Privacy Policy
We are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and this policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, manage and handle the personal information you provide to us.
It is important that you read this Privacy Policy.
Your privacy is important to us. We are committed to protecting your privacy and we will do our best to protect your personal information if you share it with us.
The main reason we collect personal information is to enable us to provide our services.
What is personal information?
This Privacy Policy relates to personal information we gather and hold. Personal information is any information about an individual that identifies the individual, or by which the individual’s identity can be reasonably discovered. Examples are your name, address, marital status and email address.
Consent
You are not obliged to disclose to us your personal or sensitive information, but if you would like us to provide services to you we will require some of your personal information.
By using our Website, or engaging us to provide you with our services, you accept this Privacy Policy and expressly consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information, and to us using your information to assist you with your enquiry and to offer you our services.
Will this Privacy Policy change?
We regularly review all of our policies and procedures and may change our Privacy Policy from time to time in order to comply with legislative updates or in order to reflect any changes that we make in the way that we collect or store personal information.
Personal information we collect and method of collection
You may provide us with your personal information in a number of ways, for example: by completing forms on our website located at https://mccarthypartners.com.au/ (“Website”); by sending us emails; by calling us; during face-to-face and audio-visual meetings; by completing and returning forms and questionnaires that we send you; by providing us with documents (including your ID documents); by having your ID verified by Australia Post or another identity agent we use; and otherwise.
The personal information that we collect and hold about you, depends on your interactions with us. Generally, we will collect, use and hold your personal information for the purposes of:
- providing our services, for example: effecting the sale or purchase of your property; drafting documents on your behalf and sharing these with the relevant counterparties; commencing or defending legal proceedings on your behalf; communicating with other parties and authorities on your behalf; lodging documents on your behalf; etc.;
- sending you invoices for our work;
- communicating new legal or firm developments; and
- communicating marketing material. If you do not wish to receive marketing communication from us then please let us know and we will take steps to remove you from our lists.
Where we collect personal information from you during the course of providing legal services, we are bound by legal obligations of confidentiality and legal professional privilege. We will continue to treat and protect information we receive from you (including any personal information) in accordance with these obligations.
We also collect Website activity statistics such as number of visitors, IP addresses, pages visited, time and date of visit and where you accessed the Website from, so that we can make informed decisions relating to improving the Website and the service we deliver. This information is anonymous and doesn’t identify a person.
Cookies
Like many websites, the Website may use “cookies” which store some information on computers accessing the Website.
Cookies may be used by us for a variety of purposes. For example, we may use cookies to recognise a computer which has previously visited the Website and customise the Website according to previous preferences and site behaviour. Cookies may also be used to manage security and store information about the type of browser being used.
You should be able to configure your computer so that it disables “cookies” or does not accept them.
Third party disclosure
We may disclose personal information to third parties:
- during the course of providing you with legal services. Such third parties may include: the State Revenue Office (e.g. in the context of property acquisitions), PEXA (e.g. to allow us to settle your property transaction), Land Use Victoria (the Titles Office), Councils and other authorities (e.g. to notify them of your sale or purchase), relevant Courts or VCAT (in the context of your litigation matters), mediators, barristers, your other professional advisers (e.g. your accountant), the ATO (where required in the context of property transactions), ASIC, the counterparties on your matter (and their lawyers), etc.;
- when outsourcing services, such as data storage, debt collection, bulk distribution and mailing, direct marketing, technology support services and obtaining expert help from consultants to improve our services;
- where required by law, for example in relation to an investigation into bankruptcy, counter-terrorism, fraud, taxation, etc.
Your information will be handled in accordance with the relevant third party’s privacy policy.
PEXA’s privacy policy can be found here: https://www.pexa.com.au/privacy-policy/.
By engaging us to provide services to you that require any dealings with a property title, you consent to the following:
- the disclosure of your personal information to PEXA and for use in connection with an Electronic Workspace in PEXA;
- the disclosure of your personal information to other participants in the electronic lodgement network operated by PEXA (including through mobile applications provided by PEXA), an Electronic Workspace or in a conveyancing transaction the subject of an Electronic Workspace;
- the use and disclosure of your personal information by PEXA and the other participants in an Electronic Workspace or in a conveyancing transaction the subject of an Electronic Workspace;
- the collection, use, handling and disclosure of your personal information, at least to the extent necessary to enable PEXA to provide the Services in accordance with the requirements of the Participation Agreement; and
- the disclosure of your personal information to a Registrar or Duty Authority.
Further information and definitions in relation to paragraphs i. to v. above can be found here: https://www.pexa.com.au/participation-agreement/.
Linked Sites
Our Website may direct you to websites operated by third parties (“Linked Sites”). We are not responsible for the content or practices of the Linked Sites or their privacy policies regarding the collection, storage, use and dissemination of your personal information. We encourage you to always read the applicable privacy statement of any Linked Site before using it.
Your information
We take all reasonable steps to:
- ensure that information we collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete, up-to-date and securely stored;
- protect your personal information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access – however we cannot guarantee security.
You have a right to access most of your personal information that we hold. You can do so by writing to our Privacy Officer at [email protected]. You can also contact our Privacy Officer at that email address to make a complaint concerning privacy, or if you think any of your personal information is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date.
We reserve the right to charge you a reasonable fee for processing your request for access to your personal information if that request is onerous.
Retention
We are generally required to retain your personal information (to the extent that it is contained on our hard copy or electronic files) for at least 7 years after the date your matter concludes. However, in some instances, we will retain your personal information for much longer – for example where we are holding your documents in deeds, or where we consider the nature of your matter warrants such retention (for example, in the case of Wills, long term lending arrangements, etc.).
Failure to provide information
If the personal information you provide to us is incomplete or inaccurate, we may be unable to provide you, or someone else you know, with the services you, or they, are seeking.