Privacy / Terms & Conditions

Information we collect

The information we need depends on the work you ask us to do. For most matters we collect your name, contact details, and enough background to understand your instructions.

• Identity and contact details, including any identification we are required to sight and verify
• Financial details relevant to a transaction, such as bank and settlement details, rates and land tax information
• Property, business and company records, including contracts, leases, titles and ASIC searches
• Family and beneficiary details where you instruct us on a will, estate or power of attorney
• Correspondence between us, and file notes of our discussions
• Information you send through this website's enquiry form

How we collect it

We usually collect information directly from you, in person, by telephone, by video meeting, by email, or through this website.

Sometimes we must collect information about you from someone else, such as the other side's solicitor, a real estate agent, a broker, a lender, an accountant, a government register, or a court file. Where we do, we take reasonable steps to let you know.

Why we collect and use it

We use your information to act on your instructions and to meet the obligations that come with being a law practice.

• Providing legal advice and carrying out the work you have retained us for
• Verifying your identity, including for electronic conveyancing
• Running conflict of interest checks before we accept a matter
• Billing you, and recovering fees where that becomes necessary
• Meeting our obligations under the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW), trust account rules, and other laws that apply to us
• Responding to your enquiries

Who we disclose it to

We disclose your information only where it is necessary for your matter, where you have asked us to, or where the law requires it. Depending on the matter, that may include the other party's legal representatives, barristers we brief, courts and tribunals, NSW Land Registry Services and electronic conveyancing platforms, Revenue NSW and other government agencies, banks and lenders, real estate agents, accountants, and our own professional advisers, auditors and insurers.

We do not sell your information, and we do not disclose it for marketing.

Overseas disclosure

We generally hold information in Australia. Some of the software we use to run the practice, including email and document storage, may store data on servers outside Australia. Where that happens we take reasonable steps to ensure the provider handles your information consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles.

Storage and security

We hold information in a combination of physical and electronic form, and take reasonable steps to protect it against misuse, loss, and unauthorised access or disclosure.

We keep files after a matter finishes because we are required to, and because you may need them later. Where information is no longer needed and we are not required to keep it, we take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it.

Data breaches

If a data breach occurs that is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as required under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

Access and correction

You may ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it if it is wrong or out of date. Contact us using the details at the end of this page. We will respond within a reasonable period. In limited circumstances we may refuse access, and if we do we will explain why.

This website

Our enquiry form collects the details you enter so we can respond to you. If we use analytics to understand how the site is used, that information is collected in aggregate and is not used to identify you. You can set your browser to refuse cookies, though parts of the site may not work as intended.

Complaints

If you think we have mishandled your personal information, please raise it with us first so we can look into it. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.

This website is not legal advice

The content on this site is general information only. It does not take account of your circumstances and you should not act on it without advice about your specific situation.

Sending us an enquiry, and our replying to it, does not create a solicitor and client relationship. That relationship begins only when we have completed a conflict check, confirmed we can act, and you have accepted our costs agreement in writing. Until then, please do not send us confidential or time-critical material.

Time limits

Many legal rights are subject to strict time limits, and missing one can extinguish a claim entirely. Nothing on this site should be relied on to work out whether a deadline applies to you. If you think a time limit may be running, contact us promptly.

Accuracy and currency

We prepare this content carefully, but the law changes. We do not warrant that everything on this site is current, complete or free from error, and we are not obliged to update it.

Engagement and costs

If we accept your matter, we will give you a costs agreement and costs disclosure as required by the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW). Any fee estimate given informally, including through this website, is indicative only and is not binding until it is set out in that agreement.

Confidentiality and privilege

Once you are our client, your communications with us are confidential and are generally protected by legal professional privilege. Email and web forms are not fully secure. If a matter is sensitive, tell us and we will arrange another way to exchange documents.

Intellectual property

The text, layout and images on this site belong to us or are used with permission. You may read and print pages for your own use. You may not republish or reproduce them commercially without our written consent.

Links to other sites

Where we link to another website, we do so for convenience. We do not control that site and are not responsible for its content.

Liability

To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any loss arising from your use of, or reliance on, this website. Nothing in these terms excludes rights you have under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot be excluded.

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, and you submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of that State.

Concerns about our service

If you are unhappy with our work or our costs, please tell us so we can try to resolve it. You may also contact the Office of the NSW Legal Services Commissioner, which handles complaints about solicitors in New South Wales.