PRIVACY POLICY

This Privacy Policy describes how Centre for Digestive Health collects, holds, uses, and discloses personal and health-related information when you use our website (www.centrefordigestivehealth.com), contact us, book a consultation, or otherwise engage with our services (“Services”).

By accessing or using our website or Services, or by providing personal information to us, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the website or provide personal information to us.

1. What Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of information:

Personal information (when voluntarily provided):

Name, date of birth, contact details (email address, phone number, address)
Health information, medical history, symptoms, test results or other sensitive health-related data if provided during consultations, intake forms, health questionnaires or bookings (collectively “health information”)
Payment or billing information when relevant (excluding sensitive financial card data unless processed by a secure third-party payment provider)
Any other information you provide via contact forms, email, phone, online booking tools, member login/portal, or other communication with us

Automatically collected information:

Technical data such as IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, and browsing activity on the website (such as pages visited, time on site, referrer URL)
Usage data (e.g. how you navigate through the site, log-in patterns, session data), where relevant and permitted

Cookies and tracking technologies:

We may use cookies, server logs, and similar technologies (including third-party analytics tools) to collect information about website usage and traffic patterns to improve the website and user experience.

2. Why and How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

To provide and manage the Services you request (e.g. consultations, appointments, follow-up)
To communicate with you (e.g. appointment confirmations, reminders, follow-up, newsletters or updates if you opt-in)
To respond to inquiries, feedback or support requests
To personalise and improve our website, Services and user experience (including analysing website usage to optimise performance)
To comply with legal, regulatory or professional obligations (for example health-service record-keeping, reporting, or compliance duties)
To protect our rights and those of our patients (e.g. in case of disputes, fraud prevention, enforcement of terms)

We will only collect sensitive health information if reasonably necessary for the services provided and with your consent. Sensitive health information will be treated with a higher level of privacy and security as required under applicable Australian law. (Australian Digital Health Agency)

3. Disclosure of Your Information

We will not sell, rent or lease your personal or health information to third parties. Your information may be disclosed:

To our staff and contracted service providers (e.g. booking software, practitioners, administrative staff) solely for the purpose of providing you with Services
To third parties when required or permitted by law (for example, regulatory compliance or in response to lawful requests by authorities)
To third parties that provide services on our behalf (e.g. secure payment processors, hosting providers, IT support), provided that they agree to protect the confidentiality and security of your information
In the event of a merger, sale, reorganisation, dissolution or other transfer of the Centre’s business — in which case your information may be among transferred assets, subject to applicable privacy obligations

If you explicitly consent to it, we may also share de-identified or aggregated data for research, analysis or marketing purposes — but never in a way that identifies you personally.

4. Data Security and Storage

We take commercially reasonable steps to protect the personal and health information we hold from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include secure hosting, use of encryption or secure connections (e.g. TLS/SSL) for data transmission, and strict access controls for staff.

However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security. Transmission of sensitive information (e.g. via email) is at your own risk.

5. Access, Correction and Complaints

Under the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), you have the right to request access to any personal or health information we hold about you, and to request correction if you believe it is inaccurate. (OAIC)

If you have concerns or wish to make a complaint about our handling of your personal or health information, you may contact us using the details below. We will investigate any complaint and respond within a reasonable timeframe.

6. Overseas Disclosure

If we disclose your information to service providers or partners located overseas, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that those recipients handle your information in accordance with standards consistent with the Privacy Act. We will inform you when such transfers occur and of the countries to which we transfer data.

7. Children

Our services are generally not directed at children under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal or health information from children under 16 without verified parental or guardian consent.

If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a person under 16 without such consent, we will delete that information as soon as practicable.

8. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top and where appropriate, notify you (e.g. if you are a patient or registered user). We encourage you to periodically review this page.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions, requests or complaints about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at:

The Centre for Digestive Health
Email: support@centrefordigestivehealth.com
Website: www.centrefordigestivehealth.com