estate services qld

PRIVACY POLICY 

Company Information

ESTATE SERVICES QLD PTY LTD ACN 692 470 858 (Estate Services Qld) 

URL: https://www.estateservicesqld.com.au (Website)

Estate Services Qld is an Incorporated Legal Practice under the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld), offering legal services in the practice area of Estate Administration. 

Contact details: 

Estate Services Qld C/- Scarborough Business Centre

Registered Office: Level 1, Unit 4, 91 Landsborough Avenue, Scarborough QLD 4020

Postal Address: PO Box 238, Scarborough QLD 4020

Telephone: 1300 70 27 41

Mobile: 0417 00 00 41

Email: enquiries@estateservicesqld.com.au

Please address enquiries about this policy to the Privacy Officer.

Privacy Policy Version 1.0

Privacy Policy Issue date: 1 December 2025

This Privacy Policy may be amended from time to time without prior notice. When this happens, we will notify you by publishing the updated version of our Privacy Policy on our website. 

You can request a copy of our Privacy Policy by contacting us on the details above.

Our Commitment to Privacy

Estate Services Qld is committed to managing personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and in accordance with other applicable privacy laws. 

This webpage sets out our policies for managing your personal information and is referred to as our Privacy Policy. In this Privacy Policy, "we" and "us" refers to Estate Services Qld and "you" refers to any individual about whom we collect personal information.

What is Personal Information?

Personal Information means information or an opinion, whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable from the information or opinion.

Why do we collect, hold, use and disclose Personal Information?

Estate Services Qld collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information about you in accordance with the law and only for the purpose of operating a legal practice. When you provide us with personal information, we use this to provide legal services such as identifying legal and non-legal issues that may apply to you, including your rights and obligations. The collection and holding of your information may also be necessary for us to fulfill our professional obligations as a legal practice (for example, conducting conflict checks). We also collect information to fulfil administrative functions associated with legal services (for example,billing). We may also collect and use Personal Information for our market research purposes and to innovate our delivery of legal services.

How do we collect Personal Information?

We generally collect personal information directly from you. We may collect and update your personal information over the phone, by email, over the internet or social media, or in person. With your consent, we may also collect personal information about you from other sources, for example:

· An Australian Document Verification Service, to identify you;

· The Australian Business Register and Australian Securities and Investment Commission, to confirm particulars of entitles you own or control;

· Titles Queensland, to confirm ownership of property; and

· The Personal Property Securities Register.

Use of Website Cookies

Our Website uses cookies. A cookie is a small file stored on your computer's browser, which assists in managing customised settings of the Website and delivering content. We may collect certain information such as your device type, browser type, IP address and pages you have accessed on our website. You are not identifiable from such information.

You can use the settings in your browser to control how your browser deals with cookies. However, in doing so, you may be unable to access certain pages or content on our website.

Our Website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of websites that are linked to our website. This Privacy Policy does not apply to third-party websites.

How do we hold Personal Information?

We hold Personal Information in our digital Practice Management Systems. We also hold duplicate paper-based records. We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We maintain computer and network security and other security systems to control access to our Practice Management Systems. We maintain physical security over electronic and paper data stores. 

Please note that we cannot guarantee that information submitted online over the Internet is completely secure. Users of our Website are encouraged to exercise care in sending personal information via the internet. 

We take steps to destroy or de-identify information that we no longer require.

What kinds of Personal Information do we collect and hold about prospective, current and former clients?

When you enquire about our services or when you become a client of Estate Services Qld, a record containing your Personal Information is made in our Practice Management System with your consent.

The kinds of Personal Information we may collect from you and hold include:

• your name and date of birth;

• contact details such as your telephone number, email and address;

• details of entities you own or control;

• information about your occupation, finances and family;

• your health information;

• your sensitive information; 

• billing and account information; 

• copies of your government issued identification such as your driver licence (to identify you);

• your Tax File Number information (usually if we are engaging an accountant on your behalf as part of the administration of an estate); and

• any additional personal information you provide to us, or authorise us to collect, as part of your interaction with Estate Services Qld.

We only collect health information, sensitive information and Tax File Number Information about an individual with their consent, and if it is necessary for or directly related to the delivery of legal services. 

You can always decline to give Estate Services Qld any personal information we request, but that may mean we cannot provide you with some or all of the services you have requested. If you have any concerns about personal information we have requested, please let us know.

Personal Information about Children

We may collect personal information about children (for example, when a child is a beneficiary of an estate). Where children do not have sufficient maturity and understanding to make decisions about their personal information, we will require their parents or guardians to make decisions on their behalf. We will usually deal with the child’s parent or guardian about information about their child, if the child is in their care.

How do we use and disclose personal information?

We use and disclose personal for the purpose it was collected, which is the provision of legal services.

We may have to disclose your personal information to third party services to provide legal services to you. When we do this, we will do this with your consent. Such third party services may include:

· An Australian Document Verification Service, to identify you;

· The Australian Business Register and Australian Securities and Investment Commission, to confirm particulars of entitles you own or control;

· Titles Queensland, to confirm ownership of property; and

· The Personal Property Securities Register.

Estate Services Qld may disclose information to third parties we engage to provide our services, including contractors and service providers used for information technology services and support and website maintenance or development.

Third parties to whom we have disclosed your personal information may contact you directly to let you know they have collected your personal information and to give you information about their privacy policies.

Use and disclosure for administration and management

Estate Services Qld will also use and disclose personal information for a range of administrative, management and operational purposes. This includes:

· administering billing and payments and debt recovery;

· planning, managing, monitoring and evaluating our services;

· quality improvement activities;

· statistical analysis and reporting;

· training staff, contractors and other workers;

· risk management and management of legal liabilities and claims (for example, liaising with insurers and legal representatives);

· responding to enquiries and complaints regarding our services;

· obtaining advice from consultants and other professional advisers; and

· responding to subpoenas and other legal orders and obligations.

Other uses and disclosures

We may use and disclose your personal information for other purposes explained at the time of collection or otherwise as set out in this Privacy Policy.

Do we disclose your personal information overseas?

Where possible, Estate Services Qld uses cloud-based software with data stores in Australia. If a software service we use stores data overseas, your personal information will be disclosed to overseas recipients.

Unless we have your consent, or an exception under the APPs applies, we will only disclose your personal information to overseas recipients where we have taken reasonable steps to ensure that the overseas recipient does not breach the APPs in relation to your personal information.

Can you deal with us anonymously?

Individuals may remain anonymous or use a pseudonym in their dealings with us where it is lawful and practicable, for example, when making a general enquiry on our Website. Generally, it is not practicable for us to deal with individuals anonymously or pseudonymously on an ongoing basis. If we do not collect personal information about you, we are unlikely to be able to provide you with legal services.

How can you access your personal information that we hold? 

You are entitled to access your personal information held by us on request. To request access to your personal information please contact our Privacy Officer using the contact details set out at the beginning of this Privacy Policy.

You will not be charged for making a request to access your personal information but you may be charged for the reasonable time and expense incurred in compiling information in response to your request.

How can you seek the correction of your personal information that we hold? 

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete and up-to-date. You can help us to do this by letting us know if you notice errors or discrepancies in information we hold about you and letting us know if your personal details change.

However, if you consider any personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading you are entitled to request correction of the information. After receiving a request from you, we will take reasonable steps to correct your information.

We may decline your request to access or correct your personal information in certain circumstances in accordance with the APPs. If we do refuse your request, we will provide you with a reason for our decision and, in the case of a request for correction, we will include a statement with your personal information about the requested correction.

Do we use or disclose your personal information for direct marketing?

Estate Services Qld may occasionally use or disclose your personal information for the purpose of informing you about our services, or changes to our services, or other information that may interest you. 

If you do not want to receive direct marketing communications, you can opt-out at any time by contacting us using the contact details set out at the beginning of this Privacy Policy. If you opt-out of receiving marketing material from us, we may still contact you in relation to our ongoing relationship with you.

Unsolicited Information

If unsolicited personal information is received by our firm and it has been determined that we could not have acquired the information by lawful means, reasonable action in accordance with the law will be taken to de-identify or destroy the personal information.

What should you do if you have a complaint about the use of your personal information?

You may contact Estate Services Qld at any time if you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or about the way in which your personal information has been handled. You may make a complaint about privacy to the Privacy Officer at the contact details set out below:

Privacy Officer

Estate Services Qld C/- Scarborough Business Centre

PO Box 238, Scarborough Qld 4020

Telephone: 1300 70 27 41

0417 00 00 41

Email: reception@estateservicesqld.com.au. 

Please use the subject line “Privacy Officer”.

We will investigate and aim to resolve your complaint in a timely manner. The Privacy Officer will first consider your complaint to determine whether there are simple or immediate steps which can be taken to resolve the complaint. If your complaint requires more detailed consideration or investigation, we will acknowledge receipt of your complaint and endeavour to complete our investigation into your complaint promptly. We may ask you to provide further information about your complaint and the outcome you are seeking. We will then typically gather relevant facts, locate and review relevant documents and speak with individuals involved.

In most cases, we will investigate and respond to a complaint within 30 days of receipt of the complaint. If the matter is more complex or our investigation may take longer, we will let you know.

If you are unhappy with our response to your complaint, or you consider that Estate Services Qld may have breached the APPs or the Privacy Act, a complaint may be made to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). The OAIC can be contacted by telephone on 1300 363 992 or by using the contact details on the OAIC website, http://www.oaic.gov.au/.