Privacy Policy
Merlo Law respects the privacy of his clients and the readers of this website. In order that third parties understand and have confidence in how Merlo Law deals with Personal Information, he has developed a Privacy Policy adopting the Australian Privacy Principles (APP).
If you are, or become a client of Merlo Law, you also have the added comfort of Merlo Law's ethical obligations as your lawyer to protect your Personal Information as part of his lawyer/client privilege duties.
General
Merlo Law respects your privacy and is committed to protecting any information he holds or will hold about you.
Merlo Law is bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (C’th) including the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
The Privacy Act safeguards your right to privacy and the use of your Personal Information which the Act says is basically any form of data that has the ability to identify you as an individual.
The APPs regulate the way in which Merlo Law can collect, use, keep, secure and disclose Personal Information.
This policy sets out how Merlo Law manages your Personal Information.
Information Collected
Personal Information may be collected by Merlo Law when you use his website. That information, including your internet protocol address, your operating system, your domain name (if applicable), the date and time of your visit to the website, duration of the visit and pages by you will be used for statistical purposes to improve Merlo Law's services to you.
Merlo Law will also collect Personal Information that you may provide to it voluntarily in the course of our business relationship with you. You may choose to provide Merlo Law with personally identifiable information in circumstances where you contact him with a query or fill out a contact details form or such other form from time to time which has provision included for your Personal Information, or you request Merlo Law to provide you with information. Personal Information he collects may include your name and contact details including phone numbers for postal and/or residential addresses and email addresses, your date of birth, photographs, any facts or opinions that are connected to an enquiry that we are conducting on behalf of a client or potential client and other personal information that is provided through a website belonging to Merlo Law or otherwise requested by us or provided by you.
He may also need to collect Sensitive Information. Sensitive Information is a subset of Personal Information that is given higher level of protection under the Australian Privacy Principles. The Australian Privacy Principles refer to Sensitive Information as information or opinion concerning racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of political associations, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, membership of a professional trade association, membership of a trade union, sexual orientation and practice, criminal records, health information; and biometric information.
The Personal Information (including Sensitive Information) collected will be referred to as information.
If he receives your information from third parties, he will protect it as set out in this policy and take reasonable steps to ensure that you are aware that we have collected the information about you and the circumstances of the collection. If you provide us with third party Personal Information, then you warrant to us that you had the third party’s consent to do so.
Purpose of Collection
You consent for Merlo Law to collect Personal Information from you and from third parties to provide you or someone that you know with legal services, to communicate with you, to provide you with information which may be relevant to your particular legal matter, type of business or other area of interest or expertise, to analysis enhancing Merlo Law's services and client needs and to comply with his legal obligations.
The scope and volume of information that he may require from you in order for him to assert a legal claim on your behalf is recognised by the APP as a “permitted general situation”.
Merlo Law may disclose your information outside to service providers, agents and contractors from time to time in order that he may provide you with his legal services and, on occasions, marketing those services to you.
It would be an exceptional circumstance in which any of your Personal Information would be required to be sent overseas. If it were to be done so, it would be in circumstances that would be familiar because of your education or employment or family background, the circumstances of which would be explained to you. If we were to disclose that Personal Information to overseas recipients, we would use our best endeavours to ensure that the recipients in those countries comply with the requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles.
Security
Merlo Law is committed to protecting the security of your Personal Information. Merlo Law uses a variety of industry standard security technologies to help protect your personal information to ensure it stays safe from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure including electronic and physical security measures.
You should be aware that the internet and the sending of emails by you is not a secure environment. If you use the internet to send Merlo Law any Personal Information, including your email addresses, it is sent at your own risk.
Merlo Law stores your personal information electronically in an industry standard practice management system and/or in hard copy files.
Access
You may request access to Personal Information which Merlo Law holds about you upon making a written request to Merlo Law as Privacy Officer.
Merlo Law will endeavour to respond to your request and provide access to such Personal Information as soon as possible within a reasonable period of time.
Merlo Law may charge you a fee to cover the cost of retrieval and copying of any Personal Information which it holds about you. That fee will not be excessive and will not apply to lodging a request for access.
Merlo Law may decline a request to access Personal Information received in circumstances prescribed by the Privacy Act. If Merlo Law does this he will tell you why.
Links to Other Websites
Merlo Law's website may, from time to time, contain links to other websites over which it has no control. Merlo Law accepts no liability for the content of those linked websites including the accuracy of any information on those websites. Merlo Law is not responsible for the privacy practices of the linked websites and any linked website is not subject to Merlo Law's Privacy Policy.
Complaints
If a client is concerned that Personal Information held by Merlo Law is incorrect, they may provide in writing to the Privacy Officer, a correction in regard to that information. In tendering the corrected information, the author should be aware that, in conducting legal claims on behalf of clients, Merlo Law is bound to provide information that is based on available evidence.
An assertion of fact contrary to other available evidence would need to be explained.
Updates
Merlo Law may update his Privacy Policy from time to time and you should check Merlo Law's website regularly for such updates in order that you are provided with the latest Privacy Policy.
Marketing
As part of what Merlo Law hopes to be an ongoing professional relationship with you, he may, from time to time, send you information related to other legal services that he offers or which he believes may be of interest to you in your personal circumstances or industry.
Merlo Law respects the wishes of individuals who do not wish to receive such material from him in the future and have implemented simple “opt out” procedures that can be activated within promotional emails and other electronic sent messages that he may send to you from time to time.
Contact Us
If you would like to make an access request, have queries or concerns regarding Merlo Law's Privacy Policy or would like more information from Merlo Law regarding how we handle your Personal Information, please contact:
Merlo Law
Suite 111, Level 14, 167 Eagle Street
Brisbane City QLD 4000
or email: privacy@merlolaw.com.au.
More Information
For more information about privacy in general, you can visit the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at: www.oaic.gov.au.