Southern Waters Legal Privacy Policy

Updated March 2025

Purpose of Privacy Policy

Southern Waters Legal (add ABN and ACN) is committed to protecting the privacy of individuals and is bound by the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988.

This Policy aims to provide you with a clear understanding of how we collect, use, disclose, and manage personal information, as well as the measures we take to protect it. It does not address our client confidentiality obligations, which are outlined in our terms of engagement.

1. What is personal information?

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

We are required to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in the Privacy Act. The APPs regulate the manner in which personal information is handled throughout its life cycle, from collection to use and disclosure, storage, accessibility and disposal.

We are also required to comply with more specific privacy legislation in some circumstances, such as:

applicable State and Territory health privacy legislation
the Spam Act; and
the Do Not Call Register Act

2. What We Collect

The type of personal information that we collect about you depends on the type of dealings you have with us. For example, if you:

are a client of the firm, we will collect your name, job title, address, contact details, information about our dealings with you and the legal matters we conduct on your behalf and the legal areas that are of interest to you;
are involved in a matter that we are working on, we may collect your name, contact details and information about the relevant matter;
are involved in a matter with one or more of our clients, we will collect your name, address, contact details, verification of identity details and relevant file numbers held by our client.
ask to be placed on our mailing list, we will collect your name, address and contact details;
supply goods or services to us, we will collect your name, address, contact details and financial details for payment purposes;
send us an enquiry or provide us with feedback, we will collect your name, contact details and details of your enquiry or feedback;
apply for a job with us, we will collect the information you include in your job application, including your cover letter, resume, contact details and referee reports.
contact us via telephone, we will collect relevant personal information

Site visit information

For instance, we collect data such as your server address, the date and time of your visit, the pages you accessed, any documents you downloaded, the previous website you visited, and details about your device, browser, and operating system. This information is used and disclosed only in an anonymous, aggregated form for purposes such as statistical analysis and improving the functionality and usability of our website. While you are not individually identified, we reserve the right to use or disclose this information if we reasonably believe an individual has engaged in unlawful or inappropriate activity related to our website or if required or authorised by law.

Cookies

A cookie is a small data file that a website transfers to your browser to assist with identification. The cookies we use do not identify individual users but do recognise the user’s internet browser. We use cookies to store anonymous session information, allowing the website to personalise your visit—for example, by remembering your session details.

3. How we collect personal information

In the course of providing legal services, we collect personal information in a number of ways, including:

in person (for example, at a meeting or function);
through our website;
over the telephone;
through written correspondence (such as emails, calendar/meeting invitations and letters);
on hard copy forms (for example, event forms);
through surveillance cameras;
from regulatory authorities; and/or
from public registers (for example, by conducting searches of the ASIC database or from other publicly available sources).

4. Why we collect personal information

The main purposes for which we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information are to:

provide our clients with legal services;
assess credit-worthiness;
maintain cyber security;
send you information through our mailing lists;
obtain goods and services;
perform research and statistical analysis, including for customer satisfaction and service improvement purposes;
protect the security of our offices, staff, clients and the property held on our premises;
answer queries and resolve complaints;
recruit staff and contractors;
understand, manage and develop our relationship with you.

We may also collect, hold, use and disclose personal information for other purposes explained at the time of collection or which are:

required or authorised by or under law (including, without limitation, privacy legislation); or
based your consent.

We may use your personal information to send you updates or information about our services, including legal news, invitations to seminars and events, and information about relevant third-party services. This will only occur where we have your express or implied consent or where permitted by law. We may contact you through various channels, including mail, email, SMS, phone calls, or social media campaigns.

If you have consented to receive these communications, your consent will remain valid until you notify us otherwise. You can opt-out at any time by using the unsubscribe option included in our electronic messages, such as emails and SMS.

5. Who we may share your personal information with

We may share your personal information with third parties where appropriate for the purposes, including:

financial institutions for payment processing;
barristers, experts or other relevant third parties in relation to your matter;
overseas law firms where required to seek advice on foreign laws;
external lawyers who we contract to assist us in providing legal services to you;
our related bodies corporate;
credit reporting bodies and credit providers;
government regulators;
investigators;
our contracted service providers including:
business and litigation support service providers;
information and communication technology providers;
data storage and archive service providers;
printers and mail houses;
function and event organisers;
marketing and communications agencies;
research and statistical analysis providers;
delivery and shipping providers; and/or
business advisers (such as recruitment advisors, accountants, auditors and lawyers).

In each instance, we may share personal information with the service provider, who may also collect and return personal information to us while delivering the relevant products or services.

6. Data quality and security

We hold personal information in a number of ways, including in hard copy documents, electronic databases, email contact lists, and in paper files held in drawers and cabinets. Paper files may also be archived in boxes and stored in secure facilities. We take reasonable steps to:

make sure that the personal information that we collect, use and disclose is accurate, up-to-date and complete and (in the case of use and disclosure) relevant;
protect the personal information that we hold from misuse, interference and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure; and
destroy or permanently de-identify personal information that is no longer needed for any purpose that is permitted by the APPs.

You can help us keep your information up to date by informing us of any changes to your details, such as your address, email, or phone number.

To protect the personal information we hold, we implement various security measures, including website protection tools (such as firewalls and antivirus software), restricted access to our computer systems (via login and password protection), controlled entry to our premises, secure document storage policies, personnel security protocols, staff training, and workplace policies.

Online credit card payment security

We process payments using EFTPOS and online payment technologies, adhering to industry security standards to protect your payment details. If we receive instructions to transfer funds to your bank account, we may disclose personal information as necessary to verify the accuracy of the bank account or identity details provided.

Website security

While we are committed to protecting the personal information and privacy of our website users, we cannot guarantee the security of any information disclosed online, and you do so at your own risk. If you have concerns about transmitting your information over the Internet, you may contact us by telephone instead.

Third-party websites

Any links to third-party websites that are not operated or controlled by us are provided for your convenience. We are not responsible for the privacy or security practices of those websites, which are not covered by this Privacy Policy. Third-party websites should have their own privacy and security policies, which we encourage you to read before supplying any personal information to them.

7. Cross-border disclosure of personal information

We may disclose personal information to third parties overseas in the following circumstances:

To third-party providers of business support services, including litigation support.
When engaging an overseas law firm for advice on foreign laws or when disclosure to an overseas third party is required or authorised in connection with a specific matter (the relevant country will depend on the circumstances of that matter).

In all cases, we will ensure compliance with the Privacy Act’s requirements for cross-border disclosures of personal information.

8. Access and Correction

If you would like to access or update the personal information we hold about you, please contact our Client Relationship team. To protect your privacy, we may require identity verification before processing access or correction requests.

We generally provide access to your personal information, subject to legal exceptions. Where possible, we will provide access in your preferred format (e.g., photocopies or file viewing), provided it is reasonable and practicable. If you request a correction to your personal information, or if we determine that the information we hold is inaccurate, outdated, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading, we will take reasonable steps to update it so that it remains accurate, current, complete, relevant, and not misleading.

9. Complaints

If you have a complaint about how we have collected or handled your personal information, please contact our Client Relationship team, who will endeavour in the first instance to deal with your complaint and take any steps necessary to resolve the matter. Our team can be reached on (02) 9523 5535 or at info@southernwaters.com.au.

10. Changes to this Policy

We may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time. A current version will be posted on our website.

Version dated 4 March 2025