New business acceptance changes
Why do we collect your information?
Allens is enhancing its client due-diligence, client onboarding and anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, 'know your client' and other new business acceptance processes (NBA Processes). As part of this, Allens will be collecting personal information from prospective and existing clients, including information about key individuals. Where we are to provide designated services to a client, this collection is required or authorised by the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth), including the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules 2025.
How we collect your information?
We may collect your personal information ourselves or we may use a third party IT provider (including end-to-end IT, verification, screening and onboarding suppliers such as First AML and Intapp) for these purposes.
What happens if we cannot collect your information?
If you do not provide the information requested, we may be unable to provide you, or the organisation you work for or are connected with (eg, are a director of), with legal services.
What personal information do we collect?
As part of Allens' NBA Processes, we may collect your full name and in some cases your date of birth, residential address and other information to verify your identity including government identifiers, government identity documents and expiration dates of those government identification documents. We may also collect information about you as part of sanctions and adverse media checks.
If we are unable to verify your identity using government identification documents and you consent to biometric verification, we may collect photographic identification and biometric information in order to verify your identity.
Who do we share your information with?
We may share your information internally within the Allens Group and related entities (such as Allens Operations Pty Ltd, which manages our IT) as reasonably necessary to conduct our NBA Processes. We may also share your information with third parties such as our IT providers (including Intapp, First AML and other service providers we use to conduct our NBA Processes, including identity verification and secure storage of information related to our NBA Processes), as well as external independent auditors. We may share your information with law enforcement and/or government bodies such as AUSTRAC, where required or permitted to do so by law.
Do we share your information outside of Australia?
Your information is hosted and stored by Allens and relevant third parties (such as Intapp and First AML) in Australia. However, there may be circumstances where your information may be accessed by Allens or relevant third parties from other jurisdictions in which Allens and/or such relevant third parties operate (to the extent permitted by law) in order to conduct those NBA Processes or provide support for those NBA Processes (including hosting and processing support). For example, Allens has offices in Papua New Guinea and Vietnam and our third parties also operate in overseas locations (including New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the European Union).
In addition to the above, where our client's matter involves support from our alliance partner, Linklaters, we may also share your information with Linklaters, which has offices throughout Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East. This may involve sending your personal information to these offices overseas.
Our Privacy Policy
Our Privacy Policy contains more information about how we handle your personal information, how you may access and correct your personal information and how to make a complaint.
Want more information?
If you have any questions about our NBA Processes or the information we collect, including our privacy practices, you can contact our Privacy Officer at PrivacyCompliance@allens.com.au.
References to 'Allens Group', 'we', and 'our' are to the Allens Australian Partnership, Allens Operations Pty Ltd, Allens Corporate Services Pty Ltd, Allens PNG Partnership, Allens Vietnam and Allens Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys.
Updated 18 June 2026.