Privacy Policy

At Contested Will and Estate Lawyers, we understand your need to be sure your personal information is kept safe. This policy outlines the way we collect, secure, use and share your personal information, whether you are a past, current or future client, or simply a user of our website.

Because we believe in good privacy practice, we agree to be bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act). We take all reasonable steps to ensure that any information we collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete, up-to-date and securely stored and that it is protected from misuse, loss and unauthorised access.

Collecting Personal Information

When you use our website and/or our legal services, you consent to Contested Will and Estate Lawyers collecting personal information about you. So that we can best guide and/or advise you, we will ask you to provide some or all of the following types of personal information:

Full legal names (past and present);
Contact details, including phone numbers, postal and/or residential addresses and email addresses;
Date of birth;
Nationality or residential status;
Details from identification documents, such as driver’s licence, passport, visa, marriage certificate, Medicare or Health Care card, utility bills;
Tax File Number and/or employment details;
Any other personal information that is provided by you voluntarily through a website, mobile application or other on-line platform belonging to Contested Will and Estate Lawyers or as otherwise requested by us or provided by you.

How We Collect It

Whether we collect any or all of this information about you will depend on the service being offered to you. We collect it from you via telephone, email, in paper format or online forms. With your express consent, some of your personal information will be sourced from third parties. Additionally, our website and other online platforms use cookies and other technologies to give you a more personal and convenient experience but you can remove these from your device if you wish.

Why We Collect It

The reason we require personal information about you is to:

assess and/or progress your claim;
provide you with other relevant information about your circumstances;
assist with internal training;
improve our future services; and
comply with our legal and professional obligations.

Google uses your personal information to help to personalise your searches, interact with you, maintain and improve its services and develop new ones.

How We Store It

Once the information has been collected, Contested Will and Estate Lawyers will confidentially store it in client files using its own cloud-based storage (or occasionally in paper format). Client files are accessible to authorised personnel only and are appropriately secured and subject to confidentiality requirements. We are legally obliged to maintain our client files for seven years once they are closed. After that, they are electronically deleted/destroyed. If you use our website from outside a Google account, Google will store the information that it collects about you, your activity and your location (like GPS or IP address) with unique identifiers tied to the browser, application or device that you’re using. This allows Google to maintain your preferences across browsing sessions. If you are signed into a Google account, Google will store that information with your account.

Disclosure of Personal Information

Safeguarding your personal information is very important to us so we only disclose that information within Australia to:

personnel of Contested Will and Estate Lawyers who are bound by confidentiality laws and standards that govern the legal profession within Australia;
other legal professionals involved in your claim; third party professionals and service providers who assist us with the assessment and/or progression of your claim;
national courts, tribunals, ombudsmen and commissions;
government agencies, department and regulatory bodies;
or otherwise as required by law

Google may disclose your information on similar terms. It is unlikely that your personal information will be disclosed outside of Australia.

Your Rights Under the Privacy Act

The Privacy Act allows you to:

know why your personal information is being collected, how it will be used and who it will be disclosed to;
have the option of not identifying yourself, or of using a pseudonym in certain circumstances;
ask for access to your personal information (including your health information);
stop receiving unwanted direct marketing;
ask for any incorrect personal information to be corrected;
make a complaint if you think your personal information has been mishandled.

Should you wish to access your personal information or ask for a correction to be made, please contact our Privacy Officer by email at enquiries@cwelawyers.com.au and we will respond as soon as possible.

Required by law

There are times when we will be required by law to disclose any personal information we have about you, such as in the instance of an investigation into bankruptcy, counter-terrorism, fraud, taxation or in response to a subpoena etc.

Your information

We take all reasonable steps to ensure that information we collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete, up-to-date and securely stored.

We take steps to protect your personal information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access.

Complaints and Questions

Please read this policy carefully. If you would like to receive a copy by post or email, please let us know. If you have any concerns or questions about the policy or how your information may be used, please contact our Privacy Officer by email at enquiries@cwelawyers.com.au and we will respond as soon as possible. If you require further information or feel that your complaint has not been resolved by us, you can access the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s website which can be found at www.oaic.gov.au.