Privacy Policy

The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) has been amended to apply to the private sector. The Law Society of South Australia has therefore established the following privacy policy dealing with the collection, storage, use and disclosure of "personal information".

"Personal Information" includes any data, information or opinion about an individual whose identity is apparent or may be reasonably ascertained.

The Law Society of SA collects and maintains records which may contain personal information about:

• its members;
  
• legal practitioners and former legal practitioners;
  
• students; and
  
• others.

This information is collected in order to allow the Law Society to perform the functions assigned to it under the Legal Practitioners Act 1981 together with associated administrative functions.

The Act gives the Society power to regulate its own affairs and membership.

The Law Society has a responsibility for maintaining the standards of the legal profession. It has the right to appear:

• in any proceedings in which a person seeks admission as a legal practitioner;
  

• in any proceedings in which it is alleged that a practitioner is guilty of unprofessional or unsatisfactory conduct; and
  

• in any proceedings under the Legal Practitioners Act.

In addition, under the Legal Practitioners Act, the Society has specific responsibilities which include:

• exercising a regulatory function in relation to all legal practitioners’ practices and trust accounts;
  
• exercising a regulatory function in relation to interstate legal practice;
  
• reporting appropriate matters to the Legal Practitioners Conduct Board or requiring the Board to make an investigation into the conduct of a legal practitioner and receiving reports from the Board;
  
• laying charges against a legal practitioner or former legal practitioner before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal;
  
• commencing legal proceedings against a legal practitioner or former legal practitioner in the Supreme Court;
  
• establishing and maintaining a professional indemnity insurance scheme;
  
• administering the Legal Practitioners Combined Trust Account and the Statutory Interest Account;
  
• maintaining and administering the Legal Practitioners’ Guarantee Fund;
  
• administering the Litigation Assistance Fund;
  
• exercising functions delegated to the Society by the Supreme Court relating to trust accounts and practising certificates.

In order to fulfil these functions the Society must obtain and hold some personal information and, in appropriate situations, must or may disclose information to third parties and members of the public.

Information obtained and collected by the Society pursuant to:

• a regulatory function; or
  
• a disciplinary function,

will not be disclosed to a third party except as permitted by the Legal Practitioners Act or other operation of law.

Information obtained and collected by the Society pursuant to its function of establishing and maintaining a professional indemnity insurance scheme in accordance with the Legal Practitioners Act will not be disclosed to a third party except as provided by the Scheme.

Information obtained and collected by the Society pursuant to the operation of the Litigation Assistance Fund in accordance with the Legal Practitioners Act will not be disclosed to a third party except as provided by the Legal Practitioners Act and the Litigation Assistance Fund Deed of Trust.

Information obtained and collected by the Society pursuant to a function delegated to the Law Society by the Supreme Court is exempt from the provisions of the Privacy Act.

The Society will not provide or sell personal information obtained and collected pursuant to any other function to any third party without the consent of that person unless required to do so by operation of law.

The Society has established procedures to ensure that information held by the Society is accurate and up to date.

Those procedures also require that personal information is maintained in a secure manner.

Any person who believes that the Law Society has obtained and kept personal information about them may apply to the Society for details of that information.

The Society will provide those details in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act unless prevented from doing so by legislation.