Privacy Policy
My Care Path (“My Care Path”, “we”, “us” “our”) is committed to protecting the personal information of our clients, carers, supporters, donors, volunteers and other individual with whom we deal. This Privacy Policy outlines how we handle personal information.
“Personal information” is information, or an opinion, about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable. Personal information includes information such as name, date of birth, contact details and records of the individual dealing with us. It can also include sensitive information such as health information, criminal history information and membership of a professional or trade organisation.
We are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) as well as by the Information Privacy Principles in the Information Privacy Act 2000 (Vic) and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic).
Our purposes for handling personal information
We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information for the following purposes:
- to provide to aged care facilities and other support services for clients;
- to engage in correspondence and marketing (eg. through our newsletter); and
- to otherwise run our organisation.
Collection of personal information
We will collect personal information about an individual (such as a client, volunteer, an applicant for employment or a contractor) directly from the individual by way of forms, face-to-face meetings, interviews and telephone calls as may be required by My Care Path to provide you with the services for which we are engaged.
On occasion we may also collect personal information from third parties – for example, from medical and health professionals and hospitals, other aged care providers, government agencies, family members, contractors, referees and health referral organisations, relevant government agencies or representatives of the individual. Where we collect information from third parties it is for the primary or directly related purpose of your engagement with us.
Disclosure of personal information
You consent that My Care Path use or disclose personal information (including sensitive information):
- to those involved in providing, managing or administering our services, (including, for example, our representatives, third party suppliers and printers);
- to contractors and those providing services to us;
- to referees and health referral organisations;
- to medical and health professionals, hospitals and other aged care providers;
- to our professional advisers;
- to insurers;
- to auditors;
- to government bodies, regulators, coroners and undertakers;
- to the individual’s family members and representatives;
- as required or authorised by law; and
- to any person or organisation where the individual has given their consent or we are required or authorised by law to disclose.
Storage of information
We hold personal information in paper-based and electronic files. We seek to ensure that personal information is protected from any misuse, interference and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure – including through locked storage or paper records and password access rights to computerised records. Staff of My Care Path, contractors and volunteers, are obliged to respect the confidentiality of any personal information we hold and to comply with the requirement of the Privacy Act.
When My Care Path no longer require the personal information for a permitted purpose (including when we are no longer required by law to keep records of personal information), we will ensure that the information is destroyed or unidentifiable (as the case may be).
We will take reasonable steps to ensure that all personal information collected, used or disclosed is stored securely however there are inherent risks associated with electronic storage and transmission of information. My Care Path may store personal information with our third party Cloud provider whilst conducting our ordinary business. Our Cloud provider may also operate outside Australia and the storage of this personal information may occur in the United States and / or Singapore. You acknowledge and agree that third parties such as our Cloud provider, may be subject to confidentiality and privacy obligations in relation to personal information however we cannot ensure that they always follow the particular requirements of Australian privacy laws.
An individual may request access to personal information My Care Path holds about them. In order to make a request to access such information, the individual must contact the Privacy Officer in writing (details below). If access is refused, we will provide a written notice which will set out the reasons for such refusal and the steps available to complain or refute our refusal.
We may require the person seeking access to verify their identity and specify what information they require. We may charge a reasonable fee to recover our costs of verifying the access request, located, retrieving, reviewing, copying and providing access to information requested. If the information sought is extensive, we will advise the likely cost in advance.
Accuracy
We seek to ensure the personal information we hold is accurate, up-to-date, complete and, in the case of our use and disclosure of personal information, relevant. Where we believe that the personal information we hold is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, and irrelevant or misleading, we will take reasonable steps to correct the information.
An individual may request that we correct information we hold about them by contacting our Privacy Officer in writing. We will make any appropriate corrections. However, if we do not agree with the corrections requested, we are not obliged to alter the personal information, but we will give the individual written notice which sets out the reasons for our refusal and the mechanisms available to complain about our refusal.
If we refuse to correct personal information, the individual can also ask us to associate, with the relevant information, a statement that notes their view that the information is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. We will not charge the individual for making a correction request, for correcting the information or for associating with their information.
Contacting us – enquiries, complaints and opting out
If an individual has any enquiries, concerns or complaints about this Privacy Policy, our handling of their personal information or our compliance with the Privacy Act they may contact our Privacy Officer.
If an individual wishes to opt out of future marketing communications, they may do so by the means suggested on any of our applicable publications or by contact our Privacy Officer.
Postal Address: Privacy Officer
My Care Path
PO Box 210
Mont Albert Victoria 3127
Telephone: (03) 9899 4877
An individual may also lodge a complaint about privacy with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by:
Telephone: 1300 363 992 Or
Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
Updates
We may, from time to time, review and update this Privacy Policy to take account of new laws and technology or changes to our operations and practices.