Privacy Policy

Dobson Mitchell & Allport Pty Ltd (ACN 143 016 586)
trading as Dobson Mitchell Allport

This policy was last updated 17 January 2019.
The latest version of this policy is published online at https://doma.com.au/privacy/

Dobson Mitchell Allport is committed to ensuring your privacy is protected. We comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) as contained in the Privacy Act 1988.

Throughout this policy we are referred to as Dobson Mitchell Allport, we or us. We refer to an individual as you.

This policy explains how we comply with the APPs when collecting, using, disclosing, storing and destroying your personal information. It also explains how you can access or correct personal information we hold about you and what you can do if you think your privacy has been interfered with.

This policy is divided into sections which apply to different types of individuals whose personal information we collect. There is also a section at the end which applies to everyone.

What personal information does this policy cover?

Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.

Personal information may include sensitive information about the individual such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, membership of a professional or trade association, membership of a trade union, sexual orientation or practices, criminal record, health, genetic or biometric information.

When might this policy not apply?

In some cases, we may act in a way other than described in this policy, however we will only do that with your informed consent or if required by law.

How do you contact us?

The person responsible for privacy at Dobson Mitchell Allport is our Privacy Officer. You can contact them in the following ways:

If you are a client

What personal information do we collect?

Dobson Mitchell Allport only collect personal information that is necessary to provide you with legal services. If you do not provide us with all information sought from you, we may not be able to provide those services.

Depending on the matter we may collect a large range of personal information, including sensitive information. This may include contact details, history of the matter, relationships with others involved, employment history, qualifications, travel history, financial records, health information, disability information, criminal history, court records, religious affiliation, political affiliation, racial or ethnic origin, and business activities. We may also collect other personal or sensitive information, depending on the nature of the file.

We will ensure you are aware when we collect your personal information. We will only collect sensitive information with your consent or where permitted by the Privacy Act.

How do we collect personal information?

Dobson Mitchell Allport collects personal information when you have contact with us, including at meetings, by completing forms, in correspondence and by telephone conversations. We may collect information about you through our website (including via our ‘Migration Portal and Forms’) or when you contact us by email.

We may collect information from others about you, including from publicly available sources, other parties and authorised third parties, where it is unreasonable or impractical to collect it from you directly, or where we have your consent.

How do we use your personal information?

Dobson Mitchell Allport ensures you are aware of the primary purpose for which we collect your personal information at the time we collect it. This will normally be to provide you with legal services you have requested or to provide an estimate of costs for legal services.

In addition to the purpose for which we collected it, we may also use your personal information for related purposes which you would reasonably expect. For example, we may send you information relating to changes in the law. We will take reasonable steps to ensure the information we use is accurate, up-to-date, complete and relevant, having regard to the reasons why it is being used.

Sensitive information will be used and disclosed only for the purpose for which it was collected, a directly related secondary purpose, with your consent or as required or allowed by law.

What about direct marketing?

If you are or have been a client of Dobson Mitchell Allport, we may use your personal information for the purpose of direct marketing to you. We may provide you with information about relevant products and services offered by Dobson Mitchell Allport. If you do not wish to receive direct marketing materials from us you can opt-out by contacting us. Our contact details are included with all direct marketing materials.

What special provisions apply to accessing personal information we hold about you?

You may have a right to access your client files (including personal information) arising from your retainer with us, the Legal Profession Act and the common law.

If you are another party to a client matter

We may collect personal information about individuals involved in matters where we are providing legal services without notifying those individuals about the collection.

What personal information do we collect?

As a provider of legal services we may collect, use and disclose personal information about individuals with whom we have limited contact. For example, if we act for one party in a litigation matter we may collect, use and disclose personal information (including sensitive information) about another party to the matter.

How do we collect your personal information?

We may collect personal information from others about you, including from our client or publicly available sources, where it is unreasonable or impractical to collect it from you directly, or where we have your consent. We may also seek personal information from you directly. Often it will be unreasonable to collect information from you directly because it may conflict with our obligation to keep information about our clients confidential. The information we collect may include sensitive information.

We collect this information for the primary purpose of providing legal services to our clients.

We may do this without your consent and without notifying you of the collection of this information. We only do this where it is permitted by the Privacy Act. This will normally be a permitted general situation, that is where the collection, use or disclosure is reasonably necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of a legal or equitable claim, or for a confidential alternative dispute resolution process. In those circumstances it is reasonable for us not to notify you that your information is collected.

It may also be reasonable for us not to notify you we have collected your information when doing so would breach our duty of confidentiality to a client. This may include circumstances like contract negotiations.

What special provisions apply to accessing personal information we hold about you?

Where we hold personal information about you in client files but you are not the client we cannot provide you with access to your personal information, unless you are specifically authorised to access the file by the client.

You may at any time request access to your personal information in writing, however we may refuse you access to that information. If we refuse you access to your personal information, we will provide you with an explanation for that refusal. In some circumstances we may not be able to confirm whether or not we hold personal information about you, as to do so would conflict with our obligation to keep information about our clients confidential.

If you are someone else whose personal information we collect

What personal information do we collect?

Dobson Mitchell Allport only collect personal information that is necessary for our functions or activities. We will ensure you are aware when we collect your personal information and the primary purpose of its collection. We will only collect sensitive information with your consent or where permitted by the Privacy Act.

There may be consequences if you do not provide us with all information sought from you. We will let you know what those consequences are when requesting the information. If you provide us with more information than we have requested we will destroy it unless it is necessary for our functions or activities.

The type of information we collect will depend on the reason we are collecting your information but may include contact details, employment and educational history (for prospective employees), or financial details (for prospective contractors).

How do we collect personal information?

Dobson Mitchell Allport collects personal information when you have contact with us, including at meetings, by completing forms, in correspondence and by telephone conversations. We may collect information about you through our website or when you contact us by email.

We may collect information from others about you, including from publicly available sources, where it is unreasonable or impractical to collect it from you directly, or where we have your consent.

How do we use your personal information?

We will use your personal information for the purpose for which we collected it. We may also use your personal information for related purposes which you would reasonably expect. We will take reasonable steps to ensure the information we use is accurate, up-to-date, complete and relevant, having regard to the reasons why it is being used. We will not use your information for direct marketing.

Sensitive information will be used and disclosed only for the purpose for which it was collected, a directly related secondary purpose, with your consent or as required or allowed by law.

Things that apply to everyone

How do we store personal information?

Personal information is stored electronically, on paper, or both. We take reasonable steps to protect the security of personal information including the physical security of our premises and use of access level permissions and passwords to restrict access to electronic records. Archived files are stored at our premises and offsite in a separate secure area at a document storage facility.

How can you access personal information we have about you?

You may at any time request access to your personal information and, subject to any exemptions in the APPs applying, we will give you access by providing you with copies of or allowing you to inspect the requested personal information.

We may charge you a reasonable fee to access that information, for example to recover the costs of photocopying or if we have to spend a significant amount of time to provide you with access. We may need to verify your identity before providing access to your personal information.

If we refuse you access to your personal information, we will provide you with an explanation for that refusal. We will try to provide you with access to your personal information within 14 days of receipt of your written request for access or 30 days where responding to the request is more complicated.

What if your personal information is wrong?

We will take reasonable steps to ensure your personal information held by us is up-to-date, complete and accurate. If your personal information changes or you believe our records are not up-to-date, complete and accurate please contact us. If we agree the information needs correcting, we will take reasonable steps to correct that information.

If we do not agree the information needs correcting, you can ask us to put a statement on your file explaining what you say needs to be corrected. We will do that in such a way as is apparent to our staff who use your personal information.

If we refuse to correct your personal information, we will provide you with a written explanation for that refusal. We will try to resolve all requests within 14 days of receipt of your written request or 30 days where the matter is more complicated. We may charge you a reasonable fee to correct that information, for example if we have to spend a significant amount of time to correct it.

When do we destroy personal information?

Dobson Mitchell Allport securely destroys or de-identifies personal information when it is no longer required.

We usually destroy client files seven years from the date they are closed, unless otherwise instructed. Original documents kept in safe custody, for example wills and titles, are kept indefinitely.

We normally retain records of client names, names of other parties involved in matters, contact details for individuals and accounts indefinitely. This is necessary to avoid conflicts of interest.

Who do we disclose personal information to?

We are required by law to disclose some information to the Law Society of Tasmania, the Legal Profession Board, the Migration Agents Registration Authority and certain other relevant authorities where applicable.

Your personal information may be disclosed to our service providers or professional advisors where necessary for our activities, for example to barristers, IT service providers, accountants, auditors or insurers.

We will take reasonable steps to ensure the information we disclose to others is accurate, up-to-date, complete and relevant, having regard to the reasons why it is being disclosed.

If you use our Migration Portal and Forms (some of which are available from our website), that data is processed by Migration Manager Pty Ltd. Migration Manager Pty Ltd’s privacy policy is available at http://manual.mmcpd.com/m/49190/l/562908-privacy-policy.

Dobson Mitchell Allport will not disclose your personal information to anyone overseas unless:

• we have taken reasonable steps to ensure that the overseas recipient does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles;
• you have provided consent;
• we reasonably believe that the overseas entity is subject to a law or binding scheme that has the effect of protecting your personal information in a way that, overall, is at least substantially similar to the way in which the Australian Privacy Principles protect the information, and that you can access mechanisms to enforce those protections; or
• the disclosure is otherwise authorised by the Privacy Act.

How do you complain about interferences with your privacy?

If you are concerned about an interference with your privacy, this policy or the APPs please submit a complaint in writing, marked to the attention of the Privacy Officer. We will consider and respond to your complaint within 10 working days. We will seek to resolve the complaint with you. We prefer to address all matters in this manner prior to a complaint being taken further.

Is there anyone else you can complain to?

You can make a complaint about interferences with your privacy to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Their contact details are: