Privacy policy

1. Who we are and our commitment

1.1 Qavah Legal Solutions Pty Ltd (ABN 11 700 479 358) ("we", "us") is an incorporated legal practice. We handle personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) for all of our work, and with our professional duty of confidentiality.

2. What we collect

2.1 Contact and identity details: names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, date of birth, and copies or details of identity documents.

2.2 Property and transaction details: the property, contract, finance, lender, deposit, settlement and source of funds.

2.3 For wills and powers of attorney: details of your family, beneficiaries, executors, attorneys, assets and your wishes. Where you choose to tell us, this may include sensitive information such as health information relevant to a medical treatment decision maker appointment.

2.4 Information about other people you give us, such as co-buyers, family members or attorneys. Please tell them you have shared their details with us.

2.5 Website information: basic, non-identifying analytics such as pages visited and device type.

3. How we collect it

3.1 Mostly from you, by phone, email, SMS, our forms and meetings.

3.2 From others involved in your matter, such as your agent, lender, broker, the other party's representative, accountants or financial planners who refer you to us, and from search providers and government registries.

3.3 From identity verification providers when we verify your identity electronically.

4. Why we collect it

4.1 To give you legal services, including conveyancing, wills and powers of attorney.

4.2 To verify your identity and meet our legal obligations, including verification of identity for electronic conveyancing and customer due diligence under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth).

4.3 To bill you, manage our practice, keep records and handle complaints.

4.4 If we cannot collect the information we need, we may be unable to act for you.

5. Who we share it with

5.1 Others involved in your matter: the other party's representative, real estate agents, lenders and brokers, PEXA, land registries, state revenue offices, councils, water authorities and owners corporations.

5.2 Identity verification providers, search providers, and our IT, email and document storage providers, under confidentiality obligations.

5.3 Regulators and government agencies where the law requires, including AUSTRAC and legal profession regulators.

5.4 We use cloud-based service providers for email, document storage and other software that helps us prepare documents and run our practice. Some of these providers store or process information outside Australia, including in the United States, and may process it in other countries where they operate.

5.5 Before disclosing information to a provider outside Australia, we take reasonable steps to make sure it handles the information consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles.

5.6 We do not sell personal information.

6. Marketing

6.1 Matter updates are not marketing. We only send marketing emails or SMS with your consent, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

7. Security and retention

7.1 We store information securely, using access controls, multi-factor authentication and encrypted cloud storage.

7.2 We keep client files for at least seven years after a matter ends, and records required under anti-money laundering law for seven years. We then securely destroy them, except original wills and powers of attorney held in safe custody.

8. Data breaches

8.1 If a data breach is likely to result in serious harm to you, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme requires.

9. Automated decisions

9.1 Decisions about your matter are made by our people. If we start using computer programs to make decisions that significantly affect you, we will update this policy.

10. Access and correction

10.1 You can ask to see or correct the personal information we hold about you by contacting us. We will respond within 30 days. We may refuse access where the law allows, for example where it would breach legal professional privilege of another person, and we will tell you why.

11. Questions and complaints

11.1 Contact us first: call 0468 053 017 or email team@qavahlegalsolutions.com.au. We will respond within 30 days.

11.2 If you are not satisfied, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner: oaic.gov.au, 1300 363 992.