Privacy Statement

BAYSIDE COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICE PRIVACY STATEMENT 

The Bayside Community Legal Service is committed to protecting and upholding the right to privacy of its clients, staff, volunteers, Management Committee members and representatives of the agencies we deal with. 

In particular the Bayside Community Legal Service is committed to protecting and upholding the rights of our clients to privacy in the way we collect, store and use information about them, their needs and the services we provide to them. 

What is Personal Information? 

Personal Information is information about a person which can be used to identify a person’s identity. 

Why do we collect Personal Information? 

We collect personal information about you so that we can: 

  • Establish your requirements and provide legal advisory services to you. 
  • Refer you to other third parties, with your consent, for the provision of additional legal advisory services to you. 
  • Contact third parties on your behalf. 
  • Provide your information as part of our funding agreement to the Community Legal Assistance Services System (CLASS). 
  • Undertake service monitoring, evaluation and reporting (de-identified information only is used for this purpose). 
  • Meet the reporting requirements of Legal Aid Queensland. 
  • Monitor and manage our service to individuals (case files). 

What happens if you do not give us your Personal Information? 

If we ask for your Personal Information and you do not give it to us, we will not be able to provide you with legal services. 

How is your information recorded and stored? 

Your Personal Information is stored on the Intake Sheets that you fill in and provide to us to enable us to provide you with legal services. 

We retain the Intake Sheets in a secure location accessible only to staff and volunteers of the Bayside Community Legal Service unless we disclose your Personal Information as disclosed in this Privacy Statement. 

We may also record other information you tell us during the provision of the legal services to you and store this information with your Intake Sheet. 

Disclosure 

At all times we will respect and protect the privacy of your Personal Information. 

We will only store, use and disclose your Personal Information for the purposes for which we collect it. 

We will use and disclose your Personal Information for reasons that you would reasonably expect us to do so. 

We may disclose your Personal Information to: 

  • Parties with which we have funding arrangements, for example Legal Aid Queensland. 
  • The Community Legal Assistance Services System accessible by the Community Legal Assistance Services System provider. 
  • Information technology providers. 
  • Intermediaries such as your agents, advisors and representatives. 
  • Government, law enforcement or statutory bodies if required to do so by law. 

How can you access your Personal Information? 

You can access your Personal Information by asking us for a copy by calling us or by requesting this information in writing to the Bayside Community Legal Service. Sometimes we may not be able to provide you with some of your Personal Information. If this happens we will tell you why. 

If you are not satisfied with our response you can refer your complaint to the Privacy Commissioner. 

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) ensures the proper handling of Personal Information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and other legislation under one of its functions. Complaints to the OAIC must be made in writing. 

You can contact the OAIC: