Privacy Policy
MJF Law Pty Ltd t/as MJF Law
PRIVACY POLICY
Effective 1 July 2026
1. Application of this policy
1.1 This Privacy Policy explains how MJF Law Pty Ltd t/as MJF Law (ABN 17 638 669 128) (the firm, we, us or our) collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information, and how we comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles (the APPs).
1.2 From 1 July 2026, we are also a reporting entity under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (the AML/CTF Act). This policy should be read together with clause 6, which explains how we handle personal information for AML/CTF purposes.
1.3 By instructing us, or by providing your personal information to us, you agree to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with this policy.
1.4 This policy does not form part of any costs agreement and may be updated from time to time in accordance with clause 18.
2. Key terms
2.1 In this policy, personal information and sensitive information have the meanings given in the Privacy Act.
2.2 Personal information means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not and whether or not it is recorded in a material form.
2.3 Sensitive information is a subset of personal information and includes information about an individual’s health, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, membership of professional or trade associations, criminal record and biometric information.
3. Personal information we collect
3.1 We collect information about you and your interactions with us. The types of personal information we collect depend on the services we provide and the nature of our dealings with you. They may include:
- contact and identity details, such as your name, residential or business address, email address, telephone number, date of birth and occupation;
- verification information, including information taken from passports, driver licences and other identification documents, and the results of identity verification checks;
- matter information, being information relevant to the matter on which we act, which may include information about your personal, business, financial and legal affairs;
- sensitive information, where it is relevant to your matter and collected in accordance with clause 7;
- financial information, including bank account, billing and payment details, and information about the source of funds and source of wealth relevant to a matter;
- technical information collected when you visit our website, in accordance with clause 12;
- information you provide when you attend our offices or when you correspond with us; and
- information relevant to an application for employment, where you apply to work with us.
3.2 Where required or where it is reasonable and practicable to do so, we collect personal information directly from you. We will take reasonable steps to notify you of the matters required by APP 5 at or before the time of collection, unless an exception applies, including where notification would prejudice our compliance with the AML/CTF Act.
3.3 If you do not provide the personal information we request, we may be unable to act for you, to provide the services you require, or to comply with our legal and professional obligations.
3.4 If you provide us with personal information about another individual, you warrant that you are authorised to do so and that you have made that individual aware of the matters set out in this policy.
4. How we collect personal information
4.1 We collect personal information in a number of ways, including:
- directly from you, in person, by telephone, by email or other correspondence, or through our website;
- from third parties involved in your matter or acting on your behalf, such as other parties and their representatives, agents, brokers, accountants and financial advisers;
- from publicly available sources and registers, including those maintained by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), land registries and the courts; and
- from identity verification and electronic data service providers we engage to help us meet our obligations.
4.2 If we receive personal information about you that we have not requested, we will deal with it in accordance with the APPs.
5. Why we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information
5.1 We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information for purposes connected with providing legal services and conducting our practice, including to:
- provide legal advice and services and act on your instructions;
- establish and verify your identity and conduct conflict, anti-money laundering and other client due diligence checks;
- communicate with you and manage our relationship with you;
- administer billing, recover fees (including debt recovery against you) and manage our accounts;
- comply with our legal and professional obligations, including under the AML/CTF Act and our obligations to the courts and regulatory bodies;
- manage, protect and improve our practice, including for risk management, quality assurance, file management, training and information technology purposes;
- provide you with information about our services, events and legal developments, in accordance with clause 8;
- consider and process applications for employment; and
- any other purpose you would reasonably expect, or to which you have consented.
5.2 We may also use and disclose your personal information for purposes related to those set out above where you would reasonably expect us to do so.
5.3 We may disclose your personal information to:
- our personnel, and parties engaged to provide services to us, such as information technology, identity verification and electronic data service providers, business and litigation support service providers, costs consultants and external advisers;
- other parties involved in your matter, including barristers, accountants and tax advisers, experts, other parties and their representatives, as reasonably required to progress your matter;
- financial institutions and lenders, and, for conveyancing and property matters, conveyancers, real estate agents, settlement agents and other settlement service providers, as reasonably required to complete your matter;
- government agencies, regulators and law enforcement bodies, including AUSTRAC, ASIC, the courts and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), where required or authorised;
- our insurers, brokers and professional advisers;
- any person to whom we are required or authorised by law to disclose the information; and
- any other person with your consent.
5.4 We do not sell your personal information.
6. Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing
6.1 From 1 July 2026, we are a reporting entity under the AML/CTF Act. The Privacy Act applies to our handling of personal information for AML/CTF purposes regardless of any small-business exemption that might otherwise apply to us.
6.2 To comply with the AML/CTF Act, we are required (among other things) to:
- collect and verify information about your identity before we provide certain services, and at points while we continue to act for you;
- identify and verify the beneficial owners of companies, trusts and other entities, generally including individuals who own or control 25% or more of the entity;
- determine whether you or a person connected with your matter is a politically exposed person or the subject of sanctions;
- obtain information about the purpose of a matter and the source of funds and source of wealth involved;
- conduct ongoing monitoring of our business relationship with you; and
- make reports to AUSTRAC, including suspicious matter reports and threshold transaction reports.
6.3 We are required to retain records collected for AML/CTF purposes for at least 7 years after our relationship with you ends or the relevant transaction is completed. This obligation operates as an exception to our usual practice of destroying or de-identifying personal information that is no longer required.
6.4 The AML/CTF Act restricts us from disclosing certain matters, including whether a report has been, or may be, made to AUSTRAC. Where those restrictions apply, we may be unable to notify you of, or give you access to, particular information, despite any other provision of this policy.
7. Sensitive information
7.1 We will only collect sensitive information where it is reasonably necessary for our functions or activities and you consent to the collection, or where the collection is otherwise required or authorised by law.
7.2 Where you provide us with sensitive information, you consent to us collecting, holding, using and disclosing that information for the purposes for which it was provided and as otherwise set out in this policy.
8. Direct marketing
8.1 We may use your personal information to send you information about our services, publications, events and legal developments that may be of interest to you.
8.2 You may opt out of receiving these communications at any time by using the unsubscribe facility in the relevant communication (if available) or by contacting us using the details in clause 19. We will give effect to your request within a reasonable time.
8.3 We do not use sensitive information for direct marketing, and we do not provide your personal information to third parties for their own direct marketing purposes.
9. Disclosure of personal information overseas
9.1 We may disclose your personal information to recipients located outside Australia, including where our service providers (such as information technology, data hosting and identity verification providers) store or process information overseas.
9.2 Where we disclose personal information overseas, we will take steps that are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure that the overseas recipient handles the information in accordance with the APPs, except to the extent that an exception under APP 8 applies, including where the disclosure is required or authorised by law.
10. Automated decision-making
10.1 We do not make decisions that have a legal, or similarly significant, effect on you using solely automated processes without meaningful human involvement.
10.2 If this position changes, we will update this policy to describe the kinds of personal information used and the kinds of decisions made, consistent with our obligations under the Privacy Act.
11. Data quality and security
11.1 We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we hold is accurate, up to date, complete and relevant, having regard to the purpose for which it is held.
11.2 We take reasonable steps, including appropriate technical and organisational measures, to protect personal information from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
11.3 No method of transmission over the internet, or of electronic storage, is completely secure. While we take reasonable steps to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its security, and any information you transmit to us is transmitted at your own risk.
12. Our website and cookies
12.1 When you visit our website, we may collect technical information such as your IP address, device and browser type, and information about your use of the site, including through cookies and similar technologies.
12.2 You may configure your browser to refuse cookies, although some features of our website may not function properly as a result.
12.3 Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of those websites, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies.
13. Anonymity and pseudonymity
13.1 It will generally not be practicable for us to deal with you anonymously or pseudonymously where we are required to verify your identity, including to comply with the AML/CTF Act, or where doing so is necessary for us to provide legal services.
14. Retention and destruction
14.1 We retain personal information for as long as it is needed for the purposes set out in this policy, to provide our services, and to comply with our legal and professional obligations, including records we are required to keep for at least 7 years under the AML/CTF Act and applicable legal practice requirements.
14.2 We take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify personal information that we no longer require and are not required by law to retain.
14.3 Consistent with guidance issued by the OAIC, where we verify your identity for AML/CTF purposes we generally retain a record of the verification rather than complete copies of your identification documents, except where retaining a copy is reasonably necessary or otherwise required.
15. Access and correction
15.1 You may request access to, or correction of, the personal information we hold about you by contacting us using the details in clause 19. We may require you to verify your identity before we deal with your request.
15.2 We will respond to your request within a reasonable time. We may recover our reasonable costs of providing access to your personal information.
15.3 We may decline to give access, or to make a correction, where we are permitted or required to do so by law, including where:
- giving access would be unlawful, or would prejudice an investigation, a legal proceeding, or our compliance with the AML/CTF Act;
- the information is subject to legal professional privilege, or relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings between you and us;
- giving access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of other individuals; or
- another ground in the APPs applies.
15.4 If we decline to make a correction you have requested, you may ask us to associate with the information a statement that you consider it to be inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading, and we will take reasonable steps to do so.
16. Data breaches
16.1 We maintain procedures to identify, assess and respond to data breaches involving personal information.
16.2 Where a data breach is likely to result in serious harm and the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme under the Privacy Act applies, we will notify affected individuals and the OAIC as required by law.
17. Complaints
17.1 If you have a complaint about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us using the details in clause 19. We ask that you make your complaint in writing so that we can investigate it properly.
17.2 We will acknowledge your complaint and respond within a reasonable time.
17.3 If you are not satisfied with our response, you may refer your complaint to the OAIC (www.oaic.gov.au).
18. Changes to this policy
18.1 We may amend this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or in the law. The current version will be available on our website at www.mjflaw.com.au and on request.
18.2 Any amendment takes effect from the date the updated policy is published.
19. How to contact us
19.1 Questions, requests and complaints regarding this policy or your personal information may be directed to:
The Director – Privacy | MJF Law Pty Ltd t/as ‘MJF Law’
Suite 1901, Level 19, 101 Grafton Street, Bondi Junction NSW 2022
Email: office@mjflaw.com.au
Telephone: (02) 8281 8444
Website: www.mjflaw.com.au