Privacy Policy

MinterEllison is a leading Australian-based international law firm. This Privacy Policy (Policy) outlines the way in which MinterEllison and its related entities (the MinterEllison Group) collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information. The MinterEllison Group includes the MinterEllison Organisations, the Safetrac Group and ITNewcom.

In this Policy, we, us and our means each member of the MinterEllison Group. The terms MinterEllison Organisations, MinterEllison Legal Group, Safetrac Group and ITNewcom are defined at the end of this Policy.

By using our websites, applications and services, or otherwise providing us with your information, you consent to us collecting, holding, using and disclosing your personal information as described in this Policy. If we are not able to collect, handle, use and disclose personal information about you as set out in this Policy, we may not be able to provide you with our services or with access to our websites or applications.

What personal information do we collect? Navigation Show below Hide below

The information that we collect depends on the nature of your interactions with us. We collect both personal information and non-personal information. In this Policy, personal information has the meaning given to it in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), and includes information or an opinion, whether true or not, about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.

We may collect personal information about:

  1. our clients, business associates, potential clients and their personnel;
  2. other individuals in the course of acting for our clients;
  3. our suppliers and their employees;
  4. our employees, partners, contractors, former employees, former partners, former contractors or prospective employees, contractors or partners; and
  5. other people who come into contact with a member of the MinterEllison Group or the MinterEllison Legal Group.

In general, the personal information we may collect and hold includes name, date of birth, contact details (including email addresses), occupation, company name, username and password (as applicable), personal preferences, payment details, employment history, education and qualifications, testimonials and feedback, and other information which assists us in conducting our business, providing and marketing our services and meeting our legal obligations. In some cases we may also collect 'sensitive information', such as information about an individual's membership of a professional association, criminal record or health information.

We may also collect and process non-personal information provided to us by your browser when you visit our websites or use our applications, for example, the website you came from, your location information, IP address, web browser and/or device type and the time and date of access.

How do we collect and hold personal information? Navigation Show below Hide below

We will generally collect personal information:

  1. from you directly when you provide your details to us;
  2. from you indirectly through emails, forms, face-to-face meetings, interviews, registration and attendance at seminars, business cards, online queries and telephone conversations, and through use of the services available through our websites, applications and social media channels (including our blogs and LinkedIn channels); and
  3. from third parties in some instances, for example, we may use third parties to analyse traffic at our website, our blogs and social media channels, which may involve the use of cookies. You are able to control your browser settings to limit the collection of cookies by us; however, if you choose to disable cookies, you may not be able to use certain features of our websites. In some circumstances we may collect personal information about an individual from a third party, for example, a report provided by a medical professional or an employment reference from another person.

How do we protect personal information? Navigation Show below Hide below

We will take reasonable steps to protect the security of personal information. Our personnel are required to respect the confidentiality of personal information and the privacy of individuals. We take reasonable steps to protect personal information held from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, for example by use of physical security and restricted access to electronic records. Where we no longer require your personal information we will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it.

Why do we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information? Navigation Show below Hide below

In general, we may collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information for the primary purposes for which it was collected, including:

  1. to conduct our business;
  2. to provide and market our products or services;
  3. to communicate with you to provide or promote our products or services;
  4. to purchase goods or services;
  5. to help us manage, develop and enhance our services, including our websites and applications;
  6. to consider the suitability of prospective employees;
  7. to comply with our legal obligations; and
  8. to administer, maintain, support, and provide upgrades to, our services and applications.

We may also use and/or disclose your personal information for other purposes which you consent to or which are required or permitted by law. This may include for a secondary purpose that is related to a purpose for which we collected it, and for which you would reasonably expect us to use or disclose your personal information.

If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future content, surveys, features or other marketing information or communications, we include in all electronic messages a statement to the effect that you, as the recipient, may send an unsubscribe message to us using the contact details provided in that electronic message. Otherwise you can contact us at any time [email protected] to unsubscribe or update your preferences.

Who do we disclose your personal information to? Navigation Show below Hide below

 We may disclose your personal information (including, in certain limited circumstances, your sensitive information) for the purposes for which it was collected (as described above) to:

  1. other members of the MinterEllison Group or the MinterEllison Legal Group, save for when we are precluded from doing so due to specific obligations in respect of confidentiality;
  2. entities who assist us in providing our services (including hosting and data storage providers and debt collectors);
  3. social media channels on which we have a presence; and
  4. where we are required or authorised to do so by law.

Are we likely to disclose your personal information overseas Navigation Show below Hide below

We may disclose your personal information to the following overseas recipients:

  1. to other members of the MinterEllison Group or the MinterEllison Legal Group (including those members located in New Zealand, the UK, China and Mongolia), save for when we are precluded from doing so due to specific obligations in respect of confidentiality;
  2. to other companies or individuals who assist us in providing services or who perform functions on our behalf (such as third party service providers, specialist consultants and barristers), including those located in the USA;
  3. to courts, tribunals and regulatory authorities;
  4. to anyone else to whom you authorise us to disclose it; and
  5. to anyone else where we are required or authorised by law to do so.

Links to other websites Navigation Show below Hide below

We may provide links to other websites operated by third parties. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the privacy practices of any third party website and we are not responsible for the privacy policies or the content of any third party website. If you visit these websites, they will be governed by their own terms of use (including privacy policies).

How can you access and correct your personal information? Navigation Show below Hide below

Subject to the exceptions set out in the Privacy Act, you may seek access to and correction of the personal information which we hold about you by contacting our Privacy Officer at [email protected].  We will require you to verify your identity and to specify what information you require. If a fee is charged for providing access, you will be advised of the likely cost in advance.

How can you make a privacy related complaint Navigation Show below Hide below

If you have any questions about privacy-related issues or wish to complain about a breach of your privacy or the handling of your personal information by us, please contact our Privacy Officer at [email protected]. We may ask you to lodge your complaint in writing. Any complaint will be investigated by the Privacy Officer and you will be notified of the making of a decision in relation to your complaint as soon as is practicable after it has been made, usually within 30 days.

If we are unable to satisfactorily resolve your concerns about our handling of your personal information, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:

GPO Box 5218
Sydney NSW 2001
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 1300 363 992

www.oaic.gov.au

Application of European privacy laws Navigation Show below Hide below

If you are an individual in a country in the European Economic Area (EEA), we may be required to comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (the GDPR) which applies to us when processing the personal information of individuals (data subjects) who are in countries in the EEA in relation to offering you our products or services or if we monitor any of your behaviour when in those countries. You can read our GDPR Collection Notice here. This includes additional information we are required to tell you about in relation to your privacy, including the basis on which we collect your personal information and your data subject rights under the GDPR.

The MinterEllison Group is a data controller for our website and services provided through our website at the address shown above.

Updates to this Policy Navigation Show below Hide below

This Policy will be reviewed from time to time to take account of new laws and technology, changes to our operations and practices and the changing business environment. The most current version of this Policy is located at www.minterellison.com/privacypolicy and can also be obtained by contacting our Privacy Officer at [email protected].

Definitions Navigation Show below Hide below

In this Policy:

ITNewcom Group means IT Newcom Pty Limited (ACN 077 613 828), IT Newcom Foundation (ACN 147 063 232) and IT Newcom New Zealand Limited.
MinterEllison Legal Group means each MinterEllison Organisation; the partnerships known as MinterEllison in Adelaide and Darwin and MinterEllison Gold Coast; and MinterEllison Rudd Watts in Auckland and Wellington.

MinterEllison Organisations means MinterEllison's offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Darwin, Beijing and Shanghai; MinterEllison's limited liability company in Ulaanbaatar; the partnerships licensed to use the MinterEllison name which have an office in London and Hong Kong respectively; and the MinterEllison Revenue Group (a partnership which provides taxation advice and consulting services together with management services).

Safetrac Group means Safetrac Pty Ltd (ABN 48 098 914 848) and Boardtrac Pty Ltd (ACN 158 153 425).

Last updated: June 2018