First IR External Privacy Policy

The following document provides details of First IR Consultancy Pty Ltd Privacy Policy. As a small business we are not bound by the NPP. However the purpose of this document is to outline our practices which we have aligned to the NPPs. To view the full text of the NPP on the Australian Government website please go to www.privacy.gov.au/law/act/npp.

We take privacy seriously. All our staff are required to read this policy and understand their responsibilities when dealing with personal information.

Collecting Personal & Sensitive Information

We may need to collect personal information about you and others including names, addresses, phone numbers and other contact details. ‘Personal information’ in this document refers to any information or any opinion, whether true or not, from which an individual’s identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained.

The personal information of our clients or their representatives will usually be recorded or updated on our computer database. Otherwise, personal information will be kept on the file concerning the matter in which the individual is involved or for which the personal information was collected. 

Where possible we will collect personal information directly from the individual concerned. However, an individual's representatives may hold personal information (e.g. financial or bank account details or a credit reference) that we may need to access for particular dealings, legal proceedings or other purposes. Where we are at liberty to do so, we will use our best endeavours to seek an individual's consent before obtaining their personal information from third parties.

 If we are not provided with all the personal information we request, we may be unable to act for or do business with you or others.

 Personal information may be collected by us:

• when we are contacted about our services, in person or over the telephone or Internet;
• when we collect information you choose to provide during your registration or subscription to our Employment & Industry Notices
• during the course of a dealing or proceedings involving a client;
• when we negotiate and enter into dealings; or
• when we respond to an inquiry, where we consider personal details are required or appropriate to fulfil the query.

 We may need to collect personal information so we can:

• identify our clients, potential clients and their representatives;
• identify parties with whom our clients have dealings or who are in some way involved in proceedings involving our clients;
• inform you or others of developments in Employment Relations matters and industry;
• provide or offer you or others services or benefits;
• conduct our business and provide our services in a professional and efficient manner; and/or

Furthermore, we may need to collect ‘sensitive information’ about you and others for dealings or in relation to proceedings. ‘Sensitive information’ refers to information about a person’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions or associations, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, trade and professional memberships, sexual preferences or practices, criminal record or health information. Under the provisions of the NPPs, we are entitled to do this for a number of reasons, including where the collection is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of a legal or equitable claim.

Where we are required to and it is practicable to do so, we will seek your consent before collecting your sensitive information and inform you of the purpose at that time.

Use of Personal Information

We will use personal information:

• to identify individuals and protect them from unauthorised access to their personal information, accounts or services;
• for the purpose for which it was collected or for a related purpose (or a directly related purpose in the case of sensitive information);
• where the individual concerned would reasonably expect us to use the information;
• where reasonably required, to provide legal services that we are instructed or obliged to provide; or
• for any other purpose, where an individual has consented to its use for that purpose.
• to improve our services to you or others;
• to inform you or others of our marketing initiatives;
• to inform you or others of developments in the law and relevant business markets;
• to derive or aggregate anonymous information from which individuals cannot be identified;
• to prevent or lessen a threat to a person's life or health;
• where disclosure is reasonably necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of a legal or equitable claim;

Disclosure of Information

Except where indicated above, we will not disclose personal information to a third party unless:

• the disclosure is for a primary purpose for which the information was collected;
• the individual concerned has consented to the disclosure;
• the third party is our agent or contractor, in which case we will require them to disclose and use the personal information only for the purpose for which it was disclosed;
• the third party is a person involved in a dealing or proposed dealing (including a sale) of all or part of our assets and business;
• there are reasonable grounds to believe that disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a threat to your life or health or that of another person;
• the disclosure is to a related body corporate;
• the disclosure is reasonably necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of a legal or equitable claim; or
• the disclosure is permitted, required or authorised by or under law. 

Information Collected via our website

To ensure we are meeting the needs and requirements of our website users, and to develop our online services, we may collect aggregated information by using cookies.

Cookies are unique identification numbers like tags that are placed on the browser of our website users. The cookies do not in themselves identify users personally, but are linked back to a database record about them. 

We may use cookies to track the use of our website, and to compile statistics on visits to the site in an aggregated form and log anonymous information such as:

• the address of a user's server;
• a user's top level domain (such as .com or .au);
• the date and time of a user's visit;
• the pages a user accessed and downloaded;
• the search engine a user used;
• the type of browser that was used.

 When a user visits our site a cookie may be placed on their machine. Where a user has visited us before, the cookie may be read each time they re-visit the site.
We do not use this technology to access any other personal information of a user in our records and a user cannot be personally identified from a cookie.

If a user chooses not to have their browser accept cookies from our site, they are still able to view the text on their screens. 

Marketing

We may use personal information to advise the individual concerned of new services and marketing initiatives that we think may be of interest to them. This may include newsletters, invitations to seminars or business functions and general information about First IR Consultancy.

Those who prefer not to receive information about our services or seminars can contact our Office and request to be removed from the relevant circulation list. Our contact details are on our Home Page of our website and at the end of this policy. We may require written confirmation of a request to be removed from our circulation list, for example where legislation requires us to provide particular communications to the individual concerned. 

 We do not disclose personal information to a third party to enable that party to direct market their products or services to an individual.

Updating your information

We ask that you tell us of any changes to the personal information we hold about you. We can be notified at any time to update personal information or to be told that the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete. We will then take reasonable steps to correct the information in the manner requested.

If we consider that the personal information we retain does not require amendment, we will annotate the request on our files. 

Security

The protection of personal information is a priority for us.

We are committed to maintaining:

• safeguards to protect personal information against unauthorised use, disclosure, access, alteration, destruction and accidental loss. All personal information we hold is dealt with in accordance with the NPPs;
• industry standards for the security and protection of information. Personal information is stored securely and access is restricted to authorised personnel only. Our computer systems require access passwords and these are kept secure by our personnel; and
• All our staff are required to read this policy and understand their responsibilities in relation to personal information. 

Access to Personal Information

We will generally allow an individual access to any personal information that we hold about them on request - subject to any restrictions on access. We will try to give the individual concerned access in a form and manner that suits their needs. To request such access please contact our Office, if you are an established client please speak to your normal representative if appropriate. Our contact details are on our Home Page of our website and at the end of this policy.

Restrictions on Access

We are entitled to restrict access to personal information in accordance with the NPPs.
You may not be allowed access to personal information we hold where access would reveal evaluative information generated by us in connection with a commercially sensitive decision-making process. Instead, we may give you an explanation for the decision, rather than direct access to the information.

If we have given you such an explanation and you believe that direct access to the evaluative information is necessary to provide a reasonable explanation of the reasons for the decision, we will, at your request, review the decision. Personnel other than the original decision-maker will conduct the review.

Wherever direct access by you is impractical or inappropriate, we should consider together whether the use of a mutually agreed intermediary would allow sufficient access to meet both our needs and concerns.

Other instances where it may not be appropriate to provide you with access to the personal information we hold include where:

• providing access would pose a serious and imminent threat to the life or health of any individual;
• providing access would have an unreasonable impact upon the privacy of others;
• the request for access is frivolous or vexatious; or
• the information relates to an anticipated or existing legal dispute and disclosure would compromise our position or the position of others. 

Charges for Access

An individual will not incur charges for lodging a request to access personal information. However, we may levy a reasonable charge for providing access to that information. We will provide an estimate of any charge on request, or if it appears to us that the work will be onerous or otherwise warrants a charge. 

Changes to our Policy

We may update or change this policy. When we do so, we will publish the current policy on our website. Please check our website to review this policy regularly.

If you have any suggestions or concerns that are not addressed in this privacy policy, please contact our Office and where relevant speak to your First IR representative. Our contact details are on our Home Page of our website and at the end of this policy.

Contact Information

If you wish to access any personal information that we hold about you, or have a query about this policy, please contact our Office:

First IR Consultancy

Level 3, 92 Pitt St

GPO Box 3630

Sydney NSW 2001

Ph: 02 9231 2088

Fax: 02 9231 2580