We recognise the importance of protecting the privacy and the rights of individuals in relation to their personal information. This document is our privacy policy and it tells you how we collect and manage your personal information.

We respect your rights to privacy and have a legal obligation to abide by the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Act). The rules that an organisation must follow under the Act are known as the Australian Privacy Principles, and cover areas including the collection, use, disclosure, quality and security of personal information. Our Centres, Clinics and Call Centres are also governed by a number of State-specific privacy laws.

What is your personal information?

When used in this privacy policy, the term “personal information” has the meaning given to it in the Act. In general terms, it is any information that can be used to personally identify you. This may include your name, address, telephone number, email address and profession or occupation. If the information we collect personally identifies you, or you are reasonably identifiable from it, the information will be considered personal information. Our privacy policy covers all people who use our services or otherwise provide their personal information to us.

For the purposes of this privacy policy, no distinction has been made between the handling of personal information and sensitive information (as that term is defined in the Act); therefore all information will be referred to as "personal information" throughout this document.

What personal information do we collect and hold?

We may collect the following types of personal information:

  • your name, address and telephone number;
  • your age or date of birth;
  • your Medicare number, Veterans’ Affairs number, Health Care Card number, health fund details or pension number;
  • current drugs or treatments used by you;
  • information relevant to your medical care, including but not limited to your previous and current medical history and your family medical history (where clinically relevant);
  • your ethnic background;
  • your profession, occupation or job title;
  • the name of any health service provider or medical specialist to whom you are referred, copies of any letters of referrals and copies of any reports back; and
  • any additional information relating to you that you provide to us directly through our representatives, medical or allied health professionals providing services at or from our Centres, Clinics or Call Centres, or otherwise.

We may also collect some information that is not personal information because it does not identify you or anyone else. For example, we may collect anonymous answers to surveys or aggregated information about how users use our website.

How do we collect your personal information?

We collect your personal information directly from you unless it is unreasonable or impracticable to do so. When collecting personal information from you, we may collect it in ways including:

  • by you completing one of our registration or patient information forms;
  • as disclosed by you during the course of a consultation at our Centres, Clinics or Call Centres or
  • through your access and use of our website.

We may also collect personal information from third parties including:

  • information provided on your behalf with your consent;
  • from a health service provider who refers you to medical practitioners or allied health professionals providing services at or from our Centres, Clinics or Call Centres;
  • from health service providers to whom you are referred;
  • from your employer or prospective employer; or
  • from third party bodies such as law enforcement agencies and other government entities.

What happens if we can’t collect your personal information?

If you do not provide us with the personal information described above, some or all of the following may happen:

  • we may not be able to provide the requested services to you, either to the same standard or at all; or
  • your diagnosis and treatment may be inaccurate or incomplete.

To whom may we disclose your information?

We may disclose your personal information to:

  • our employees, our medical professionals and allied health practitioners who provide medical services to you at our Centres and Clinics, related bodies corporate, contractors or service providers for the purposes of operation of our business, fulfilling requests by you, and to otherwise provide products and services to you including, without limitation, web hosting providers, IT systems administrators, mailing houses, couriers, payment processors, data entry service providers, electronic network administrators, debt collectors, and professional advisors such as accountants, solicitors, business advisors and consultants;
  • suppliers and other third parties with whom we have commercial relationships, for business, marketing, and related purposes;
  • your employer or prospective employer, their authorised representatives and their insurer in the case of a work-related consultation or service; and
  • any organisation or person for any authorised purpose with your express consent.

We may combine or share any information that we collect from you with information collected by any of our related bodies corporate (within Australia).

For what purposes do we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information?

We collect personal information about you so that we can perform our business activities and functions and to provide the best possible quality of service to you.

We collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information for the following purposes:

  • to provide medical services and treatment to you, and to enable you to be attended by medical practitioners or other allied health professionals at our Centres, Clinics or Call Centres;
  • for administrative and billing purposes;
  • to update our records and keep your contact details up to date;
  • to process and respond to any complaint made by you;
  • to comply with any law, rule, regulation, lawful and binding determination, decision or direction of a regulator, or in co-operation with any governmental authority of any country;
  • for the purposes of data research and analysis including conducting clinical trials and proactive screenings and for the purpose of sending you direct marketing communications in relation to these;
  • for inclusion in a recall register to be advised of follow up visits and medical updates;
  • for the purpose of reporting back to your employer or prospective employer, their authorised representatives and their insurer in the case of a work-related consultation or service;
  • to answer enquiries and provide information or advice about existing and new products or services and all matters relevant to the services we provide to you;
  • to conduct business processing functions including providing personal information to our related bodies corporate, contractors, service providers or other third parties;
  • for the administrative, marketing (including direct marketing), planning, product or service development, quality control and research purposes of the IPN Group, its contractors or service providers; and
  • to meet obligations of notification to our medical defence organisations or insurers.

Your personal information will not be shared, sold, rented or disclosed other than as described in this Privacy Policy or as permitted under the Act.

Direct marketing materials

We may send you direct marketing communications and information about our products and services that we consider may be of interest to you. These communications may be sent in various forms, including mail, SMS, fax and email, in accordance with all applicable marketing laws, such as the Spam Act 2003 (Cth). If, in your dealings with us, you indicate a preference for a method of communication, we will endeavour to use that method whenever practical to do so. In addition, at any time you may opt-out of receiving marketing communications from us by contacting us or by using opt-out facilities provided in the marketing communications and we will then ensure that your name is removed from our mailing list.

How can you access and correct your personal information?

You may request access to any personal information we hold about you at any time by contacting us. Where we hold information that you are entitled to access, we will try to provide you with suitable means of accessing it (for example, by mailing or emailing it to you). We may charge you a fee to cover our administrative and other reasonable costs in providing the information to you and, if so, the fees will be as advised from time to time. We will not charge for simply making the request and will not charge for making any corrections to your personal information.

There may be instances where we cannot grant you access to the personal information we hold; however, we will only do so in accordance with our rights and obligations under the Act. For example, we may need to refuse access if granting access would interfere with the privacy of others or if it would result in a breach of confidentiality. If that happens, we will give you written reasons for any refusal.

If you believe that personal information we hold about you is incorrect, incomplete or inaccurate, then you may send us a written request us to amend it, including the basis on which you are requesting the amendment. We will consider if the information requires amendment. If we do not agree that there are grounds for amendment then we will add a note to the personal information stating that you disagree with it.

What is the process for complaining about a breach of privacy?

If you believe that your privacy has been breached, please contact us in accordance with the arrangements set out below and provide details of the incident so that we can investigate it.

Our procedure for investigating and dealing with privacy breaches is for the incident or complaint to be dealt with in the first instance by the particular Centre, Clinic or Call Centre at which you received our services. If the issue cannot be resolved at this level, it will be escalated to the relevant Area or State Manager for review and resolution.

Do we disclose your personal information to anyone outside Australia?

In relation to medicals and consultations procured or requested by our overseas clients, we may disclose your personal information to these clients in their countries of operation. We do not otherwise disclose your personal information to overseas recipients. In the event that we would like or are required to do so, we will obtain your consent.

Security

We take reasonable steps to ensure your personal information is protected from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We may hold your information in either electronic or hard copy form. Personal information is destroyed or de-identified when no longer needed.

As our website is linked to the internet, and the internet is inherently insecure, we cannot provide any assurance regarding the security of transmission of information you communicate to us online. We also cannot guarantee that the information you supply will not be intercepted while being transmitted over the internet. Accordingly, any personal information or other information which you transmit to us online is transmitted at your own risk.

Our websites may contain links to other websites operated by third parties. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the privacy practices of any third party website and we are not responsible for the privacy policies or the content of any third party website. Third party websites are responsible for informing you about their own privacy practices.

Clinical services:

Sonic HealthPlus has a national network of clinics offering both occupational health and general practice medicine. We strive to provide accurate and individualised services to benefit your family, your workforce, and you. For a comprehensive list of our clinic locations, including contact details, please visit the 'locations' page on our website.

We abide by strict government legislations in the delivery of our clinical services. Please find answers below to common questions we get asked about our privacy, feedback, fees and more.

Feedback
If you have a problem, we would like to hear about it. We take concerns, suggestions and complaints seriously and will deal with any matters that come to us. All complaints will be followed up in writing, if requested.

Complaints can be made on the feedback form on our website, or at your local clinic. Doctor and nurse complaints can be reported to the AHPRA. Please refer to the privacy breach section on this page regarding privacy complaints. Please ask your local clinic manager for a feedback form to provide feedback on the services you received within the clinic. Alternatively, you can contact the Sonic HealthPlus Head Office or Health Ombudsman if you wish to remain anonymous.

Results management and privacy
We have a policy to maintain the privacy of personal health information at all times. All health information is available only to the patient and authorised members of our staff. To obtain your results, our nurse will contact you for follow up when required. Our communication policy dictates we will not provide any personal information over the phone, or via electronic communications. We encourage patients to participate in decisions about their health care and advise to speak to one of our doctors for any queries or concerns.

Parking and access
We strive to provide easy access to our clinics for all patients. When possible, each clinic has allocated disabled parking with ramp access. If you require assistance, please contact your local clinic who will be able to assist you on arriving and departing the clinic.

Out of hours
Each clinic has a dedicated after hours service we refer our patients to outside of clinic hours. This information is available at our clinic and through individual clinic flyers - please ask clinic staff for the out of hours contact details as they differ for each clinic.

For all emergencies, please contact 000.

Fee schedule
Our fee schedule is standard for consultations. Specific item pricing is displayed at the reception area of your local clinic, this is also available over the phone.

Our standard consultation time is generally 15 minutes; however, we can provide a longer consultation on request.

Home appointments or an interpreter can be provided when required.

Contacting us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, any concerns or a complaint regarding the treatment of your privacy or a possible breach of your privacy, please contact the Centre, Clinic or Call Centre at which you received our services.

We will treat your requests or complaints confidentially. Our representative will contact you within a reasonable time after receipt of your complaint to discuss your concerns and outline options regarding how they may be resolved. We will aim to ensure that your complaint is resolved in a timely and appropriate manner.

If you are unable to contact the Centre, Clinic or Call Centre at which you received our services, you may contact us by using the following details:

Level 32
60 Margaret Street
Sydney NSW 2000

Changes to our privacy policy

We may change this privacy policy from time to time. Any updated versions of this privacy policy will be posted on our website.

This privacy policy was last updated on 13 July 2023.

Definitions

In this document, the terms “we”, “our”, “us” or “IPN Group” mean Independent Practitioner Network Pty Limited, Sonic HealthPlus Pty Ltd, Matrix Skin Cancer Clinics Pty Limited, Allied Medical Group Holdings Pty Ltd, Lonnex & Millennium Management Holdings Pty Limited, Australian Locum Medical Service Pty Limited and each of their related bodies corporate.