PRIVACY POLICY

At Gaia Law, we take security and privacy very seriously. We prioritise the privacy and confidentiality of our clients' information as a fundamental aspect of our professional relationship. We are committed to protecting your personal information with the utmost care and respect, applying the same high standards to your data as we do to our own.

We adhere to a strict Privacy Policy in compliance with Australian Privacy Laws, including the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and, where applicable, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), along with any relevant replacement legislation, regulations, or standards governing the use, storage, and transmission of personal data.

If you have any questions or concerns about how we handle your information, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@gaialaw.com.au. We are more than happy to answer your questions and provide reassurance that your privacy is a top priority for us.

WHO ARE WE

We are Gaia Law Pty Ltd, trading as Gaia Law.

This Privacy Policy applies to the products and services we offer, including our website (www.gaialaw.com.au) and our social media platforms at Instagram and Facebook. It outlines how we collect, store, use, and disclose data to provide our services and forms part of our website's Terms & Conditions.

Please note, this Privacy Policy does not cover information submitted on other websites, even if we interact with you on those platforms. For instance, any information shared on Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp Messenger, X, or Threads is subject to the privacy policies of those respective sites and is not governed by this Privacy Policy.

OUR ROLE IN YOUR PRIVACY

This Privacy Policy applies to you if you are a client, customer, or simply a visitor on our Site.

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES

As the providers of the products and services on this Site, we control how and why your data is processed. We do not sell or rent your information to any third parties. We are dedicated to safeguarding your privacy and aim to be transparent about the data we collect and how it is used.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

• Please read this Privacy Policy and the website Terms & Conditions.

• If you provide us with any data relating to a third party, you confirm that you have the right to authorise us to process that data on your behalf in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

WHEN AND HOW WE COLLECT DATA

As soon as you visit our Site, we begin collecting data. You may provide this data by filling out a form or creating an account, or it may be collected automatically. Below are some examples of how we may collect data from you:

• When you send us an enquiry form;

• When you complete a Google Documents Form; and

• When you subscribe to our newsletter.

GOOGLE FORMS

Our practice with Google Forms is to download your submitted instructions and securely save them as a PDF file on our local computer. After downloading, the Google Form is immediately deleted from the Google Forms account and cannot be recovered.

We use the saved PDF to prepare your documents. Once completed, the PDF is uploaded to our Document Management System, in compliance with Queensland Law Society requirements. The Google Form is then permanently deleted from both our laptop and trash bin to ensure data security.

LEGAL BASIS FOR PROCESSING PERSONAL DATA UNDER THE GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), the legal basis for collecting and using your personal information, as outlined in this Privacy Policy, depends on the type of data we collect and the context in which it is gathered. We may process your personal data for the following reasons:

• To fulfill a contract with you;

• If you have provided us with your consent;

• When the processing is in our legitimate interests and does not override your rights;

• For payment processing purposes; and

• To comply with legal obligations.

  TYPES OF DATA WE MAY COLLECT

• Contact information (name, address, email, phone number);

• Financial details (bank information when making a purchase);

• Data related to the products or services you purchase;

• Identifying information (such as your IP address, login, browser type, time zone, browser plugins, geolocation, operating system and version);

• Data on your usage of our Site (including URL clicks, viewed products and services, time spent on pages, and other actions);

• Information about your experience and satisfaction with our Site, as well as the products and/or services you have purchased from us or others;

• Data related to your participation in seminars or other events hosted by us (including webinars and podcasts);

• Information regarding your circumstances and any other details relevant to the matters in which we are engaged to assist you;

• If you are an employee, potential employee, or affiliate, data about your experience, qualifications, and skills;

• If you are a supplier or potential supplier, information about your products, services, and pricing.

HOW AND WHY WE USE YOUR DATA AND DISCLOSURE

Under data laws, we are only allowed to use your data for specific reasons and where we have the legal basis to do so. We will use your data for the purposes it was collected and related purposes including:

• To run our Site;

• Provide you with products, information and services;

• Notify you about changes to our service;

• To allow you to participate in interactive features of our service when you choose to do so;

• To detect, prevent and address technical issues;

• Customer support;

• Track your purchase history;

• Detect and prevent fraud;

• To gather analysis or valuable information so that we can improve our service or Site;

• Marketing (with your consent);

• To monitor usage of our service;

• Make your experience on our Site more efficient and enjoyable;

• Market research, e.g., we may contact you for feedback about our products and services;

• Provide you with information about news, special offers, events, workshops, products or opportunities that may be of interest; and

• Services and events which we have on offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about unless you have opted not to receive such information.

We may disclose your data for the purposes it was collected and also:

• As required by law subject to our obligations;

• With your consent;

• Within our business;

• In order to sell our business (if we were to ever sell, we may need to transfer data held to the new owner);

• We may disclose your personal data in good faith that such action is necessary to:

  • Protect and defend our rights or property;

  • Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the service;

  • Protect the personal safety of users of the Service or the public;

  • Protect against legal liability; and

  • Under certain circumstances, we may be required to disclose your personal data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g. a court or government agency).

GOOGLE ANALYTICS AND FACEBOOK

A. Google

We utilise Google Analytics to enhance our services. This may include, but is not limited to, display advertising and remarketing. As a result, you may encounter our ads across the internet, which is enabled by tracking technologies (cookies) that optimise and display our ads based on your previous visits to our Site. When you access our Site, we use your browsing behavior, in conjunction with Google Analytics, to link it with other data you have previously shared with us in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

B. Facebook

We utilise Facebook Insights to monitor your interactions with our Facebook Page, helping us track usage and enhance the performance of our page. Additionally, we use Facebook Analytics to better assess, track, and understand customer experiences, enabling us to refine and improve the products and services we offer.

OUR POLICY ON ‘DO NOT TRACK’ SIGNALS UNDER THE CALIFORNIA ONLINE PROTECTION ACT

We do not support Do Not Track ("DNT") signals. DNT is a setting you can configure in your web browser to indicate that you do not wish to be tracked by websites. You can enable or disable DNT by adjusting the preferences or settings in your browser.

YOUR DATA PROTECTION RIGHTS UNDER THE GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION (GDPR)

If you are a resident of the European Economic Area ("EEA"), you have specific data protection rights. We are committed to taking reasonable steps to enable you to correct, update, delete, or restrict the use of your personal data. If you wish to know what personal data we hold about you or if you would like it to be removed from our systems, please contact us.

In certain situations, you have the following data protection rights:

• The right to access, update, or delete the information we hold about you. When possible, you can access, update, or request the deletion of your personal data directly within your account settings. If you are unable to perform these actions, please contact us for assistance.

• The right to have any inaccurate or incomplete information corrected.

• The right to object to the processing of your personal data.

• The right to request the restriction of processing of your personal information.

• The right to receive a copy of the information we hold about you in a structured, machine-readable, and commonly used format.

• The right to withdraw your consent at any time if we are relying on your consent to process your personal data.

• Please note that we may ask you to verify your identity before processing such requests.

• The right to lodge a complaint with a Data Protection Authority regarding our collection and use of your personal data. For more information, please contact your local data protection authority in the EEA.

1. WHAT ARE YOUR CHOICES?

a) Don’t provide us with personal data
You can choose not to provide us with any personal data. However, if you do this, we will not be able to provide you with any products or services, however, you can continue to use our Site and browse the pages of our Site.

b) Turning off cookies
Our Site uses cookies and similar technologies to provide certain functionality to our Site, such as session cookies, preference cookies and security cookies.
“Cookies” are data files that are placed on your device or computer and often include an anonymous unique identifier. You can turn off cookies by activating the setting in your browser that allows you to do this. You can also delete cookies through your browser settings. If you do decide to turn off cookies, you can continue to use the Site, however, certain services may not work as effectively.

c) Don’t want marketing?
We will always let you know before we collect any data from you what the intended use is and if we intend to use it for marketing and if third parties are involved, we will obtain your consent (which you can withdraw at any time). You can change your mind about marketing material by opting out by completing the contact us form on our contact page.

d) What are your rights?
You can exercise your rights at any time by contacting us via the contact us page on our Site or via email at info@gaialaw.com.au.

YOU CAN ACCESS INFORMATION WE HOLD ABOUT YOU

We will provide you with the requested information within 30 days, unless doing so would negatively impact the rights and freedoms of others (e.g., another person’s confidentiality or intellectual property rights). If we are unable to fulfill your request, we will inform you and explain the reason. We release documentation as required and agreed upon in our Costs Agreement documents we provided you at the start of your matter.

INACCURATE INFORMATION

You can contact us to request the correction of any information we hold about you that you believe is inaccurate.

OBJECTIONS TO USING DATA FOR PROFILING OR AUTOMATED DECISIONS

We may use your data to assess which products and services are most relevant to you (e.g., personalising our emails based on your behavior). Otherwise, we will only use this data to provide you with our products and services.

HOW SECURE IS THE DATA COLLECTED

We understand that our customers trust us to safeguard their personal information, and we take this responsibility seriously. We implement reasonable and appropriate physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect your personal data.

While the security of your information is a top priority for us, please note that no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is entirely secure. Although we make every effort to use commercially reasonable measures to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Our passwords on our systems and iPhones are regularly updated, and every device is protected with antivirus software and VPN precautions.

WHERE DO WE STORE DATA

We work with service providers located around the world, which means your data may be processed in countries outside of Australia. When transferring personal data internationally, we ensure that your privacy rights are protected by requiring these service providers to implement similar safeguards to those we have in place for data protection.

If you are located outside of Australia and choose to provide us with information, please be aware that we will transfer your data, including personal data, to Australia for processing. We store all our data on a document management system as required by the Queensland Law Society, and once documents and emails are uploaded onto the document management system, the files are deleted locally off our hardware as soon as practicable.

By consenting to this Privacy Policy and submitting your information, you agree to this transfer. We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your data is securely processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy, and no transfer will occur to any organisation or country unless adequate safeguards, including data security measures, are in place.

HOW LONG DO WE STORE DATA

We will retain your data for as long as necessary, which may vary based on your interactions with us. For example, if you have made a purchase, we will keep a record of the transaction for as long as required for invoicing, tax purposes, and to fulfill our legal obligations (such as complying with applicable laws), resolving disputes, and enforcing legal agreements and policies.

Under Queensland law and Queensland Law Society requirements, we are required to retain client files and documents for a minimum of seven years following the conclusion of our professional relationship or after the last action taken on your matter, whichever is later.

Additionally, we will retain your usage data for internal analysis. Usage data is generally kept for a shorter period, unless it is needed to enhance security, improve service functionality, or if we are legally required to retain it for longer periods. Once we no longer need your information, we will delete it.

We save all emails received from you immediately into our third-party secured document management system and do not delete email records to comply with legal retention requirements.

THIRD PARTIES WHO PROCESS DATA

We may share your data with third parties in the following situations:

• Our suppliers and service providers who assist us, such as payment processors;

• Our professional and legal advisors;

• Third parties involved in fraud prevention and detection;

• Law enforcement or other government authorities;

• Where we have obtained your consent or when we are legally permitted to do so.

AGE OF CONSENT

By using this Site, you confirm that you are at least the legal age in your State or Territory of residence. Our Site is not intended for use by individuals under the age of majority, and we do not knowingly collect data from anyone under that age.

We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from individuals under the age of majority. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal data, please contact us. If we discover that we have collected personal data from a child without verifying parental consent, we will take appropriate steps to remove that information from our servers.

PAYMENT SECURITY

Our Site is hosted on SP, which provides the eCommerce platform that allows us to sell our products and services to you. Your data is stored through SP’s data storage and database, protected by secure servers and firewalls.

For paid products and/or services, we utilise third-party payment processors. We do not store or collect your payment card details. Instead, this information is directly provided to our third-party payment processors, and their use of your personal information is governed by their own Privacy Policies.

If you choose a direct payment gateway for your purchase, your credit card data will be stored and encrypted according to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS). Your transaction data is retained only for as long as necessary to complete the purchase and will be deleted once the transaction is processed.

All direct payment gateways comply with PCI-DSS standards set by the PCI Security Standards Council, which is a collaborative effort involving companies like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. These standards ensure the secure handling of credit card information by our store and its service providers.

LINKS TO OTHER SITES

Our service may include links to websites operated by third parties. If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that party’s site. We strongly recommend that you review the Privacy Policy of each site you visit.

We have no control over and accept no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.

CLIENT FEEDBACK AND TESTIMONIALS

If you provide us with a Google Review or email feedback, you expressly consent to us reproducing your words (in whole or in part) for use in our marketing materials, including but not limited to our website, Instagram (@gaialaw_ and @theaussielovelawyer), Facebook (Gaia Law), and YouTube channels (The Aussie Love Lawyer and Gaia Law).

We will never publish your full name and will ensure that any reference remains respectful, de-identified, and used in a way that reflects our appreciation.

If you would prefer that your feedback is not used, or if you change your mind at any time, please contact us at info@gaialaw.com.au, and we will promptly remove or update the relevant material.

LAST UPDATED: 18 June 2025