PRIVACY POLICY
Walnut Law provides legal services as an Australian law firm operating as a sole trader practitioner in a range of practice areas including commercial disputes and litigation, contracts and agreements, court and representation. Our services primarily involve providing legal advice and representation in legal matters.
Your privacy is important to us and we understand the importance of keeping personal information private and secure, including on this website, www.walnutlaw.com.au (the Website).
ABOUT THIS PRIVACY POLICY
We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles (the APP) and we are committed to handling personal information in accordance with these, and our professional obligations.
‘We’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ means Susannah Walter t/as Walnut Law ABN 13 104 465 165.
This Privacy Policy describes generally how and why we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information, safeguard your privacy, and how you may access or correct your information or make a privacy complaint.
MEANING OF PERSONAL INFORMATION AND SENSITIVE INFORMATION
Personal information (Personal Information) is any information or an opinion about an identified individual or an individual who can be reasonably identified from the information or opinion. Information or an opinion may be Personal Information regardless of whether it is true.
Sensitive information (Sensitive Information) means:
a. information or an opinion (that is also Personal Information) about an individual’s:
i. race or ethnic origin,
ii. political opinions,
iii. membership of a political association,
iv. religious beliefs or affiliations,
v. philosophical beliefs,
vi. membership of a professional trade association,
vii. membership of a trade union,
viii. sexual orientation or practices,
ix. criminal record,
x. health information,
b. health information about an individual,
c. genetic information that is not otherwise health information,
d. biometric information that is to be used for the purpose of automated biometric verification or biometric identification, and
e. biometric templates.
KINDS OF INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND HOLD
The kinds of Personal Information we may collect and hold about you depends on your relationship with us, such as whether you are a client, potential client, person connected with a client matter, supplier, service provider, contractor, or user of the Website. It may include your:
a. identification and contact details, including name, date of birth, gender, address, email and telephone details,
b. occupation, role, employer, business activity and professional information,
c. identity documents and verification information, including document numbers, issuing authorities, expiry dates, photographs and signatures,
d. government-related identifiers where required or authorised by law,
e. financial, banking, payment, transaction, source of funds, source of wealth and ownership information,
f. information about your legal matters with us including instructions, communications, evidence, documents and information about relationships between persons involved in a matter,
g. information about your business or organisation,
h. details of enquiries or complaints, and
i. any other information that you share with us.
We may collect and hold Personal Information about you that is Sensitive Information under the Privacy Act where it is permitted by law, including where you consent and the information is reasonably necessary for our functions, where collection is required or authorised by law, where necessary for legal claims or legal services, or where another Privacy Act exception applies. If you provide us with Sensitive Information, you consent to our collection and holding of that information.
We also collect information about how you access, use and interact with the Website and other digital channels. This information includes:
a. technical data and website information including IP address, browser type, device information, language and operating system, cookies, pixels and analytics information, and
b. the location from which you have come to the Website and the pages you have visited.
The Website may use cookies and similar web tracking technologies to collect information about your use of the Website.
You do not have to disclose Personal Information or Sensitive Information when you visit the Website.
WHY WE COLLECT, HOLD, USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We only collect your Personal Information necessary for us to conduct our business in providing legal services to you and comply with the law.
The purposes for which we collect, hold and use your Personal Information may be to:
a. verify your identity,
b. provide our legal services and run our business,
c. respond to your enquiry about our services,
d. client onboarding, conflict checking and matter administration,
e. provide online services, website use and analytics, content and communications, and measure your interactions on a statistical and individual basis so that we can make informed decisions about improving our service and the Website,
f. comply with our legal obligations and assist government and law enforcement agencies or regulators,
g. maintain and develop our business systems, practice operations and services where we are otherwise required by law, and
h. for any other purpose reasonably considered necessary or desirable by us in relation to the operation of our business.
We may also disclose your Personal Information, subject to our professional obligations to our clients:
a. to other entities, such as barristers, experts, advisers and/or valuers we have engaged, courts and/or tribunals, and to other parties involved in a legal dispute or proceedings, as part of providing our legal services to you,
b. to third party service providers and financial institutions to enable them to provide payment services and information technology, data storage and cloud services, and agents and contractors,
c. to regulators, government agencies, insurers and law enforcement agencies or as otherwise required or authorised by law,
d. to others where you have provided your consent to us to do so, and
e. the police or other appropriate persons where your communication suggests possible illegal activity or harm to others.
By providing your Personal Information to us, you consent to us using it subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
We aim to keep all Personal Information strictly confidential. We are committed to maintaining the confidentiality of the information that you provide to us and we will take all reasonable precautions to protect your Personal Information from unauthorised use or alteration.
If we need to disclose your Personal Information when providing legal services to you to third parties such as law firms involved in the matter, barristers, valuers, accountants, financial advisors, government departments, courts or tribunals, we will endeavour to obtain your consent and ensure the recipient is bound by contractual arrangements and obligations of confidentiality where possible to protect your information to the same standards we do.
HOW WE COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We generally collect your Personal Information directly from you whenever you interact with us.
We may collect Personal Information that you provide to us about yourself when you:
a. interact with the Website including using it to complete an online contact form to contact us,
b. provide information to us by telephone, in person or during a MS Teams video conference, and
c. send to us an email, document(s) or other communication.
We may also collect your Personal Information indirectly including from third parties where permitted by law including clients, witnesses, representatives, advisers, regulators, government bodies, law enforcement bodies, public records, commercial databases, courts and/or tribunals including other parties to legal proceedings, identification verification providers, financial institutions, search agencies, online searches, social media, and technology and/or analytics providers.
If you provide us Personal Information about another individual, you should take reasonable steps to ensure that the individual is aware their information has been provided to us and of this Privacy Statement. You should only provide Sensitive Information about another individual where you have authority or consent from them to do so, or where otherwise permitted by law.
We assume no responsibility for the content of any third party websites you may visit. This Privacy Policy does not govern the collection or use of information by third party websites that may be linked to the Website. If you visit a website that we mention or link, be sure to review its privacy policy before providing information to that site.
HOW WE STORE AND HOLD YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We store most information about you electronically in computer systems and databases operated by either us or in the ‘cloud’ by our external service and web hosting providers. Some information about you may be recorded in paper files that we store securely.
We implement and maintain processes and security measures to protect Personal Information which we hold from misuse, interference or loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. However, we cannot guarantee security.
These processes and systems include the following:
a. use of physical and IT security systems,
b. records management,
c. identity and access management technologies to control access to systems on which information is processed and stored,
d. confidentiality obligations,
e. cyber security measures,
f. data encryption, firewalls, anti-virus software, email filters, and passwords,
g. information security training,
h. internal policies and procedures, and
i. monitoring and regularly reviewing our practice against our own policies and against industry best practice.
We will not retain your Personal Information for longer than is reasonably necessary.
We will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify Personal Information once we no longer require it for the purposes for which it was collected or for any other lawful purpose permitted under the APP, subject to applicable retention requirements.
DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION TO OVERSEAS RECIPIENT
We do not disclose your Personal Information to recipients that are located outside Australia except where required for the purposes of providing legal advice or representation to you or with your consent.
In those limited circumstances, those recipients are likely to be located in the country relevant to the particular matter.
ACCESS AND CORRECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
You have a right to request access to, or correction of, the Personal Information that we hold about you by contacting us at any time. You can contact us at hello@walnutlaw.com.au.
Please promptly advise us of any changes to your information to ensure your Personal Information is accurate.
While all requests will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act, there are some circumstances where we may refuse your request to access or correct your Personal Information, such as in circumstances where access would:
a. be unlawful (eg subject to a claim for legal professional privilege by one of our contractual counterparties),
b. have an unreasonable impact on another person’s privacy,
c. prejudice proceedings or an investigation, or of unlawful activity,
d. breach confidentiality,
e. be inconsistent with professional obligations,
f. reveal commercially sensitive evaluative information, or
g. relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings, and the information would not be accessible by the process of discovery in those proceedings.
If we refuse your request, we will notify you in writing of the reasons for the refusal. If you disagree with our decision, you may make a privacy complaint using the complaints procedure set out in paragraphs 36 to 38.
If we are unable to correct your Personal Information, you may ask us to include a statement that you believe your Personal Information is inaccurate, out of date, irrelevant or misleading.
There is no charge for requesting access to, or correction of, your Personal Information, but we may require you to meet our reasonable costs in providing you with access (such as time spent locating, collating or making the information presentable).
We will respond to your request to access or correct Personal Information within a reasonable period, which is generally within 15 day business days of receiving your request.
PRIVACY COMPLAINTS
If you have a complaint about the way in which we have handled your Personal Information, including in relation to your request for access or correction of your Personal Information, you should contact us first at hello@walnutlaw.com.au.
We will consider your complaint and determine whether it requires further investigation. We will notify you of the outcome of this investigation.
If you remain dissatisfied with the way in which we have handled a privacy issue or your Personal Information, you may make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (the OAIC) (www.oaic.gov.au). The OAIC has power to investigate and enforce compliance under the Privacy Act.
We do not permit the use of any Personal Information obtained via our business for unlawful purposes.
In the event of a suspected or actual data breach we become aware of involving Personal Information that is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify affected individuals and the OAIC, as required by law.
If you believe your privacy has been seriously breached, you may have the right to take legal action and to seek compensation for serious invasions of privacy (eg misuse of Personal Information.)
CONTACT DETAILS
If you have any questions, comments, requests or concerns, please contact us at hello@walnutlaw.com.au.
CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
This Privacy Policy is regularly revised and updated to reflect changes to how we handle Personal Information or the types of Personal Information that we hold, in accordance with the Privacy Act and other laws, regulatory guidance and our business practices and the services we provide. Any changes to the Privacy Policy will be notified by publishing an updated version on the Website.
You may obtain a copy of the current Privacy Policy from the Website or by contacting us at the Contact Details set out in paragraph 42.