Privacy Policy

01About this policy

McMahon & Associates (ABN 33 009 541 708) and its associated consulting practice McMahon & Hartmann (“we”, “us”, “our”) respect your privacy. We provide workplace relations, industrial relations and HR advisory services to organisations across Australia, including wage compliance, enforceable undertakings, enterprise bargaining, organisational restructures, case management and workplace investigations.

This policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information, both through our website at www.mcmahonandassociates.com.au and in the course of providing our services.

We are an Australian organisation, with McMahon & Hartmann headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland. We handle personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

By using our website or contacting us, you acknowledge that your personal information will be handled as described in this policy.

02What personal information we collect

We only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for our business activities. This may include:

• Website visitors and enquirers — your name, email address, phone number, organisation and position, and the content of any enquiry you send us through our website, by email or by phone.
• Client representatives — names, positions and contact details of the people we deal with at client organisations, and records of our communications and engagements.
• Employees and contractors of our clients — information we need to deliver our services, such as names, employee numbers, positions, classifications, applicable awards or enterprise agreements, pay rates, hours worked, rosters, timesheets, payroll and superannuation records, employment history, and performance or disciplinary records.
• People involved in workplace matters — for investigations, disputes and case management, information such as allegations, witness statements, interview notes and related records.
• Technical and usage information — such as your IP address, browser type, device type and pages visited on our website. This is collected automatically (see section 6).

Sensitive information

In case management, investigations, and matters involving rehabilitation, return to work or workers’ compensation, we may need to handle sensitive information. This can include health information (such as details of a physical or psychological injury), trade union membership, or information about alleged criminal conduct.

We only collect sensitive information where it is reasonably necessary for our services and the individual consents, or where the law otherwise permits it (for example, to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim).

Tax file numbers

If client payroll records we receive contain tax file numbers, we handle them only as permitted by tax law and the Privacy (Tax File Number) Rule 2015, and we do not use them to identify individuals.

03How we collect personal information

We collect personal information directly from you when you:

• complete the enquiry form on our website;
• email or phone us;
• engage us, or deal with us on behalf of a client organisation; or
• take part in an interview, investigation or other matter we are handling.

Information from third parties

Much of the information we handle about employees and contractors is provided by our clients (usually their current or former employer), or collected from workplace records, witnesses, employee representatives, regulators such as the Fair Work Ombudsman, or other parties to a matter. Where we collect information from someone other than you, we either rely on our client to have told you about it as required by law, or take reasonable steps to let you know ourselves.

We also collect some technical information automatically when you visit our website (see section 6).

Unsolicited information

If we receive personal information we did not ask for, and we could not have collected it under this policy, we will destroy or de-identify it as soon as practicable where it is lawful and reasonable to do so.

Anonymity and pseudonyms

You can browse our website without telling us who you are. You may also deal with us anonymously or using a pseudonym where that is practicable. However, if you want us to respond to an enquiry, we will usually need your name and contact details.

04Why we collect, hold and use personal information

We collect, hold and use personal information to:

• respond to enquiries and communicate with you;
• deliver our advisory services, including wage and entitlement reviews, back-pay calculations and remediation, enforceable undertakings, self-reports, enterprise bargaining, restructures, case management and workplace investigations;
• act as an independent expert, or report to regulators, where a client has engaged us to do so;
• manage our client relationships, billing and business records;
• operate, maintain, secure and improve our website;
• meet our legal and regulatory obligations; and
• handle complaints and resolve disputes.

We will only use or disclose your personal information for the purpose for which it was collected, a related purpose you would reasonably expect, or otherwise with your consent or where required or authorised by law.

Direct marketing

We do not use personal information collected through our contact form to send you marketing unless you have asked for it or consented. If we ever send you marketing, every message will include a simple way to unsubscribe, in line with the Spam Act 2003 (Cth).

Automated decisions

We do not use computer programs, including artificial intelligence, to make decisions using your personal information that could significantly affect your rights or interests. If this changes, we will update this policy to describe the kinds of personal information used and the kinds of decisions made.

05Who we disclose personal information to

We may disclose personal information to:

• Our clients — for example, sharing findings, calculations or reports about their workforce;
• McMahon & Hartmann and our associated consultants working on a matter;
• Regulators, courts and tribunals — such as the Fair Work Ombudsman or the Fair Work Commission — where required under an enforceable undertaking or compliance arrangement, as directed by our client, or as required or authorised by law;
• Employee representatives or unions, where this is part of a bargaining process, dispute or matter and is permitted;
• Trusted partner organisations that specialise in recruitment, production management, engineering project management, rehabilitation, return to work and workers’ compensation — only with consent or on our client’s instruction;
• Service providers who help us run our business, such as website hosting, IT support, email and data storage providers; and
• Professional advisers, such as our accountants, lawyers and insurers.

We share only what is reasonably necessary for the purpose. Service providers and partners may only use your personal information to perform services for us or our client, and we take reasonable steps to ensure they protect it.

Overseas disclosure

We store personal information in Australia and do not currently disclose it to recipients located overseas. If this changes, we will update this policy to list the countries involved and take reasonable steps to ensure overseas recipients handle your information consistently with the APPs.

The exception is technical information collected on our website by Google reCAPTCHA and Google Analytics, which Google may process overseas (see section 6).

06Cookies, analytics and spam protection

Our website uses cookies — small text files stored on your device. We use:

• Essential cookies, which the website needs to function (for example, to keep the site secure and make forms work); and
• Analytics cookies, which help us understand how visitors use our website so we can improve it. We use Google Analytics for this. Google may process this information on servers outside Australia. You can learn how Google uses data at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites and opt out using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Analytics information is used in aggregate and we do not use it to identify you personally.

Spam protection (Google reCAPTCHA)

Our website uses Google reCAPTCHA to protect our enquiry form from spam and automated abuse. reCAPTCHA collects technical information such as your IP address, browser and device details, cookies, and how you interact with the page, and sends it to Google to check that you are a real person. Google may process this information on servers outside Australia.

We use reCAPTCHA only for security purposes. Its use is subject to Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

You can set your browser to refuse or delete cookies. If you block essential cookies, parts of our website may not work properly.

Our website may link to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites, so please read their privacy policies.

07How we store and protect personal information

We hold personal information electronically with reputable service providers that store data in Australia. We take reasonable steps to protect it from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, including:

• secure, password-protected systems with multi-factor authentication where available;
• encrypted (HTTPS) connections on our website;
• limiting access to people who need it for their work; and
• keeping software and systems up to date.

When we no longer need personal information for any purpose permitted under the APPs, and are not legally required to keep it, we take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it.

Data breaches

If a data breach occurs, we will act promptly to contain it and assess the risk of harm. Where a breach is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required by law.

08Accessing and correcting your personal information

You can ask to access the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. Contact us using the details in section 9.

We will verify your identity and respond within a reasonable time, usually within 30 days. We do not charge for making a request, correcting information, or (in most cases) giving access. If giving access involves significant cost, we may charge a reasonable fee and will tell you beforehand.

If we refuse access or correction, we will tell you why in writing, as permitted by the Privacy Act 1988, and how to complain. If we do not correct your information, you can ask us to attach a statement noting that you believe it is incorrect.

09Complaints and contact

If you have a question about this policy, or a complaint about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us in writing first:

Privacy contact

Kirsten Hartmann

Email

kirsten@mcmahonandassociates.com.au

Phone

0407 292 512

Post

McMahon & Associates
PO Box 1338
North Fitzroy VIC 3054

We will acknowledge your complaint promptly, investigate it, and aim to give you a written response within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

Website

oaic.gov.au

Phone

1300 363 992

Post

GPO Box 5288
Sydney NSW 2001

10Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law or in how we handle personal information. The current version will always be available on our website, with the date it was last updated shown at the top. We encourage you to check it periodically.