This privacy policy explains how Hindsight Legal Advisers Pty Ltd (ABN 95 645 272 555) (we, us or our) handles personal information. It applies to our clients and prospective clients, other people involved in matters we act on, people who use our website, job applicants, and our suppliers and contacts.
We are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act). As lawyers, we also owe our clients a professional duty of confidentiality, which continues alongside our obligations under the Privacy Act.
In short
- We collect the information we need to act for you, meet our legal obligations (including anti-money laundering laws) and run our practice.
- We don’t sell your personal information, and we don’t share it with other businesses for their own marketing.
- You can ask to access or correct the information we hold about you, and complain if you think we’ve mishandled it.
- Questions? Contact our Privacy Officer at privacy@hindsightlegal.com.au.
The personal information we collect
The information we collect depends on how you deal with us. It may include:
- Identity and contact details, such as your name, date of birth, address, email address and phone number.
- Identity documents and verification information, such as your driver licence, passport or Medicare card details, and the results of identity, sanctions and politically exposed person checks.
- Information about your matter, such as property and contract details, finance and loan information, bank account details, information about related trusts, companies and SMSFs, and the instructions and documents you give us.
- Financial information, such as information needed to work out duty, tax or settlement figures, and payment details.
- Information about other people involved in a matter, such as co-purchasers, guarantors, beneficiaries, directors and the other parties to a transaction.
- Website and technical information, such as your IP address, device and browser details and how you use our website.
- Recruitment information, such as your work history, qualifications and referee details, if you apply for a job with us.
Sensitive information
We only collect sensitive information (such as health information or criminal record information) where it’s reasonably necessary for a matter or for our legal obligations, and with your consent or where the law otherwise allows it. For example, health information may be relevant to wills, powers of attorney or guarantor advice.
Dealing with us anonymously
You can make a general enquiry without giving us your name. We can’t act for you on a matter without identifying you, because the law requires us to verify our clients’ identity.
How we collect personal information
We usually collect personal information directly from you, for example when you contact us, complete a form or quote request on our website, book a call, sign an engagement letter or give us instructions. We may also collect it from:
- other people involved in your matter, such as your co-purchaser, real estate agent, mortgage broker, lender, accountant or financial planner, and the other side and their lawyers or conveyancers;
- public registers and information sources, such as land title, company, bankruptcy and court registers;
- service providers that help us verify identity and carry out searches and checks;
- electronic settlement platforms such as PEXA; and
- recruitment agencies and referees, if you apply for a job with us.
If someone gives us personal information about you, we’ll handle it in line with this policy. If you give us information about someone else, please make sure they know you’re doing so.
Our website, cookies and analytics
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to make it work, keep it secure and understand how it’s used. We use Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to measure website traffic, and services that protect our forms from spam (including Google reCAPTCHA and CleanTalk). These providers may collect technical information such as your IP address and browser details, and may process it outside Australia. You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings, although some parts of the website may not work properly without them.
Quote requests and enquiries you submit through the forms on our website come directly to us. If you use our “Book a call” option, your booking is made through LawTap, an online appointment service, which collects the details you enter so you can book a time with us.
Why we collect, use and disclose personal information
We collect, use and disclose personal information to:
- provide legal services and act on your instructions, including property transactions, settlements, lending and regulatory advice, wills and SMSF matters;
- verify identity and meet our obligations under anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws;
- check for conflicts of interest before we act;
- communicate with you about your matter, our fees and our services;
- manage our practice, including billing, record-keeping, insurance, risk management and audits;
- meet our legal and professional obligations, including to courts, regulators and the Law Society;
- improve our website and services and ask for feedback; and
- assess job applications.
We’ll only use or disclose your information for another purpose if it’s related to one of these purposes and you would reasonably expect it, if you consent, or if the law requires or allows it. If you don’t give us the information we need, we may not be able to act for you.
Who we disclose personal information to
Depending on your matter, we may disclose personal information to:
- the other parties to a transaction and their lawyers, conveyancers and agents;
- lenders, mortgage brokers, financial institutions and electronic settlement platforms such as PEXA;
- land titles offices, revenue offices, councils, courts, regulators and other government bodies;
- barristers, experts and other professionals we engage for your matter;
- our professional indemnity insurers and our own advisers;
- service providers who support our practice, such as IT, cloud storage, practice management, identity verification, search, document management, e-signing, booking and quoting providers; and
- AUSTRAC and law enforcement agencies, where the law requires it.
We require our service providers to keep personal information confidential and to use it only to provide services to us. We don’t sell personal information or give it to other businesses for their own marketing.
Overseas disclosure
Our client files are held in our practice management system, LEAP, which hosts our data in Australia. We use InfoTrack, an Australian provider, for searches and identity verification. Some software features, such as AI tools within our practice management system, and some providers of our website, email and analytics services, such as Google, may process limited personal information outside Australia, including in the United States. We take reasonable steps to make sure overseas recipients handle personal information consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles.
Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing
From 1 July 2026, law firms that provide certain services, such as helping clients buy and sell real estate, are reporting entities under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (AML/CTF Act). We are enrolled with AUSTRAC as a reporting entity. This means we must:
- collect and verify information about your identity, and in some cases the source of your funds or wealth and the people who own or control a company or trust;
- keep records for at least seven years, as the AML/CTF Act requires; and
- report certain matters to AUSTRAC. The law may prevent us from telling you that we’ve made a report.
Where the AML/CTF Act allows, we may rely on identity verification carried out by another reporting entity involved in the same transaction, or share verification information with them.
Automated decision-making
We don’t use computer programs to make decisions about you that could reasonably be expected to significantly affect your rights or interests. If that changes, we’ll update this policy to explain the kinds of personal information used and the kinds of decisions involved.
Direct marketing
With your consent, or where the law otherwise allows, we may send you updates, legal insights and information about our services and events. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can opt out at any time by contacting privacy@hindsightlegal.com.au. Opting out won’t affect messages about your matter or messages we’re legally required to send.
Storage, security and retention
We hold personal information in electronic form in our practice management and cloud systems, and in some cases in hard copy. We take reasonable steps to protect it from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Our measures include:
- access controls that limit information to the people who need it;
- multi-factor authentication, encryption and password protections on our systems and devices;
- secure offices and secure document destruction; and
- staff training on privacy, confidentiality and cyber security.
We keep personal information for as long as we need it for the purposes in this policy and as the law requires, including our record-keeping obligations as lawyers and under the AML/CTF Act. When we no longer need it, we take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it. For our guidance on avoiding payment fraud, see Scams and fraud.
Accessing and correcting your information
You can ask for access to the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it if it’s inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. Contact our Privacy Officer using the details below. We’ll respond within a reasonable time, usually 30 days. We won’t charge you for making a request, but we may charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of giving you access. In some cases the Privacy Act allows us to refuse access, for example where giving access would breach legal professional privilege owed to someone else or another person’s privacy. If we refuse, we’ll tell you why in writing and how to complain.
Data breaches
If we suspect a data breach, we’ll act quickly to contain it and assess the risk. If a breach is likely to result in serious harm to anyone affected, we’ll notify those people and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required by the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.
Making a complaint
If you have a concern about how we’ve handled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer first and give us as much detail as you can. We’ll acknowledge your complaint, investigate it and aim to respond in writing within 30 days.
If you’re not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the OAIC:
- Phone: 1300 363 992
- Post: GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001
- Online: oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints
Contact our Privacy Officer
- Email: privacy@hindsightlegal.com.au
- Phone: (02) 4611 7092
- Post: Privacy Officer, Hindsight Legal Advisers, LPC House, Suite 1.10, 3 Fordham Way, Oran Park NSW 2570
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be on our website. This policy was last updated on 30 October 2026.