Privacy Policy

This policy is reviewed annually and updated as required to reflect changes in law or our practice.

Injurease Recovery Clinic (“Injurease”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the personal and health information we hold about our patients, clients and other individuals we deal with. As a provider of allied health and injury recovery services, we understand that the information entrusted to us is sensitive, and we are committed to handling it responsibly, securely and in accordance with the law.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal and health information we collect, how we collect, use, store and disclose that information, and how you can access or correct your information or make a complaint. It applies to all patients, referrers, insurers, employers and other third parties who interact with Injurease.

This policy has been prepared to comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), the My Health Records Act 2012 (Cth) (where relevant), and, as a health service provider operating in New South Wales, the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW) (HRIP Act) and its Health Privacy Principles (HPPs).

In the course of providing injury recovery, allied health, treatment and case management services, we may collect the following types of information:

• Identifying details such as your name, date of birth, address, phone number and email address
• Claim, policy and case details, including your workers compensation, CTP, insurance or claim number, employer details, and the name of your insurer, case manager or nominated treating team
• Health information, including your medical history, diagnosis, treatment notes, clinical assessments, progress reports, imaging and results from other treating providers
• Information about your treatment and recovery goals, functional capacity, and work status
• Financial and billing information relevant to invoicing and claims
• Any other information you or your authorised representatives provide to us in connection with your care

We only collect information that is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, providing our services, managing your care, and meeting our legal, clinical and administrative obligations.

We usually collect information directly from you, for example when you complete an intake or registration form, attend an appointment, or communicate with our team by phone, email or in person.

We may also collect information from other sources connected with your care and claim, including:

• Your referring doctor, GP or nominated treating team
• Your insurer, case manager, employer or legal representative, where relevant to your claim
• Other treating health practitioners involved in your care

Where practicable, we will collect health information about you only from you personally, unless it is unreasonable or impracticable to do so, or you have consented to information being obtained from another source.

We use and hold your personal and health information to:

• Provide and coordinate your treatment, case management and recovery services
• Communicate with your nominated treating team, insurer, employer or referrer as required to manage your care and claim
• Prepare clinical notes, reports and correspondence relevant to your treatment
• Process invoices, claims and payments
• Meet our legal, regulatory, insurance and professional obligations
• Improve our services and maintain accurate clinical and business records

We will not use or disclose your information for any other purpose without your consent, unless permitted or required by law.

Consent to Share Information

Injurease will only share your personal or health information with a third party (including an insurer, employer, solicitor, family member or other external party) where you have signed and provided us with a Consent to Share Information form authorising that specific disclosure, or where we are otherwise required or permitted to do so by law. We will not release your information to a third party on the basis of a verbal request alone.

A signed consent form allows us to confirm that you understand and agree to the information being shared, and helps us ensure that only the information you have authorised to be released is disclosed. Consent may be limited to a specific purpose, recipient or time period, and you may withdraw or vary your consent at any time by notifying us in writing.

We may disclose information without a signed consent form only in limited circumstances permitted by law, for example:

• Where disclosure is required to prevent a serious threat to your life, health or safety, or that of another person
• Where disclosure is required or authorised by law, including under workers compensation or CTP legislation, or by court order or subpoena
• Where disclosure is reasonably necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of a legal claim

Before any patient document, report, clinical note or file is released — whether to the patient, an insurer, employer, legal representative or any other third party — it is reviewed by the patient’s nominated treating team. This review ensures that the information being released is relevant, accurate and appropriate for the purpose of the request before it leaves our practice.

This review process protects the quality and integrity of the information we release and helps prevent the disclosure of information that is outdated, irrelevant or inaccurate. Please note that this clinical review may incur additional charges, which will be communicated to you or the requesting party in advance.

For all requests for documents, reports or copies of clinical records — including requests made by insurers, employers, solicitors or other third parties — Injurease may contact you directly to confirm the request before actioning it. This step allows us to verify that you are aware of the request and that you approve of the information being released, in addition to any signed Consent to Share Information form already held on file.

We take this additional step to protect your privacy and to ensure that information about your care is never released without your knowledge.

7. Fees and quotes

Injurease provides a quote for all services relevant to a request — including the preparation, clinical review and release of reports or records — before the request is actioned. We will require confirmation and acceptance of the quote from you or the requesting party before we proceed with the request. No fees will be incurred, and no work will commence, until the quote has been confirmed.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal and health information we collect, use and disclose is accurate, complete, relevant and up to date. If you believe that any information we hold about you is incorrect, please contact us so that we can review and, where appropriate, correct it.

9. How we store and protect your information

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

• Secure electronic clinical record systems with restricted, role-based staff access
• Physical security measures for any paper-based records
• Confidentiality obligations for all staff and contractors
• Secure methods for transmitting information to authorised third parties

We retain health records for the period required by applicable law and professional guidelines, after which records are securely destroyed or de-identified.

You have the right to request access to the personal and health information we hold about you, and to request that we correct that information if it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. To make a request, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details below.

We will respond to access and correction requests within a reasonable time. In some circumstances permitted by law, we may need to limit access to certain information — for example, where release could pose a risk to your health and safety or that of another person. If we deny a request for access or correction, we will provide our reasons in writing.

A reasonable fee may apply to cover the cost of retrieving, reviewing and providing copies of records, consistent with the quoting process described in Section 7.

11. Data breaches

Injurease has procedures in place to identify, contain and respond to data breaches. If we become aware of a data breach involving your personal or health information that is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

12. Overseas disclosure

Injurease does not routinely disclose personal or health information to recipients located outside Australia. If this were to change, we would take reasonable steps to ensure any overseas recipient handles your information in a manner consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles, and we would seek your consent where required.

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal or health information, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details below. We will investigate your complaint and respond within a reasonable time.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the NSW Information and Privacy Commission (IPC) or the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

• NSW IPC: www.ipc.nsw.gov.au — 1800 472 679
• OAIC: www.oaic.gov.au — 1300 363 992

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or in the law. The current version will always be available on our website, with the effective date shown at the top of this document.

15. Contact us

For any questions about this Privacy Policy, or to make a request regarding your personal or health information, please contact our Privacy Officer:

• Practice name: Injurease Recovery Clinic
• Address: 102 Haldon Street, Lakemba NSW 2195
• Phone: 1300 146 587
• Email: info@injurease.com.au