Holistic Audiology (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose and protect personal information, including sensitive information such as health information, in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your information, please contact us using the details in the Contact Us section below.
Information Collection and Use
We collect personal information to provide audiology and clinical care services, communicate with you, manage appointments, and meet our legal and professional obligations.
What we may collect
Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect and hold personal information including:
- Your name, date of birth and contact details (phone, email, address)
- Appointment details and communication history
- Medicare/private health fund details (where relevant)
- Referral details and correspondence from other providers
- Health information, such as hearing history, assessment results, treatment notes and clinical recommendations
- Information about a parent/guardian or carer where services are provided to a child or supported adult
How we collect information
We usually collect personal information directly from you, including when you:
- book an appointment
- submit an enquiry via our website
- communicate with us by phone, email or in person
- attend an appointment and provide clinical history or health information
We may also collect information from third parties where relevant to your care, such as referrers (e.g. GP, ENT specialist, allied health provider) or a parent/guardian, carer, or authorised representative.
How we use your information
- We use personal information for purposes including:
- providing clinical services and maintaining clinical records
- managing appointments, follow-ups and reminders
- communicating with you about your care
- processing payments and rebates (where relevant)
- coordinating care with other providers (with consent where required)
- improving our services and meeting legal obligations
Sharing your information
We may share personal information when necessary, such as with:
- other health professionals involved in your care (e.g. GP, ENT, allied health providers)
- service providers who assist our business operations (e.g. practice management systems, IT support), who are required to protect your information
- legal or regulatory bodies where required by law
We do not sell your personal information.
Access and correction
You may request access to, or correction of, the personal information we hold about you by contacting us. We will respond within a reasonable time and may need to verify your identity.
Log Data
When you visit our website, we may automatically collect basic information that your browser sends (“Log Data”). This may include:
- your device’s Internet Protocol (IP) address
- browser type and version
- pages you visit on our website
- time and date of your visit
- time spent on those pages
- other technical statistics
This information is used to help maintain website security, understand how visitors use our site, and improve the website experience.
Cookies
Cookies are small data files stored on your device that may be used to help websites function properly and improve performance.
- Our website may use cookies to:
- remember preferences and settings
- help analyse website traffic and performance
- improve functionality and user experience
You can choose to disable cookies through your browser settings. However, some parts of the website may not work as intended if cookies are disabled.
Service Providers
We may use trusted third-party service providers to help us operate our website and deliver services, such as:
- website hosting and maintenance providers
- IT support providers
- secure clinical/practice management software providers
- email, phone and communication service providers
- analytics providers (if enabled)
These providers may have access to personal information only as required to perform services on our behalf, and they are expected to protect your information and comply with privacy obligations.
Some providers may store data on servers located outside Australia. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure your information is handled securely and in a manner consistent with Australian privacy requirements.
Security
We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
Security measures may include administrative, technical and physical safeguards such as:
- secure systems and access controls
- password protection and user permissions
- confidentiality obligations for staff and contractors
- secure handling and storage of clinical records
No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, but we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information.
If a data breach occurs that is likely to result in serious harm, we will comply with the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme, including notifying affected individuals and/or the OAIC where required.
Link to Other Sites
Our website may contain links to other websites that are not operated by us.
If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that site. We strongly recommend reviewing the privacy policy of any website you visit, as we have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of third-party sites or services.
Children’s Privacy
Holistic Audiology provides services to children and young people.
We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from a child through our website without the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian, unless the child is legally able to provide their own consent.
When a child attends appointments, we collect and manage personal and health information as part of providing clinical care, generally with parent/guardian involvement and consent where required.
If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information without appropriate consent, please contact us and we will take appropriate steps to address the issue.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be published on this page, and the updated policy will be effective from the date posted on this page.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us.