Contact Us & Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Protecting your personal information and privacy is important to SPG Lawyers.

This Privacy Policy explains:

• the types of personal information SPG Lawyers may collect about you;
• how SPG Lawyers collects, uses, stores and discloses your personal information; and
• how you may access or correct your personal information or make a privacy complaint.

 What is Personal Information?

“Personal Information” means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information is true or not and whether recorded in a material form or not.

Collection of Personal Information

SPG Lawyers may collect and hold personal information while providing legal services, including:

• contact details, including your name, address, occupation, email address, telephone number, mobile number and professional contact details;
• copies of identification documents;
• date of birth;
• financial information;
• health information where relevant to the matter;
• information relating to court proceedings;
• publicly available information; and
• information provided by or on behalf of prospective employees.

The type of personal information collected will depend on the nature of the legal services being provided.

SPG Lawyers may also collect sensitive information where it is reasonably necessary for the provision of legal services. Sensitive information will be collected directly from you or with your consent unless we are otherwise authorised or required by law to do so.

SPG Lawyers will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify unsolicited personal information unless it is reasonably required for the provision of legal services or we are otherwise required by law to retain it.

Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Compliance

SPG Lawyers is subject to obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) and related legislation.

To comply with these obligations, SPG Lawyers may collect, verify, hold and disclose personal information, including sensitive information and identification documents, for the purposes of:

• verifying your identity and the identity of any beneficial owners, trustees, directors, attorneys or other associated persons;
• conducting customer due diligence and ongoing due diligence;
• assessing the source of funds and source of wealth where required;
• identifying and managing money laundering, terrorism financing and other financial crime risks;
• complying with reporting, record-keeping and regulatory obligations; and
• responding to lawful requests or requirements from government agencies, regulators or law enforcement authorities.

The personal information collected for AML/CTF purposes may include copies of identification documents, date of birth, residential address, citizenship information, details of beneficial ownership, trust documentation, company information and other information reasonably required to meet our legal obligations.

If you do not provide information requested for AML/CTF compliance purposes, SPG Lawyers may be unable to establish or continue a professional relationship with you, or provide legal services.

SPG Lawyers may disclose personal information collected for AML/CTF purposes where required or authorised by law, including to government agencies, regulators, law enforcement bodies, identity verification service providers and other organisations assisting SPG Lawyers to meet its compliance obligations.

 How SPG Lawyers Collects Personal Information

SPG Lawyers may collect your personal information:

• when you contact us or engage our services;
• when you subscribe to receive newsletters or updates from SPG Lawyers;
• through meetings, events, seminars and networking activities;
• from business associates, referrers, potential clients and other third-party sources; and
• through our dealings with you in the ordinary course of providing legal services or as otherwise permitted or required by law.

Use of Personal Information

SPG Lawyers may use your personal information:

• to verify your identity;
• to provide the legal services you request;
• to administer and manage those services;
• to communicate with you regarding your matter;
• to develop, improve and manage our legal services;
• to investigate, prevent and address breaches of agreements with clients;
• to provide newsletters and information regarding our legal services where permitted;
• to assess legal claims or proceedings; and
• to manage billing and credit-related matters.

 Disclosure of Personal Information

SPG Lawyers may disclose your personal information to:

• employees, consultants and contractors of SPG Lawyers;
• barristers, experts, process servers and other service providers engaged in connection with your matter;
• organisations and contractors assisting in the provision of legal services;
• your company or organisation where services are provided under a corporate arrangement;
• financial institutions;
• credit reporting bodies and fraud prevention agencies;
• debt collection agencies where fees remain unpaid; and
• government, regulatory and law enforcement agencies where required or authorised by law.

 Website Access and Use

When you access the SPG Lawyers website, cookies may be used to collect information about your interaction with the website, including your IP address.

If you prefer not to receive cookies, you can adjust your browser settings to disable cookies or notify you when cookies are being used. However, disabling cookies may affect the functionality of certain areas of our website.

SPG Lawyers may collect non-personally identifiable information including:

• browser type;
• operating system;
• pages viewed;
• access times; and
• referring website addresses.

This information is used internally to analyse website traffic, improve website functionality and enhance user experience.

Overseas Disclosure of Personal Information

SPG Lawyers generally does not disclose personal information overseas.

If it becomes necessary to disclose personal information overseas, SPG Lawyers will comply with the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate privacy protections are in place.

Marketing

SPG Lawyers does not sell, rent or disclose your personal information to third parties for the purpose of allowing them to market products or services to you.

Payment Defaults

If you default in payment of fees or charges owed to SPG Lawyers, we may disclose your information to:

• a credit reporting body, where permitted by law, to record the default; or
• a debt collection agency for the purpose of recovering amounts owed.

Security of Your Personal Information

SPG Lawyers takes reasonable steps to ensure that personal information is accurate, complete and up to date.

We also take reasonable measures to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

Retention and Destruction of Personal Information

SPG Lawyers will retain personal information only for as long as it is required for the purposes for which it was collected or as otherwise required by law.

Where personal information is no longer required, SPG Lawyers will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it.

 External Access to Personal Information

SPG Lawyers will only disclose your personal information to third parties authorised by you or otherwise permitted or required by law.

Examples of authorised representatives may include:

• accountants;
• financial advisers;
• solicitors;
• migration agents;
• authorised family members; and
• other representatives nominated by you.

The following procedures apply to requests for personal information:

 Telephone Enquiries

Staff will explain privacy requirements and may require written authorisation before releasing personal information.

 Written Enquiries

Responses involving personal information will only be provided where the identity and authority of the requester can be verified.

 Authorised Representatives

Personal information will only be disclosed where authority has been provided by you or where disclosure is otherwise authorised or required by law.

 Consent

You are not obliged to provide personal information to SPG Lawyers. However, failure to provide necessary information may prevent us from providing legal services.

By providing your personal information, you consent to its collection, use, disclosure and storage in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

 Access, Correction and Privacy Complaints

If you:

• wish to access your personal information;
• believe your personal information is inaccurate or requires correction; or
• wish to make a complaint regarding the handling of your personal information,

please contact our Privacy Officer:

 Privacy Officer

Jane Turner-Young

Telephone: (07) 5588 2277      Email: manager@spglawyers.com.au

Mail: PO Box 5164 Gold Coast MC QLD 9726

SPG Lawyers will acknowledge receipt of a privacy complaint as soon as practicable and will endeavour to investigate and respond within a reasonable timeframe.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact:

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)

Phone: 1300 363 992

Website: https://www.oaic.gov.au

Changes to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy represents SPG Lawyers’ current practices regarding the management of personal information and replaces any previous privacy policy.

SPG Lawyers may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any updated version will be published on our website and will apply to all personal information held by SPG Lawyers at the time of publication.

Disclaimer

The content on this website is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

The information contained on this website should not be relied upon as a substitute for obtaining legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances. If you require legal advice, please contact a member of our legal team.

SPG Lawyers does not accept liability for any loss, damage, cost or expense incurred by any person as a result of relying on information contained on this website.

Use of this website, including any communication through it, does not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and SPG Lawyers. Any solicitor-client relationship will only arise once SPG Lawyers has agreed to act for you and the necessary engagement documentation has been completed.