Last updated: 4 October 2026
Melbourne Criminal Defence Lawyers is a division of Chua Tan Associates, the trading name of Chua Tan Lawyers Pty Ltd (ABN 84 613 093 182). In this policy, “we” and “us” mean that firm. We handle personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and our professional duty of confidentiality as Victorian lawyers.
What we collect
- Contact details: your name, phone number, email address and preferred language.
- Matter information: details of the charges, court dates, police documents and anything else you tell us about your matter. This can include sensitive information, such as criminal history and health information. We collect sensitive information only with your consent and only where we need it to help you.
- Information from others: material from police, prosecutors, courts, barristers, experts, interpreters and people who contact us on your behalf, such as family members.
- Course purchases: your name, email address, account login and purchase records. Card payments are processed by Stripe; we never see or store your full card details.
- Website use: pages visited, device and browser type, approximate location, and how you reached the site, collected through cookies and Google Analytics.
How we use it
- To reply to your enquiry, check for conflicts of interest, and give you a quote.
- To advise and act for you, including briefing barristers and dealing with courts and prosecutors.
- To arrange consultations, send reminders, and issue invoices and tax invoices.
- To give you access to the online courses you buy.
- To meet our legal, professional, tax and record-keeping obligations.
- To understand how the website is used and improve it.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use matter information for marketing.
Enquiries through this website
The enquiry form sends your message to us by email. The website does not keep a copy. Please keep your first message short: give your name, the charge, the court and the next court date. Until we have checked for conflicts and agreed to act, an enquiry does not create a lawyer–client relationship.
Confidentiality and legal professional privilege
Information about your matter is confidential and is often protected by legal professional privilege. We disclose it only with your instructions or where the law requires or allows it, for example under a court order.
Who we share it with
- Barristers, interpreters, expert witnesses and other professionals we engage for your matter.
- Courts, prosecutors, police and other parties, as needed to act on your instructions.
- Service providers who help us run the practice and this website: website hosting (VentraIP, in Australia), email and calendar (Google), website analytics (Google Analytics), and payments (Stripe).
- Our professional advisers and insurers, and regulators where the law requires it.
Information stored overseas
Google and Stripe may store or process information outside Australia, including in the United States. We use providers that apply strong security and contractual privacy protections.
Cookies and analytics
This site uses essential cookies so logins and course access work, and Google Analytics cookies to measure visits and which pages lead to enquiries. Analytics reports show us patterns, not your identity. You can block cookies in your browser settings or use Google’s Analytics opt-out browser add-on; the site will still work, though you will need cookies to log in to a course.
Security and how long we keep it
We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access, including access controls, encrypted connections and secure providers. We keep client files for at least seven years after a matter ends, as legal practice rules require, and then destroy them securely. Enquiries that do not become matters are deleted when they are no longer needed.
Access and correction
You can ask for access to the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it, by emailing enquiries@melbournecriminaldefencelawyers.com.au or calling 03 9602 3988. We will respond within 30 days. We may refuse access where the law allows, for example where privilege applies, and will tell you why.
Complaints
If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first, in writing, at the email address above or at Level 2, 262 Queen Street, Melbourne VIC 3000. We will reply within 30 days. If you are not satisfied, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always on this page.