Privacy Policy

At Bottoms English Lawyers (ABN 97 158 295 768), we value your trust and are committed to protecting your privacy. Whether you are a client, employee, shareholder, contractor or member of the public, we take the privacy and security of your personal information very seriously. This policy outlines the way we collect, secure, use and share your personal information.

We encourage you to read through this policy so that you are informed and comfortable with how we handle your personal information, as well as how we comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

From time to time we may update this privacy policy to account for changes in the ways that we collect, handle and process personal information in our business. In these circumstances we will publish updates on our website.

Bottoms English Lawyers and its related entities are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act).

Your privacy

We are committed to protecting your privacy with your rights and personal preferences in mind.

Giving consent

By voluntarily providing us with your personal, financial health or other sensitive information, you consent to us using this information to:

• assist you with your enquiry;
• investigate, progress and settle your claim;
• offer services that may be relevant to you.

We require this information for the purpose of processing, assessing, and managing your enquiry and/or progressing your claim. Without this information we will be unable to provide you with our services, which may include assessing your eligibility to receive compensation.

Personal information we collect and method of collection

The personal information that we collect and hold about you, depends on your interaction with us. We may collect information from you directly or (with your consent) from third parties.

The information we may collect includes your contact information, financial and employment records and sensitive information including health information.

With your consent, we collect information from third parties including; medical providers, private health insurers, Medicare and other government agencies and other third parties for the purpose of assessing your claim, progressing your claim, and for settlement purposes.

Generally, we will collect, use, and hold personal information for the purposes of:

• providing services to you or someone else you know or authorised to act on your behalf;
• providing you with information about other services that we, our related entities and other organisations that we have affiliations with, offer that may be of interest to you;
• facilitating our internal business operations, including the fulfilment of any legal requirements or obligations;
• analysing our services and customer needs with a view to developing new or improved services;
• complying with our legal obligations.

Purpose of collecting personal information

Bottoms English Lawyers will collect personal information about you to determine if we are able to assist you with your claim. We hold onto this information to ensure any future communication with you is relevant.

We collect personal information, financial and health information for the purpose of assessing and progressing your claim. We may monitor and record telephone calls for training and security purposes.

We are required by law to keep your information for seven (7) years once your matter is closed.

Where your information is stored electronically, in some circumstances it may not be possible to irretrievably destroy your information without compromising other data that we are entitled to or obligated by law to retain.

In these circumstances, we will restrict access or take steps to ensure that your information cannot be used.

Website

We use cookies for a range of purposes such as; helping you navigate between pages efficiently, remembering any preferences you have set and ensuring that the online advertisements you see are more relevant to you. Cookies also allow us to analyse user behaviours and help us make informed decisions on how to improve your experience with our website.

If you do not wish for this to occur, you can remove cookies from your computer, by following the standard procedures for your internet browser to do so.

Use and disclosure of information

We may disclose information about you to third parties or entities outside of Bottoms English Lawyers including where it is reasonably necessary for the purpose of assessing, managing and progressing your claim or enquiry or where we are required to disclose your information by law.

We may disclose your information and (with your consent) collect your information from:

• courts, tribunals, ombudsmen and commissions;
• government departments, agencies and regulatory bodies, this may include the Australian Taxation Office, Medicare, Centrelink, the National Disability Insurance Agency or a worker's compensation authority;
• third-party experts and other persons including doctors, health professionals, accountants, actuaries, third-party law practices and barristers;
• third-party insurers including private health insurers for the purpose of discussing your claim, obtaining information about services provided to you, and/or negotiating refunds;
• third-party medical and health service providers for the purpose of obtaining medical records or information; and
• employers, former employers and superannuation providers;
• third parties when outsourcing services, such as data storage, debt collection, bulk distribution and mailing services, direct marketing, technology support services, business development and obtaining expert help from consultants to improve our services.

If your personal information is made available to the Court, that information will usually be on the public record.

We have contractual arrangements with our service providers which require them to protect your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act, including that they only use it for the purpose for which it is disclosed.

Bottoms English Lawyers may disclose your personal and health information where it is required by law to do so, or where it is necessary to assess your eligibility to receive compensation or otherwise manage or progress your claim.

Disclosure of personal information to overseas entities

There may be situations where we store personal information with vendors who have been contracted to provide customer support and technological solutions. There may also be situations where we need to consult with overseas-based experts, litigation funders or foreign law practices.

If these situations apply, we will be required to disclose your personal information to recipients outside Australia. To the best of our knowledge at this time, any such recipients would likely be located in the United Kingdom, European Union, United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and the Philippines.

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.

Request a correction

You have the right to request access to or correct the personal information that we hold about you.

If you would like to access or correct your personal information, please contact us by email at docs@belaw.com.au or by post to Bottoms English Lawyers, 18 Shields Street, Cairns City QLD 4870.

We will respond as soon as reasonably possible. In some circumstances, we are permitted to deny your request for access, or limit the access we provide.

Complaint policy

If you are dissatisfied with how we have managed information or if you believe that we have breached the APPs, you may make a written complaint to us.

Please address any complaint to our Practice Manager by email on docs@belaw.com.au or by post to Bottoms English Lawyers, 18 Shields Street, Cairns City QLD 4870.

We will respond as soon as reasonably possible. If your concerns have not been resolved by that time, you may refer the matter to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner via their website on www.oaic.gov.au

Accessing this Privacy Policy

A copy of this Privacy Policy regarding the management of personal information can be obtained either here or by requesting a copy by email docs@belaw.com.au or by post to Bottoms English Lawyers, 18 Shields Street, Cairns City QLD 4870.

Failure to provide information

If the personal information you provide to us is incomplete or inaccurate, we may be unable to provide you, or someone else you know, with the services you, or they, are seeking.