Privacy Policy

Thank you for accessing our Privacy Policy. You may request a hardcopy of this policy from our Front Desk Team.

This policy explains how we manage personal information, what kinds of personal information we hold, why we hold it and how we collect, store and handle it.

Kids Therapy Hub Pty Ltd (KTH) is a privately owned and operated paediatric therapy clinic offering Speech Pathology, Occupational Therapy, Behaviour Therapy, Counselling and associated activities under the ownership of Carin Holmes.

KTH complies with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), other privacy laws that govern how private sector health service providers handle your personal information (including your health information).

KTH is committed to protecting the privacy of personal information we collect and hold about individuals. When we refer to “clients” below, we mean both former and current clients, as well as people who make inquiries about our products and services (i.e. potential clients).

What kinds of personal information do we collect and hold?
“Personal information” means information or an opinion about an individual whose identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained. To provide evidence-based therapy services to our clients, we need to know personal information about them and others, including:

Names, ages, genders, and other identifying information;
Medicare and health fund details (including Medicare numbers and health fund insurers and the extent of their coverage);
Developmental, medical, ethnic, language, cultural and social histories (including medications, diagnoses, surgeries, and allergies);
Disabilities and impairments;
Family histories, to the extent they may be relevant to our assessment, diagnosis and/or treatment of clients;
Work and education histories;
Hobbies, motivations, interests and activities in which clients and their families participate;
Financial information concerning the ability of clients to pay for our products and services.

For sensitive information such as information about your health that is reasonably necessary for us to provide you with services or products, we will seek your consent.

How do we collect personal information?

We collect personal information by telephone (e.g. when you first call us to book an appointment for yourself or your child), via our website, on our social media sites (e.g. on our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn sites), through our client questionnaires (which are usually filled in by a client or carer as part of our assessment process), by written letters, reports and other documents (e.g. through doctors reports you provide to us), through emails, text messages and other forms of electronic communication and in interviews and other interactions in our clinic (including face-to-face interviews and interviews conducted electronically, such as Zoom and MSTeams).

Who do we collect personal information from?

We collect personal information from client’s or someone authorised to act on a client’s behalf (e.g. their parents, carers or guardians). Wherever possible we will ask for the information directly, however, we may need to contact others when relevant to a client’s circumstances (e.g. when working with client’s who cannot communicate their needs without the assistance of others). In these cases we will, where possible, make you aware of the fact that we have collected this information and the circumstances of the collection.

When you give us information about other people, we rely on you to have obtained their prior consent and on you to tell them of the types of third parties we may provide the information to and why.

Why do we collect personal information?

We collect personal information to deliver, review and improve the products and services that we provide. If we did not collect this information, we would not be able to carry out our business or provide our products and services to you in accordance with the standards required by law. If you do not provide the personal information that we request, we would not be able to carry out our business and provide our products and services to you.

More specifically, we need personal information (including health information) to provide clients with assessment, diagnosis management services and products related to their therapy needs. We also need this information:

For administrative purposes of managing our business;
When necessary, to fulfil our obligations under law and regulation;
For billing management (either directly or through insurers or other compensation agencies);
Discussions between Therapists, stakeholders and others working at our clinic related to the care of clients;
Discussions and other communications with your doctors, other health professionals, and education professionals in relation to your care;
Discussions with insurers;
Any insurance or compensation or other claims or litigation (including threatened litigation).

From time to time, we may use personal information (but not sensitive health information) to provide you with news or offers about our products or services that may be of interest to you. These services that we believe will be relevant to you. You have a right, at any time, to tell us that you do not want to receive this type of material.

Can people access our products and services anonymously?

No. Due to the nature of our services and products, we cannot offer them to people who wish to be anonymous, wish to use a pseudonym or who do not provide us with enough information to properly identify them for the purposes of providing services and products.

Who will see or have access to your personal information?

Your information may be seen or used by people working for or on behalf of KTH and other service providers including (without limitation):

Our Directors and shareholders;
Our Therapists (employed or contracted);
Our administrative staff (employed or contracted);
Doctors, other health professionals, and education professionals;
Our third-party professional advisors and service providers, including (without limitation) our lawyers, book-keepers, accountants, auditors, tax consultants, actuaries, management consultants and IT service providers;
Medicare, private health insurance providers, our insurers and reinsurers.

We will not rent, sell, trade or otherwise disclose to any other third parties any personal information about you without your consent or unless we are required by law (including pursuant to a court or tribunal order), or where permitted general situation (including a permitted health situation) exists within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), or if we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary for enforcement-related activities.

Security of your personal information and data retention

We know that you are concerned about your personal information, especially your health information. We will use reasonable endeavours to prevent unauthorised access to, modification of, disclosure, misuse or loss of that information as required by law.

Our Directors and staff have reviewed the requirements of the Privacy Laws and our third-party service providers have been made aware that they are required to comply with the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

We have data protection measures in place (including password-locked computers) when we store personal information electronically. Our hard copy health records are stored in a secure cabinet on site accessible only to authorised staff.

If we no longer need personal information about you for any purpose described above, then we will take reasonable steps to destroy the information or to ensure that such information is de-identified. This obligation is subject to an important exception under the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW), we are obliged to retain health information:

Access to and accuracy of your personal information

We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information we collect about or from you is accurate, complete, up-to-date and relevant whenever it is used, collected or disclosed. Subject to the recognised exceptions to access for organisations contained in the Australian Privacy Principles (APP12.3), you have a right to access you information if you wish (subject to any privilege or legal restrictions); and, if it is reasonable and practicable to do so, we will give you access to the information in the manner requested by you. By law, we may charge you a reasonable fee to cover the cost of retrieving and processing the information.

If you believe personal information that we hold about you is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete or misleading, we will, on receipt of your request, take steps that are reasonable in the circumstances to correct the information.

If your personal information is disclosed by us to an overseas recipient (e.g. to an insurer or IT-service provider), we will take reasonable steps in the circumstances to ensure the overseas recipient does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles in relation to the information.

Complaints

If you believe your privacy has been prejudiced by something we have done or failed to do, you have a legal right to lodge a complaint.

Our person responsible for complaints is Carin Holmes, who can be contacted via email admin@kidstherapyhub.com.au. She will respond to you in writing within 15 days of receiving your complaint.

Thank you for taking the time to read this Policy.

Last updated: March 2023.