Privacy policy
1. About this policy
Jenkins Legal & Advisory (ABN 20 164 761 540) ("JLA", "we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information we hold. We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the "Privacy Act") and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
This policy explains how we collect, use, hold, disclose and protect personal information, both through this website and in the course of providing legal and advisory services. By using our website or engaging our services, you acknowledge the practices described in this policy.
2. The personal information we collect
The personal information we collect depends on how you interact with us. It may include:
- Contact and identity details: name, address, email address, telephone number, and business or role details.
- Information you provide through our website: details submitted via enquiry or contact forms, and any information contained in correspondence with us.
- Information collected when we act for you: information necessary to provide legal and advisory services, which may include financial details, family and personal circumstances, business and transaction information, and other information relevant to your matter.
- Identity verification information: where we are required to verify your identity and conduct customer due diligence, including to meet our obligations under anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
Sensitive information: Some of the information we collect in the course of providing legal services may be "sensitive information" under the Privacy Act (for example, information relevant to a matter such as an estate or family provision claim). We collect sensitive information only where it is reasonably necessary for our services and, where required, with your consent.
3. How we collect personal information
We collect personal information:
- directly from you, when you contact us, complete a form on our website, engage us, or provide information in the course of a matter; and
- from third parties, where relevant and permitted, such as other parties to a transaction, your other advisers, government agencies, or publicly available sources.
Where it is reasonable and practicable, we will collect personal information directly from you.
4. Why we collect, hold and use personal information
We collect, hold and use personal information to:
- respond to your enquiries and communicate with you;
- provide legal and advisory services and manage your matter;
- verify your identity and meet our regulatory and legal obligations, including our anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) obligations;
- manage our client relationships, accounts and administration;
- improve our website and services; and
- comply with our professional, legal and regulatory obligations.
We will only use personal information for the purposes for which it was collected, for a related purpose you would reasonably expect, or as otherwise permitted or required by law.
5. Disclosure of personal information
We may disclose personal information to third parties where reasonably necessary for the purposes described above, including to:
- barristers, experts, and other professional advisers engaged in connection with your matter;
- other parties (and their representatives) involved in a transaction or matter;
- courts, tribunals, government and regulatory bodies, where required or authorised by law;
- our service providers, including IT, cloud, document management and practice management providers; and
- any other party with your consent, or as required or permitted by law.
We do not sell personal information, and we do not disclose it for direct marketing by third parties.
Overseas disclosure: We store personal information in Australia. Our legal practice management system, LEAP, is the only system in which we store client data, and it stores Australian client data within Australia (in the Sydney region) on Amazon Web Services infrastructure. We do not disclose personal information to overseas recipients in the ordinary course of providing our services.
6. Security of personal information
We take the security of personal information seriously and implement a high standard of protection across both our technology and our people.
Our technology safeguards include secure, encrypted systems, access controls, and the use of reputable, security-certified providers to store and manage data. Our practice management system stores client data in a secure, independently certified cloud environment.
Our personnel and process safeguards include staff confidentiality obligations, and procedures designed to protect against fraud and error — for example, verbally confirming bank account details before acting on payment instructions, to guard against payment redirection scams.
We retain personal information only for the minimum period required by law and our professional and regulatory obligations, after which we take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it.
7. Accessing and correcting your personal information
You may request access to the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. To make a request, contact us using the details in section 10.
We will respond within a reasonable period. There are some circumstances in which we may be unable to provide access or make a correction (for example, where doing so would affect the privacy of others, or where the information is subject to legal professional privilege or a legal obligation). If we refuse a request, we will explain why in writing where required.
8. Cookies and analytics
We use Plausible Analytics, a privacy-focused analytics tool, to understand how visitors use our website. Plausible does not use cookies and does not collect or store any personal or personally identifiable information, and it does not track visitors across other websites or devices.
Because we do not use tracking or advertising cookies, our website does not display a cookie consent banner. Any cookies used are strictly necessary for the website to function.
9. Complaints
If you have a concern or complaint about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us using the details in section 10. We will acknowledge your complaint and aim to resolve it within a reasonable time.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC): oaic.gov.au, phone 1300 363 992.
10. Contact us
For any questions about this policy, or to make a request or complaint about privacy, please contact:
Louise Williams, General Manager
Jenkins Legal & Advisory
Level 5, 77 Hunter Street, Newcastle NSW 2300
11. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on our website, and the "last updated" date at the top indicates when it was most recently revised.