This policy is a working draft and should be reviewed by a solicitor before launch. Dental practices have additional obligations under health records legislation that your legal adviser will want to tailor.
1. About this policy
Leichhardt Dental Centre ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, use, hold, and disclose your personal information, including health information, in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and — where applicable — the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW).
2. What information we collect
We collect the information necessary to provide dental care and run our practice. This may include:
- Identifying information — name, date of birth, address, contact details, Medicare number, private health fund details, emergency contact.
- Health information — medical and dental history, medications, allergies, clinical notes, X-rays and 3D scans, photographs, treatment plans, and correspondence with other health providers.
- Payment and billing information — account details, payment records, and claim information.
- Website information — if you submit our contact form, we collect the name, email, phone number, and message you provide. We may also collect standard technical data (IP address, browser, pages visited) via analytics tools.
3. How we collect it
We collect information directly from you where possible — at your appointment, through our patient forms, by phone, email, or our website contact form. Where you consent, we may also receive information from other health providers involved in your care, your health fund, Medicare, or a person authorised to act on your behalf.
4. Why we collect it
Your information is used to:
- Provide, plan, and continue your dental treatment.
- Communicate with you about appointments, recalls, and aftercare.
- Process billing, payments, and claims to Medicare or your private health fund.
- Comply with our legal, regulatory, and professional obligations (including those of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency).
- Improve the care we provide, including internal quality review.
5. Who we may disclose it to
We may disclose your information, with your consent or as otherwise permitted by law, to:
- Other health practitioners involved in your care (e.g. specialists, pathology labs, dental technicians).
- Medicare, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, private health funds, and other payers — only the information required to process a claim.
- Service providers who help us run the practice (e.g. practice management software, secure messaging platforms, IT support) under appropriate confidentiality agreements.
- Government agencies and regulators where required by law.
We do not sell your information and we do not disclose it for marketing purposes without your consent.
6. How we store and protect it
Your records are stored on secure practice management systems with access restricted to authorised personnel. Physical records are held in locked storage. Electronic records are protected by passwords, encryption where appropriate, and access logs. We retain health records for the periods required by law (generally seven years from last contact for adults, or until age 25 for minors).
7. Overseas disclosure
Some of our service providers (for example, cloud-hosting providers) may store data overseas. Where this is the case, we take reasonable steps to ensure those providers handle your information in a manner consistent with the APPs.
8. Accessing and correcting your information
You have the right to access the personal and health information we hold about you and to ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, or misleading. To make a request, contact us using the details below. We may charge a reasonable fee for copies of records, and we will respond within 30 days.
9. Making a complaint
If you have a concern about how we have handled your information, please contact us first — we take complaints seriously and will investigate and respond promptly. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to:
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) — oaic.gov.au, 1300 363 992.
- NSW Privacy Commissioner — ipc.nsw.gov.au, 1800 472 679.
- For complaints about clinical care or a registered health practitioner: AHPRA — ahpra.gov.au, 1300 419 495.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version and its last-updated date will always be available on this page.
11. Contact
Questions, access requests, or complaints about your information can be directed to:
Leichhardt Dental Centre
Shop 4/39-45 Norton Street
Leichhardt NSW 2040
Phone: 02 9568 3593
Email: [email protected]