This policy explains how we collect, use, disclose and handle your personal information, including personal information collected via our website. You agree that, by using our Website, using any service provided via our Website or communicating with MJM, you have read the Privacy Policy, understood its contents and consented to its requirements.

What is personal information?
Personal information refers to information from which your identity is reasonably apparent.  Personal information may include sensitive information. Sensitive information is a subset of personal information and includes information or opinion about sensitive issues such as an individual’s ethnic origin, religious beliefs, sexual preferences, criminal record and health information.

‘Government Related Identifiers’ (‘GRI’) are numbers, letters or symbols assigned by a State or Territory authority or agency to identify an individual or verify identity. Examples are Tax File Numbers, Medicare Numbers, Centrelink References, Driver’s License Numbers and Passport details.

What type of personal information do we collect?
The type of information that we collect includes personal information concerning clients, potential clients who contact us, as well as suppliers, consultants, employees and applicants for employment.

The  personal  information we collect from you or record about you will depend on the nature of your contact with us and usually, the legal advice and services we provide to you. The personal information we collect from you will be limited to the purpose(s) for which it is collected. Sensitive information will only be collected with your consent.

The type of information we collect can include your name, date of birth, address or other identifying information and, depending on the kind of work we are doing for you, details about your family, business or property details, financial details (including your income, expenses, assets and liabilities), employment details and details about other people or entities associated with you or involved in your transactions or matters.

We collect this information to assist us in providing products and services to you and otherwise conducting our business functions and activities.  By providing your personal information, you agree that it will be used and disclosed in accordance with this statement and our Privacy Policy.

If you do not agree, you must not provide your personal information, and we may not be able to communicate with you or provide certain products or services to you.

How do we collect and manage personal information?
We normally collect information directly from you, for example, when we meet with you in person, have discussions with you on the telephone and when you send us correspondence such as emails or letters or enquiries via our website. We may also collect information that you provided to us via our online services and forms. We may also collect your personal information from your previous legal representatives when they transfer your file to us or from your other advisers such as accountants or financial planners. In Court cases, we also collect information during the case from third parties, including the other parties involved in the case and their lawyers and third parties who are asked to provide information, such as banks, hospitals and doctors.

When you visit our web site, our web site may store cookies which record details of your server address and your usage of our web site such as what pages you view and download from the web site. We use cookies only for internal management purposes. If you do not wish to use cookies, you can set your browser so that it will not accept them. If you wish to delete existing cookies, you may configure your browser to reject cookies or manually delete existing cookies from your hard drive.

We will only collect personal information which is reasonably necessary or directly related to our professional services or for business related purposes.

If you provide us with third party personal information then you warrant to us that you have the third party’s consent to do this. You must not upload any Personal Information of another individual unless you first make them aware of MJM’s Privacy Policy and have their consent to upload such Personal Information.

We hold personal information in both electronic and hard copy formats. We take precautions to ensure the security and confidentially of personal information we hold. We review these security measures from time to time, as required.

While we aim to keep your information safe, because the internet is not entirely secure we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us over the internet. This includes information sent by email or entered on our website. Once we receive your information, we will take reasonable steps to keep it secure.

Personal information is stored on our computer systems and within paper based files as appropriate. Files are stored for up to 7 years to meet legal compliance requirements and to provide future access to that information if our clients need it. Clients who want to keep copies of documents and information on our files (apart from documents belonging to us, such as our file notes) can ask for copies to be provided at their cost if they wish. Sometimes we may transfer your files or documents to another law firm. This will normally only be done at your request or with your consent.

In relation to any information you provide to MJM, whether via our Website or authorise, you consent and authorise MJM to: a maintain the records of the information either: i electronically (Virtual File); or ii hard copy file and electronic documents and data (Mixed File); as considered appropriate by MJM; and to iii communicate by electronic means; iv scan and electronically store some or all documents received by us; and v to destroy hard copy documents received from third parties, once scanned. If access to a stored file is required, you will have to pay the reasonable costs of accessing the stored file and we can charge for the time spent in providing documents together with any incurred disbursements. You are liable for those expenses and they are payable before any documents or information are made available. Depending on how the file is maintained and stored you will either be provided with hard copy or electronic file or a combination of both. You authorise us to destroy the Virtual File or Mixed File seven (7) years after the date of completion of the Service or termination of the Engagement or Cost Agreement, whichever is earlier.

How your personal information will be used.

We collect, hold and use personal information for a number of purposes including:
• Providing professional services or deciding whether or not to provide professional services;
• Responding to requests or queries;
• Keeping our clients and other contacts informed of our services, industry developments and events;
• Administrative purposes;
• Recruitment purposes;
• Seeking your feedback; and
• Any other business related purposes.

If you do not provide us with personal information we have requested, we may not be able to complete or fulfil the purpose for which the information was to be collected, including providing the services we were engaged to perform.

You should be aware that if you disclose confidential information to us on this website, that disclosure will not be privileged unless we have agreed to act as your legal adviser and you have executed a written engagement agreement with us.

Will my personal information be disclosed to a third party?

Personal information we collect from our clients is kept confidential but will be used and disclosed to third parties from time to time.

We may be required to disclose your personal information to third parties including:

• Barristers briefed to represent you;

• Experts and other third parties contracted as part of an engagement to assist with your matter;

• Our service providers:

• Courts, Tribunals, Government and regulatory bodies as agencies, as part of an engagement or otherwise;

• Credit reporting agencies, courts, tribunals and regulatory authorities where you fail to pay for goods or services provided by us to you;

• other parties involved in a case or their lawyers;

• agents engaged to assist us.

We do not disclose personal information to third parties for the purpose of allowing them to send marketing material to you.

We may also be compelled to disclose Information by law, for example, under court orders, subpoenas or statutory notices to produce documents under laws relating to social security, taxation, bankruptcy, anti-money laundering, counterterrorism and the management of incorporated entities.

If there is a change of control of our business or a sale or transfer of business assets, we reserve the right to transfer to the extent permissible by law our user databases, together with any personal information and non-personal information contained in those databases.  This information may be disclosed to a potential purchaser.  We would seek to only disclose information in good faith.

Use of Cloud Computing Services

We may utilise international cloud computing services for e-mail storage and to store Information that we collect.

From time to time, the third parties to which your information may be disclosed may be located (and therefore your personal information may be disclosed) outside of Australia, including Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.

How you can access your personal information.

You can ask for access to your personal information we hold, except in circumstances where access may be denied under the Privacy Act or other law. Examples of these circumstances are:

• where providing access will pose an unreasonable impact on the privacy of another individual;

• where providing access would be unlawful, would pose a threat to the life or health of an individual, may prejudice an investigation of possible unlawful activity, may prejudice enforcement of laws; or

• where denying access is authorised by law.

To make a request for your personal information, please contact us. We will endeavour to respond to a request for personal information within 14 days. If personal information is provided to you as the result of a request, you may be charged a fee for costs incurred in providing that information such as photocopying, administration and postage. If we are unable or unwilling to give you access to personal information, we will tell you why.

How you can correct your personal information.

If you believe that the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or not up-to-date please let us know. Provided we agree with you, we will correct it. If we do not agree with you, we will place a statement of what you allege is correct where that information is kept and accessed.

Will this privacy policy change?
Our privacy policy may need to be updated from time to time to reflect changes in the way our work is done or changes in legal requirements. For this reason, we reserve the right to change our policy from time to time by publishing the revised policy on our web site. If you do not agree to our use of your personal information due to any of these changes please contact us.

Consent
By using our website or providing personal information to us, you consent to the terms of our privacy policy. You also expressly consent t us using your personal information, including your email address, to provide you with information and to advise you of our services or events or any other direct marketing activity which we consider may be of interest to you. If you do not wish to receive information about our firm or services or about legal developments, you can let us know by sending us a message by post or e-mail at the addresses set out below.

Links to Third Party Websites

Our website contains links to third parties’ websites which are not subject to our privacy policy. For details of the privacy policies for third parties’ websites, we refer you to their websites for further information. We do not endorse, approve or recommend the services or products provided on third party websites.

How to contact us

If you have any queries or complaints in regard to our collection, use or management of your personal information, please contact us.

You can also find out more about the Australian Privacy Policy Guidelines at the Office of Australian Information  Commissioner.