Privacy Policy

1.1 Purpose

Care Speech Pathology Pty Ltd (ABN 46 652 988 497) (“We, Us or Our”) is committed to protecting the ongoing privacy of all individuals (“You or Your”) from whom personal information is collected.

We comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), other privacy laws that govern how healthcare service providers handle personal information (including health or sensitive information), and Speech Pathology Australia’s Code of Ethics (2020).

This Privacy Policy explains how We collect, store, use and disclose Your personal information. We encourage You to read this policy carefully so that You understand Our information handling practices clearly.

2.1 Our legal obligations

In order to provide You with the healthcare services that You have requested, We will need to collect and use Your personal information. If You provide incomplete or inaccurate information to Us or withhold personal or health information from Us, We may not be able to provide You with the services You are seeking.

2.2 What information do We collect?

We will only collect the information We need for the particular function, purpose or activity We are carrying out for You or on Your behalf. Primarily, this means collecting information from You that is necessary to provide You with Speech Pathology services and to manage Our relationship with You.

The specific information We collect includes (among other things) Your: name, date of birth, phone number, email and residential addresses, health fund or the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Plan details (if applicable) and information about Your health, medical and family history. We require this information in order for Our Speech Pathologists to assess, diagnose and treat You.

2.3 How do We collect Your information?

We will usually collect Your information directly from You. Occasionally, We may need to collect information about You from a third party (such as Your parent, another relative of Yours, Your legal guardian, Your authorised representative (eg a Support Coordinator) or another healthcare service provider of Yours).

2.4 How do We use Your information?

We use Your information for the purpose or purposes for which You have given the information to Us. Primarily, this includes to provide Speech Pathology services to You, to manage our relationship with You and to contact You in relation to matters concerning Your care. We may also use Your information for other purposes permitted under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

We may also disclose Your information to third parties:

• involved in or connected to Your care (eg other healthcare service providers involved in Your care, the individual/s who referred You to Our service, Your legal guardian or authorised representative, Your private health insurance provider, Medicare or the NDIS);
• including service providers and contractors, who help us provide our Speech Pathology services to You (eg online diagnostic assessment resource platforms and providers, IT security and technology vendors or third party payment gateway providers); or
• when required to as a result of contractual or statutory obligations, such as in the event of an audit, insurance claim or other legal proceeding.

With Your consent, We may also use Your information for other purposes such as including You on a marketing or email newsletter distribution list, participating in client feedback surveys or conducting research to help Us improve Our services.

2.5 Data quality

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that Your personal information which We may collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete and up-to-date. If at any time You believe the personal information that We hold about You is incorrect, incomplete or inaccurate, You should let Us know. We will use all reasonable efforts to correct the information in accordance with Your instructions.

2.6 Access to and correction of Your information

You have a right to access the personal and health information that We hold about You. You can also request an amendment to Your personal and health information should You believe that it is inaccurate.

If We do not agree to change Your information in accordance with Your request, We will permit You to make a statement of the requested changes and We will enclose this with Your record.

Should You wish to obtain access to or request changes to Your health record You may contact Our Privacy Officer (see details below) who can provide You with more detailed information about Our access and correction procedure. Please note that We may recover Our reasonable costs associated with supplying this information to You.

2.7 Data storage and security

We take all reasonable steps to keep secure any personal information which We hold about You and to protect Your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We use various sophisticated technology, systems and processes such as access control procedures (including multifactor authentication), network firewalls, encryption and physical security to protect Your privacy.

We also engage the services of an external IT consultant company which, among other things, provides 24/7 active monitoring of various internal IT devices, systems and infrastructure and employs a range of advanced data protection and security tools. Our employees and, where applicable, external contractors, are also legally bound to respect the confidentiality of any personal information We hold.

Except as otherwise required under Australian law, We will destroy or permanently de-identify any of Your information which is in Our possession or control and which is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was collected.

Where Your personal information is stored by Us or the vendors We use, it is primarily stored in Australia. However, due to the complex nature of the internet and digital supply chains, together with the way data may be replicated and backed up (including for the purposes of delivering disaster recovery and business continuity capabilities), some of Your personal information may be stored, mirrored or transferred overseas at times.

This section of Our Privacy Policy explains how We handle Your personal information which is collected from our website (www.carespeechpathology.com.au). This Privacy Policy applies to Your use of our website and any of the facilities, functions or programs available on Our website.

3.1 Collection

When You use our Website, We do not attempt to identify You as an individual user and We will not collect personal information about You unless You specifically provide this to Us. Sometimes, We may collect Your personal information if You choose to provide this to Us via an online form, proprietary or third-party booking platform or by email, for example, if You:

• submit an online enquiry via Our website;
• book an appointment with Us through either our proprietary or a third-party online booking platform;
• register to receive emails or newsletters from Us; or
• send a written complaint or enquiry to Our Privacy Officer.

3.2 Cookies

To ensure We are meeting the needs and wants of our website users, and to develop and improve Our online services, We may collect aggregated information by using cookies or similar electronic tools. However, We do not use this technology to access any personal information of a user in Our records and a user cannot be personally identified from a cookie. Specifically, personal information such as Your email address is not collected unless You provide it to Us.

3.3 Links to third party websites

We may create links to third party websites. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices employed by such websites that are linked from or to Our website.

3.4 Use and disclosure

We will use any personal information collected via Our website in accordance with Our Privacy Policy.

4.1 Changes to Our Privacy Policy

As Our clinic and practice continues to innovate and evolve over time, Our processes, policies and systems will be reviewed and may be revised. We may change Our Privacy Policy at any time to account for these changes. We will notify You of any change by posting an updated version of Our Privacy Policy on Our website.

4.2 What to do if You have a complaint about privacy issues

We are committed to constantly improving Our procedures so that personal information is treated appropriately. At any time, if:

• You have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy;
• We do not agree to provide You with access to Your personal information; or
• You have a complaint about Our information handling practices,

please contact Our Privacy Officer using the details below so that We have an opportunity to resolve the issue to Your satisfaction as quickly as possible. We will promptly review Your complaint and provide a response to You as soon as possible.

4.3 How to contact Us

If You require more detailed information about Our information handling practices or if You have any concerns about Our handling of Your personal information, please let Us know by contacting Us at:

• By letter: Privacy Officer, Care Speech Pathology Pty Ltd (PO Box 5070, Sunshine Coast MC QLD 4560 Australia)

• By email: [email protected]        

• By telephone: 1300 086 280

We will endeavour to respond to Your concerns or questions as quickly as possible.