At Turks we value your privacy and understand an individual’s wish to have personal information protected. Our Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, manage and safeguard your privacy, and the rights you have to manage your personal information.

Australian Privacy Principles and other applicable legislation and agreements

Turks complies with the Australian Privacy Principles (‘APP’) as provided in the Privacy Act 1988.

We also comply with the Spam Act 2003, the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 and applicable State and Territory personal information and health privacy legislation, including the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW), NSW cabinet administrative instructions and NSW government standards relating to personal health information (as if we were a New South Wales government agency and regardless of whether such legislation, instructions and standards would apply to us).

Additionally, we comply with individual client privacy policies, under contractual arrangements we may have with them when dealing with the personal information they provide to us.

You can obtain more information about the APP from the website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (‘OAIC’):
https://www.oaic.gov.au/individuals/privacy-fact-sheets/general/privacy-...

Collecting Personal Information

The Privacy Act defines ‘personal information’ as ‘Information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable whether the information or opinion is true or not; and whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.’ Personal information can include name, address, contact information, sensitive information, health information, credit information, employee record information and tax file number information.

We collect personal information only when it is required to conduct our business as a law firm.

We collect your personal information when you instruct us to act on your behalf or when you request a service from us, such as attendance at conferences, training sessions or seminars.

We may collect personal information about individuals who are not our client, whose personal information is given to us during a legal matter.

We may also collect personal information when you use our website. The personal information collected is dependent on what you tell us about yourself, such as providing your name and email address when you accept an invitation to attend a seminar or when you send us an online query.

Sensitive Information

It is unlikely we would collect your sensitive information, such as information about your health and genetic background, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, political associations, religious beliefs or affiliations, trade or professional memberships, sexual orientation or criminal records. If we need to collect your sensitive information during the course of a legal matter, we would seek your express consent to do so.

Anonymity and Pseudonymity

The APP require us to offer you the option of dealing with us anonymously or using a pseudonym unless it is impracticable to do so. Due to the nature of our business, it would generally be impracticable for us to deal with you anonymously or using a pseudonym.

Using and Disclosing Your Personal Information

We respect your privacy. Any personal information we collect will only be used to provide you with the services that you have requested, or otherwise to enable us to conduct our business as a law firm.

We will not disclose personal information about you unless the disclosure is required or authorised by law, you have consented to the disclosure or for another purpose related to the primary purpose of collecting that information that you would reasonably expect.

In the normal course of our business, we would not disclose your personal information to any person or organisation outside Australia. However, there may be legal matters which require disclosure to a person or organisation outside Australia for the purpose of that legal matter. If we do so, we will comply with the requirements under the Privacy Act.

We may use your personal information to provide you with information about other services we offer. If you register for an event such as a seminar, we may request your name, contact details and employment details (e.g. employer and position/title), which we may then use to offer other services to you.

When you register for an event, the only information that you must provide is your name and email address. Any other information you provide is your choice.

If you would prefer not to receive promotional or other material from us, let us know and we will respect your request. 

Access to Your Personal Information

Requests for access to your personal information will be handled in accordance with the APP.

Requests for access to personal information should be directed to our Privacy Officer, which will be dealt with as quickly as possible. We may need to verify your identity before providing access to requested information. Requests for a large amount of information, or information which is not currently in use, may require further time before a response can be given. We will not charge you for requests for access to personal information.

We may refuse access to personal information in circumstances where giving you access would be unlawful (e.g. where a record which contains personal information about you is subject to a claim for legal professional privilege by our client), have an unreasonable impact on other people's privacy, prejudice negotiations we are having with you or prejudice an investigation of unlawful activity or where we are unable to properly identify you.

We will refuse access to personal information when it relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings and the information would not be accessible by the process of discovery in those proceedings. If access to personal information is refused, an explanation will be provided.

Correcting Your Personal Information

You can request us to amend your personal information held by us if it is inaccurate, misleading, incomplete or out of date. If we disagree with your view about the accuracy, completeness or currency of a record of your personal information held by us and you ask us to associate with that record a statement that you have a contrary view, we will take reasonable steps to do so.

Securing and Storing Your Personal Information

We take reasonable precautions and implement controls to protect personal information from unauthorised use or alteration.

Disposal of Personal Information

Where personal information is related to a legal matter, it is generally retained for a period of seven years, after which it can be destroyed. We will review our need to retain non-legal matter personal information from time to time and, subject to any laws or judicial orders, we can destroy or de-identify it after a period of seven years.

Complaints about a Breach of Your Privacy

If you would like more information about the way we manage personal information, or are concerned that we may have breached your privacy, please contact us:

Email: verity.fallon@turkslegal.com.au
Tel.: 61 2 8257 5000
Post: The Privacy Officer, Turks, Level 44, 2 Park Street, Sydney NSW 2000

Complaints must be submitted in writing for consideration by our Privacy Officer who will respond to you as soon as practicable.

If correspondence or discussions between you and Turks do not resolve your complaint, you may refer your complaint to the OAIC at www.oaic.gov.au or any other applicable regulatory bodies.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

From time to time we may revise this policy and make changes in accordance with current privacy laws. We will notify you about changes to this privacy policy by posting an updated version on our website www.turkslegal.com.au.

This policy was last updated in September 2024.