1. GPS Lawyers & Consultants – Privacy Policy

GPS Lawyers and Consultants (‘GPS Lawyers’) is not currently an entity subject to the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Accordingly, the APPs do not apply to GPS Lawyers as a matter of legal obligation.

However, GPS Lawyers respects the importance of protecting individuals’ privacy and is committed to handling personal information responsibly, transparently and securely. GPS has regard to the principles reflected in the APPs when handling personal information and seeks, where appropriate, to handle personal information consistently with those principles.

This Privacy Policy sets out how GPS Lawyers collects, uses, discloses, stores and protects personal information, and how individuals can contact GPS about their personal information.

2. Purpose of this Policy

GPS Lawyers & Consultants (GPS Vision Pty Ltd, ABN 78 664 832 311) respects the importance of protecting individuals’ privacy and is committed to handling personal information responsibly and securely.

This Policy is designed to provide a clear understanding of how GPS Lawyers collects, uses, discloses, stores and otherwise handles personal information, and the steps GPS Lawyers takes to protect it.

2.1 What is personal information?

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, personal information means information or an opinion, whether true or not and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an individual who is identified or reasonably identifiable.

3. What personal information do we collect?

The type of personal information that we collect about you depends on the type of dealings you have with us. We may collect your personal information where you:

  • enquire about or instruct us to provide legal services to you, your employer, organisation or other representative, we will collect your name, job title, address, contact details, information about our dealings with you and the legal matters we will conduct on your behalf;
  • are a client of the firm, we will collect information about our dealings with you and the legal matters we conduct on your behalf, the legal areas that are of interest to you and information about the events and seminars that you have attended;
  • are involved in a matter that we are working on, we may collect your name, contact details and information about the relevant matter;
  • are involved in a matter with one or more of our clients, we will collect your name, address, contact details, verification of identity details and relevant file numbers held by our client;
  • ask to be placed on one of our mailing lists, we will collect your name, address and contact details;
  • supply goods or services to us, we will collect your name, address, contact details and financial details for payment purposes;
  • send us an enquiry or provide us with feedback, we will collect your name, contact details and details of your enquiry or feedback;
  • apply for a job with us, we will collect the information you include in your job application, including your cover letter, resume, contact details and referee reports.

3.1 Sensitive information

Sensitive information is a type of personal information that is afforded additional protection under applicable privacy laws. It may include information about an individual’s:

  • racial or ethnic origin;
  • political opinions or associations;
  • religious or philosophical beliefs or affiliations;
  • membership of a professional or trade association or trade union;
  • sexual orientation or practices;
  • criminal record;
  • health or genetic information; and
  • certain biometric information.

GPS Lawyers only collects sensitive information where it is reasonably necessary for providing its services and, where appropriate:

  • the individual has provided consent; or
  • the collection is permitted or required by law.

For example, in providing immigration services, GPS Lawyers may collect sensitive information such as health information, criminal record information, racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs or affiliations, or biometric information where relevant to an individual’s visa application or immigration matter.

3.2 Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Compliance

We may be required to collect and use your personal information to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006.

These obligations require that we collect and verify information regarding you, your organisation and individuals associated with your organisation, or acting on behalf of yourself or your organisation. We may collect this information as part of our client onboarding processes as well as throughout our ongoing relationship with you.

If we are unable to collect and verify such personal information, then we may not be able to comply with our obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, and therefore we may not be able to provide our services to you or your organisation.

In order for us to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, we may collect personal information including:

  • identity and contact details (name, date of birth, residential address);
  • information supporting verification of identity (such as drivers’ licence, passports or other government-issued identification);
  • your role, position or relationship with your organisation or another organisation;
  • directorships, beneficial owners and other officeholder positions, company documents or trust deeds, source of funds;
  • background checks and associated details including sanctions screening and politically exposed person screening information;
  • sensitive information including criminal history details and information regarding political allegiances or affiliations; and
  • information about you from other sources, such as from tax authorities and/or from publicly available registers/websites where you have voluntarily made your personal information available;

We may collect this information from you or your organisation, and from third party service providers who assist us with conducting identity checks, background screening, verification checks and other due diligence processes.

4. How we collect personal information

In the course of providing legal services, we collect personal information in a number of ways, including:

  • in person (for example, at a meeting or function);
  • online (for example, attendance at online meetings or events through Teams or Zoom);
  • through our website;
  • over the telephone (including through voice mail messages left on our telephone system);
  • through written correspondence (such as emails, calendar/meeting invitations, letters and faxes);
  • on hard copy forms (for example, event feedback forms);
  • through surveillance cameras;
  • from third parties, including: background screening providers for client due diligence processes, credit reporting bodies and credit providers;
  • from regulatory authorities; and/or
  • from public registers (for example, by conducting searches of the ASIC database or from other publicly available sources).

5. Why we collect personal information

The main purposes for which we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information are to:

  • provide our clients with legal services;
  • conduct client due diligence checks such as background screenings and other checks in support of our anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing legal obligations;
  • assess credit-worthiness;
  • maintain cyber security;
  • send you information if you are on one of our mailing lists;
  • obtain goods and services;
  • perform research and statistical analysis, including for customer satisfaction and service improvement purposes;
  • protect the security of our offices, staff, clients and the property held on our premises;
  • answer queries and resolve complaints;
  • recruit staff and contractors;
  • understand, manage and develop our relationship with you.

We may also collect, hold, use and disclose personal information for other purposes explained at the time of collection or which are:

  • required or authorised by or under law; or
  • for which you have provided your consent.

We may use your personal information to send you information about our services, including legal updates and invitations to seminars and functions and relevant products and services of third parties either where we have your express or implied consent, or where we are otherwise permitted by law to do so. We may contact you for these purposes in a variety of ways, including by email, SMS, telephone or social media campaigns.

Where you have consented to receiving these communications from us, that consent will remain current until you advise us otherwise. However, you can opt out at any time, by:

  • contacting our office; or
  • using the unsubscribe facility that we include in our commercial electronic messages (such as emails Newsletters and/or SMSs) to opt out of receiving those messages/updates.

6. Who we may share your personal information with

We may share your personal information with third parties where appropriate for the purposes set out under heading 5, including:

  • service providers that support our client due diligence processes such as background screening providers;
  • financial institutions for payment processing; barristers, experts or other relevant third parties in relation to your matter;
  • overseas law firms where required to seek advice on foreign laws;
  • external lawyers who we contract to assist us in providing legal services to you;
  • our related bodies corporate;
  • credit reporting bodies and credit providers;
  • government regulators (for example to update ASIC records or AUSTRAC where required under anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws);
  • investigators;
  • referees whose details are provided to us by job applicants;
  • our contracted service providers, including:
  • business and litigation support service providers;
  • information and communication technology providers;
  • data storage and archive service providers;
  • printers and mail houses;
  • function and event organisers;
  • marketing and communications agencies;
  • research and statistical analysis providers;
  • delivery and shipping providers; and/or
  • business advisers (such as recruitment advisors, accountants, auditors and lawyers).

In each case, we may disclose personal information to the service provider and the service provider may in turn provide us with personal information collected from you in the course of providing the relevant products or services.

We will ensure that any third party service provider that we share your information with commits to an appropriate level of security and confidentiality to protect your personal information.

7. Cross-border disclosure of personal information

GPS Lawyers may disclose personal information to third parties located overseas where this is reasonably necessary for providing its services or handling a particular matter.

This may include:

  • third-party service providers engaged by GPS Lawyers to support client due diligence processes, such as identity verification, background screening or related services; and
  • overseas professional advisers or law firms, where GPS Lawyers engages them to provide advice on foreign laws or otherwise assist with a particular legal matter.

8. What happens if we cannot collect your personal information?

If you do not provide us with your personal information, we may not be able to verify your identity and provide you (or the person you are acting on behalf of) with the legal services you have requested.

9. Data quality and security

GPS Lawyers may hold personal information in various forms, including electronic records, emails, databases and paper files. GPS Lawyers takes reasonable steps to:

  • ensure that personal information it collects, uses and discloses is accurate, complete and, where appropriate, up to date;
  • protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure; and
  • securely destroy or de-identify personal information when it is no longer required, subject to applicable legal and professional record-keeping requirements.

You can help GPS Lawyers keep your personal information accurate and up to date by notifying us of any changes to your details, such as your address, email address or telephone number.

The security measures used by GPS Lawyers may include access controls, password protection, secure storage of electronic and physical records, restricted access to personal information, staff training and internal policies and procedures.

9.1 Use of personal information in artificial intelligence tools

GPS Lawyers’ employees and contractors are strictly prohibited from entering, uploading, submitting or otherwise disclosing personal information, confidential information or client information into publicly available or unauthorised artificial intelligence (AI) tools or platforms.

Personal information may only be used with an AI tool where the use has been expressly authorised by GPS Lawyers and the relevant tool has been approved by the firm for that purpose.

9.2 Website security

GPS Lawyers takes reasonable steps to protect personal information provided through its website. However, no method of transmitting or storing information electronically can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Individuals should exercise caution when providing personal information online. If you have concerns about providing personal information over the internet, you may contact GPS Lawyers using the contact details provided in this Privacy Policy.

9.3 Third-party websites

GPS Lawyers’ website may contain links to third-party websites that are not operated or controlled by the firm. These links are provided for convenience only.

GPS Lawyers is not responsible for the privacy or security practices of third-party websites. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those websites, and individuals should review the relevant privacy policies before providing personal information to them.

10. Access and correction

You may contact GPS Lawyers to request access to personal information that the firm holds about you or to request that your personal information be corrected if it is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date.

GPS Lawyers will consider and respond to your request within a reasonable period. In some circumstances, GPS Lawyers may be unable to provide access to particular information, including where disclosure would prejudice legal professional privilege, the privacy of another person, or where access is otherwise restricted or prohibited by law. If GPS Lawyers declines a request, it will provide an explanation where appropriate.

11. Complaints

If you have a concern or complaint about how GPS Lawyers has handled your personal information, you may contact the firm using the contact details set out in this Privacy Policy.

GPS Lawyers will consider the complaint and respond within a reasonable period.

GPS Lawyers is not currently subject to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) or the Australian Privacy Principles. However, the firm aims to handle personal information consistently with the principles reflected in the APPs as a matter of best practice.

If you are dissatisfied with GPS Lawyers’ response, you may wish to seek independent legal advice or contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to determine whether it can assist with your complaint.

12. Our Contact Details

Address: Level 40, 140 William Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

Telephone: +61 3 9607 8315

Email: info@gpslawyers.com.au

13. Changes to this Policy

We may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time. A current version will be posted on our website, and a copy may also be obtained by contacting us (details above).

Last updated 25 September 2026