PRIVACY
POLICY

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Thorne Harbour Health takes your privacy seriously. Thorne Harbour Health has
a legal and ethical obligation to ensure the privacy of information relating
to individual clients and their families.

Thorne Harbour Health’s Privacy and Confidentiality Policy reflects the
principles outlined in the Health Records Act 2001, the
Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth) and the
Privacy & Data Protection Act 2014 (Victoria) regarding the
collection, use, disclosure, access and protection of any personal or health
information we hold. Note that other legislation, such as the
My Health Records Act 2012, may have implications for the
privacy and confidentiality of personal information held by Thorne Harbour
Health.

In line with these principles, Thorne Harbour Health policy requires the
organisation:

  • To only collect and use personal information with the client’s prior
    knowledge and consent;
  • To only use the personal information provided for the purpose for which it
    was collected. This may include health service provision, research and
    auditing purposes;
  • To remove personal information from records when it is no longer required,
    unless it is legally required to be retained and archived;
  • To ensure policies and procedures are in place to protect the personal
    information we hold;
  • To ensure Thorne Harbour Health’s Privacy & Confidentiality Policy is
    available for clients and the public to access;
  • Not to disclose personal information to other services or individuals
    without consent;
  • Not to disclose personal information to other institutions and authorities
    unless required by law or other regulations or statutes.

Clients and individuals have the right to access their personal or health
information held by Thorne Harbour Health. Such requests are to be in writing
using the
Thorne Harbour Health Request to Access Client Care Records form, and addressed to the relevant service manager.

The Privacy Act 1988 requires Thorne Harbour Health to notify
you and the Australian Information Commissioner if we become aware that your
personal information has been breached. Thorne Harbour Health services funded
by the Department of Health and Human Services must also notify the Department
of the breach or possible breach.

Thorne Harbour Health participates in quality assurance, research and
reporting activities that utilise non-identifiable client information and
aggregate client data.

Thorne Harbour Health also collects data to track the performance of our
website and social media pages. This is not used to identify individual users
or collect personal information.

Feedback provided on Thorne Harbour Health’s website or social media pages
about Thorne Harbour Health services and programs is downloaded, de-identified
and used by Thorne Harbour Health for service and program improvement.

Email/social media addresses provided via the Thorne Harbour Health website or
social media will only be used to respond to specific user queries and will
not be added to any mailing lists or disclosed to other parties without the
user’s knowledge and consent.

Thorne Harbour Health’s
Privacy & Confidentiality Policy
and
Client Confidentiality Procedure
are available via the Thorne Harbour Health website.

For further information about
Thorne Harbour Health’s Privacy and Confidentiality Policy, please contact Thorne Harbour Health via
www.thorneharbour.org/contact, or call Thorne Harbour Health’s Privacy Officer on Tel:
+61 3 9865 6700 or Toll Free:
1800 134 840.

If you feel the privacy of your health information or personal details has
been compromised in any way at Thorne Harbour Health, please contact our
Privacy Officer (contact details as above) about how to make a complaint.

Complaints about privacy and confidentiality breaches can also be directed to:

Health Complaints Commissioner Tel: 1300 582 113 / Online:
https://hcc.vic.gov.au / Visit: 26th
Floor, 570 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

NDIS Commission Tel: 1800 035 544 / Online:
www.ndiscommission.gov.au /
Visit: 913 Whitehorse Rd, Box Hill VIC 3128

Australian Information CommissionerTel: 1300 363 992 /
Online:
www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints /
Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au /
Post: GPO Box 5218, Sydney, NSW 2001

Victorian Information Commissioner Tel: 1300 006 842 /
Online: www.ovic.vic.gov.au / Email:
enquiries@ovic.vic.gov.au / Post:
PO Box 24274, Melbourne VIC 3001