At Advocate Lawyers, protecting your privacy is important to us. This page brings together the information you need about how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information, as well as your rights and how to contact us with any concerns.
Below you’ll find our Privacy Collection Notice, which explains what happens when you provide us with personal information (for example, when you become a client, contact us, or use our website), and our full Privacy Policy, which sets out our broader approach to privacy and data handling in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles.
Follow the links below to jump to the relevant section on this page:
ADVOCATE LAWYERS PRIVACY COLLECTION NOTICE
This Privacy Collection Notice is provided in accordance with Australian Privacy Principle 5 under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the customer due diligence requirements of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (AML Act). It outlines why we collect your personal information, what we collect, how we collect it, and who we may share it with.
If you have any questions about how we handle your personal information, please contact us using the details at the end of this notice.
1. Why we collect your information
We collect and use personal information in order to provide legal services to you and carry out your instructions. We require personal information in order to:
- Provide legal advice properly, with adequate information to ensure our advice is correct for your situation & to manage your matter from start to finish;
- Communicate with you & other parties about your matter clearly;
- Prepare legal documents, correspondence & advice clearly & accurately;
- Manage our billing & trust account obligations;
- Comply with our professional obligations as lawyers, including to the Legal Profession Board & Courts; and
- Manage complaints or disputes about our services pursuant to professional requirements & improve our services.
Anti-Money Laundering & Counter-Terrorism Financing: From 1 July 2026, we are a reporting entity under the AML Act. If providing certain legal services, we may be required to collect your personal information to:
- establish and verify your identity before providing designated services to you, or a person you act for;
- assess & manage potential money laundering, terrorism financing, proliferation financing or related compliance risks associated with our services;
- make reports required by law under the AML Act (for example, suspicious matter reports or threshold transaction reports to AUSTRAC); and
- meet record-keeping obligations under the AML Act.
Conveyancing: When completing a conveyance or changing ownership in land or real property, we require your information in order to satisfy requirements of:
- State Revenue Office (SRO): We must complete a Property Transfer Certificate on your behalf which contains information the SRO require pursuant to the Duties Act 2001 (Tas). This initiates the stamp duty transaction for the incoming purchaser & ensures the property transfers for land tax purposes.
- Land Titles Office (LTO): We must complete documentation for the LTO on your behalf which contains information required to transfer the property pursuant to the Land Titles Act 1980 (Tas), including information to meet the Recorder’s Directions and Participation Rules and information confirming your forwarding address for local and state Government.
- Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC): As of 1 July 2026, pursuant to the AML Act, AML obligations apply to all lawyers throughout Australia where they assist with real estate transfers. This includes collecting information to complete Verification of Identity, AML & CTF searches in line with Customer Due Diligence requirements.
- Australian Tax Office: For all sales for Australian citizens or residents, the vendor must apply to the Australian Tax Office for a clearance certificate. If we do not obtain a valid clearance certificate at or before settlement, the purchaser must withhold 12.5% of the purchase price. If GST or Withholding tax is required, or we need to lodge documents on your behalf, we must collect your information to submit it to the ATO.
Obligations as Legal Professionals: We may collect your personal information in order to comply with obligations under other laws, including trust account obligations under the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Tas), & obligations to the Legal Profession Board of Tasmania and Courts.
2. What personal information we collect
Depending on the nature of your matter and the services we provide, we may collect:
- Identity & contact details: your full name, date of birth, residential address, phone number & email address;
- Identity verification documents: copies of your passport, driver’s licence, or other identity documents, for AML/CTF purposes. This may include a unique identifier such as a passport or licence number;
- Financial information: bank account details, billing information & details of any financial transaction relevant to your matter or to our AML/CTF obligations;
- Information about your legal matter: facts, documents, correspondence & instructions relevant to the legal services we are providing;
- Information about your business or trust: where you act on behalf of a company or trust, we may collect information about the entity’s beneficial owners, directors, trustees, or associated persons as required for AML/CTF customer due diligence or the LTO.
In some matters we may also collect sensitive information, including:
- health information, criminal history, or family circumstances (where relevant to your legal matter);
- whether you are or have been a politically exposed person, or a member of a political association or professional body (for AML/CTF risk assessment purposes).
We collect sensitive information only where it is reasonably necessary to provide the legal services you have requested, or where required by law & we handle it with appropriate care.
3. How we collect your information
We collect personal information in the following ways:
- Directly from you: in person, by telephone, by email, or through our client intake process;
- Through identity verification services: where we use a third-party electronic identity verification service to assist with AML/CTF customer due diligence;
- From third parties involved in your matter: e.g. other solicitors, courts, government agencies, real estate agents, banks, or opposing parties, with your authority or as permitted by law;
- From publicly available sources: e.g. Land Tasmania title searches, ASIC registers, court records, or government databases, for the purposes of conducting your matter or verifying identity information;
- From other individuals: we may collect personal information about you from another individual (for example, a person who engages us on your behalf).
4. Who we may share your information with
We may disclose your personal information to the following types of recipients:
- AUSTRAC and law enforcement: we are required by the AML Act to make certain reports to AUSTRAC. AUSTRAC may share information with Australian or overseas law enforcement or regulatory bodies.
- Courts, tribunals, and government agencies: where required to conduct your matter or comply with legal obligations.
- Other lawyers & legal professionals: barristers, mediators, costs assessors & opposing solicitors.
- Third-party service providers: such as search providers, process servers, valuers, title searchers, expert witnesses & translators.
- Identity verification service providers: third-party service to verify your identity for AML purposes.
- Our professional indemnity insurer: in the event of a claim or potential claim arising from our legal services.
- Legal Profession Board of Tasmania: as required under our professional obligations.
- Technology platforms: see below.
- Debt collection agencies: in the event of unpaid fees.
Note: The AML Act contains provisions that prevent us from disclosing certain information to you about our AML activities (known as “tipping off” offences). We will not discuss or disclose information about specific suspicious matter reports or other AML regulatory actions.
Overseas disclosure and technology platforms We use various technology platforms including AI tools to provide our services efficiently and accurately. Uses include sorting and collating documents, searching documents, fixing document formatting, creating initial draft documents, inserting data into precedents, summarising information, and creating transcripts of conversations.
Some platforms we use process data on servers located outside Australia. For optional platforms (AI tools and recording), your consent is required. See our Technology and Communications Consent. Where information is disclosed overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure overseas recipient handle your information consistent with Australian Privacy Principles. However, we cannot guarantee privacy standards of any third party. By engaging us, you acknowledge some personal information may be disclosed to overseas recipients. We will not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We disclose your information only as described in this notice, as set out in our Privacy Policy, or with your consent.
5. What if we cannot collect your information
AML customer due diligence: If you do not provide us with personal information required for customer due diligence under the AML Act, we may be unable to verify your identity & will not be able to provide you with the relevant legal services. We may be required to terminate our engagement if we cannot complete due diligence.
Legal services generally: If you choose not to provide certain personal information, we may be limited in our ability to provide effective legal services, manage your matter, communicate with you, or comply with our legal & professional obligations. We will confirm if this applies.
Optional technology consents: Declining consent to optional technology platforms (AI tools and recording) will not prevent us from acting for you. It may affect how we work. See our Technology and Communications Consent for details.
6. How we collect your information
Our Privacy Policy contains further information about how we handle your personal information, including:
- how we store and protect your information
- how long we keep your information (generally a minimum of 7 years after your matter concludes)
- how you can access and seek correction of your personal information
- how to make a privacy complaint and how we will manage it
Click here to jump to our Privacy Policy.
7. Contact us
If you have any questions about this notice or about how we handle your personal information, please contact our practice manager at contact@advocatelawyers.com.au
ADVOCATE LAWYERS PRIVACY POLICY
1. General
This Privacy Policy explains how Advocate Lawyers (ABN 35 657 742 268) collects, holds, uses, and discloses your personal information. It is made available to you in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
This Policy should be read together with our Privacy Collection Notice, which is provided to clients at the time of engagement and sets out the specific purposes for which we collect your information.
If you have any questions about this Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us using the details at the end of this document.
TERMS RELATING TO COLLECTION, USE AND SHARING
2. What personal information we collect
Depending on the nature of your matter and the services we provide, we may collect:
- Identity and contact details — your full name, date of birth, residential address, phone number, and email address
- Identity verification documents — copies of documents such as your passport, driver’s licence, or other identity documents, which we collect to verify your identity for AML/CTF customer due diligence purposes. This may include a unique identifier such as a passport or licence number
- Financial information — bank account details, billing information, and details of any financial transaction relevant to your matter or to our AML/CTF obligations
- Information about your legal matter — facts, documents, correspondence, and instructions relevant to the legal services we are providing
- Information about your business or trust — where you are acting on behalf of a company or trust, we may collect information about the entity’s beneficial owners, directors, trustees, or other associated persons as required for AML/CTF customer due diligence
Sensitive information: In some matters we may also collect sensitive information, including:
- health information, criminal history, or family circumstances (where relevant to your legal matter)
- whether you are or have been a politically exposed person, or a member of a political association or professional body (for AML/CTF risk assessment purposes)
We collect sensitive information only where it is reasonably necessary to provide the legal services you have requested, or where required by law, and we handle it with appropriate care.
3. How we use your information
We collect and use personal information in order to provide legal services to you and carry out your instructions, including to:
- provide legal advice properly, with adequate information to ensure our advice is correct for your situation and to manage your matter from start to finish;
- communicate with you and other parties about your matter clearly;
- prepare legal documents, correspondence, and advice clearly and accurately;
- manage our billing and trust account obligations;
- comply with our professional obligations as lawyers, including obligations to the Legal Profession Board of Tasmania and the courts; and
- manage complaints or disputes about our services pursuant to any professional requirements and to improve our services.
AML/CTF obligations: From 1 July 2026, we are a reporting entity under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (AML/CTF Act). We use your personal information to:
- establish and verify your identity before providing designated services;
- assess and manage potential money laundering, terrorism financing, proliferation financing or related compliance risks;
- make reports required by law (for example, suspicious matter reports or threshold transaction reports to AUSTRAC); and
- meet our record-keeping obligations under the AML/CTF Act.
We may also use your personal information to comply with other legal obligations, including trust account obligations under the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Tas).
4. How we collect your information
We collect personal information in the following ways:
- Directly from you — in person, by telephone, by email, or through our client intake process when you engage us or provide us with instructions
- Through identity verification services — where we use a third-party electronic identity verification service to assist with AML/CTF customer due diligence. If we do this, we will tell you the name of the service provider
- From third parties involved in your matter — for example, other solicitors, courts, government agencies, real estate agents, banks, or opposing parties, where relevant and with your authority or as permitted by law
- From publicly available sources — for example, Land Tasmania title searches, ASIC registers, court records, or government databases, for the purposes of conducting your matter or verifying identity information
- From other individuals — in some matters, we may collect personal information about you from another individual (for example, a person who engages us on your behalf). We will notify you of this where practicable
5. Who we may share your information with
We may disclose your personal information to the following types of recipients:
- AUSTRAC and law enforcement — we are required by the AML/CTF Act to make certain reports to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC). In some circumstances, AUSTRAC may share information with Australian or overseas law enforcement or regulatory bodies. We may also be required to produce information to authorities under other legal obligations
- Courts, tribunals, and government agencies — where required to conduct your matter or comply with legal obligations (for example, Land Tasmania, ASIC, the ATO, Service Tasmania, or the courts)
- Other lawyers and legal professionals — including barristers, mediators, costs assessors, and opposing solicitors, as required by your matter
- Third-party service providers — such as process servers, valuers, title searchers, expert witnesses, and translators, engaged to assist with your matter
- Identity verification service providers — where we use a third-party service to verify your identity for AML/CTF customer due diligence purposes
- Our professional indemnity insurer — in the event of a claim or potential claim arising from our legal services
- The Legal Profession Board of Tasmania — as required under the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Tas) and our professional obligations
- Technology platforms — see below
- Debt collection agencies — in the event of unpaid fees, as a last resort
Note: The AML/CTF Act contains provisions that may prevent us from disclosing certain information to you about our AML/CTF activities (known as the “tipping off” offence). We will not discuss or disclose information about specific suspicious matter reports or other AML/CTF regulatory actions.
Overseas disclosure and technology platforms: We use various technology platforms — including AI tools — to provide our services efficiently and accurately. Uses include sorting and collating documents, searching documents, fixing document formatting, creating initial draft documents, inserting data into precedents, summarising information, and creating transcripts of conversations.
Some of the platforms we use process data on servers located outside Australia. For optional platforms (AI tools and recording), your consent is required — see our separate Technology and Communications Consent form.
Where information is disclosed overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure the overseas recipient handles your information in a way consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles. However, we cannot guarantee the privacy standards of overseas recipients. By engaging us, you acknowledge that some of your personal information may be disclosed to overseas recipients as described above.
We will not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We disclose your information only as described in this Policy or with your consent.
TERMS RELATING TO PROTECTION, SECURITY, ACCESS AND RETENTION
6. How we protect your information
We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. Our security measures include:
- Password-protected and encrypted systems for storing client files and data
- Secure email and encrypted file transfer where available
- Physical security of our offices
- Staff training on confidentiality and data security obligations
- Secure disposal of physical documents containing personal information
Our lawyers are bound by strict duties of confidentiality under the Legal Profession (Solicitors’ Conduct) Rules 2020 (Tas). Your information will not be disclosed except as described in this Policy or as permitted or required by law.
Where information is disclosed overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient handles your information in accordance with applicable privacy laws. However, we cannot guarantee the privacy standards of overseas recipients.
7. Security and data breaches
While we use a number of mechanisms to protect the security and integrity of your personal information, no data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed as completely secure. Information you transmit to us electronically is transmitted at your own risk.
Once any personal information comes into our possession, we will take reasonable steps to protect it from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure.
All staff are responsible for protecting the confidentiality of client information and business information. If you become aware of any suspected data breach, please immediately report it to our office.
We will notify you as required under Part IIIC of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) if we become aware of an eligible data breach that may have affected your personal information. For further information about Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB), see the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.
8. How long we keep your information
We retain your file and associated records for a minimum of seven (7) years after the conclusion of your matter, as required by our professional obligations and applicable legislation. Some records (such as trust account records) may be retained for longer as required by law.
We will keep records relating to documents held in safe custody for as long as those documents remain in our safe custody.
After the applicable retention period, we securely destroy physical documents and delete electronic records in accordance with our file management policy.
9. Accessing and correcting your information
You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you. To make an access request, please contact your responsible lawyer or email us at [insert privacy contact email]. We will respond within a reasonable time. In some limited circumstances (for example, where information relates to legal proceedings or where access would be harmful) we may be unable to provide access, and we will explain why.
If you believe that any information we hold about you is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading, please let us know. We will take reasonable steps to correct it.
10. Privacy complaints
If you have a concern about the way we have handled your personal information, we encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve it directly. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and aim to resolve it within 30 days.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact:
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) — if the Privacy Act applies to our firm in respect of your complaint: oaic.gov.au or 1300 363 992
- Legal Profession Board of Tasmania — for complaints relating to our professional conduct, including privacy and confidentiality: lpbt.com.au
11. Contact us
If you have any questions about this Policy or about how we handle your personal information, please contact our practice manager at contact@advocatelawyers.com.au.
