Privacy Policy

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Menassa Lawyers (Collectively Menassa Lawyers, “we”, “us” or “our”) understands that privacy is an important individual right. Privacy is important to our own business and the businesses of our clients. This policy sets out our commitment to how we collect, maintain and store personal information. We are also bound to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles as set out in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

Collection of Personal Information
We only collect personal information where it is necessary for our business purposes or if there is a legal requirement for us to do so. The types of personal information that Menassa Lawyers collects will depend on the nature of your dealings with us. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that you know why we are collecting your personal information, what we use it for, to whom we may disclose it and how you can access it to ensure it is accurate and up to date.

We may collect information from a variety of sources, such as directly from you when you correspond with us, when you use our website or other resources, when you complete our online questionnaires, when you accept invitations to our events, when you subscribe to our Newsletters or other publications or when you apply for a position of employment with us.

When you receive our Newsletters and other publications on a topic you will be given the ability to opt out of receiving these from us at any time. You can do this by clicking the “unsubscribe” link on the publication.

We will endeavour to collect all information directly from you. However, from time to time, we may also collect information from other sources, such as from your nominated representative or Attorney or third parties such as government departments, recruitment agencies, previous employers and search providers in relation to property, bankruptcy and companies enquiries. If you choose not to provide us with information we request, we may be unable to provide you with the information and legal services that you may require.

We may request the information from you, (including but not limited to the following information):

• Your full name, any alias’, gender, address, phone number(s) and other contact      information
• Your date of birth
• Your email address
• Feedback on our legal services
• Details of your financial institution and tax information for billing purposes or payment or wages and salaries or accounts
• Your occupation and work history
• Details of your family’s and your assets and liabilities

Sensitive Information
We may collect sensitive information (such as information relating to your health, medical treatment, ethnicity or sexual orientation) where collection is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of a legal or equitable claim. As confidentiality is important for the due process of the law, it is often not possible or legally necessary to obtain your consent in such circumstances. However, if we need to collect sensitive information in other circumstances, then we will obtain your consent.

Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

Menassa Lawyers uses the personal information it collects for the purposes of providing legal services and for the effective operations of its business. This includes, but is not limited to using the information to:

• Provide and market our legal services
• Enable contact and lawfully liaise with the Courts, other lawyers, consultants,      accountants, financial advisers and the like
• Provide data to government agencies as required by state and federal law
• Undertake employee selection, recruitment and management activates
• In confidence to third parties to improve our legal services and obtain feedback
• Undertake quality assurance activities
• Practice effective risk management
• Resolve concerns

Menassa Lawyers will only disclose personal information in order to provide legal services and to operate and efficient and sustainable business. As such, Menassa Lawyers disclose information to third parties, including but not limited to:

• Any persons acting on your behalf including advisers and consultant;
• Service providers and suppliers engaged by us;
• Courts and Tribunals;
• State and Federal government regulatory bodies;
• Any authority, agency or individual, where disclosure is permitted or required by law.

Menassa Lawyers from time to time engages and uses service providers or suppliers or others to act on our behalf and / or to provide services to the firm (either directly or through a related entity).  In these cases, we will take reasonable steps to protect the privacy of all information disclosed and require such parties to comply with any relevant privacy laws. You have the right to ask these organisations for access to information that they hold about you.

If we need to disclose your personal information for any other purpose, then we will obtain consent from you.

Data Quality
Menassa Lawyers will take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information it collects, uses and discloses is accurate and current. It does so via its own internal quality systems and auditing procedures.

If you believe any information that we hold about you is incorrect, incomplete or out-of-date, please contact us. Menassa Lawyers will respond to your request within a reasonable period and will take reasonable steps to amend your records.

Menassa Lawyers holds personal information in a combination of secure electronic and hard copy formats. We take all reasonable steps to ensure that any personal information held by us is protected from misuse, loss and unauthorised modification or disclosure. 

Menassa Lawyers will keep information for as long as it is required to be able to provide the legal services or by law. Menassa Lawyers will take reasonable steps to permanently de-identify or securely destroy personal information that it no longer requires, or upon request from you for any purpose except in limited permitted circumstances.

Use of the Website and Data Protection
When you access our Website or any of our newsletters and publications, anonymous technical information (Cookies) may be collected about user activities on the Website. This may include information such as the date and time you accessed the Website, the type of browser used to access the Website and the page of the Website you visited and any documents that you may have downloaded. This information is used by us to make decisions about maintaining and improving our Website and online services.

We provide links to useful websites on our Website. While we have confidence in these websites these linked sites are not under our control, and we cannot accept responsibility for the conduct of companies whose domain is linked to our website or whose domain links you to our website. Before disclosing your personal information on any other website, we advise you to examine the terms and conditions of using that website and its privacy statement.

Access to Personal Information
You have a right to reasonable access to any information that Menassa Lawyers holds about you. To request access to your information, please contact our Office Manager by email askme@menassalawyers.com.au or telephone 02 9211 8500. At the time you make your request, we may ask you to provide a written request detailing the information you are seeking to access and if you are an authorised representative, to provide documented evidence that lawfully authorises you to act on the individual or company’s behalf.

We reserve the right to charge for providing access to certain information, as permitted by law and you will be informed of this at the time of your request. We will always endeavour to matter your request for access within a reasonable timeframe and in the manner requested by you if it is reasonable to do so.

However, in some circumstances we may decline a request for access to information such as where we no longer hold the information, or where denying access is permitted or required by law. If we are unable to give you access to the information you have requested, we will give you written reasons for this decision when we respond to your request.

There are some circumstances where it is not reasonable or practicable for us to let you know this information. For example, it is our practice not to disclose such information to an individual if doing so would breach our legal and professional obligations to our client – undermine the purpose for which the information is being collected (where collection is for a legitimate business practice) – where we collect information from public records.

Contacting Us/Complaints
If you have any questions, feedback or concerns about our Privacy Policy or how your personal information is handled by our firm, please contact our Office Manager by email askme@menassalawyers.com.au or telephone 02 9211 8500.

We will attend to your query or complaint within a reasonable timeframe. If you have a complaint or have made a complaint, you are not satisfied with our response and consider that the complaint has not be adequately resolved, then you may make a formal written complaint to the Office of Australian Information Commissioner.

Liability limited by a scheme approved under the Professional Standards Legislation.