Privacy Policy

Your privacy is very important to us at Bathurst Family Physiotherapy. Bathurst Family Physiotherapy is committed to providing quality services to you and this policy outlines our ongoing obligations to you in respect of how we manage your Personal Information.
We have adopted the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act). The APPs govern the way in which we collect, use, disclose, store, secure and dispose of your Personal Information.
A copy of the Australian Privacy Principles may be obtained from the website of The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.aoic.gov.au
All Physiotherapist at Bathurst Family Physiotherapy abide by the Australian Physiotherapy Association Code of Conduct.

Personal Information is information or an opinion that identifies an individual. Bathurst Family Physiotherapy may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you. Examples of Personal Information we collect include: names, addresses, date of birth, email addresses, occupation, phone and facsimile numbers, transaction details associated with services provided by us to you.
This Personal Information is obtained in many ways including consultations, surveys or questionnaires, correspondence, by telephone and facsimile, by email, via our website www.bathurstfamilyphysiotherapy.com.au if you make an enquiry through our website or subscribe to our mailing list.

We collect your Personal Information for the primary purpose of providing our services to you, providing information to you regarding your health. To be on our mailing/marketing lists you need to “opt – in” to receive ongoing communications from us and you can “opt out” at any time by emailing admin@bfp.physio . Bathurst Family Physiotherapy may use your email address, your mailing address and phone number to contact you regarding administrative notices, publications, and communications. If you do not wish to receive these communications, you have the ability to opt out by notifying us via phone or email.

When we collect Personal Information we will, where appropriate and where possible, explain to you why we are collecting the information and how we plan to use it.
Bathurst Family Physiotherapy adheres to the principles set out in data protection legislation when handling personal data. These principles require personal data to be:
• Processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner
• Collected only for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes
• Adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which it is processed
• Not kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the data is processed
• Processed in a manner that ensures its security using appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage
• Not transferred to another country without appropriate safeguards being in place
• Made available to data subjects and allow data subjects to exercise certain rights in relation to their personal data

Bathurst Family Physiotherapy may also collect, use and share aggregated data such as statistical or demographic data. Aggregated data derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data under data protection law as it does not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, Bathurst Family Physiotherapy may aggregate data about your use of the site to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific service or to produce certain benchmarking reports. However, if Bathurst Family Physiotherapy combines or connects aggregated data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, Bathurst Family Physiotherapy treats the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy policy.

Sensitive information is defined in the Privacy Act to include information or opinion about such things as an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious or philosophical beliefs, membership of a trade union or other professional body, criminal record or health information.
Sensitive information will be used by us only:
• For the primary purpose for which it was obtained
• For a secondary purpose that is directly related to the primary purpose
• With your consent; or where required or authorised by law.

Bathurst Family Physiotherapy will under no circumstances sell, trade or rent any personal information that you supply to it to any third party.

Your Personal Information may be disclosed in a number of circumstances including the following:
• Third parties where you consent to the use or disclosure; and
• Where required or authorised by law.

Your Personal Information is stored in a manner that reasonably protects it from misuse and loss and from unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. While, it is important to recognise that “perfect security” does not exist on the internet, Bathurst Family Physiotherapy is committed to using industry standard mechanisms to safeguard the confidentiality of your personal information such as firewalls and Secure Socket Layers.
When your Personal Information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify your Personal Information. However, most of the Personal Information is or will be stored in client files which will be kept by us for a minimum of 7 years.

Bathurst Family Physiotherapy do not permanently store credit card information anywhere on our website or accounting software.

You may access the Personal Information we hold about you and to update and/or correct it, subject to certain exceptions. If you wish to access your Personal Information, please contact us in writing.
Bathurst Family Physiotherapy will not charge any fee for your access request, but may charge an administrative fee for providing a copy of your Personal Information.
In order to protect your Personal Information we may require identification from you before releasing the requested information.

Maintaining the Quality of your Personal Information
It is an important to us that your Personal Information is up to date. Bathurst Family Physiotherapy will take reasonable steps to make sure that your Personal Information is accurate, complete and up-to-date. If you find that the information we have is not up to date or is inaccurate, please advise us as soon as practicable so we can update our records and ensure we can continue to provide quality services to you.

This Policy may change from time to time and is available on our website.

Social media:
‘Social media’ describes the online and mobile tools that people use to share opinions, information, experiences, images, and video or audio clips and includes websites and applications used for social networking. Common sources of social media include, but are not limited to, social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, blogs (personal, professional and those published anonymously), WOMO, True Local and microblogs such as Twitter, content-sharing websites such as YouTube and Instagram, and discussion forums and message boards.

In line with the Physiotherapy Board of Australia policy:
In using social media, just as with all aspects of professional behaviour, health practitioners at Bathurst Family Physiotherapy are aware of their obligations under the National Law, their Board’s Code of conduct, the Advertising guidelines and other relevant legislation, such as privacy legislation.

1. Professional obligations

The Code of conduct contains guidance about the required standards of professional behaviour, which apply to registered health practitioners whether they are interacting in person or online. The Code of conduct also articulates standards of professional conduct in relation to privacy and confidentiality of patient information, including when using social media. For example, posting unauthorised photographs of patients in any medium is a breach of the patient’s privacy and confidentiality, including on a personal Facebook site or group even if the privacy settings are set at the highest setting (such as for a closed, ‘invisible’ group).

2. Obligations in relation to advertising

Section 133 of the National Law imposes limits on how health services delivered by registered health practitioners can be advertised. These limits apply to all forms of advertising, including through social media and on the internet. For example, the National Law prohibits the use of testimonials in advertising. The Advertising guidelines provide guidance about how the legal restrictions on advertising under the National Law and other relevant legislation apply to social media.
Registered health practitioners should only post information that is not in breach of these obligations by:
• complying with professional obligations
• complying with confidentiality and privacy obligations (such as by not discussing patients or posting pictures of procedures, case studies, patients, or sensitive material which may enable patients to be identified without having obtained consent in appropriate situations)
• presenting information in an unbiased, evidence-based context, and
• not making unsubstantiated claims.

Whether an online activity is able to be viewed by the public or is limited to a specific group of people, health professionals need to maintain professional standards and be aware of the implications of their actions, as in all professional circumstances. Health professionals need to be aware that information circulated on social media may end up in the public domain, and remain there, irrespective of the intent at the time of posting.
Health practitioners at Bathurst Family Physiotherapy are be aware of their ethical and regulatory responsibilities when they are interacting online, just as when they interact in person.

You have the right to complain regarding any aspect of your privacy rights. If you have any queries or complaints about our Privacy Policy please contact us at:
Bathurst Specialist Centre, CSU Campus Building 1470
Panorama Avenue, Bathurst NSW 2795
Or via email: admin@bfp.physio