Privacy Policy

1. Application
This policy applies to Van Houten Law (ABN 43 120 380 010) of Alfred Park Chambers, Level 2, Suite 9, 370-376 Church Street, Parramatta, NSW 2150 and related bodies corporate (collectively referred to as "Van Houten", "We", "Our", "Us"). Van Houten and entities controlled by Van Houten are subject to the National Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act, 1988 (Cth). Van Houten has a duty to maintain the confidentiality of the affairs, including personal information of our clients, potential clients, contractors and others. This Privacy Policy and Disclosure Statement explains how Van Houten collects and protects the privacy of personal information about you collected by Van Houten or provided by you to Van Houten via our website or from other sources. This Policy outlines the obligations which Van Houten has in managing your personal information we hold.

This Privacy Policy and Disclosure Statement does not apply in relation to acts and practices of Van Houten which relate directly to the employee records of present and former employees of Van Houten.

2. Our Disclosure Statement
Van Houten collects personal information from you in order to provide you with legal services, to provide you with legal updates and promotional material (if you choose to receive them), to facilitate our internal business operations including fulfilment by us of any legal requirements and to manage and improve our legal services and client relationships. Van Houten will generally collect personal information about you directly from you when you use our website or deal with Van Houten over the telephone or by letter or e-mail. Van Houten will also collect personal information by way of forms filled out by people, face-to-face meetings, interviews, business cards, and from third parties.

Van Houten may collect some information about your movements throughout our website. For example, we can identify the pages on our website that your browser requests or visits.

You may be able to access other websites by clicking on links we have provided on our website. You should be aware that we are not responsible for these other sites. You may need to check their privacy policies and practices, which may not be the same as our own.

Van Houten may collect personal information about you from a third party source. Van Houten will take reasonable steps to contact you and make you aware of the purposes for which Van Houten has collected your personal information which has been obtained from a third party source.

The type of information we may collect and hold includes (but is not limited to) personal information about:

• - name, address, occupation, professional membership, health information and contact information;
• - interests in areas of legal practice or events; and
• - information about people’s dealings with us or our clients.

3. Use Or Disclosure Of Your Personal Information
Van Houten will use and disclose personal information for the primary purpose for which the personal information was collected or for purposes related to or ancillary to that primary purpose and in other circumstances authorised by the Privacy Act.

We treat your personal information as strictly private and confidential. We will not disclose your personal information outside the firm unless:

- you consent; or

- it is required in the course of providing legal services to you (e.g. engaging a barrister on your behalf); or

- it is for external administrative purposes and on a strict confidential basis (e.g. photocopying services); or

- we are required to do so by law.

Van Houten does not disclose personal information collected to third parties for the purpose of allowing them to direct market their products and services.

Van Houten may disclose your personal information to:

- other companies or individuals who assist us in providing services or who perform functions on our behalf;

• - courts, tribunals and regulatory authorities; and
• - anyone else to whom you authorise us to disclose it.

Van Houten may be obliged to disclose your personal information:

- under compulsion of law; or

• - for the sole purpose of avoiding the probable commission or concealment of a felony, or
• - in accordance with any order, rule, practice or procedure of any court.

4. Personal Information About Other People
You must not provide personal information to Van Houten about another person, unless that person has authorised Van Houten, through you, to collect, use and disclose personal information about that person for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and Disclosure Statement.

5. Security
Van Houten protects any personal information that we hold from misuse, loss and unauthorised access, modification and disclosure.

Your personal information may be stored either in hard copy documents or as electronic data in Van Houten's software or systems.

Van Houten maintains physical security over our paper and electronic data and premises. Van Houten also maintains computer and network security through firewalls and other security systems such as user identifiers and passwords to control access to our computer systems.

6. Sending Personal Information Overseas
Van Houten will not send your personal information to recipients outside of Australia without:

• obtaining your consent (in some cases this consent will be implied); or
• otherwise complying with the National Privacy Principles.

7. Access To Personal Information
Van Houten will, on request, provide you with access to personal information held by Van Houten about you, subject to any limitations or exceptions in the Privacy Act.

Van Houten will deal with requests for access within a reasonable time. You must pay Van Houten for reasonable costs incurred by Van Houten in providing you with access. Van Houten will advise you of the likely cost in advance and will require you to verify your identity and specify what information you require.
If Van Houten refuses to provide you with access to personal information about you, Van Houten will provide you with reasons for the refusal, in accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act.

8. Up-to-Date Information
Van Houten will take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is up-to-date when collected or used by Van Houten. If any personal information held by Van Houten about you is incorrect, you should contact Van Houten immediately, so that we can take reasonable steps to correct incorrect information about you.

9. Enquiries
If you wish to gain access to your personal information or make a complaint about a breach of your privacy or if you have any query on how your personal information is collected or used or any other query relating to Van Houten's Privacy Policy and Disclosure Statement, please contact our Privacy Officer:

inquiry@vanhoutenlaw.com.au or by writing to

Van Houten Law
PO Box 647, Parramatta NSW 2124