Privacy Policy

Introduction

The Australasian Legal Practice Management Association Limited (“ALPMA”) is the peak association of legal practice managers, formed to provide education and networking opportunities for managers working in private practice law firms or practice groups within a commercial or government organisation.  At ALPMA, we collect and hold personal information necessary to confirm membership eligibility, for the ongoing member contact required to operate the association, and to facilitate local and interstate networking.

We respect the confidentiality of any private information disclosed to us by our members.

Members should understand that an organisation formed for the benefit of networking within an industry necessitates the distribution of contact lists on a regular basis.  This information however will be limited to details specifically approved for release. To deliver on our commitment to protect personal information we have developed a policy concerning the management of personal information (the “Privacy Policy”). Our policy outlines various principles concerning the collection, storage use and disclosure of personal information as outlined in the Australian Privacy Principals of the Commonwealth Privacy Act (1988).

Our Privacy Policy deals with:

• The way we collect, hold, use and disclose information;
• The way we protect the quality and security of information held;
• The way that general information is shared between members of the association
• The way that access can be granted to personal information held by us; and
• The manner of dealing with any complaints concerning the correctness of or access to personal information held by us.

Our Vision

To be the key resource and leading voice for the legal practice management profession.

Our Mission

• Enhance the theoretical and practical understanding, skills and knowledge of legal practice
• management professionals.
• Promote excellence and innovation in legal practice management.
• Represent the legal management professional within the legal industry and broader community.

Information Collected by ALPMA

ALPMA is bound by the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, and deals with personal information and sensitive information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles. This Privacy Policy has been established in accordance with Australian Privacy Principle 1.3.

The Australian Privacy Principles can be obtained through the website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (http://www.oaic.gov.au)

Privacy Compliance

Throughout this Policy, we refer to personal information which means: “information or an opinion (including information or an opinion forming part of a data base), whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion.”

In addition we may hold other information in relation to work experience, level of education, current job description. ALPMA’s ability to provide you with relevant networking events and education is dependent upon obtaining certain personal information from its members (“You”). Often the information includes basic information such as your name and address and in other circumstances we may require more detailed information. The following table outlines the usual personal and sensitive information that ALPMA may collect, how that information is collected and how that information is typically used.

Type of Information Collected	What It Is Used For
Direct Collection
We will collect personal information from you via our membership application / renewal form. The type of information collected would typically include: Name, employment history and work experience Current employer and principal areas of responsibility Education and / or professional qualifications Areas of specialty / interest.	Confirming membership eligibility Maintaining contact to advise of meeting schedules, events and training opportunities Facilitating distribution of information assisted by vendor partners (or sponsors) which is board approved Advising members of their peers and the specialty areas they operate in.
Website Collection
ALPMA’s website, is accessible in full by our members and in part by members of the public. The website allows for new member expressions of interest, website feedback and direct email. Where this does take place the type of information collected may include personal name, contact details and email addresses.	To respond to enquiries; and To provide electronic newsletters, marketing information and invitations to seminars.
Third Party Collection
There may be occasions where ALPMA may collect personal and sensitive information from third parties such as public agencies and local law societies.	With your consent to advertise educational seminars With your consent to communicate and correspond with such persons.

How ALPMA Handles Information

Use and Disclosure of Information

Consistent with Australian Privacy Principle 6, if ALPMA holds personal information about You that was collected for a particular purpose (the primary purpose), ALPMA will not use or disclose the information for another (a secondary purpose) unless You consent to the use or disclosure of the information, or if:

• You would reasonably expect us to use or disclose the information for the secondary purpose, and
• The secondary purpose is related to the primary purpose (or in the case of sensitive information, is directly related to the primary purpose);
• The use or disclosure of the information is required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court/tribunal order;
• The use or disclosure of the information is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to any individual’s life, health, or safety, or to public health or safety, and it is unreasonable or impracticable to obtain the consent of the individual whose personal informaton is to be used or disclosed;
• The use or disclosure of the information is necessary in order for us to take appropriate action in relation to a reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity, or misconduct of a serious nature, that relations to ALPMA’s functions or activities;
•  We reasonably believe that the use or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary for one or more enforcement related activities conducted by, or on behalf of, an enforcement body;
• It is otherwise permitted under the Australian Privacy Principles or Privacy Act.

Under Australian Privacy Principle 7, organisations may only use or disclose personal information for direct marketing purposes in certain circumstances. We may use personal information collected from you for the purpose of providing you with direct marketing material and information upon registering your details with us via the website, or in the case of our members, from your date of application. If we collect information from third parties, we may require Your consent to use that information for direct marketing purposes.

If you wish to cease receiving any such direct marketing or information you may let us know either by e-mail or by mail and your request will be actioned within 2 weeks. We may disclose personal information to external contractors but only to enable us to provide services to You.  Such contractors will be required to  privacy policy that complies with the Australian Privacy Principles.

Manner of Collection

As outlined in the table above, ALPMA receives personal information from various sources including direct communication with You, extraction of website information and information provided by third parties. ALPMA may collect personal information about individuals from third parties but will only do so in accordance with this Privacy Policy, the Australian Privacy Principles and the Privacy Act.  We will collect personal information only by lawful and fair means.

Information Collected on Visiting Our Website

When you access our website, a record is made of your visit.

For the purpose of analysing and evaluating the performance and operation of our website, the following information is logged:

•  Your IP address;
•  The date and time of your visit to the site;
•  The pages you accessed and documents downloaded;
•  The previous site you have visited;
• The type of browser you are using.

How ALPMA Uses Cookies

A cookie is a small text file, which is placed on your computer by web page servers. The purpose of a cookie is to help analyse web traffic and may let the website know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow a web application to respond to you as an individual. They can record information about your visit to the site, allowing it to remember you next time you visit and provide any relevant information to you. Cookies are also used to enhance the secure use of websites.  Cookies can be stored in your hard drive (“persistent cookies”) or in memory (“session cookies”).

A persistent cookie is a cookie which will enable a continuing record to be kept of your visits to the website. A session cookie is a cookie which is a transient cookie and tracks your visits for a website session only. ALPMA only uses session cookies  to identify which pages of the website are being used for a website session only. Upon closing your browser the session cookie set by this website is destroyed and no personal information is maintained.

Data Quality

Consistent with Australian Privacy Principle 1, ALPMA is committed to ensuring that personal information collected by ALPMA remains accurate, complete and up to date. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information is accurate, complete, up to date and relevant, having regard to the purpose of any use or disclosure. In pursuit of this goal, ALPMA provides via its website, a facility for authorised users to update relevant personal details.

Storage and Data Protection

Personal information is contained both in hard copy and in an electronic format within the offices of ALPMA. Personal information stored as both hard copy and electronically are maintained in a secure environment subject to strict privacy protection measures. The above records are only accessible to personnel of ALPMA who require access to enable them to perform their duties. All ALPMA personnel have signed Privacy and Confidentiality Agreements binding them to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles.

Destruction of Records

ALPMA will destroy records relating to personal information when such information is no longer necessary to be retained within ALPMA records. Personal information will be destroyed by shredding or other secure process.

Openness

Consistent with Australian Privacy Principle 1, ALPMA will upon request, inform you generally about what information it holds concerning yourself and for what purpose such information is held. With respect to gaining access to or correction of records, please see paragraph “Access to records”.

Access to Records

You have a right to request access to personal information held by us by writing to the Privacy Compliance Officer of ALPMA. No reasons have to be provided for seeking access. Where ALPMA holds information which you are entitled to access, we will endeavor to provide a suitable range of choices as to how access may be given.  (When the ‘secure member area’ and individual passwords are available, you will be able to review the details ALPMA holds in relation to you online.) If a fee is payable, we will let You know in advance.

If your personal information details change, or you believe that any of your personal information details held by us are incorrect in any way, please contact us and we will update or correct this information. If you wish to review your personal information details, please contact us.

Complaints Procedure

ALPMA is committed to providing those persons whose personal information it holds, a fair and responsible system for the handling of complaints concerning the collection, accuracy or disclosure of personal information. ALPMA has a designated officer (the “Privacy Compliance Officer”) whose role includes dealing with complaints, concerns or queries that You may have with respect to personal information held by ALPMA.

Should you have any queries, concerns or complaints concerning your personal information you should contact the ALPMA Privacy Compliance Officer. The Privacy Compliance Officer is authorised to deal with all such complaints as expeditiously as possible through ALPMA’s complaints handling process .

However, if you feel that we have not adequately dealt with your concerns you may make a formal complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner in writing to:

Privacy Commissioner
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Postal: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
Telephone: 1300 363 992
Website: www.oaic.gov.au

Changes to Privacy Policy

ALPMA  reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time. You should visit our Privacy Policy from time to time to see whether it has been updated.