Legal Consolidated Security, Identity and Compliance Statement
See also Legal Consolidated’s
1. Our position
Legal Consolidated Barristers & Solicitors is an Australian law firm providing online legal documents through a controlled document-building system.
We take website security, payment security, identity, authority, fraud prevention, sanctions and AML/CTF compliance seriously. We also recognise that Legal Consolidated is a low-risk online legal document law firm. We do not operate a trust account. We do not receive, hold or control client money for settlements, investments, purchases, sales or third-party dealings through the website.
Our controls are applied on a risk-based and product-by-product basis. This means that some document builds may require checks, while others may not ordinarily require checks.
2. Website and account security
We use reasonable administrative, technical and organisational safeguards to protect our website, document-building system, accounts, records and communications.
You are responsible for keeping your login details secure, using a secure device and browser, and telling us promptly if you believe an account, email address, document portal or document build has been accessed without authority.
We may suspend, restrict or refuse access to an account, document build or document portal if we consider it necessary for security, legal, professional, fraud prevention, sanctions, AML/CTF or risk management reasons.
3. Payment security
Credit card payments are handled by our merchant facility through its secure payment gateway. Your credit card number, expiry date and CVV are entered into and processed by the merchant facility, not by Legal Consolidated.
Legal Consolidated does not receive or store your full credit card details. Our merchant facility may provide limited payment information for administration, reconciliation, refunds, fraud prevention and record keeping. This may include the cardholder name, payment amount, payment date, transaction reference, approval status and the last four digits of the card.
4. Why identity and compliance checks may be required
Australian AML/CTF laws apply by reference to designated services. They do not automatically apply to every document that can be built on our website.
Some Legal Consolidated documents may involve a designated service. This is most likely where a document concerns the creation, change, transfer, restructuring or control of a company, trust, legal arrangement or other regulated structure.
Where a document build involves, or may involve, a designated service, Legal Consolidated may need to complete identity, authority, beneficial ownership, sanctions, risk and other AML/CTF checks before the document is released.
5. Product-by-product approach
We apply identity, authority, sanctions, fraud prevention and AML/CTF controls on a product-by-product and risk-based basis.
Some documents may not ordinarily require AML/CTF checks. Other documents may require checks before release. Some documents may require enhanced checks because of the client, adviser, structure, transaction, jurisdiction, beneficial ownership, control, sanctions risk, politically exposed person risk, unusual urgency, secrecy or other risk indicators.
This approach is designed to avoid imposing unnecessary checks on low-risk documents while ensuring Legal Consolidated complies where a designated service or higher risk is involved.
6. Information we may request
Depending on the document and the risk, we may ask for information about:
- the client, user or person giving instructions;
- a professional adviser, referrer or authorised representative;
- a company, trust, SMSF, partnership, estate or other legal arrangement;
- directors, trustees, appointors, shareholders, unit holders, members, beneficiaries, controllers or beneficial owners;
- identity, authority, capacity and source of instructions;
- the purpose of the document or structure;
- source of funds or source of wealth where relevant;
- sanctions, politically exposed person or foreign jurisdiction connections; and
- any other information we reasonably require for legal, professional, AML/CTF, sanctions, risk, audit or record-keeping purposes.
7. Professional advisers
Many Legal Consolidated users are lawyers, accountants, financial planners, tax advisers, SMSF advisers and other professional advisers.
Where permitted, we may rely on information or checks performed by another reporting entity or professional adviser. Legal Consolidated decides whether reliance is appropriate.
If we ask a professional adviser to confirm identity, authority, beneficial ownership or other AML/CTF information, the adviser must provide accurate information and must hold appropriate records. We may still require our own checks even where an adviser has already performed checks.
8. What happens if checks are not completed
If we cannot complete required checks to our satisfaction, we may refuse, pause, cancel or decline to release a document.
We may also refuse to provide full reasons where confidentiality, professional obligations, AML/CTF laws, sanctions laws, suspicious matter reporting obligations or tipping-off restrictions require or permit us not to explain.
9. Suspicious matters and tipping-off
Legal Consolidated may be required or permitted to report suspicious matters or other information to AUSTRAC or another authority.
If we make, consider making or are required to make a report, we may be legally restricted from telling a client, user, adviser or other person. This is commonly described as a tipping-off restriction.
Nothing on this page requires Legal Consolidated to disclose whether a report has been considered, made or not made.
10. Privacy, confidentiality and privilege
Identity, security, sanctions and AML/CTF checks may require Legal Consolidated to collect, use, verify, retain and disclose information about clients, users, advisers, entities, trusts, beneficial owners, controllers and related persons.
We handle personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy, our professional obligations and applicable privacy laws.
Because Legal Consolidated is a law firm, some communications may attract legal professional privilege or client legal privilege. Privilege, confidentiality and privacy are important, but they do not prevent Legal Consolidated from complying with laws that require or permit collection, retention, use or disclosure of information.
11. Records
We may keep security, AML/CTF, sanctions, identity, authority, risk assessment, verification, reliance and decision records for as long as required or permitted by law.
These records may be kept even if a document is not released, a refund is given, an account is suspended, or Legal Consolidated declines to continue with a document build.
12. Our internal compliance framework
Legal Consolidated maintains security, fraud prevention, sanctions and AML/CTF controls appropriate for our online legal document service and the designated services we provide.
Our internal AML/CTF program, risk assessment, product matrix, customer due diligence procedures, professional adviser reliance procedures, suspicious matter procedures, record-keeping procedures and training records are internal compliance documents. They are not published in full on the website.
We may update our controls as the law, AUSTRAC guidance, industry practice, technology and our risk assessment change.
13. Questions
If an identity, security, sanctions or AML/CTF check is required for a document build, Legal Consolidated will tell you what information is needed, unless the law or our professional obligations prevent us from doing so.
If you are a professional adviser and wish to provide a client due diligence or reliance confirmation, contact Legal Consolidated using the contact details below.
14. Contact
Legal Consolidated Barristers & Solicitors ABN 94 936 003 432
Website: www.legalconsolidated.com.au
Email: lawyer@legalconsolidated.com.au
Email: admin@legalconsolidated.com.au
Head Office: 18 Stirling Highway, Nedlands, WA, 6009