Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Privacy Policy

Essendon Natural Health

Effective date: 12 October 2026 | Last reviewed: 12 October 2026

1. Our commitment to your privacy

Essendon Natural Health (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of your personal and health information. This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and store it, who we share it with, and how you can access or correct it.

We comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and the Health Privacy Principles (HPPs).

Our practitioners are also members of professional associations and are bound by their codes of conduct and ethics, which include maintaining your confidentiality.

2. What information we collect

We collect the information we need to provide safe and appropriate care, including:

• Identity and contact details: your name, date of birth, address, phone number, email address and emergency contact.
• Health information: your medical and health history, presenting concerns, symptoms, medications and supplements, test results, referrals, treatment notes, treatment plans and progress.
• Administrative and billing information: appointment history, payment details, private health fund details, and Medicare, DVA or other claim information where relevant.
• Other information: records of your communications with us, feedback or complaints, any consent forms you complete, and clinical photographs taken with your permission.

Where possible, we collect information directly from you. With your consent, we may also collect information from other health providers involved in your care (for example, your GP or a specialist).

3. Why we collect your information

We collect, hold, use and disclose your information to:

• assess, provide and manage your care and treatment;
• maintain accurate clinical records;
• communicate with you, including appointment bookings, email and SMS reminders, telehealth consultations and follow-ups;
• process payments and private health fund claims;
• meet our legal, professional and regulatory obligations;
• manage our practice, including quality assurance, insurance and risk management.

We will only use or disclose your information for the purpose it was collected, for a directly related purpose you would reasonably expect, or where you have consented or the law requires or permits it.

Telehealth

We offer consultations by telehealth. We ask that you take part from a private place where you feel comfortable. We will not record a telehealth session without your consent. Information discussed during a telehealth consultation is recorded in your health record and protected in the same way as information from an in-person appointment.

Photographs

With your permission, we may take photographs that are relevant to your care, for example to record a condition or monitor your progress. Photographs are stored in your health record and handled like the rest of your health information. We will only use them for marketing purposes after asking for and receiving your verbal consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us.

Newsletters

We occasionally send newsletters by email to people who have agreed to receive them. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in the newsletter or by contacting us. We do not give your details to other organisations for their marketing.

4. Who we share your information with

We respect the confidential nature of your health information. We only share it:

• Within our practice team, including our practitioners and reception staff, to the extent needed to provide your care and manage your appointments and accounts;
• With other private health providers (for example, your GP, specialist or another practitioner) when you ask us to, or when you have given us your consent; and
• Where required or authorised by law, for example, under a court order, subpoena or statutory reporting obligation, or where necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a person’s life, health or safety.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for direct marketing without your consent.

We use service providers to run our practice. In particular, your client records, bookings and payment details are held in Cliniko, our cloud-based practice management software. We also use providers for our online bookings, telehealth, email and SMS reminders, newsletters and website analytics. These providers handle your information only to provide their services to us, and we take reasonable steps to make sure they protect it.

5. Sending information overseas

Our practice management software, Cliniko, stores our data on servers located in Australia. Some of our other service providers, such as those that supply our website analytics, email newsletters or SMS reminders, may store or process information on servers outside Australia. Where this happens, we take reasonable steps to ensure the provider handles your information in line with Australian privacy requirements.

6. How we store and protect your information

We hold your records in electronic form, in our practice management software, Cliniko. We take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include:

• password-protected systems and restricted access based on staff roles;
• secure, cloud-based storage of client records in Cliniko;
• confidentiality obligations for all staff;
• secure handling of emails, text messages and online communications.

Please be aware that email and text messages are not always completely secure. If you prefer that we do not use these to send you sensitive information, please tell us.

Data breaches

If a data breach is likely to cause you serious harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

7. How long we keep your records

Under Victorian law, we retain health records for at least seven years from the date of your last visit. If you were under 18 at your last visit, we keep your records until you turn 25. When records are no longer needed, we securely destroy or de-identify them.

8. Accessing and correcting your information

You have the right to request access to the personal and health information we hold about you, and to ask us to correct anything that is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date.

To make a request, please contact us using the details in section 12. We may ask you to put your request in writing and to verify your identity. We will respond within a reasonable time, generally within 30 days. We may charge a reasonable fee for providing copies, and in limited circumstances allowed by law we may refuse access, in which case we will explain why.

You can also ask us to transfer your records to another provider.

9. Anonymity and pseudonymity

Where it is lawful and practical, you may deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym (for example, when making a general enquiry). For clinical care, we will usually need your real identity to provide safe treatment and keep accurate records.

10. Our website and online activity

Our website uses cookies and analytics tools to collect limited technical information, such as your IP address, browser type, device and the pages you visit. We use this to understand how the website is used and to improve it, and it is not used to identify you personally. You can turn off cookies in your browser settings, although parts of the website may not work as well.

If you book an appointment online, the details you enter (such as your name, contact details and reason for visiting) are stored in Cliniko and handled in line with this policy. We send appointment reminders by email and SMS to the contact details you have given us. If you would prefer not to receive them, please let us know.

11. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we have handled your information, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it. We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and respond within a reasonable time, generally within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact:

• Health Complaints Commissioner (Victoria): hcc.vic.gov.au | 1300 582 113
• Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC): oaic.gov.au | 1300 363 992

12. Contact us

Privacy Officer: Robert Gentile

Essendon Natural Health 187 Buckley St, Essendon, Victoria 3040

Phone: 03 9337 8572

Email: admin@essendonnaturalhealth.com.au

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practice or in the law. The current version is available at our practice and on our website, and a copy can be provided to you on request.

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