Privacy Policy
Privacy at Norman Waterhouse
This policy sets out how Norman Waterhouse and its related entities (we) collect, hold and disclose personal information. At all times we comply with the National Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
Why do we collect personal information?
We collect personal information:
- to provide legal services to our clients
- to communicate with our clients and contacts
- to manage and account for the services
- to inform our clients and contacts about legal developments
- to market our services
- to send invitations to our events
- to carry on our business
- to fulfil our legal obligations
- to help us plan and develop our services for the benefit of our clients.
In most cases, if we request personal information and it is not provided, we may not be able to provide the relevant service.
What personal information do we collect?
We collect an individual’s name and contact details, and information about the individual’s gender, occupation, employers and relationship with us or our clients or contacts. Of course, we also collect the information necessary to provide the specific services our clients require.
How we collect personal information
We collect personal information direct from an individual when that individual meets with us, communicates with us by telephone email or fax, gives a business card to our people, subscribes to our publications, or submits information by our website. We may ask other people to analyse traffic on our website, and they may use cookies to do so.
We may also collect information about an individual from our clients and their agents, the individual’s employer, courts, tribunals, regulators, publicly available records, or a third party eg a medical report or a reference.
Use and disclosure
We use and disclose personal information for the purpose for which it was collected, reasonably expected related purposes and other circumstances authorised by the Privacy Act. In general we use and disclose personal information for the purposes set out above.
We will not use an individual’s personal information to inform the individual about legal developments, to market our services or to send invitations to our events, if the individual requests us not to do so.
We may disclose personal information:
- subject to our professional obligations, to other persons in connection with our legal services including our clients and their other advisers
- subject to our professional obligations, as authorised by the Privacy Act
- to other Norman Waterhouse people and our related entities
- to other persons who assist us to provide services or who perform functions on our behalf eg barristers, consultants and mailing houses
- to our auditors, where required by law or professional rules
- to courts, tribunals and regulators
- to anyone else whom the individual authorises us to disclose the information.
We have a professional duty to maintain confidentiality of our clients’ information. Accordingly, we will not disclose information about a client or disclosed to us by a client unless the client instructs us to do so, or we are legally obliged to do so.
Who else has access?
Our contractors may have access to some personal information we collect. For example, contractors keep our closed files in secure storage, distribute some of our publications, and maintain and develop our computer systems. These contractors are bound by obligations of confidentiality and may access information only to the extent necessary to provide the contracted services.
Our trust account inspectors and auditors may also access our files and records, but only to ensure that we comply with our obligations. They are also bound by obligations of confidentiality.
How do we keep personal information secure?
We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We store information in access controlled premises, and require logins and passwords to access electronic information. In addition, all our partners/staff members are bound by obligations of confidentiality.
How do we keep personal information accurate?
We encourage you to contact us to update any personal information we hold about you.
Accessing your personal information
You may request access to personal information we hold about you. We may require you to verify your identity and to specify what information you require. We may charge you a fee where we provide access. We may refuse to provide access if the Privacy Act allows us to do so, or if our duty of confidentiality requires us to do so.
To request information please contact:
Privacy Officer
Norman Waterhouse
Level 15, 45 Pirie Street
Adelaide, South Australia, 5000
Phone: +61 8 8210 1200
Fax: +61 8 8210 1234
Email: privacy@normans.com.au