WPI Lawyers (ABN 48 698 179 163) of 262 Wright Street, Adelaide SA 5000 is committed to protecting the privacy of the people who contact us, instruct us, and use this website. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with, and how you can access it or make a complaint.
We handle personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Separately from privacy law, information you give us in the course of seeking or receiving legal advice is also protected by our professional duty of confidentiality and, where it applies, legal professional privilege. Those obligations are stricter than this policy and are not displaced by it.
What we collect
When you use this website
If you complete an enquiry form on this site, we collect the details you provide: your name, email address, phone number, the type of matter you select, and anything you write in the message field. You choose what to tell us — please do not send sensitive details or documents through a website form before we have confirmed we can act for you.
Our web server and hosting provider also record standard technical information with each visit, including your IP address, browser type, the pages you request and the time of the request. This is used to operate and secure the site.
When you become a client
Acting in a legal matter usually requires more information than a website enquiry. Depending on the matter, that can include your contact and identity details, date of birth, financial information, employment history, and health or medical information — which is sensitive information under the Privacy Act and attracts additional protection. In injury and compensation matters in particular, we may need medical records, imaging and treatment histories.
We collect this information from you, and with your authority from third parties such as treating practitioners, employers, insurers, government agencies and other lawyers.
Where we provide a service regulated under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth), we are also required to verify your identity before or shortly after we act. That means collecting identification documents — typically a passport, driver licence or other government-issued identification, and in some cases information about beneficial ownership and source of funds. We collect this because the law requires it, and we cannot act for you in those matters if it is not provided.
Why we collect and use it
- To respond to your enquiry and assess whether we can assist you
- To carry out conflict checks before accepting instructions
- To provide legal advice and conduct your matter
- To communicate with you and with others on your behalf
- To bill for our services and maintain our accounts
- To verify your identity and meet our customer due diligence obligations under anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing law
- To meet our professional, regulatory and legal obligations
We do not sell personal information, and we do not use enquiry details for marketing unrelated to the matter you contacted us about.
Who we disclose it to
We disclose personal information only where it is necessary for the purpose it was collected, where you have consented, or where the law requires or authorises it. Depending on your matter, that may include courts and tribunals, the other party’s legal representatives, insurers, medical and other expert witnesses, barristers we brief, government agencies, and our professional indemnity insurers or regulators.
We are also required to report certain matters to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC). Where the law requires a report, we must make it, and in some circumstances the law prohibits us from telling you that a report has been made or that information has been requested.
We also use service providers who support our practice — including website hosting, email delivery, and document and practice management software. These providers may store or process information outside Australia. Where that occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure the information is handled consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles.
This website: cookies and third parties
This website does not set tracking or advertising cookies, and we do not currently run analytics or advertising scripts on it.
The site loads typefaces from Google Fonts. When a page loads, your browser requests those font files directly from Google, which means Google receives your IP address and basic browser information as part of that request. We do not control and do not receive that information.
Pages may also link to external websites. This policy does not apply to those sites, and we are not responsible for their privacy practices.
If we add analytics or other tracking to this site in future, we will update this policy before doing so.
How we protect it
We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Those steps include restricting access within the firm to those who need it, securing our systems and premises, and requiring confidentiality from our staff and contractors.
No method of transmitting information over the internet is completely secure. Email and website forms are convenient but are not confidential channels. If a matter is sensitive or urgent, please call us on (08) 8151 0166 rather than relying on a form.
Data breaches
If a data breach occurs that is likely to result in serious harm, we will act in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including notifying affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner where required.
How long we keep it
We retain client files for the period required by our professional and legal obligations — generally at least seven years after a matter concludes, and longer where the nature of the matter requires it. Identification and customer due diligence records collected under anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing law must be retained for seven years after our engagement with you ends, and are kept for that period even if you ask us to delete them. Website enquiries that do not proceed to a matter are kept only as long as needed to deal with the enquiry and to run conflict checks, then destroyed or de-identified.
Accessing and correcting your information
You can ask us for access to the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date or incomplete. Write to us using the details below. We will respond within a reasonable period.
There are limited circumstances in which we may refuse access — for example where the information is subject to legal professional privilege belonging to another person, or where access would unreasonably affect someone else’s privacy. If we refuse, we will generally tell you why in writing — subject to the limitation below.
Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing law also limits what we can disclose. Where that law prevents us from confirming or denying that a report has been made, or from releasing related information, we are not able to explain the reason for withholding it. This is a legal restriction on us, not a discretion we exercise.
Making a complaint
If you believe we have mishandled your personal information, please raise it with us first using the contact details below so we can investigate and respond. We take privacy complaints seriously and will aim to resolve the matter promptly.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) — oaic.gov.au or 1300 363 992.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practice or in the law. The current version is always available on this page.
Contact us
WPI Lawyers
ABN 48 698 179 163
262 Wright Street, Adelaide SA 5000
Phone: (08) 8151 0166
Email: enquiries@wrightstreetlawyers.com.au