MULLINS PRIVACY POLICY
Mullins and its related entities (Mullins, us, we, our) respects and values your privacy and is committed to keeping your personal information private. The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) regulates the way in which we collect and use your personal information, as well as the circumstances under which we might provide information to third parties. we comply with the Australian Privacy Principles in that regard.
This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, store and otherwise manage your personal information and is designed to assist you in understanding how we collect and use your personal information in connection with our business and the marketing of our services and to assist you in making informed decisions when using our site and our products and services and the sites of our advertisers.
How and why we collect your information
We will collect your personal information for a number of reasons, including where it is necessary for us to provide our services, to maintain contact with you (including as a customer or client), to keep you informed of the services we offer and of current developments, to notify you of events or service offerings, for recruitment and employment and for administration and management purposes.
Generally, we will collect personal information directly from you. It may occasionally be necessary for us to collect your personal information from a third party, or from a publicly available source. We will only collect personal information in that way where you have consented, you would reasonably expect us to collect personal information in that way, or if it is necessary for the performance of our services.
We may also collect personal information about you from your use of our websites, products and information you provide to us through contact mailboxes or through the use of our websites.
Information we may collect
“Personal information” is information that could identify you as an individual, or from which your identity could be reasonably ascertained.
The personal information that we collect depends on the nature of our relationship or engagement with you, including as a customer, supplier, contractor and/or visitor to our websites.
During the course of conducting our business as a law firm, we will collect information which may include the following kinds of personal information:
- personal details including name, address, occupation, professional memberships, contact details.
- information relating to business dealings with the firm.
- information relating to employment applications of unsuccessful job applicants including resumes and any attachments, information gained from interviews and reference checks.
We may also collect personal information from the following sources:
- customers, clients and/or their staff;
- suppliers and/or their staff;
- contractors and employees including job applicants and potential employees;
- other individuals who come into contact with us, including those who use our website/s.
Examples of information that may be collected include name, contact details, date of birth, gender, marital status, occupation or position description and the details of other persons that you might give to us. Where relevant, we may ask you for other information. In particular, in order to receive orders or to provide our services, it may be necessary for us to collect credit card or bank account details or other details.
We will not usually seek to collect sensitive information (such as detail of professional memberships, race or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, criminal record, physical or mental health, or sexual orientation) from you. If it is necessary for us to collect (or if you provide) sensitive information, we will obtain your explicit consent (or by providing such information to us, you provide consent) to the collection and use of such information.
When you use our website, information may be collected in the manner described below (see Cookies). Otherwise, the information collected will only be information that you enter into the website.
We will only use your personal information to:
- disclose personal information for the purpose for which it was collected.
- provide and account for services provided.
- respond to your requests.
- fulfil our legal responsibilities (subject to our obligations to our clients) where necessary in the provision of legal services;
- provide on a confidential basis, to external service providers, where necessary in the provision of legal services.
- manage the relationship with our clients, and to improve service provision.
- tell you about products and services that may be offered by us, including to facilitate our business operations, including advising our clients about legal developments, other services and to ensure we are fulfilling our legal requirements;
- optimise and tailor information which we provide to you; and
- comply with our legal obligations – either where the law requires us or where our clients consent for us to do so.
We may use your information, including your personal information, to market our services, including by internet and/or email. You will have the opportunity to elect not to receive further marketing information from us by writing to admin@mullinslawyers.com.au . we will endeavour to process your request within 21 days. Alternatively, if we have contacted you by email, you may use the unsubscribe function in that email to notify us that you do not want to receive further marketing information from us.
We will hold your personal information for only as long as is required to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected or as required by law.
We may share your personal information with third parties who you instruct us to contract, to assist us to provide the services requested by you. Those third parties may include service providers who assist us in performing our services such as contractors and tradesmen. We require that those persons or organisations protect your information in the same way we do. We will never sell your personal information.
We may store, process or back-up your personal information on computer servers or networks which are located overseas or in “the cloud”, including where services are performed by service providers who are located overseas.
Where your personal information is provided to overseas entities, we will take all necessary steps to ensure that the security of the information is maintained and that it is used consistent with this policy and our obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
Other information
To improve your experience on our website, we may use ‘cookies’. See below for more information on ‘cookies’.
Our website may contain links to other websites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. When you visit out link from our website. we advise you to be aware and read their privacy policy.
In addition, our website uses third party cookies from Google Analytics for Display Advertisers, including the following features:
- Google Display Network Impression Reporting – which gives us additional insight into who has viewed our paid digital advertising on other websites. This will help us optimise and tailor your experience.
- DoubleClick Platform integrations & Remarketing with Google Analytics – the integrations between both our web analytics and paid advertising platforms together to give us additional insight. This allows us to tailor your experience while you are using the internet outside our website.
- Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting – which gives us insight into behavior information relating to visitor age, gender and interests on an anonymous and aggregate level. This will help us to give you a better experience whilst visiting our sites.
The information we collect and share with third parties through cookies is aggregated and therefore anonymous (it does not include personal information which is likely to identify you). The information may be used when you visit our website and third party websites.
While we recommend that users enable cookies on their browsers in order to enjoy all the features of our website, the decision remains in the hands of the individual. Most browsers allow you to control management of cookies, this will be different depending on each user’s PC – refer to your browser help menu for further information.
By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner described in Google’s Privacy Policy and for the purposes set out above. You can find information on how to opt out of Google ads here or use a browser plugin to opt-out here.
Data
Where we obtain any data as a result of your use of our websites or through any information which you may provide to us, you acknowledge that we will own the data and all rights which may subsist in relation thereto. Such data will generally be collected and maintained in an aggregated form, without any personal details which would otherwise identify you.
Disclosure or distribution to third parties
We do not provide your personal information to others unless:
- you consent to disclosure or;
- for one of the other reasons identified above.
In the event that we allow personal information to be able to be accessed by third parties for organisational purposes such as computer hosting, we will ensure that they maintain your privacy and we may require those organisations to sign confidentiality agreements.
Information about third parties
Where you have provided us with information about third parties, the same privacy considerations will apply to this information as to your own personal information. When we receive this information, we will assume that you are authorised to provide it to us. If requested, you must notify the person that you have provided their information to us.
Cookies
You do not have to provide us with any personal information if you are a visitor to our website and you may choose to remain anonymous or to provide us with a pseudonym if you do not wish to reveal your identity. However, you should be aware that by remaining anonymous or in providing a pseudonym, you may not be able to access all of our website. We may also be unable to properly provide services and advice to you or the nature and extent of that advice may be limited. We may also be unable to properly respond to any request.
The use of our website may involve the use of cookies. Cookies are used by most major websites. A cookie is a small text or data file that a website transfers to your hard drive to allow the website to track the pages that you have visited or remember your preferences. A cookie only contains information you supply and it cannot access information from your system. We will use this information for the purposes of optimizing the effectiveness of our web services. We use cookies to monitor the traffic to the various pages on our website so that we can improve its relevance to visitors and clients. Most of this information is aggregated and used for statistical purposes. It will generally contain non-personally identifiable information such as your internet provider, date and time, search phrases, or referring websites.
Most browsers are set up to accept cookies. However, if you do not wish to receive any cookies, you may be able to change the settings of your browser to give you greater control over this. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser. However, that may also result in you not being able to use the full functionality of the website.
We also collect some information about your use of our website. Much of this information will not be personal as it will not reveal your identity.
You may choose to provide us with personal information in some circumstances when you access our website, including where you wish to request products or services, ask us to respond to queries or correspondence, or apply for work. If you provide us with someone else’s personal information, you should only do so if you have their authority or consent. You should also take reasonable steps to inform them of the matters set out in this privacy policy.
Blogs, forums, and other social media
Our website/s may host or link to social media applications or other services that allow you to share personal information and content with other users (social media applications). Any personal information or content that you contribute to any social media applications can be read, collected and used by other users over whom we may have no control. You acknowledge that any contribution by you to a social media application is publication to the world at large and we are not responsible for any use, misuse or misappropriation by other users of any personal information or content that you contribute to any social media applications.
Where you provide, or contribute any data to us through a social media application or another of our services, you warrant that the data is accurate at that point in time. Where possible, we will desensitise the data so that it does not contain your personal information. You acknowledge that the data may be aggregated or form part of a sample and that the nature of the results or sample may change over time.
Our website may include links to third party websites. If you access those websites (even via a link from our website) you will be subject to their privacy policy and we do not endorse or accept the other website by providing a link from our website.
Legal information services
We may use your personal information to offer you services which we believe may be of interest to you, but we will not do so if you tell us not to.
If you do not want to receive legal information from us, please tell us by emailing admin@mullinslawyers.com.au. We will ensure each electronic message we send (e.g. by email, SMS etc.) includes a method that enables you to tell us that you do not want to receive future electronic marketing material.
Security
Mullins requires all staff to keep personal information confidential.
Mullins takes all reasonable steps to protect the physical security of information and to prevent unauthorised access such as restricted access to records, passwords and firewalls.
We strive to ensure the security, integrity and privacy of personal information submitted to our website.
Unfortunately, no data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be totally secure and you acknowledge and accept this risk when accessing and using our website.
We will endeavour to take reasonable commercial steps to protect personal information you provide us, whether kept in electronic form or hard copy, including in relation to your use of the website and ensure its security on our systems.
Our employees and any third parties who provide services are obliged to respect the confidentially of any personal information held by us. However, we will not be held responsible for any loss or damage which is directly or indirectly caused by unauthorised access to your personal information.
Our web servers store the IP address of users that access and use our website. We use IP addresses to assist the diagnosis of problems or support issues with our website and to analyse the usage and traffic of the website. This information is gathered in an aggregated and de-identified format which cannot be attributed to an individual user.
Variations
It is possible that we will change our privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on our website. You acknowledge that we work in a dynamic business environment and from time to time it may be necessary to review our privacy policy.
You will always be able to find the current version of our privacy policy on our website.
How you can access your Information
You may access your personal information by contacting admin@mullinslawyers.com.au by email. Requests will be dealt with as quickly as possible and we will endeavour to respond within 21 days.
In some circumstances, we may refuse to give you access to personal information and in these circumstances we will explain why (e.g. it may be a conflict of interest to provide the information).
Complaints
In the event that you have a complaint about the manner in which your personal information has been used, please refer the complaint to us. Your complaint will be investigated on an in-house basis by a person not directly involved with your matter. Please email the details of any complaint to admin@mullinslawyers.com.au.
In the event that you are still not satisfied, we will advise you of further complaint resolution processes which are open to you and which we will follow in order to resolve your complaint.
How to contact us
You may request further information about the way we manage your personal information by emailing admin@mullinslawyers.com.au or by telephone on 07 3224 0222.
CREDIT REPORTING POLICY
We may also be bound by the credit reporting provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Credit Reporting Code registered under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Where we provide services to you on credit (that is, you will pay for those services after we start providing them to you), we are a credit provider for the purposes of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
This credit reporting policy describes how we manage credit-related information about individuals (credit information). It does not apply to the collection or use of credit-related information about corporations.
We will ensure that all personal information (including credit information) which we handle is managed in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and other applicable laws protecting privacy.
Collection of credit information
We may collect, hold and use certain credit-related information about you. We will generally only obtain this information from you. We will not routinely collect or exchange information with credit reporting bodies and other credit providers unless you authorise us to do so. We use credit-related information to assist us in determining whether we will provide or continue to provide services to you on credit and to manage our relationship with you. Credit-related information includes your name and contact details, your credit history (including any repayments or late repayments you have made), any credit rating or credit assessment score that we calculate; and details of any credit-related court proceedings or insolvency applications that relate to you.
We will securely store all credit related information that we collect or hold about you.
Disclosure of credit information
Unless otherwise required by law, we will only disclose your credit-related information to third parties in limited circumstances as permitted by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). We may disclose your credit-related information to parties that provide credit-related services to us such as debt collectors, credit management agencies and our agents. We may also disclose your credit-related information to a third party that you or we request act as a guarantor in relation to any credit provided to you. We may also disclose credit information to credit reporting bodies where there has been a default in payment. We will provide at least 14 days notice of our intention to disclose default information to a credit reporting body before making any such disclosure. We will not disclose any credit information to any recipient located outside of Australia.
Other circumstances where we may disclose your credit-related information include where required by law or the order of a court or tribunal and where you otherwise expressly consent to the use or disclosure.
Access & corrections
Consistent with our privacy policy, you may request access to any credit-related information that we hold about you.
If you request that we correct any credit-related information that we hold about you, we will endeavour to respond to that request within 21 days (or such longer period as you may agree) and correct any credit-related information that we hold about you that we are satisfied is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading.
Updates to this Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect our operations and legal obligations. Should any revisions occur, the updated Privacy Policy will be made available on our website.
Complaints
You may complain about any failure by us to comply with Part IIIA of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) or the Credit Reporting Code. If your complaint relates to our failure to provide access to or to correct any credit-related information that we hold about you, you may lodge a complaint directly with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (for more information, please see www.oaic.gov.au). If your complaint does not relate to these matters, you must first lodge a complaint with us in accordance with the procedure set out in our privacy policy, which sets out how we will deal with such complaints.
A complaint may be lodged by contacting us directly or by emailing admin@mullinslawyers.com.au.
© January 2023