Kemp Strang Privacy Policy

On 21 December 2001 the new Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000 (the "Act") came into force, regulating the way personal information is handled by private sector organisations such as Kemp Strang.  "Personal information" is defined broadly in the Act and covers any information that may be used to identify a person.  It may simply be a name or contact details.

Kemp Strang is a Sydney-based commercial law firm.  Its business is the delivery of legal services. Kemp Strang respects the privacy of individuals and has current systems in place to protect personal information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

Most of the personal information that we obtain is collected directly from clients for the primary purpose of providing legal services to those clients.  This will typically comprise a name, contact details and any other information required to allow us to provide legal services to that client.  We may also collect personal information about clients or potential clients by referrals from other firms in the Kennedy Strang Legal Group or from third parties.  Prior to doing so we ensure that the other firm or the third party contact has advised the person that they intend to forward their information to us for the purpose of providing legal services.  If this has not been done we will contact the person directly.  We will usually contact the person directly, in any event.

Personal information relating to clients may also be used for the purpose of providing clients with information which may be of interest to them from time to time.  This information will usually be in the form of a newsletter and is provided free of charge.  Any such mail-out includes a provision which allows the client to opt out of receiving further information by return mail.

Personal information about clients will only be used internally or disclosed on a confidential basis to other firms in the Kennedy Strang Legal Group.  It will not be forwarded to any third party without the client's express consent.  If we need to forward personal information to any third party, such as an interstate or overseas agent, a barrister or a government agency, we will first obtain the individual's consent.

As recommended by the Ethics Committee of the Law Society of New South Wales, should you be seeking our advice for the first time by email, please only provide your name and the names of others involved in the transaction or matter. Please be sure to not include any confidential information about the substance of the transaction or matter to allow us to undertake conflict checks. Unfortunately, should you do so before we are formally retained, we are unable to guarantee the confidentiality of the information provided.

Clients are advised in a letter of engagement sent to them in accordance with the Legal Profession Act (NSW) 1987 that they may terminate our instructions to act for them at any time by notice in writing. Upon requesting Kemp Strang to stop acting on their behalf, an individual may request that their file be returned to them or destroyed.  Otherwise it will be archived for seven (7) years before being destroyed.

Neither Kemp Strang, nor our Internet Service Providers, Telstra Big Pond and NTT Australia, collect or record information of any nature from people who visit our website.

Kemp Strang does not share or disseminate information to third parties.  All personal information is used within the Kennedy Strang Legal Group only, unless required by law or unless an individual expressly consents to their personal information being forwarded to a third party, such as, in the circumstances referred to above.

Kemp Strang has physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect the personal information it collects, from unauthorised access, modification and disclosure. Our offices are secured by an electronic security system using proximity-coded cards to restrict access. Files that are not currently in use are archived at Access Records Management. Access Records Management stores documents within a security complex with alarmed security doors.  The premises are patrolled 24-hours by security guards. A back-to-base alarm system is currently being installed. The documents are stored in an open-racking configuration and are bar-coded for retrieval and maximum security reasons.

Any documents that we consider to be sensitive are stored in our safe which is locked at all times.  Access is restricted to one manager with security clearance. Electronic personal information is stored in databases requiring logins and passwords for access, and is restricted to staff who require access.

As disclosed in our letter of engagement to clients, files that contain client's personal information are retained for no more than seven years.  We destroy all client files and documents seven years after the date of the final bill rendered by us in relation to each client matter.  Access Records Management securely destroys documents by pulping or shredding and issues a certificate of destruction once the documents have been destroyed. Internal paper-based documents containing personal information are pulped before being recycled.

If any individual believes that we have personal information relating to them that they would like to access, they should contact Stephen Williams on 02 9225 2500 to discuss.  We will require a written request for access.  Generally, there will be no charge for providing access, however, if we incur costs in the retrieval of information, we may ask the person seeking access to meet those costs.  We will advise the person of any such costs prior to retrieving the information.  We will not be able to provide access to information where it would be contrary to law to do so.

Similarly, if you believe that we have personal information relating to you which is out of date or incorrect, we would appreciate it if you would contact Stephen Williams on 02 9225 2500 to discuss.

From time to time Kemp Strang may review this Privacy Policy in order to address new laws, technological advances and operational variations.

Last updated: 14 July 2003