This Privacy Policy sets out how Northern Blood & Cancer Care (“we”, “our”, “us”) collects, uses, stores and protects personal and health information in accordance with applicable Australian and Victorian privacy laws, including the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and its Health Privacy Principles.

We are committed to safeguarding your privacy and ensuring that your personal and health information is managed with the highest standards of confidentiality and security.

1. Consent
By providing personal information to us, you consent to us collecting, using and disclosing your personal information as described in this Policy.

2. What information we collect
We may collect personal information that is reasonably necessary to provide you with healthcare services, including:

• Name, date of birth, address, and contact details.
• Medicare number, health fund or insurance details.
• Medical history, current health information, medications, and test results.
• Appointment history and treatment details.
• Payment information (where relevant).

We may also collect technical and usage information when you interact with our website or digital platforms, such as:

• Your IP address, browser type, device, and pages visited.
• Data collected through cookies and similar technologies (e.g. Google Analytics).
• Aggregated statistics used to analyse site performance and improve services.

Website and device information may be aggregated or de-identified for reporting, but some technical data (such as IP addresses or identifiers used by analytics and advertising services) may still be capable of relating to a device or individual. We handle this information in accordance with applicable privacy requirements.

3. How we collect information
Personal and health information may be collected when you:

• Register as a patient or make an appointment.
• Consult with our clinicians or staff.
• Are referred to us by another healthcare provider.
• Contact us via phone, email, or online forms.
• Make payments or claim benefits through Medicare or private health insurers.

Technical and usage information may be collected automatically when you visit our website. We may use services such as Google Analytics or Google Ads to understand website use, measure advertising performance and improve our digital services, subject to the privacy settings and consent mechanisms that apply.

4. Why we collect your information
We collect, use and store personal, health and website usage information for purposes including:

• Providing you with safe and effective healthcare.
• Communicating with you about your appointments and treatment.
• Liaising with other healthcare professionals involved in your care.
• Processing Medicare claims, health fund rebates, or billing.
• Meeting our legal and regulatory obligations.
• Analysing website usage to improve functionality and user experience.
• Measuring and managing online advertising (for example, Google Ads), subject to applicable privacy settings and consent requirements.

5. Disclosure of information
Personal information may be shared where necessary for your care or as required by law, including with:

• Treating doctors, psychologists, counsellors, and allied health professionals.
• Pathology, imaging, or specialist services involved in your treatment.
• Medicare, private health insurers, or approved billing providers.
• Regulatory, legal or law enforcement bodies when legally required.

Website usage and technical data may be processed by third-party service providers that support analytics, hosting, security or advertising. We seek to limit these disclosures to information reasonably required for the relevant service and to manage them in accordance with applicable privacy obligations.

We do not sell or rent personal information to third parties.

6. Storage and security
We take all reasonable steps to protect your personal and health information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure.

• Paper records are stored securely in restricted areas.
• Electronic records are stored on secure, password-protected systems.
• Third-party digital providers must comply with strict privacy and security standards.

7. Access and correction
You may request access to your personal and health information, and request corrections if you believe it is inaccurate or incomplete. Requests can be made in writing to our Privacy Officer (see contact details below).

8. Website and digital privacy
When you visit our website:

• Cookies and similar technologies may be used to collect information about how you use the site.
• Analytics and advertising services such as Google Analytics and Google Ads may process technical or usage data for reporting, measurement and advertising purposes.
• You can disable cookies or adjust your browser settings if you do not wish to share this data.

9. Complaints
If you are concerned about how your personal information has been handled, please contact our Privacy Officer. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.

10. Updates to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, practice, or digital technologies. The most current version will always be available on our website or from reception.

11. Governing law
Any claim relating to our website shall be governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

12. Getting in touch
We understand that personal information is important to you. Please get in touch with us if you have any questions or concerns about this policy or our practices.