Last Updated: 10 May 2025

1. Introduction

Aussies Senior Care Pty Ltd (ACN 685 475 709) (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information. We adhere to the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (the Privacy Act).

This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information, as well as your rights to access and correct your information and how to make a complaint.

Our primary purpose for collecting, holding, using, and disclosing personal information is to provide high-quality, person-centred aged care services, including in-home care, community services, personal care, clinical support, and wellness services (“Services”).

By providing us with your personal information, you consent to us collecting, holding, using, and disclosing your personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and any other arrangements that apply between us.

2. 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.

Sensitive information is a subset of personal information that is given a higher level of protection under the APPs. It includes health information, information about racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, criminal record, and biometric information.

Given the nature of our Services, we will often collect sensitive information, particularly health information, to ensure we can provide safe and appropriate care.

3. What Personal Information Do We Collect and Hold?

We may collect and hold the following types of personal information:

For Clients (and prospective clients):

-Identity and Contact Details:** Name, date of birth, gender, residential address, phone number, email address.

Health Information (Sensitive Information):

Medical history, current health status, medications, allergies, care needs, care plans, clinical records, information from doctors or other healthcare providers, details of disabilities, dietary requirements, mobility information, sensory aid requirements, government-related identifiers (e.g., Medicare number, DVA number, My Aged Care ID) for the purpose of providing care and accessing funding.

Financial Information:

Details about Home Care Package funding, payment details if applicable (though usually funded through government schemes).

Lifestyle Information:

Preferences for care, social interests, emergency contact details, details of family members or representatives involved in care.

Information from Enquiries:

Details provided when you contact us for a free consultation or make an enquiry about our Services.

For Family Members, Carers, or Representatives of Clients:

Name, contact details, relationship to the client.

For Employees, Contractors, and Job Applicants:

Name, contact details, employment history, qualifications, references, tax file number, bank account details, emergency contact details, police checks, and other information relevant to recruitment and employment.

For Website Visitors and General Enquiries:

Information you provide through our website contact forms or when you call us (e.g., name, email, phone number, nature of enquiry).

We may also collect information about your use of our website using cookies or similar technologies (see Section 11: Website and Cookies).

4. How Do We Collect Personal Information?

We collect personal information in various ways, including:

-Directly from you (or your authorised representative):** When you or your representative provide information to us in person, over the phone, via email, through our website (e.g., contact forms, consultation requests), or in application forms.

-From third parties:

• With your consent, from your family members, carers, legal guardians, or nominated representatives.
• From other healthcare providers involved in your care (e.g., doctors, hospitals, allied health professionals).
• From government agencies such as My Aged Care, Services Australia (Centrelink/Medicare), or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, particularly in relation to Home Care Packages and funding.
• From referees (for job applicants).
• When you visit our website:We may collect information through cookies or analytics tools (see Section 11).

When we collect sensitive information (like health information), we will do so only with your consent, or where otherwise permitted by law (e.g., if required to prevent a serious threat to life, health, or safety).

If you provide us with personal information about someone else, you must ensure you are authorised to do so and that you have taken reasonable steps to ensure the individual is aware of the matters set out in this Privacy Policy.

5. Purposes for Collecting, Holding, Using, and Disclosing Personal Information

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

– To assess your eligibility for our Services.

– To develop, provide, and manage our Services to you, including creating and implementing care plans, coordinating care with our staff (Registered Nurses, Assistant Nurses, Care Coordinators, Lifestyle Coordinators, Allied Health Professionals), and delivering personal, clinical, and wellness support.

– To communicate with you (or your authorised representatives) about your care and our Services.

– To manage our relationship with you, including responding to enquiries and feedback.

– For administrative and operational purposes, such as scheduling, billing (where applicable), record keeping, and managing our IT systems.

-To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations (e.g., reporting to government agencies, mandatory reporting requirements under aged care legislation).

-To manage, train, and develop our staff and contractors.

– For quality assurance, continuous improvement, research (de-identified where possible), and service development.

– To process payments and manage accounts.

– To recruit staff and contractors.

– To protect the safety and wellbeing of our clients and staff.

– For any other purpose to which you have consented.

We will not use or disclose your personal information for a secondary purpose unless:

– You have consented;

– You would reasonably expect us to use or disclose it for that secondary purpose, and it is related to the primary purpose (or directly related, for sensitive information);

– It is required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court/tribunal order; or

– Other exceptions under the APPs apply (e.g., to lessen or prevent a serious threat to life, health, or safety).

6. Disclosure of Personal Information

We may disclose your personal information to:

*   Our employees, contractors, and related entities for the purposes of providing our Services to you.

*   Other healthcare providers involved in your care (e.g., your GP, specialists, hospitals, allied health professionals, pharmacists) with your consent or as necessary for your care.

*   Your authorised representatives (e.g., family members, carers, legal guardians) with your consent or where legally permitted.

*   Government departments and agencies (e.g., My Aged Care, Department of Health and Aged Care, Services Australia, NDIS) as required for funding, reporting, or compliance.

*   Third-party service providers who assist us in operating our business (e.g., IT service providers, software providers, payment processors, professional advisors like lawyers and accountants). We take reasonable steps to ensure these providers are bound by confidentiality and privacy obligations.

*   Anyone to whom we are required or authorised by law to disclose it (e.g., law enforcement agencies, courts).

*   In the event of an emergency, to medical personnel or emergency services.

We do not typically disclose personal information to overseas recipients. If we were to do so in the future (e.g., if using an overseas-based IT service provider), we would take reasonable steps to ensure that the overseas recipient does not breach the APPs in relation to your personal information, or we would seek your consent to the disclosure.

7. Direct Marketing

We may use your personal information to provide you with information about our Services or other products or services that may be of interest to you. We will only do this if you have consented or would reasonably expect to receive such communications.

If you receive direct marketing communications from us, you may opt-out at any time by contacting us (see Section 14) or by using the opt-out mechanism provided in the communication.

We will not use your sensitive information for direct marketing purposes without your explicit consent.

8. Security of Personal Information

We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, interference, and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. These steps include:

*   Storing electronic information on secure servers with password protection and access controls.

*   Storing paper-based records in secure locations with restricted access.

*   Implementing policies and procedures for staff regarding data handling and confidentiality.

*   Providing training to our staff on privacy and data security.

*   Regularly reviewing and updating our security measures.

If we no longer need your personal information for any purpose for which it may be used or disclosed, and we are not required by law to retain it, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it.

In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm, we will comply with the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme under the Privacy Act.

9. Quality of Personal Information

We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we collect, use, and disclose is accurate, up-to-date, complete, and relevant. We encourage you to contact us if you believe that any personal information, we hold about you is incorrect or needs updating.

10. Access to and Correction of Personal Information

You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you and to request its correction. To make a request, please contact our Privacy Officer (see Section 14).

We will respond to your request within a reasonable period. We may require you to verify your identity before providing access or making corrections.

In some circumstances, we may refuse to provide access or make corrections if an exception under the APPs applies (e.g., if providing access would pose a serious threat to the life, health, or safety of any individual, or would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of other individuals). If we refuse your request, we will provide you with written reasons and information about how to complain about the refusal.

We do not usually charge for making a request for access or correction, but we may charge a reasonable fee for providing access to cover our administrative costs.

11. Website and Cookies

When you visit our website (www.aussiesseniorcare.com.au), we may collect certain information such as your browser type, operating system, website visited immediately before coming to our site, etc. This information is used in an aggregated manner to analyse how people use our site so that we can improve our service.

We may also use cookies on our website. Cookies are very small files which a website uses to identify you when you come back to the site and to store details about your use of the site. Cookies are not malicious programs that access or damage your computer. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can choose to reject cookies by changing your browser settings. However, this may prevent you from taking full advantage of our website.

Our website may from time to time use cookies to analyse website traffic and help us provide a better website visitor experience. In addition, cookies may be used to serve relevant ads to website visitors through third-party services such as Google Ads. These ads may appear on this website or other websites you visit.

Our website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these linked websites. We suggest you review the privacy policies of any external sites you visit.

12. Anonymity and Pseudonymity

Where practicable and lawful, you have the option of not identifying yourself or using a pseudonym when dealing with us. For example, you can make a general enquiry about our Services anonymously. However, if you wish to receive our Services, we will generally need to collect your personal information to provide appropriate care and meet our legal obligations.

13. Complaints

If you believe that we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles or this Privacy Policy, please contact our Privacy Officer (see Section 14) with details of your complaint.

We will take your complaint seriously and will investigate it and respond to you in writing within a reasonable period (usually within 30 days).

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

*   Online: www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints

*   Phone: 1300 363 992

*   Mail: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001

14. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to access or correct your personal information, make a complaint, or opt-out of direct marketing, please contact our Privacy Officer:

Privacy Officer:

Aussies Senior Care Pty Ltd

3/136 Main Street Osborne Park WA 6017

08 6163 0253

admin@aussiesseniorcare.com.au

15. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time by publishing a new version on our website. We encourage you to check our website periodically to ensure you are aware of our current Privacy Policy. The date of the last update will be indicated at the top of the policy.