Privacy Policy

Shah & Co Lawyers Pty Ltd trading as Shah & Co Lawyers (ABN 35 697 645 757) (“Shah & Co Lawyers”, “we”, “our” or “us”) is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles.

Our professional obligations concerning client confidentiality and legal professional privilege apply in addition to our obligations under privacy law.

The kinds of personal information we may collect depend on the nature of your dealings with us and may include:

• your name, date of birth and contact details;
• identification documents and identity-verification information;
• employment, family and relationship information;
• financial, taxation, banking and property information;
• information about legal proceedings, disputes, transactions or other legal matters;
• correspondence, documents, photographs, audio recordings and other information provided to us;
• information required to undertake conflict checks;
• billing and payment information; and
• information about your interactions with our website and online services.

We may also collect sensitive information where it is reasonably necessary for our work. This may include information about a person’s health, criminal record, racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, immigration status, sexual orientation or other sensitive circumstances.

We generally collect sensitive information with consent or where its collection is otherwise authorised or required by law.

We may collect personal information:

• directly from you through our website, enquiry forms, telephone calls, emails, meetings, conferences and documents;
• from a client, prospective client or another person involved in a legal matter;
• from courts, tribunals, government agencies, regulators, police, correctional authorities and public registers;
• from barristers, experts, medical practitioners, accountants, conveyancers, migration professionals and other professional advisers;
• from another law practice or a party involved in a legal matter;
• through identity-verification, property, court, immigration and legal-research platforms; and
• from publicly available sources.

Where you provide us with personal information about another person, you should only do so where you are authorised to provide it or where it is otherwise lawful and appropriate.

In some circumstances, we may receive personal information that we did not request. We will determine whether we are permitted or required to retain that information.

We may collect, hold, use and disclose personal information to:

• respond to enquiries and assess whether we can assist;
• conduct conflict checks;
• provide legal advice, representation and other legal services;
• communicate with clients, prospective clients, courts, government agencies and other parties;
• verify identity and comply with professional, trust-accounting, taxation, anti-money laundering and other legal or regulatory obligations;
• manage client files, appointments, billing and payments;
• instruct barristers, experts, agents and other service providers;
• operate, secure and improve our website, systems and services;
• manage complaints, disputes, insurance matters and risk;
• recover outstanding legal fees;
• maintain business and financial records; and
• comply with court orders, subpoenas, statutory notices and other legal obligations.

We may also use or disclose personal information for another purpose with consent or where otherwise permitted or required by law.

You may choose not to provide personal information to us. However, this may prevent us from responding to an enquiry, undertaking a conflict check, verifying your identity or providing legal services.

Where practicable, you may make a general enquiry anonymously or using a pseudonym. We will ordinarily require your identity before providing legal advice or accepting instructions.

Depending on the matter, we may disclose personal information to:

• courts, tribunals, police, correctional authorities, government departments and regulators;
• barristers, experts, witnesses, consultants, agents and other professional advisers;
• another party and their legal representatives;
• banks, financial institutions, property professionals and settlement service providers;
• identity-verification and search providers;
• Legal Aid NSW, insurers and professional bodies;
• technology, email, document-management, practice-management, accounting, payment and website-service providers;
• auditors, contractors and professional advisers assisting our practice; and
• any other recipient authorised by you or permitted or required by law.

Some of our technology and service providers may store or process information using infrastructure located outside Australia. We take reasonable steps to select reputable providers and protect personal information in accordance with applicable privacy requirements.

Information submitted through our website or an enquiry form does not, by itself, create a solicitor–client relationship.

You should avoid providing highly sensitive, confidential or urgent information through the website until we have confirmed that we can act for you.

Submitting an enquiry does not prevent us from acting for another person in connection with the same or a related matter unless and until we have accepted your instructions and confirmed the solicitor–client relationship.

We may send you information about our services, legal developments or firm updates where you have consented or where otherwise permitted by law.

You may opt out of marketing communications at any time by using any unsubscribe facility provided or by contacting us at info@shahandcolawyers.com.au.

We may continue to send communications that are necessary to manage an existing enquiry, retainer or legal matter.

We may hold personal information electronically and in hard-copy files.

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, password protection, multi-factor authentication, secure technology providers, staff procedures and physical security.

No method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. You should contact us immediately if you believe information sent to or from Shah & Co Lawyers has been compromised.

We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide services, comply with our professional and legal obligations, manage risk and maintain appropriate business records.

When personal information is no longer required and we are not legally or professionally required to retain it, we will take reasonable steps to destroy it securely or de-identify it.

Client files may be retained after a matter has concluded in accordance with legal, professional, insurance and risk-management requirements.

We maintain processes for responding to suspected privacy and security incidents.

Where a data breach is likely to result in serious harm and the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme applies, we will take the steps required by law, which may include notifying affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

You may request access to personal information we hold about you or ask us to correct information that is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date, irrelevant or misleading.

Requests should be directed to:

Privacy Officer
Shah & Co Lawyers Pty Ltd
ABN 35 697 645 757
Email: info@shahandcolawyers.com.au
Telephone: (02) 8281 6613

We may need to verify your identity before dealing with a request.

In some circumstances, we may lawfully refuse access or correction. Where appropriate, we will provide written reasons for the refusal and information about available complaint mechanisms.

We generally do not charge for making an access request, although we may charge reasonable costs associated with providing access where permitted by law.

Please contact our Privacy Officer if you believe we have interfered with your privacy or failed to comply with this Privacy Policy.

Your complaint should include sufficient information for us to understand and investigate your concerns. We will acknowledge your complaint and aim to respond within a reasonable period, ordinarily within 30 days.

If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may be entitled to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our practices, services, technology providers or legal obligations.

The current version will be published on our website and will state the date on which it was last updated.