McGarry Partners Privacy Policy

Privacy Statement

McGarry Partners respect and value our professional relationships with our clients and are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of information we collect from you. We are bound by, and are committed to supporting, the National Privacy Principles (NPPs) set out in the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000, which set the standards for accessing, collecting, storing and using the personal information we obtain from you in the conduct of our business operations.

Our customers' right to privacy is paramount. We understand the importance of information that identifies you (‘personal information’) and we have policies and procedures in place to ensure that all personal information, howsoever obtained, is handled sensitively, securely, and in accordance with recognised privacy principles.

Collection of Information

We will not collect personal information about you as a client unless it is necessary for one or more of our functions or activities.

The information that we collect about you will be obtained by fair and lawful means, and not in an unreasonably intrusive way. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that when collecting personal information about you, you are aware of:

• Our identity and contact details
• The purpose for which we are collecting the information;
• Your ability to access the information collected;
• Any third party organisations to which that information may be disclosed;
• Any law that requires the information to be collected;
• The consequences (if any) for you if the information is not provided.

To ensure that we can provide quality services to you, we may ask for personal details and any relevant information which concerns your dealings with us. We may require these details to contact you and provide a minimum level of service to you.

Generally, you have no obligation to provide any information requested by us. However, should you choose to withhold requested information, we may be unable to provide you with the services you require that are dependent on the provision of that information. This is particularly pertinent if the collection of that information is required by law.

We will, insofar as is reasonable and practicable to do so, collect the information directly from you or from a person authorised to act on your behalf. If this is not possible, and the information is collected from a third party source, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that you are made aware of the details listed above, unless specific exemptions apply.

Collection of Sensitive Information

We may only collect sensitive information about you with your consent. (For the purposes of this Policy, sensitive information relates to the details of your racial or ethnic origins, religious beliefs and political opinions, trade union, association or professional memberships, sexual preferences and/or criminal record. It also covers information about your health).

However, there are exceptions to the requirements listed above. For instance, we may be required to collect information by law in the following circumstances:

• For the establishment, exercise or defence of a legal or equitable claim; or
• Where it is necessary for the prevention of or to lessen a serious threat to the life or health of an individual.

In these circumstances, we are not required to advise you that we are collecting information about you.

Use and Disclosure of Information

McGarry Partners will generally only use the information collected for the provision of services to our clients or our internal professional business requirements. These business requirements may include using information we have about you in order to advise you of new legislation, interpretations, services and products that we believe may be of relevance or interest to you. At any time, you have the option to discontinue receiving any direct marketing communications from us.

McGarry Partners will not use or disclose any personal information if a request has been made not to do so.

There may be occasions where we are required by law to disclose your personal information to Government Departments, regulatory authorities, courts or other parties and advisers. For example, we may disclose your personal information to a court in response to a subpoena. We are not required to seek your consent before making such a disclosure if compelled by law.

We may also be required to disclose information about our clients to our service providers where we contract out certain management functions in connection with the conduct of our client’s affairs; for example, hosting our Web servers, providing legal services, IT support, courier deliveries and file storage. As a general rule, all such providers must comply with the same National Privacy Principles to which we are bound.

Accuracy of Personal Information

We undertake every effort to ensure that details regarding your personal information are accurate and up to date. For that reason, it is very important that personal information received from you is also accurate, complete and up to date.

You can advise of changes to your personal information via telephone, facsimile, email, letter or in person at our office.

Security of Personal Information

We may hold information about you in a variety of media, including, but not limited to: paper, scanned documents, electronic files, discs, hard drives or other day to day electronic records (For example - stored emails). The National Privacy Principles require us take reasonable steps to protect that information from loss, misuse, alteration, destruction, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

To comply with these principles, we employ a number of means to protect your personal information including:

• Secure computer network
• Secure electronic document transfer facilities
• Password protection on all personal computers
• Regularly updated virus protection software
• Controlled access to the premises
• 24 hour monitored security system
• Storage of Computer Backup Tapes at an external secure facility

Only authorised McGarry Partners personnel are provided access to personally-identifiable information and these employees are bound by a Confidentiality Agreement. These steps have been taken to ensure, as far as is possible, that unauthorised persons will not obtain access to your personal information.

Access to Personal Information

Subject to privacy law, we will provide you with access to any of your personal information in our possession upon request. In the event that your request for information is denied, we are obliged to provide you with the reason for that denial.

If you require access to your personal information, please contact us in writing. For security purposes, we will require proof of your identity before releasing any of your personal information to either yourself or an authorised third party representative acting on your behalf.

All requests for access will be handled as promptly as possible but may depend on whether such information is located in archives.

The majority of requests for access to personal information will be provided free of charge. However, we may charge a reasonable fee should your request require a substantial effort on our part.

Cookies

Our website does not employ the use of cookies.

Links to Third-Party Sites

The McGarry Partners web site contains links to third-party affiliates as a service to our users. Please be aware that we cannot control and are consequently not responsible for the information collection practices of such third-party websites. As these sites are not subject to our privacy standards, we encourage you to review and understand the privacy policies on these websites before providing any personal information to them.

Sending Information Overseas

McGarry Partners will only send personal information overseas if it is authorised by law at your specific request.

Amendments to this policy

We constantly review policies and procedures to ensure that our standards reflect any changes in law, technology, legislation or the market place. As a result, we reserve the right to make changes to this policy as required. This page will be updated to reflect changes accordingly and will indicate the effective date of that update.

Complaints Resolution

If you believe that your privacy has been prejudiced, you have a right to lodge a complaint with us.

If you have any queries, concerns or complaints regarding any aspect of this policy, please contact us in writing:

• Email: info@mcgarrypartners.com.au
• Mail: PO Box 3833, South Brisbane, QLD, 4101

However, if you are dissatisfied with our complaints resolution process, you may refer your concerns to the Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner.

Further Information

Should you wish to obtain further information about the privacy legislation or the National Privacy Principles, we recommend that you visit the Federal Privacy Commissioner’s website at www.privacy.gov.au.

Consent

By using this Site, you consent to the collection, use, and storage of your information by us in the manner described in this Privacy Policy.