Privacy and Fairbane
At Fairbane we take privacy with the utmost seriousness. This is a cornerstone to our very discrete business model and protecting commercially sensitive material and business secrets.
Fairbane, the Fairbane Group and its affiliated entities (“Fairbane") has and will ensure that it is complying with and exceeding the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) and any other relevant privacy legislation in any jurisdiction it operates in.
This privacy policy sets out how we collect, use, store and disclose any users’ personal information.
We will review and modify this policy accordingly on a regular basis and update you by publishing it on our website.
What information does Fairbane collect?
Fairbane collects the minimal amount of personal information necessary to conduct business. The information we do collect is safely guarded by strict data collection protocols.
Personal information includes information or an opinion (whether true or not) about an identified or a reasonably identifiable individual.
We may collect personal information from you when:
- you inquire about, or instruct us to provide you (or your employer or other representative), with legal advice;
- you subscribe to one of our online services, newsletters, mailings lists or our website;
- you register for or attend one of our events or seminars;
- you apply for, or register your interest in, any work arrangements at Fairbane.
- any other business dealings such as suppliers or regulators.
The types of personal information we may collect from you include:
- general business or personal details such as your name, job title, contact number, address and email address;
- if you are a client or potential client (or working for or engaged by one), your expertise and business interests and, where relevant, other information such as your membership of professional associations or boards;
- in limited circumstances, your financial or billing information (such as billing address, bank account and payment information); and
- only where relevant and with your consent, sensitive information (eg where you register for an event or seminar we may ask you for information about your health, any disabilities and special dietary needs; or any other relevant reason that may affect your welfare or rights.
The Privacy Act contains certain exemptions in relation to certain acts undertaken in relation to employee records and related bodies corporate. Where appropriate and necessary we make use of relevant exemptions in the Act.
We will almost always attempt to collect your information directly from you. However, in some very limited circumstances we may collect your information from third parties, such as your employer or contracting organisation, your business contacts or other organisations that you deal with, regulatory or credit reporting agencies, a service provider or from a publicly available record. We will always ask you for your permission to do this and only act within the bounds of the law.
Collecting, using and disclosing your personal information
We may use your information to:
- provide to you and improve our product and service offering;
- communicate with you, to build and maintain our relationships with you and other related parties;
- conduct, monitor and analyse our business model and operations;
- identify and develop new opportunities you may be interested in;
- send you market updates, publications, marketing, event details and new product or service offerings (however, if you do not want to receive marketing emails from us, you can opt out at any time using the auto-mated unsubscribe option or if not available, the contact details set out below);
- perform analytics on matter management, financial performance and event attendance, (however, our analytics are always conducted on a de-identified basis);
- comply with applicable laws and our other regulatory, accounting, reporting or professional obligations;
protect, exercise or defend our legal rights; and - process and respond to your requests, enquiries or complaints.
We also have an additional layer of protection afforded by professional obligations of confidentiality and legal professional privilege. We will continue to treat and protect all counter-party information we receive (including any personal information) in accordance with these obligations.
Disclosure of your personal information
We may share your information with other members of the Fairbane Group, which can include the entities carrying on business under the name Fairbane throughout Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East. This may involve sending your personal information to these offices overseas.
Only with your consent or if required by law, may disclose your information to:
- our service providers, agents and contractors from time to time that provide services to us and/or help us to provide and market our services to you;
- specific third parties authorised by you to receive information held by us; and
- other persons, including government agencies, regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies; or as otherwise required or authorised by law.
Some of these vendors or other parties may receive or store your information in overseas locations. For example, we may disclose your email address or other contact information to providers of electronic execution services, which may store the information in an overseas jurisdiction.
Fairbane only stores your personal information inside Australia.
Using the Fairbane website
While we do not use your browsing information to identify you personally, we may record certain information about your use of our website, such as which pages you visit, the time and date of your visit and the internet protocol address assigned to your device.
We and our Internet Service Provider also collect information such as the webpages that visitors to our site access, the documents they download, links from other sites they visit to reach our site, and the type of browser they use. However, this information is anonymous (i.e. it does not contain your personal information) and is only used for statistical and website development purposes.
Cookies
We also make limited use of cookies and other similar tracking technologies on this website. We use cookies to measure usage sessions, to better understand how our website is used (including which areas of the site attract traffic). We also use cookies to improve the functionality of our website – for example, if we provide a notice or update regarding a significant change to the law, we may use cookies to ensure that you do not receive this notice with each page you access on our website.
When cookies are used on this site, they are used to store information relating to your visit such as a unique identifier, or a value to indicate whether you have seen a web page. The information collected by a cookie or other tracking device does not contain your personal information.
Most Internet browsers are set up to accept cookies. If you do not wish to receive cookies, you may be able to change the settings of your browser to refuse all cookies or to notify you each time a cookie is sent to your computer, giving you the choice whether to accept it or not.
Storing and keeping your information secure
We may hold your personal information in either electronic or hard copy form. We use the best available physical and electronic security measures to keep your personal information secure from misuse, interference, loss or unauthorised use or disclosure. Importantly we are constantly updating cyber security and firewalls, encrypted databases, password protected hardware and software systems, anti-virus software and conduct weekly and monthly system and data integrity checks. We limit the information our team members have, and only relevant personnel are given information on a need-to-know basis. We employ these measures as a best practice. Your personal information is always secure and treat it as confidential.
However, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information outside of our security infrastructure. The internet is not a secure environment. If you do use the Internet to send us any information, including your email address, please be aware that it will be sent at your own risk. We will always do our best to prevent transmission of sensitive information in a manner that could compromise both your and our privacy.
Our websites and electronic newsletters may also contain links to other websites operated by third parties. Unless expressly stated otherwise, Fairbane is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of those linked websites. The privacy policies that apply to those other websites may differ from our privacy policy, so you will need to be aware of their policies.
Accessing or correcting your personal information
You have rights under the Privacy Act to:
- request access to personal information we hold about you;
- ask us to update or correct any information that is inaccurate, incomplete or outdated; and
- opt-out of receiving direct marketing communications from us.
You can do any of these things by contacting our Privacy Officer using the contact details below.
If you request access to your personal information or ask us to correct or update information about you, we may need to verify your identity. In some instances, there may be a valid legal reason for us to deny your request to access or correct your information. If we do this, we will provide you with an explanation.
Making a complaint
We take any potential breach of your privacy very seriously. If you think there has been a breach whether under the Privacy Act or not, you can contact us using the details set out below. Please include your full name, return contact details and clearly describe your complaint and any possible resolutions.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of any investigation that we conduct within Fairbane, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at enquiries@oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992. More information is available on the OAIC’s website at https://www.oaic.gov.au/. We will always try to assist you and resolve any issues. At Fairbane we are committed to prevention of problems as part of advancing your interests.
If you would like more information concerning how we handle your information or our approach to privacy, or to exercise any of your rights outlined above, please contact: privacy@fairbane.com.au