Privacy Policy

Churchill Advisory Group Pty Ltd (ACN 690 795 656, ABN 54 690 795 656) (“we”, “us”, “our”, “Churchill”) is committed to protecting the privacy of all individuals whose personal information we collect, hold, use or disclose, in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (“Privacy Act”). By providing personal information to us, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with this privacy policy and other arrangements that apply between us. Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not (Privacy Act, s 6(1)).

We may collect and hold the following categories of personal information:

• identity and contact information including name, date of birth and sex;
• contact information including mailing address, street address, email address, telephone and mobile numbers;
• financial information including invoicing and payment records necessary to administer our engagement;
• matter information including details of the engagement, instructions, correspondence and other information you provide to us in connection with our services;
• website and technical information including IP address, browser type, pages visited and cookies data;
• employment information (where you apply to work with us) including CV, work history, qualifications and references; and
• any other personal information that may be required in order to facilitate your dealings with us.

3. How Do We Collect and Hold Personal Information?

We collect personal information in the following ways:

• directly from you when you contact us, engage our services, or complete forms on ourwebsite;
• from third parties, including other parties to a matter, referrers, government agencies and public registers, where permitted or required for the provision of our services; and
• automatically when you use our website, through cookies and similar technologies. Cookies are text files stored on your device that help us understand how visitors use our website.
  

You can disable cookies through your browser settings, though some parts of our website may not function correctly for you if you do so. Where practicable, we will collect personal information directly from you and will take reasonable steps to notify individuals of the collection at or before the time it occurs. We hold personal information in secure electronic systems and, where applicable, in hard-copy records. Electronic records may be stored in cloud-based systems in Australia or overseas. We take reasonable technical, physical and organisational steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

4. Why Do We Collect, Use and Disclose Personal Information?

We collect, hold, use, and disclose personal information for the following primary purposes:

• to provide legal and advisory services to our clients, including conducting conflict checks, preparing documents, providing advice, and representing clients in transactions and proceedings;
• to manage our client relationships, including sending engagement letters, invoices, status updates, and other service-related communications;
• to comply with our legal and professional obligations, including under applicable legislation, court orders, and professional conduct rules;
• to manage, administer, and improve our business, including staff management, professional development, risk management, and insurance;
• to respond to enquiries and complaints;
• to send marketing and promotional material about our services where you have consented or where otherwise permitted under the Spam Act 2003 (Cth), noting that you may opt out at any time; and
• to verify identity where required by applicable law or regulation.

We will not use or disclose personal information for a secondary purpose unless you have consented, you would reasonably expect us to do so and the secondary purpose is related to the primary purpose, or we are otherwise permitted or required by law.

5. Disclosure of Personal Information

We may disclose personal information to the following categories of recipients, strictly for the purposes described in this Policy:

• our directors, employees, and contractors;
• external advisers and experts retained in connection with a matter;
• courts, tribunals, regulatory bodies, and government agencies; and
• counterparties and their advisers in connection with a transaction or proceeding.
• our professional indemnity insurer and other insurers;
• third-party service providers engaged to support our operations, including IT systems providers, cloud storage providers, bookkeepers, accountants, and practice management software providers, subject to appropriate confidentiality obligations;
• prospective purchasers of our business or practice, subject to confidentiality obligations; and
• any other person to whom disclosure is required or authorised by law.
  

6. Disclosure Outside Australia

Some of our third-party service providers may store or process personal information outside Australia. Where personal information is transferred overseas, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that overseas recipients handle that information in a manner consistent with Australian law.

7. Access to and Correction of Personal Information

You have the right to access personal information we hold about you and to request correction of that information if it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. We will respond to requests within a reasonable time. We may charge a reasonable fee for providing access where permitted by law.

8. Retention and Destruction of Personal Information

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. We take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify personal information that is no longer required. Client files are generally retained for a minimum of seven years following completion of the engagement, in accordance with our professional obligations.

9. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us in the first instance using the details below. We will investigate your complaint and respond within a reasonable time. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.

10. Contact Us

For all privacy-related queries, access requests or complaints, please contact us at contact@churchilladvisorygroup.com.au.

11. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on our website at www.churchilladvisorygroup.com.au.