Confidentiality

Any person who is or has been an employee of the Legal Services Commission may not give information obtained during the course of their employment to anyone, either directly or indirectly (s 31A of the Legal Services Commission Act 1977). This is so unless the disclosure is required by the person's job; authorised by the person to whom the information relates; required by the rules relating to discovery of documents; ordered by a court, tribunal or any other person or body with power to require disclosure of information; or ordered or authorised by Legal Services.

We treat any information you give us as strictly confidential, unless the law says otherwise. Legal Services will not reveal information about who has received or applied for legal aid. If it is believed that a person who is receiving legal aid is ineligible, a complaint may be made to the Client Relations Coordinator (call (08) 8111 5555). While Legal Services always makes appropriate enquires upon receipt of the information, it cannot provide any confirmation or otherwise of the matters alleged.

All legal practitioners employed by Legal Services are bound by the South Australian Legal Practitioner's Conduct Rules.

Staff members are required to be familiar with public sector codes of conduct and to have regard to confidentiality, particularly when speaking in public or making representations to the media.

The storage of information by Legal Services must comply with South Australia's Information Privacy Principles (Cabinet Administrative Instruction 1/89, also known as the Information Privacy Principles (IPPS) Instruction, and Premier and Cabinet Circular 12).