Active Audiology is committed to maintaining your privacy. Our handling of personal information is in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles that were made effective by the Privacy Amendment Act on March 12, 2014. Further information about the Privacy Principles can be viewed at https://www.oaic.gov.au./. This policy sets out our personal information management practices.
Throughout this policy, we refer to your ‘personal information’ as information that identifies you as an individual or from which you can be reasonably identified.
Our business is to understand and meet our client’s hearing needs and deliver a range of hearing and related services. To do this effectively, we need to collect certain personal information.
Your personal information will not be sold to overseas recipients or third parties for the use of direct marketing or research, unless your consent has been obtained and you have been expressively informed of our intentions to do so. This is in accordance with Australian Privacy Principle no. 8 (“Cross – border disclosure of personal information”).
Additionally, to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of our clinical documentation, our clinicians may use Heidi, a secure AI-powered note-taking tool. Heidi transcribes consultations in real-time without storing audio recordings. The transcribed notes are securely integrated into your health record within our Practice Management System.
We also record inbound telephone calls for training and quality assurance purposes. These recordings are stored securely and are accessed only by authorised staff. If you prefer not to have your call recorded, you may request that the recording be deleted after the call. Your request will be actioned promptly and respectfully.
Because of the nature of the products and services provided and applicable government regulations, we ask for a range of personal information from our clients and others. The type of personal information we may collect can include (but is not limited to) name, address, date of birth, contact details, pensioner number, Department of Veterans Affairs number, as well as medical and hearing information.
We obtain most of the information directly from our clients through application or other forms, and from maintaining records of information provided in the course of providing hearing services. We may also obtain information from other sources.
We may ask for other information voluntarily from time to time (for example, through market research, surveys or special offers) to enable us to improve our services or consider the wider needs of our customers or potential customers.
If you choose not to provide the information we need to fulfil your request for a hearing service, we may not be able to meet your hearing needs.
Active Audiology welcomes ideas and feedback about all aspects of our business. At the end of your hearing program or final consultation, you are requested, but not obligated, to provide brief feedback on our clinical care and service.
As a contracted hearing service provider for the Australian Government, we are required to obtain this feedback from all clients receiving services under the scheme. Active Audiology stores and uses this feedback to administer and refine the service that we provide to current and future clients.
The primary purpose for collecting your personal information is to enable us to provide you with hearing and related services.
While we may send you marketing material from time to time that we think will be useful to you, we are conscious of the need to respect your privacy and give you the opportunity to opt out from receiving promotional material.
Unless you are informed otherwise, the personal information we hold is used for establishing and providing you with hearing services and related activities, reviewing your ongoing needs, enhancing our customer service and product options, and giving you ongoing information or opportunities that we believe may be relevant to your hearing needs and other circumstances.
If you are receiving or eligible to receive hearing services under the Office of Hearing Services Scheme, we will use your information (such as your name, date of birth and DVA or Centrelink pension number) to access the secure online Australian Government Hearing Services Portal and view your eligibility status or to maintain and update your hearing services under this scheme.
Depending on the product or service being provided, personal information may be disclosed to:
- Any person you request or consent to receiving the information, including medical professionals such as your health specialist or General Practitioner.
- Relevant officers of the Australian or a State or Territory Government, Ministers or members of a committee established by law.
- Anyone we are required by law to disclose the information.
- Our contractors assisting us to provide you with hearing and other related services.
- If you are a minor, your parent/s or guardian/s, unless you are entitled by law to prevent that disclosure or we are required by law not to make that disclosure.
When Heidi is used during your consultation, your clinician will inform you and seek your consent prior to proceeding. You may withdraw your consent at any time. Heidi transcribes your conversation in real-time to generate clinical notes, which are reviewed by your clinician and saved into your official health record. No audio recordings are retained, ensuring your confidentiality is protected.
Safeguarding the privacy of your information is important to us, whether you interact with us personally, by phone, mail, over the internet or other electronic medium.
We hold personal information in a combination of secure computer storage facilities and paper-based files and other records and take steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
We may need to maintain records for a significant period of time. However, when we consider information is no longer needed, we will remove any details that will identify you or we will securely destroy the records.
Active Audiology endeavours to ensure that the personal information it holds is accurate and up-to-date. We realise that this information changes frequently with changes of address and other personal circumstances.
Heidi is ISO27001 certified and stores data on Australian servers. All data processed by Heidi is encrypted, securely stored, and accessed only by your treating clinician.
Call recordings are stored securely and are accessed only by authorised staff for training and quality assurance purposes. If you prefer not to have your call recorded, you may request that the recording be deleted after the call.
In accordance with Australian Privacy Principle 12, you have the right to obtain a copy of any personal information that Active Audiology holds about you.
Note that the aforementioned Privacy Principle does set out some exceptions to this (for more information go to https://www.oaic.gov.au./).
You can also request corrections to your personal information if you believe it is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading.
Additionally, you have the right to:
- Withdraw your consent for the use of Heidi during consultations.
- Request the deletion of any call recordings associated with your interactions.
If you consider that any action of Active Audiology breaches this privacy policy or the Australian Privacy Principles or otherwise doesn’t respect your privacy, you can make a complaint.
To make a complaint, please telephone us on 1300 364 007, whereby our staff can assist you with lodging a formal complaint to Active Audiology’s management.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) via www.oaic.gov.au.