Privacy Policy

Last updated 25 July 2024

Policy Overview

Pop Family Pty Ltd (we/us)is committed to protecting the privacy and security of personal information we collect and hold about individuals. We understand the importance of maintaining your trust and are dedicated to upholding the highest standards of privacy and data protection.

We have obligations as to how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) other privacy laws that govern how private sector health service handle your personal information, as well as Speech Pathology Australia’s Code of Ethics (2020).

This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your information when you use our services. It also details your rights regarding your personal information and our practices for ensuring security.

By using our services, you consent to the practice described in this policy.

Handling Your Personal Information

Legal Obligations

In order to provide you with the therapeutic care services that you have requested, we will need to collect and use your personal information. If you provide incomplete or inaccurate information to us or withhold personal and health information from us we may not be able to provide you with the services you are seeking.

Information Collection

We will only collect the information we need for the particular function or activity we are carrying out. We collect information from you that is necessary to provide you with speech pathology services and to manage our relationship with you. The information we collect includes, but is not limited to: you/ your child’s name, date of birth, email address, phone number, residential/postage address, payment information, health fund details and information about your health history and family history. We require this information to assist the speech pathologist to diagnose and treat you.

Using Your Information

Pop uses your personal information for the purpose you have given the information to us. Specifically, we use your information to:

Provide speech pathology services
Manage our relationship with you
Contact you regarding matters related to your care
We may also use your information for other purposes permitted under the Privacy Act 1988.

Disclosure of Information

We may disclose your information to the following people when given consent:

Other health professionals or representatives of the client (school, parent, nominated contact or representative) involved in your treatment
The referrer, such as your medical practitioner, through progress or discharge summaries
Relatives, guardians, close friends or legal representatives to provide information about your condition

Other Uses and Disclosures

To provide the best possible environment in which to treat you, we may also use or disclose your personal and health information where necessary for:

Quality assurance processes, audits, risk and claims management, client satisfaction surveys, and staff education and training.
Invoicing, billing and account management.
Liaising with health funds, Medicare or the Department of Veterans Affairs or other third parties involved in your care to verify treatment provided to you.
Sending you standard reminders for appointments and follow-up care via text message or email to the number or address which you have provided us with.

Images and Video Footage

Any images or video footage of clients will not be used without the client’s consent.

Access and Correction of Your Health Information

You have a right to request access to the personal and health information that we hold about you. You will be required to complete a “Request for Information” form before information is released. You can also request an amendment to your personal and health information should you believe that it is inaccurate. If we do not agree to change your record/ personal information in accordance with your request, we will permit you to make a statement of the requested changes and we will enclose this in your records.

Quality of Data

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information which we may collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete and up-to-date.

Data Security

We will take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Our comprehensive approach to data security includes but not limited to:

Credit Card Information is encrypted before transmission and is not stored by us on our servers. All credit card information is handled within our third party payment and gateway provider STRIPE.
End-to-End Encryption within our IT software such as; data storage, internal communications, external video calling applications and practice management software.
Use of Reputable Software to ensure the highest level of data security. We utilise reputable software solutions available that meet compliance with international standards and whom demonstrate strong corporate governance. These extend to hardware security solutions.
Strict Access Controls are in place to limit access to personal information to authorised personnel only. This includes role-based access permissions, multi-factor authentication and two-factor-authentication for accessing sensitive data and within core-business systems.
Regular Audits and Live Monitoring of core business systems to detect and respond to potential vulnerabilities or security breaches promptly.
Secure Storage of personal information within cloud-storages. We destroy hard copies of personal information once digitally scanned. Our cloud-storage is backup to fail-safe measures in the event of a total disaster.
Data Minimisation by collecting only the information necessary for therapeutic supports or specific function and activity.
Employee Training awareness on data protection and privacy best practices to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities in protecting personal information.
Data Retention and Disposal; In line with legislation, we will take reasonable steps to mark as ‘beyond use’, destroy, or de-identify personal information when it is no longer necessary to retain it. This is in addition to retention policies associated with employee accounts various IT softwares.

Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as needed to provide services to you and as otherwise necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Additionally, we adhere to legal obligations related to the retention of personal information of minors who have not yet reached the age of majority. This ensures that their information is protected and managed in compliance with relevant laws and regulations until they are of age.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies to analyse website traffic, provide social media sharing and liking functionality and help us provide a better website experience.

Recording and Transcribing of Interactions

We may record, monitor and transcribe inbound and outbound phone calls. The purpose of call recording and transcription is to provide an exact record of the call for:

Staff training purposes, helping us improve the quality of our interactions and ensure the information we provide is consistent and accurate.
Conduct accuracy checks to ensure we have an accurate record of the call, to support any transaction that takes place over the phone.
Establishing the facts in the event of a complaint by a client, guardian, third party or member of staff used in any associated incident reviews.

Individuals will be clearly informed that the call will be recorded and can opt out of the recording at any time. All call recordings are stored on a secure server and backup each day. Backups are held for a period of 90 days before automatic deletion. If a caller opts out of recording, the call will not be recorded, and necessary documentation will be manually recorded by the Pop team.

Data Sharing with Third Parties

Pop values your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. In certain circumstances, we may need to upload specific data to third-party providers to enhance our service and tailor our communication.

Your personal information may be disclosed to third-party suppliers when required by law, for goods or services which you have purchased, for payment processing, or to protect our copyright, trademarks and other legal rights. When we share your personal data with a service provider, we ensure that they comply with our privacy standards as described in this privacy policy and in accordance to applicable law. Our contracts with third parties prohibit them from using your personal data for any purpose other than that for which it was shared.

For example some personal information may be required to be shared with:

Financial Providers: Credit card payment processing tools, invoicing software, and practice management software to facilitate and manage financial transactions.
Government Agencies: Agencies such as National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA), or child safety organisations for compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, as well as to ensure the provision of appropriate services and support.

Additionally, we may upload your information to third-party platforms for specific purposes, including but not limited to:

Including you on a marketing mail list
Conducting industry and specific research
Creating exclusion and whitelist lists for targeted marketing campaigns
Improving service delivery and communication management
Administrative management of marketing materials and consent tracking

This helps us organise and distribute our marketing consent, ensuring you receive relevant information regarding our services and updates. This sharing is strictly for managing communications and not for direct marketing purposes without your explicit consent.

We will always obtain prior consent if your information is to be considered for conducting research.

Change in Privacy Policy

Pop Family reserves the right to make amendments to this Privacy Policy to ensure our privacy policy remains current and reflective of our practices. We may modify this policy at any time, at our sole discretion. All modifications will be effective immediately upon release on our website or via email.

From time to time, we may use your information for new, unanticipated uses not previously disclosed in our privacy policy. If our information practices change in the future, we will use data collected from the time of the policy change forward in accordance with our updated practices.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy policy please do not hesitate to contact us.

Pop Family Team

Phone: 1300 26 11 60

Email: [email protected]