Privacy Policy

PRIVACY POLICY & CHILD SAFETY STATEMENT

Byrne Lawyers

1. We respect your privacy

(a) Byrne Lawyers respects your right to privacy and is committed to safeguarding the privacy of our clients and website visitors. We adhere to the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). This policy sets out how we collect and treat your personal information. 

(b) “Personal information” is information we hold which is identifiable as being about you. 

2. Collection of personal information

(a) Byrne Lawyers will, from time to time, receive and store personal information you enter onto our website, provided to us directly or given to us in other forms. 

(b) You may provide basic information such as your name, phone number, address and email address to enable us to send information, provide updates and process your enquiries or matters. We may collect additional information at other times, including but not limited to, when you provide feedback, when you provide information about your personal or business affairs, change your contact or email preference, respond to surveys and/or promotions, provide financial or credit card information, or communicate with our staff. 

(c) Additionally, we may also collect any other information you provide while interacting with us. 

3. How we collect your personal information

(a) Byrne Lawyers collects personal information from you in a variety of ways, including when you interact with us electronically or in person, when you access our website and when we provide our services to you. We may receive personal information from third parties. If we do, we will protect it as set out in this Privacy Policy. 

4. Identity verification and document checks

(a) We may collect and verify identification information as part of providing legal services, managing risk, preventing fraud, and complying with legal and regulatory obligations. 

(b) This may include using third-party verification services such as InfoTrackID, which submits identification details (such as name, date of birth and document numbers) to the Australian Government’s Document Verification Service (DVS) 

(c) Where required, we will explain the purpose of the verification, the legal basis for it, and any available alternatives. If identity information is not provided, we may be unable to act in certain matters. 

(d) Information Match Data is retained as long as necessary for verification and protected as set out in this Privacy Policy. Where third-party providers manage retention, we ensure compliance with relevant privacy and security standards. 

5. Anonymity and pseudonymity

(a) Due to the nature of legal services, including the need to verify identity, manage conflicts of interest and trust accounting and regulatory requirements, it is not practicable for us to provide legal services anonymously or through pseudonymity. 

6. Use of your personal information

(a) Byrne Lawyers may use personal information collected from you to provide you with information, updates and our services. We may also make you aware of new and additional products, services and opportunities available to you. We may use your personal information to improve our products and services and better understand your needs. 

(b) Byrne Lawyers may contact you by a variety of measures including, but not limited to telephone, email, sms or mail. 

7. Disclosure of your personal information

(a) We may disclose your personal information to any of our employees, officers, insurers, professional advisers, agents, suppliers, subcontractors or other trusted AML/CTF reporting entities insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this Policy. Personal information is only supplied to a third party when it is required for the delivery of our services. 

(b) We may from time to time need to disclose personal information to comply with a legal requirement, such as a law, regulation, court order, subpoena, warrant, in the course of a legal proceeding or in response to a law enforcement agency request. 

(c) We may also use your personal information to protect the copyright, trademarks, legal rights, property or safety of Byrne Lawyers, https://www.byrnelawyers.com.au/, its customers or third parties. 

(d) If there is a change of control in our business or a sale or transfer of business assets, we reserve the right to transfer to the extent permissible at law our user databases, together with any personal information and non-personal information contained in those databases. This information may be disclosed to a potential purchaser under an agreement to maintain confidentiality. We would seek to only disclose information in good faith and where required by any of the above circumstances. 

(e) By providing us with personal information, you consent to the terms of this Privacy Policy and the types of disclosure covered by this Policy. Where we disclose your personal information to third parties, we will request that the third party follow this Policy regarding handling your personal information. 

8. Overseas disclosure of personal information

(a) We use cloud-based practice management, document management, email and technology service providers, including Microsoft 365 and InfoTrack. 

(b) These providers may store, process or access personal information in Australia and, in some circumstances, in other countries such as the United States and other jurisdictions where their support, security, backup or infrastructure services are located. 

(c) Where we disclose personal information to overseas recipients, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient handles the information in a manner consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles, unless an exception under the Privacy Act applies. 

9. Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing

(a) For certain legal services, including property and conveyancing matters, commercial transactions, and the creation or administration of companies and trusts, we may be required by law to collect and verify identification information and information about beneficial ownership and control. Personal information that we collect and hold may include: 

• name, address, contact telephone number and other contact details such as email address; 

• payment information (such as credit card or bank details); 

• details of any relevant companies or trusts; 

• identification of beneficial owners, controllers, directors, shareholders or beneficiaries; 

• details of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs); and/or 

• information regarding source of funds or wealth (bank statements, loan approvals or contracts of sale etc). 

(b) We may also be required to conduct ongoing monitoring of matters and to disclose information to government authorities, including AUSTRAC, where required by law. 

(c) Personal information collected for these purposes will be handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy and retained for the period required by law. 

(d) Where a third party relies on us to collect this information on their behalf, we may disclose relevant personal information to that third party for the purpose of satisfying our mutual legal and regulatory obligations. We will only disclose information reasonably necessary for this purpose and will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the information is transferred securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy. 

10. Security of your personal information

(a) Byrne Lawyers is committed to ensuring that the information you provide to us is secure. To prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure information and protect it from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification and disclosure. 

(b) The transmission and exchange of information is carried out at your own risk. We cannot guarantee the security of any information that you transmit to us, or receive from us. Although we take measures to safeguard against unauthorised disclosures of information, we cannot assure you that personal information that we collect will not be disclosed in a manner that is inconsistent with this Privacy Policy. 

11. Access, correct or amend your personal information

(a) You may request access, correction or amendment to details of personal information that we hold about you in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).  

(b) A small administrative fee may be payable for the provision of information. If you would like a copy of the information we hold about you or believe that any information we hold inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading, please email us at office@byrnelawyers.com.au. 

(c) We reserve the right to refuse to provide you with information or to make requested corrections to information that we hold in certain circumstances set out in the Privacy Act. 

12. Retention and disposal of person information

(a) We retain personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services and to comply with legal, regulatory, professional and risk management obligations, including trust accounting and record‑keeping requirements. 

13. Automated decision-making

(a) We do not generally use automated decision‑making that significantly affects individuals using their personal information. 

(b) If this changes, we will update this Privacy Policy to explain the types of decisions involved, the information used, and how you may seek further information. 

14. Direct marketing

(a) We may contact you to provide information about our services, legal updates or other information that may be relevant to you. 

(b) You may opt out of receiving direct marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe facility provided (where applicable) or by contacting us at office@byrnelawyers.com.au. We will process opt‑out requests as soon as practicable. 

15. Data breaches

(a) If we become aware of a suspected loss of, or unauthorised access to or disclosure of, personal information, we will assess the incident and take appropriate action. 

(b) Where required under the Privacy Act, we will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. 

16. Complaints about privacy

(a) If you have any complaints about our privacy practises, please feel free to send in details of your complaints to PO Box 273, Gladstone, Queensland, 4680 or by email to office@byrnelawyers.com.au. We take complaints very seriously and will respond shortly after receiving written notice of your complaint. 

(b) If you have applied to access or amend documents containing your personal information under chapter 3 of the IPA and are unhappy with our decision, you may have additional statutory rights of review. There are specific timeframes in which you must exercise those rights.  

(c) Outside our organisation, if you have a complaint in relation to our compliance with the PA or APPs, you may wish to contact the OAIC: https://www.oaic.gov.au/about-us/contact-us.  

(d) If you have a complaint in relation to our compliance with the IPA or QPPs, including your statutory rights to access and amend, you may wish to contact the OIC: https://www.oic.qld.gov.au/about/contact-us.  

(e) Please note that in the case of complaints to either the OAIC or OIC, it is requirement that you have complained to us in the first instance. 

17. Changes to Privacy Policy

(a) Please be aware that we may change this Privacy Policy in the future. We may modify this Policy at any time, in our sole discretion and all modifications will be effective immediately upon our posting of the modifications on our website or notice board. Please check back from time to time to review our Privacy Policy. 

18. Website

(a) Visiting our website 

When you come to our website (https://www.byrnelawyers.com.au/) we may collect certain information such as browser type, operating system, website visited immediately before coming to our site, etc. This information is used in an aggregated manner to analyse how people use our site, such that we can improve our service. 

(b) Cookies  

We may from time to time use cookies on our website. Cookies are very small files which a website uses to identify you when you come back to the site and to store details about your use of the site. Cookies are not malicious programs that access or damage your computer. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies but you can choose to reject cookies by changing your browser settings. However, this may prevent you from taking full advantage of our website. Our website may from time to time use cookies to analyses website traffic and help us provide a better website visitor experience. In addition, cookies may be used to serve relevant ads to website visitors through third party services such as Google Adwords. These ads may appear on this website or other websites you visit. 

(c) Third party sites  

Our site may from time to time have links to other websites not owned or controlled by us. These links are meant for your convenience only. Links to third party websites do not constitute sponsorship or endorsement or approval of these websites. Please be aware that Byrne Lawyers is not responsible for the privacy practises of other such websites. We encourage our users to be aware, when they leave our website, to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personal identifiable information. 

Approved by

Full Name:           Kylie Simone Devney
                             Privacy Officer

 

Last Updated:   21 August 2026