1. Introduction
At Dental Kraft Mitcham, we value your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal information you entrust to us. We understand the importance of maintaining the confidentiality and security of your information and take our responsibilities seriously.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose and protect your personal information when you interact with our practice or use our services.
Personal information refers to any information or opinion, whether true or not and recorded in any form, that identifies you or could reasonably be used to identify you.
2. The Australian Privacy Principles
Dental Kraft Mitcham is committed to complying with the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), which govern how Australian organisations collect, use, disclose, store and protect personal information. We manage your personal information in accordance with these legal obligations and are committed to safeguarding your privacy at all times.
3. Collecting personal information about you
We only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for us to provide dental care, manage our practice, communicate with you, improve our services, and meet our legal and regulatory obligations.
The type of personal information we collect and hold may depend on the services you request from us. This may include:
- your name,
- date of birth,
- address and contact details;
- relevant health and medical history;
- dental records,
- treatment notes,
- clinical photographs,
- scans and X-rays;
- Medicare, private health insurance or payment information, where applicable;
- Information you provide when completing patient forms,
- online enquiries or appointment requests;
- communications between you and our practice, including emails, phone calls and website enquiries.
When you use our website, we may collect information you choose to provide, such as when you complete an online form or contact us by email. If you email us, we may record your email address and any information included in your message.
4. Our use of cookies
When you visit the Dental Kraft Mitcham website, small data files known as cookies may be stored on your device. Cookies help websites function efficiently and provide information about how visitors interact with the site. Most web browsers accept cookies automatically, but you can change your browser settings to decline or remove cookies if you prefer. Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of certain features of our website.
We use cookies to collect anonymous, aggregated information about website usage, such as the pages visited, time spent on the site, and how visitors navigate our website. This information helps us improve the performance, content and user experience of our website. We do not use cookies to identify you personally, nor do we store personal information within cookies or link cookie data to information that identifies you.
5. Website Analytics
Like most websites, Dental Kraft Mitcham collects anonymous, aggregated information about how visitors use our website. This information does not identify you personally and cannot reasonably be used to determine your identity.
When you visit our website, our web server may automatically record information such as:
- your internet service provider;
- the date and time of your visit;
- the pages you view and files you download;
- search terms entered on our website;
- the website or link that referred you to us; and
- general technical information about your browser and device.
We use this information to analyse website traffic, improve website performance and enhance the user experience.
6. How We Collect Personal Information
Where possible, we collect your personal information directly from you, such as when you:
- book an appointment;
- complete a patient registration or medical history form;
- contact us by phone, email or through our website; or
- attend our practice for treatment.
In some circumstances, we may collect personal information from third parties where it is necessary to provide your care or our services. This may include referrals from other healthcare providers, specialists, pathology or radiology services, private health insurers, Medicare, or a parent, guardian or authorised representative.
If you provide us with personal information about another individual, you must ensure that you are authorised to do so and, where appropriate, that the individual is aware their information may be provided to us and handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Providing your personal information is generally voluntary. However, if you choose not to provide the information we reasonably require, or do not consent to its collection, use or disclosure where permitted by law, we may be unable to provide you with dental treatment or other services you request.
7. How We Use and Disclose Your Personal Information
Dental Kraft Mitcham collects, uses and holds your personal information so we can provide you with high-quality dental care and effectively manage our practice. We only use your personal information for purposes that are reasonably necessary to provide our services or where required or authorised by law.
Your personal information may be used to:
provide dental examinations, diagnosis, treatment and ongoing care;
maintain accurate clinical and patient records;
communicate with you regarding appointments, treatment plans and follow-up care;
process payments, Medicare and private health insurance claims where applicable;
obtain or provide referrals to specialists and other healthcare providers involved in your care;
comply with our legal, professional and regulatory obligations; and
improve the quality, safety and efficiency of our services.
From time to time, we may send you information about our practice, new services, oral health education, appointment reminders or other information that may be relevant to your dental care. If you prefer not to receive these communications, you may opt out at any time.
Disclosure of Your Personal Information
We will only disclose your personal information where it is necessary to provide our services, where you have consented, or where disclosure is required or authorised by law.
This may include disclosure to:
specialists, dental laboratories, radiology providers and other healthcare professionals involved in your treatment;
Medicare, private health insurers or other organisations involved in processing payments or claims;
government or regulatory authorities where required by law;
our professional advisers, including accountants, insurers or legal advisers where appropriate; and
trusted third-party service providers who assist us with services such as appointment management, secure data storage, IT support, website hosting and communications.
Where we engage third-party service providers, we take reasonable steps to ensure they handle your personal information securely and only use it for the purposes for which it was provided.
8. Email Communications
If you provide us with your email address, Dental Kraft Mitcham may send you emails relating to your dental care, appointment reminders, oral health information, practice updates, newsletters, special offers or other information that may be of interest.
You can opt out of receiving promotional or marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe link included in our emails or by contacting our practice directly. Please note that you will continue to receive essential communications relating to your appointments, treatment or account where necessary.
We use the SSL/HTTPS protocol throughout our site. This encrypts our user communications with the servers so that personally identifiable information is not captured/hijacked by third parties without authorization.
In case of a data breach, system administrators will immediately take all needed steps to ensure system integrity, will contact affected users and will attempt to reset passwords if needed.
9. Email Analytics
We may use a secure email management platform to send our email communications. This platform may collect limited information about how our emails are used, including whether:
- an email was successfully delivered;
- an email was opened;
- links within the email were clicked; and
- an unsubscribe request was made.
This information is used to:
- ensure our communications are delivered successfully;
- maintain accurate contact information;
- understand which information is most relevant and useful to our patients;
- improve the quality and effectiveness of our communications; and
- process your communication preferences, including unsubscribe requests.
Any information collected through our email communications is managed securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
10. Overseas transfers of personal information
In most circumstances, Dental Kraft Mitcham stores and manages your personal information within Australia.
However, some of our trusted third-party service providers, such as cloud-based practice management software, data storage providers or IT service providers, may store or process information on servers located outside Australia.
Where your personal information is disclosed overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure it is protected in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). This may include ensuring that the overseas recipient is subject to privacy laws or contractual obligations that provide a level of protection comparable to Australian privacy requirements.
We will only disclose your personal information overseas where:
you have given your consent;
the disclosure is necessary to provide the services you have requested;
the disclosure is otherwise permitted or required by law; or
we have taken reasonable steps to ensure your personal information will be handled in a manner consistent with Australian privacy laws.
11. Release of Your Data for Legal Purposes
Some of the personal information we collect may be classified as sensitive information under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). For a dental practice, this primarily includes your health information, such as your medical history, dental records, medications, allergies, X-rays, scans and other information relevant to your treatment.
We collect sensitive information only where it is reasonably necessary to provide you with safe and appropriate dental care, to manage our practice, or where collection is otherwise required or authorised by law.
Where required, we will collect sensitive information:
- with your consent;
- where the collection is necessary to provide healthcare services or treatment;
- where the collection is required or authorised by law; or
- where otherwise permitted under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
We handle all sensitive information with a high level of confidentiality and take reasonable steps to protect it from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
12. Accessing and Correcting Your Personal Information
You have the right to request access to the personal information that Dental Kraft Mitcham holds about you, as well as to request that any inaccurate, incomplete or outdated information be corrected.
To request access to or correction of your personal information, please contact our practice by phone, email or in writing. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe and in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
In some circumstances, we may be unable to provide access to certain information where permitted or required by law. For example, access may be refused if:
- providing access would be unlawful;
- it would unreasonably affect the privacy of another individual;
- the information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings;
- providing access would prejudice law enforcement activities or other investigations; or
- another exception under the Privacy Act applies.
If we refuse your request, we will explain the reasons for our decision, unless we are legally prevented from doing so.
If you believe any personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, please let us know. We will take reasonable steps to correct the information or, where appropriate, add a statement to your record noting your requested correction.
13. Privacy Enquiries and Complaints
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, would like more information about how we manage your personal information, or believe your privacy has been compromised, please contact Dental Kraft Mitcham.
We take all privacy concerns seriously and will investigate your complaint promptly and respond within a reasonable timeframe. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
13. Changes to This Privacy Policy
Dental Kraft Mitcham may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal or regulatory requirements, or the services we provide.
Any changes will take effect when the updated Privacy Policy is published on our website. We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed about how we collect, use and protect your personal information.
The most current version of this Privacy Policy will always be available on our website.