Privacy and Data Protection

Your privacy is important to us

The protection of your personal information is something we take very seriously.

Protecting your privacy 

Brisbane South PHN acknowledges and takes seriously its obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles and any registered privacy code that applies to it. 

The information in this statement details how we comply with the requirements of the Privacy Act in protecting personal information we might hold about you. 

We regularly review our policies and procedures regarding personal information and may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.  Any changes to this Privacy Policy will be published on this website or can otherwise be obtained by contacting us and requesting a copy.

What is Personal Information? 

Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not, and whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not. 

Records directly relating to a current or former employment relationship are exempt in the Privacy Act. 

What we collect 

The kinds of personal information that Brisbane South PHN collects will vary depending on our particular interaction or dealing with you.

Personal information collected by Brisbane South PHN generally comprises name, address, date of birth, gender, occupation, employer, contact details (including telephone, facsimile and e-mail), and qualifications. 

Sometimes we collect sensitive information that might include information or an opinion about cultural ethnic origin, health or medical information, membership of a political association, professional or trade association and financial information. 

We collect information by lawful and fair means directly from you, or from third parties if it is unreasonable or impracticable to collect it from you. 

In some circumstances, the law permits us to collect information from others without your consent, and we will generally tell you about this as soon as reasonably practicable afterwards. 

We only collect personal information about you that is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our functions and activities, and relevant to the purpose for which it is collected. 

We will only collect sensitive information with your consent, or as otherwise authorised or required by law. 

Where it is lawful and practicable to do so, we give you the option of interacting anonymously. This may involve allocating you with a pseudonym. 

We take reasonable steps to keep your personal information we know about you accurate, up to date and complete. 

Why we collect information 

Information is collected so that we may: 

• administer stakeholder relationships 

• answer your queries

• provide an enhanced and more personalised experience when you deal with the PHN 

• provide you with services, unless you tell us otherwise 

• determine your eligibility for services we provide 

• provide information about our services (unless you tell us you do not want to receive this information) 

• make and receive payments. 

If you have provided us with your email or mobile phone details we may provide information to you electronically, unless you tell us otherwise. 

Online collection of information via website activity 

For statistical purposes we collect information on web site activity such as the number of users who visit our web sites, the date and time of visits, the number of pages viewed, navigation patterns, what country and what systems are used to access the site. 

This information on its own does not identify an individual but it does provide statistics that can be used to analyse and improve our online services. 

Our web site or online communications may contain links to other websites or information, and you should be aware that information handling of a linked website or service might not be the same as ours. 

Cookies 

When you visit our web site we use ‘cookie’ technology to make the experience a simple, personalised and meaningful one. Cookies are small pieces of information that are issued to your computer or any similar device you use to access the internet and which store and sometimes track information about your use of our website. 

No personal data is collected from cookies on our website. You can control how cookies are used on your computer or device. 

Security 

The security of your personal information is important to us. We take all reasonable measures to ensure that your personal information is stored safely to protect it from misuse, loss, interference, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, including by appropriate electronic and physical security measures. If you reasonably believe that there has been unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal information, please contact us. 

Access and correction 

You may seek access to the personal information we hold about you, by making a written request. We will respond to your request within a reasonable period. We may charge you a reasonable fee for providing access to your personal information (but not for making a request for access). We may need to confirm your identity beforehand so we can ensure that we keep the personal information we hold secure.

We may decline a request for access to personal information in circumstances prescribed by the Privacy Act.  For example, we may decline a request for access where it would require us to disclose personal information about other people or commercially sensitive information to you.  If we decline a request for access, we will provide you with a written notice that sets out the reasons for the refusal (unless it would be unreasonable to provide those reasons) and give you information on your options, including how to make a complaint. 

If, upon receiving access to your personal information or at any other time, you believe the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, please notify us immediately. We will take reasonable steps to correct the information so that it is accurate, complete and up to date. 

If we refuse to correct your personal information, we will provide you with a written notice that set out the reasons for our refusal (unless it would be unreasonable to provide those reasons), together with details regarding the mechanisms available to you to make a complaint. 

You may also request that we include a note on your file that records your request for correction to your information, and may request that we notify third parties to whom we have disclosed personal information of any correction. 

Disclosure of personal information 

Brisbane South PHN may disclose your personal information to third parties from time to time for the purposes for which it was collected, or for related purposes or for other purposes with your consent.  In all circumstances where personal information may become accessible to our contractors, agents and outsourced service providers, there are confidentiality arrangements in place and we require them to comply with the Privacy Act. 

Contractors, agents and outsourced service providers must only use or disclose personal information for the same purposes  as Brisbane South PHN.  They cannot use or disclose your personal information for any other purpose. 

We only use your personal information for the purpose for which it is collected or for a directly related secondary purpose that you would expect your personal information to be used for (unless legally required or authorised to do otherwise). 

We do not presently disclose your personal information overseas. We will let you know if we are likely to disclose it overseas, and the relevant country.  It is our policy to only use systems and tools hosted in Australia.  It may be the contingency of these providers to use overseas services during a systems failure.  In this case, our service level agreements require they still abide by Australian privacy law standards.

Making a privacy complaint 

We recognise that even in the best run organisations things can go wrong. Should you have a privacy complaint, please contact us on 1300 467 265 because it gives us the opportunity to fix the problem. 

We will investigate your complaint within a reasonable time and provide a formal response. 

If you believe a complaint has not been appropriately handled by the PHN, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner via the Privacy Hotline, 1300 363 992 or at www.oaic.gov.au. 

For further information about our commitment to protecting your privacy, please email us at privacy@bsphn.org.au.