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1. About this policy

Mannion Lawyers ("we", "us", "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and disclose your personal information, and how you can access or correct it.

We comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). This policy applies to all personal information we collect through our website (mannionlawyers.com.au), our offices, phone calls, emails, and any other interactions you have with us.

2. What information we collect

We collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for us to provide legal services, run our business, and respond to your enquiries. This may include:

• Identity information — your name, date of birth, gender
• Contact details — your address, phone number, email address
• Family circumstances — information about your relationships, children, separation, parenting arrangements, and other matters relevant to your legal issue
• Financial information — income, assets, liabilities, superannuation, and other financial details where relevant to property settlement or child support matters
• Identification documents — driver's licence, passport, or other ID required for client verification under the Legal Profession Uniform Law
• Court and legal documents — affidavits, orders, agreements, and correspondence relating to your matter
• Sensitive information — including health information, criminal history, or family violence history, where this is relevant to your matter and necessary to provide our services
• Website data — IP address, browser type, pages visited, and other technical information collected via cookies and analytics tools (see Section 9)
• Marketing preferences — your preferences regarding communications from us
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We will only collect sensitive information with your consent or where the law permits or requires us to do so.

3. How we collect your information

We collect information directly from you in most cases — for example, when you:

• Submit an enquiry through our website
• Book a consultation by phone, email, or our online form
• Meet with us in person or by video call
• Provide documents or information in the course of your matter
• Subscribe to receive updates or resources
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We may also collect information from third parties where it's reasonably necessary, including:

• The other party in your matter or their lawyers
• Courts, tribunals, and government agencies
• Family report writers, mediators, and Independent Children's Lawyers
• Banks, accountants, financial advisors, and valuers
• Medical practitioners, where relevant to your matter
• Publicly available sources (such as the public record of court proceedings)
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If you provide us with personal information about another person (for example, your former partner, your children, or a witness), you confirm that you have a lawful basis to do so.

4. Why we collect and use your information

We use your personal information to:

• Provide legal advice and representation
• Communicate with you about your matter
• Verify your identity and meet our legal and professional obligations
• Manage our client files and accounts
• Bill you for our services
• Respond to enquiries from prospective clients
• Improve our services and our website
• Send you information about legal updates or our services (where you've consented)
• Comply with our legal, regulatory, and professional obligations
• Detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, security incidents, and unlawful activity

5. Who we may share your information with

Your matter is confidential, and we treat it that way. We will only disclose your personal information where it's necessary to provide our services, where you've authorised us to, or where the law requires or permits us to. This may include sharing your information with:

• Courts and tribunals — where required for the conduct of your matter
• Barristers — engaged to represent you with your knowledge
• Other legal practitioners — including the lawyer for the other party
• Mediators, family report writers, and ICLs — where engaged in your matter
• Government agencies — such as the Family Court, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, Legal Aid, the Australian Taxation Office, Services Australia, or police, where required by law
• Professional advisors — accountants, financial advisors, valuers, and counsellors engaged in connection with your matter
• Service providers — IT providers, cloud storage, document management, billing systems, and email hosting (we require these providers to keep your information secure)
• Our insurers and professional advisors — where reasonably necessary
• Anyone you authorise us to disclose information to — including family members or support people

We do not sell your personal information.

6. Disclosure overseas

Some of our service providers (for example, cloud storage and email systems) may store data on servers located outside Australia. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure those providers handle your information consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles. The countries to which your information may be disclosed include the United States and member countries of the European Union.

7. How we protect your information

We take the security of your information seriously and use a combination of physical, technical, and administrative measures to protect it, including:

• Secure file storage (physical and electronic)
• Password-protected systems and access controls
• Encryption of sensitive data in transit
• Confidentiality obligations on all staff and contractors
• Regular review of our security practices

While we take reasonable steps to protect your information, no system is completely secure. If we become aware of a data breach that's likely to result in serious harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

8. How long we keep your information

We are required by law and professional obligations to retain client files for at least seven years after the conclusion of your matter (and longer in some cases — for example, where a matter involves children, or where ongoing legal obligations apply).

After this period, we will securely destroy or de-identify your information unless we are required to keep it for longer.

9. Cookies and our website

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to help us understand how visitors use the site and to improve your experience. This may include:

• Essential cookies — required for the site to function
• Analytics cookies — such as Google Analytics, which help us measure traffic and improve content
• Marketing cookies — used to measure the performance of our advertising (including Google Ads)

You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect how the site works.

10. Direct marketing

We may occasionally send you legal updates, articles, or information about our services. You can opt out of marketing communications at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email or contacting us using the details in Section 13.

We will not use sensitive information for marketing purposes.

11. Accessing and correcting your information

You have the right to:

• Ask what personal information we hold about you
• Request a copy of that information
• Ask us to correct information that's inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, or misleading

To make a request, contact us using the details in Section 13. We will respond within a reasonable time (usually 30 days). There's no charge to make a request, although we may charge a reasonable fee for retrieving large volumes of historic information.

In some cases, we may refuse a request — for example, where the information is subject to legal professional privilege, where access would breach another person's privacy, or where the law allows us to refuse. If we refuse, we'll explain why in writing.

12. Making a complaint

If you believe we've mishandled your personal information or breached the Australian Privacy Principles, please contact us first using the details in Section 13. We take complaints seriously and will investigate and respond within a reasonable time (usually 30 days).

If you're not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:

• Website: oaic.gov.au
• Phone: 1300 363 992
• Post: GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001

13. Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, want to access or correct your information, or want to make a complaint, please contact our Privacy Officer:

Privacy Officer Mannion Lawyers Email: contact@mannionlawyers.com.au Phone: (02) 9801 1734

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or the law. The latest version will always be available on our website, and the "Last updated" date at the top will reflect when changes were made.