we will use the personal information in the manner which is permitted under the Privacy Act and not otherwise.
Disclosure of Information
As a law firm, some of the matters we undertake may include matters where legal professional privilege applies. If that is the case, our disclosure obligations are subject to the rules relating to legal professional privilege.
In addition, if you engage us as your lawyers, we are bound by obligations of confidentiality in that lawyer/client relationship.
Disclosure of the information protected by legal professional privilege is protected except as required by law, an order of the court, or where disclosure is in accordance with your instructions. In addition, and as noted above, we may be required to disclose certain information to comply with our legal obligations, or in the event of an insurance claim.
We can also disclose information to third parties in limited circumstances. For example, in transactional matters, we might have to engage with banks and financial institutions that you are using, government authorities, the electronic settlement platform known as PEXA, real estate agents, settlement agents or legal practitioners, identity of verification providers such as Australia Post, Scantek, technology service providers that we engaged to assist in delivering our services, and anti-money laundering, counterterrorism and financing service providers, such as First AML.
We may also disclose personal information if it is a requirement of the law or authorised by the law.
We can generally disclose information if you agree to the disclosure, if it is used for the purpose for which it is collected, such as to provide you with our services, or circumstances we would reasonably expect that a third party would receive that information. For example, in a transactional matter, we may need to provide bank account details to the PEXA settlement platform so that you receive the proceeds of sale at settlement.
We do not hold or store personal information outside of Australia. The service providers we engage hold information within Australia and comply with the requirements of Australian law, and are also subject to the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles.
Security of Information
We take reasonable steps to protect any information you give us from unauthorised access, use, misuse, loss, or disclosure. These include things such as secure information technology systems, password protection and two factor authentication, restriction of staff access to information, secure storage of physical records and secure destruction of records and information which is no longer required. Our service providers are all parties that have appropriate security measures in place for the information that they collect on your behalf.
We also strongly recommend, however, that if you engage with us via email or via web access, that you ensure that you undertake steps for your own security. We strongly recommend that you do not access your services using public networks, ensure that you close off any browsers or email systems after use, and when dealing with sensitive information such as bank account details, we strongly recommend you contact us by telephone to verify information.
If you believe someone has gained access to your information, or you believe your privacy has been breached, please contact us immediately.
Retention of personal information
We only retain information from you for the period required as a matter of law and comply with our professional obligations. Generally speaking, that is a period of seven (7) years, although there are specific obligations that may apply in different circumstances.
When we no longer require that personal information, we will destroy it or take steps to have it deidentified. If we receive unsolicited personal information which is not necessary for the purposes of the matters set out above, for which we will use information, we will attend to destruction of the same.
Access and correction
If you need to correct information, or you need access to your personal information, you can request that by contacting us on our general contact details. Before we provide you with information, we may have to ask you to provide evidence of your identity, so that we do not inadvertently disclose information we are obliged to keep confidential.
If there is a reason under Privacy Act or other law which requires us to not provide you with information we will give you written notice of refusal setting out the reasons, except to the extent it would be unreasonable for us to provide that to you. In doing so we will comply with the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles.
If you believe we have dealt with your information in a way inconsistent with the Australian Privacy Principles, please contact us. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. They can also provide you with more information about your rights and our obligations.
This document sets out our current Privacy Policy. It may be updated periodically and any changes will be posted on our website, www.mgblegal.com.au.
If you need to contact us, our contact details are as follows:
MGB Legal
Level 3
68 St Georges Terrace
PERTH WA 6000
Phone: (08) 6104 0555
reception@mgblegal.com.au
If you contact us either through our website or by email, that will mean we are collecting personal information from you being your name, contact details and the information that you provide in that message.
We will use that information to respond to your enquiry or provide initial advice or confirm whether or not we can provide services.