loading


Last Updated: June 6, 2025

At Harris Park Dental, we are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of your personal and health information. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, store, and protect your information by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) as set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), and other relevant privacy laws, including those specific to health information.


1. What Information Do We Collect?

We collect information that is reasonably necessary for us to provide you with quality dental care and to manage our dental practice. This may include:

  • Personal Information: Your name, address, date of birth, contact details (phone, email), emergency contact details, and Medicare or private health insurance details.
  • Health Information: Your medical history, dental history, current dental condition, treatment plans, x-rays, dental images, referral letters, pathology results, and any other health information relevant to your dental care.
  • Financial Information: Information related to payments for services, such as credit card details (though these are typically processed securely through third-party payment providers and not stored by us in detail).


2. How Do We Collect Your Information?

We primarily collect your information directly from you when you:

  • Book an appointment.
  • Complete new patient registration forms or update your details.
  • Consult with our dentists or other dental professionals.
  • Communicate with us via phone, email, or our website.

We may also collect information from third parties, such as:

  • Other healthcare providers (e.g., your GP, specialists) with your consent or where permitted by law.
  • Medicare or your private health insurer for billing purposes.
  • Referral sources.


3. How Do We Use Your Information?

We use your personal and health information for the following purposes:

  • Providing Dental Care: To diagnose, treat, and manage your dental health, develop treatment plans, and provide ongoing dental services.
  • Communicating with You: To confirm appointments, send reminders, provide follow-up care instructions, and respond to your enquiries.
  • Practice Management: For administrative purposes such as billing, processing payments, managing appointments, and maintaining accurate patient records.
  • Referrals: To refer you to other healthcare professionals (e.g., specialists) if necessary, with your consent.
  • Legal & Regulatory Compliance: To comply with our legal obligations, including reporting to relevant health authorities if required.
  • Quality Improvement: For internal practice audits, training, and continuous quality improvement activities to enhance the services we provide.
  • Research (De-identified): Where information is de-identified and aggregated, it may be used for research or statistical purposes. Your individual identifying information will not be used without your express consent.


4. When Do We Disclose Your Information?

We understand the importance of protecting your information and will only disclose it in specific circumstances:

  • With Your Consent: We will obtain your consent before disclosing your information to third parties, such as other healthcare providers (e.g., for specialist referrals) or family members (e.g., for appointment details if you authorise them).
  • To Other Healthcare Providers: As necessary for your ongoing care (e.g., sharing X-rays with a dental specialist).
  • For Billing and Payments: To Medicare, your private health insurer, or other third-party payment facilitators for claims and processing.
  • Legal Requirements: Where required or authorised by law (e.g., subpoenas, mandatory reporting of certain conditions).
  • Emergency Situations: In situations of imminent threat to life, health, or safety, where it is impractical to obtain your consent.
  • Practice Sale/Transfer: In the event of a sale or transfer of the dental practice, your records may be transferred to the new owner, who will be subject to similar privacy obligations. You will be notified in advance if such an event occurs.

We do not typically disclose your information to overseas recipients unless it is with your explicit consent and for a specific purpose related to your care (e.g., for a specialist opinion from an overseas expert you have chosen).


5. How Do We Store and Protect Your Information?

We take all reasonable steps to protect your personal and health information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. This includes:

  • Secure Systems: Storing your information electronically in secure practice management software systems with robust security features.
  • Physical Security: Securing physical records (e.g., older paper files) in locked cabinets and restricted areas.
  • Access Controls: Restricting access to your information to authorised staff members only, who are bound by confidentiality agreements.
  • Data Encryption: Utilising encryption where appropriate for electronic data transmission.
  • Regular Backups: Implementing regular data backup procedures to prevent loss of information.
  • Staff Training: Training our staff on privacy principles and their obligations regarding patient confidentiality.
  • Data Retention: We retain patient records for the periods required by law, which for health records in Australia is generally a minimum of 7 years from the last service or until a patient turns 25 if services were provided to a minor. After this period, records may be securely destroyed or de-identified.


6. Accessing and Correcting Your Information

You have the right to request access to your personal and health information held by Harris Park Dental. We will provide you with access within a reasonable timeframe, subject to any legal exceptions.

You also have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date. We will take reasonable steps to correct the information, or if we disagree with your requested correction, we will make a note on your record that you have asked for a correction.

To request access to or correction of your information, please contact our Practice Manager (details below). We may require you to provide identification to ensure it is you requesting the information. A small administrative fee may be applied to requests for extensive copies of records.


7. Making a Complaint

If you believe we have breached your privacy or mishandled your personal or health information, please get in touch with our Practice Manager in the first instance. We take all complaints seriously and will investigate them promptly and thoroughly.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 Phone: 1300 363 992 Website: www.oaic.gov.au


8. Website Privacy and Cookies

Our website, www.harrisparkdental.com, may use “cookies” to enhance your browsing experience. Cookies are small data files that are placed on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. They help us analyse website traffic, understand user preferences, and improve our website’s functionality. You can adjust your browser settings to refuse cookies, but this may affect your ability to use certain features of our website.

We do not use cookies to collect personally identifiable information about you.

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these external sites.


9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The most current version is always available on our website or upon request at our clinic. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.


10. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact: [email protected]