Privacy Statement

This statement applies to our interaction with you at the clinic, by phone, email and through our website. By accessing our services and/or our website and submitting information to us, you consent to us using and disclosing your information only in the methods described in this Privacy Statement.

QSMC Physiotherapy | Exercise Physiology | Health (QSMC) is committed to protecting the privacy of an individual’s personal information. The following sets out how we aim to protect the privacy of your personal information, your rights in relation to your personal information managed by us, and the way we collect, use and disclose your personal information.

In handling your personal information, we will comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and with the thirteen Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act. Records are also managed in accordance with Queensland health record retention requirements (usually 7 years for adults, or until age 25 for children).

We have policies and procedures in place to ensure that:

  • personal information is managed in an open and transparent way
  • the privacy of personal information of participants, staff, clients, patients, contractors, employees, applicants and other individuals we undertake business interactions with are protected
  • we collect and handle personal information fairly
  • personal information we collect is used and disclosed for legally permitted purposes only
  • we regulate access to and correction of personal information
  • we maintain the confidentiality of personal information through appropriate storage and security

The kinds of information we collect

Consumer personal information is collected to provide care and services.  Personal information we collect could include your:

  • name, address, telephone number and email address
  • date of birth
  • gender
  • advocate or emergency contact’s telephone number and email 
  • health information
  • diversity status (ethnicity, lifestyle preferences)
  • billing and payment information (including credit/debit card tokenisation details, transaction histories, and payment status).

How we collect personal information

Personal information may be collected from:

  • you, directly – for example when you make an enquiry regarding one of our products/services; when you subscribe to receive our newsletters; we may also collect Next of Kin contact details in the case of an emergency on our new patient forms.
  • directly through our online booking portal, Nookal Patient Portal, and digital intake forms when you register, book appointments, or update your billing details.
  • generic information obtained through our website – for example pages visited, service provider and how you came to our website. This information will not be used to individually identify you; it is used in aggregate for statistical purposes. Your information is collected by us as described above and stored in the company’s database.
  • your family members or significant others
  • your advocate
  • your doctor or other service providers or facilities.

We will collect personal information directly from you unless:

  • we have your consent to collect the information from someone else 
  • we are required or authorised by law to collect the information from someone else 
  • it is unreasonable or impractical to do so.

If the VALD assessment tools are used as part of your assessment, your details will be inserted into related software to enable accurate assessment. This data may be used in an anonymous fashion, by the manufacturer VALD Performance for purposes including, but not limited to the purpose of improving and upgrading their hardware and systems.

If you participate in a Telehealth consultation, we use Google Meet which utilises end-to-end encryption. Telehealth consultations are not recorded without your express prior consent.

QSMC may communicate with you via email or SMS for appointment reminders, invoices, and clinical follow-ups. Please be aware that standard email and SMS services are not end-to-end encrypted.

While we take every precaution to secure your data within our systems, there are inherent privacy risks in transmitting health information over the internet (such as unauthorised interception). By providing your email and mobile number, you acknowledge these risks and consent to receiving clinical and administrative information via these channels. You may opt-out or request an alternative communication method at any time by contacting our administration team.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us; although you should be advised that this may impact on our capacity to provide services.

Updating Personal Information

QSMC takes practical steps to ensure that the personal information gathered from patients is correct and current. This also relies on the accuracy of the information you provide. We request that you keep your information up-to-date so that we can continue to provide you with a personalised service and ensure that you receive information on our products and services.

Purpose of collecting personal information

Personal information is collected for the purposes of providing care and services. The information may be used to: 

  • provide support services 
  • enable service providers and medical practitioners to provide care and services 

Disclosure of personal information 

We only share your personal and health information for the primary purpose of providing your care, or where required or authorised by law. For these purposes, we may disclose your information to:

  • Healthcare & Support Providers: Service providers assisting in your care, medical practitioners, external health agencies (such as ambulance services and hospitals), the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and other relevant government organisations.
  • Technology & Infrastructure Providers: Cloud-based practice management software (Nookal), payment processing gateways (Stripe Connect), and enterprise cloud productivity suites (Google Workspace) for the purposes of appointment management, billing, document creation, secure file storage, and clinical correspondence.
  • Nominated Advocates & Emergency Contacts: Any person you have nominated as your advocate or emergency contact (e.g. a parent, child, sibling, spouse, relative, guardian, or enduring power of attorney), provided they are at least 18 years of age.

We may not use or disclose personal information for a purpose other than providing care and services, unless:

  • you have consented
  • the purpose is related to providing care and services, and you would reasonably expect disclosure of the information for that purpose
  • we believe on reasonable grounds that the disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your life, health or safety or a serious threat to public health or public safety
  • we have reason to suspect unlawful activity and disclosure is required or authorised by law.

Use of Personal Information

QSMC may use your personal information in the following ways:

For the purpose for which the information was collected including professional service provision;

  • To market our products and services including by mail/email;
  • Allows us to provide a personalised service to you.

We will not use this information for any other purpose without your consent, and will not pass this information on to third parties without your consent.

When we do temporarily provide personal information to companies who provide services to the organisation, such as specialist IT companies, contractors and mail houses, QSMC requires that these providers protect your personal information as thoroughly as we do.

Our website and new patient forms give you the option of subscribing to receive newsletters via email. These emails will in no way disclose your unique health characteristics. At the time you sign up for our email newsletters or any time thereafter, you can choose to opt-out of receiving additional promotional emails from us.

To subscribe to such newsletters, we need your contact information, such as name and email address. You can unsubscribe from the newsletters by simply clicking on the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of any email newsletter. An email to our automated unsubscribe service will be created on your computer. Click the “send” button. You will then be unsubscribed from that newsletter within two to three business days.

If you select the option of clicking to forward our mail outs to a friend from time to time we will use that address provided to forward the selected item to your friend’s email address, listing your email address as the sender. We use that only for sending your friend that email. While we store the email address, we do not use it for any other purpose.

If you would like to unsubscribe from receiving our marketing materials please email us at admin@qsmc.net.au.

Use of anonymous information

QSMC gathers anonymous information to monitor the use of the website including the number of visitors and areas of the website which are most frequently visited.

This data assists us to determine the success of our marketing or advertising initiatives and to assess the most accessed areas of the website to continually improve our online presence. We may provide this collective data to third parties.

Security of personal information

We take all reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we hold is protected against misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We hold personal information in both hard copy and electronic forms in secure databases on secure premises and on secure, cloud-based technology, accessible only by our authorised staff. We cannot guarantee that unauthorised access to your personal information will not occur, whether it is during transmission or after that information has been received.

We may use third-party service providers who store data on servers located outside of Australia. Where we do so, we take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient treats your information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles.

Payment Card Security: Payment card details provided online or in-clinic are processed and stored securely using Stripe Connect, a Level 1 PCI-DSS compliant payment provider. QSMC and Nookal do not store or have access to full 16-digit credit card numbers or CVV security codes on local servers.

Sale of Personal Information

Under no circumstances will QSMC sell your personal information to external parties.

Cookies

When you visit our website personal information will not be collected unless you wish to provide this to us (by submitting website enquiries or signing on for a service or program). We may collect data that does not personally identify you when you click on certain pages. This data may include the type of browser and operating system you have. This website may also use ‘cookies’. ‘Cookies’ are small files stored on your computer that manage the security and navigation of the site. You may choose to block these ‘cookies’. This data is used only for statistical purposes and will not be used to identify you personally.

Accessing the personal information that we hold about you

Under the Privacy Act, you have a right to access your personal information that is collected and held by us. If at any time you would like to access or change the personal information that we hold about you, or you would like more information on our approach to privacy, please contact us.

To obtain access to your personal information, you will have to provide us with proof of identity. We will take all reasonable steps to provide access to your personal information within thirty (30) days from your request. 

Employee information

Records of current and past employees which are related to the employment relationship are managed in accordance with workplace laws. Privacy laws may apply to employee personal information if the information is used for something that is not related to the employment relationship between our organisation and the employee. 

Volunteer records

Personal information collected and held by us in relation to our volunteers will be managed in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Privacy data breaches

In the event that your personal information is lost, stolen or subject to unauthorised access or disclosure, we will implement our Management of Data Breach Policy and Procedure.  

Privacy complaints

All complaints regarding privacy can be lodged via email at admin@qsmc.net.au.

At all times, privacy complaints will:

  • be treated seriously
  • be dealt with as promptly as possible
  • be dealt with in a confidential manner
  • not affect your existing obligations or affect the commercial arrangements between you and us.

You will be informed of the outcome of your complaint following completion of the investigation.

How to contact us

If you have any questions in relation to privacy please contact QSMC on:

Email: admin@qsmc.net.au

Phone: (07) 3891 2000

This Privacy Policy applies to QSMC, its employees and contractors.

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