Privacy Policy

We at TLC Acupuncture Clinic (ABN 31 889 911 692)  respect your privacy and are committed to protecting it through our compliance with this privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) and the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (“Privacy Act”).

This Privacy Policy describes the types of information we may collect from you (“Personal Information”), and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that Personal Information. It also describes the choices available to you regarding our use of your Personal Information and how you can access and update it and how you can make a complaint about the handling of your personal information.

1.       What Personal Information do we Collect?

1.1         In the course of providing services to you we may collect personal information in order to provide services to you. The types of information we collect are set out below:

• information such as your name, address and contact details;
• payment, credit card and direct debit details;
• age, gender, date of birth;
• health information, medical and family history;
• healthcare identifiers, fund details and Medicare number.

1.2         Wherever possible we will collect information from you personally (or from your guardian or personal representative where relevant). Where we do collect personal information from your health fund, Medicare or other health providers we will seek your prior consent.

2.       Why do we Collect Personal Information?

• We may use your personal information in order to operate the service and make improvements to our services.
• The purposes for which we use your Personal Information include:
  • (Provision of Services) to provide you with the services, handle orders, payment processing and to communicate with you about the Service.
  • (Support) We may use your Personal Information to communicate with you or answer support requests that you submit.
  • (Ongoing Care and Suggestions) In certain circumstances we may use your Personal Information to recommend additional services or products that we believe will be of interest to you and contact you in relation to ongoing care, appointments or check-ups.
  • (Marketing) In certain circumstances we may use your personal information for marketing purposes (including direct marketing). We do not use any sensitive information for marketing purposes without your prior written consent.
  • (Compliance with Law) We may collect and use your Personal Information where we are required to do so by any applicable Law or Regulation.
  • (Breach of Law and Fraud Prevention) We may also use your Personal Information to detect, prevent and report fraud, crime or breaches of any Law or Regulation.

3.       Who do we share your information with?

• (Third Party Transactions) We may share your information with our affiliates, third-party contractors and service providers (collectively, “Service Providers”) where necessary to complete any transaction or provide any Service you have requested including for billing, invoicing, account management and debt collection purposes.
• (Legal Compliance) We reserve the right to release your account details and other Personal Information when we believe such release is necessary or appropriate to comply with any applicable Law or Regulation or enforce these terms and other agreements including to answer requests from Medicare, Police, insurers, solicitors, government regulatory bodies, tribunals, courts, hospitals or conduct dispute resolution or debt collection efforts.
• (Other Disclosures) We may also disclose your information where it is necessary to prevent serious threat to life, health or public safety in circumstances where it is impractical to obtain your consent or in order to defend a legal or equitable claim.
• We do not share your personal information with any third party except in the circumstances laid out in this Policy or where you provide your consent.

4.       Privacy of Children

• Persons under the age of 18 may not use any of the services without the consent of the parent or guardian and must not submit any Personal Information to us on their own behalf.

5.       Remaining Anonymous in Accessing Services

• Where accessing the services with TLC Acupuncture Clinic it may not be possible to remain anonymous as we are required to maintain accurate records of the care our customers receive.
• We may be able to accommodate the use of pseudonyms or anonymity in your other interactions with us, including where you are enquiring about the services we provide.

6.       Managing your Information

• Subject to any legal requirement, you are able to request us to delete or correct certain Personal Information we have about you. We may maintain a copy of the unrevised Personal Information in our records for the duration necessary to comply with our obligations to our affiliates and partners, and for the purposes described below.
• We will retain and use your Personal Information for the period necessary to comply with our legal obligations, to enforce our agreements and resolve disputes.
• We may also use any aggregated data derived from or incorporating your Personal Information after you update or delete it, so long as it is stored in an anonymized form in a manner that would not identify you personally.
• Our retention period is set by internal policies that may vary from time to time and once the retention period expires, Personal Information shall be deleted automatically. The right to access, the right to erasure, the right to rectification, and the right to data portability cannot be enforced after the expiration of the retention period.
• All requests for access to your personal information should be made in writing. Please note that we may charge an administrative fee for the costs of retrieving and providing those records.

7.       Email Communications

• Where you consent to receive email communications from TLC Acupuncture Clinic we may send you electronic newsletters and promotions that may be of interest to you (“Newsletters”).
• We are committed to keeping your e-mail address confidential and will not disclose it to any third parties except a third-party who sends and manages such emails.
• You may unsubscribe from these emails at any time. If you choose to unsubscribe from the Newsletters we will still send you necessary informational, transactional and administrative emails related to provision of the service.

8.       Security of your Information

• (Security Practices) Personal Information you provide to TLC Acupuncture Clinic is stored in a secure environment and only accessible by authorised parties. We maintain reasonable internal technical, procedural and physical safeguards to protect against unauthorised use, access, modification and disclosure of your information.
• (Limitations) While we do our best to protect your Personal Information, certain factors that may affect your security and privacy online are beyond our control.
• (Data Breach) If we become aware that Users’ Personal Information has been compromised you will be notified of the breach and we reserve the right to take all appropriate measures, including cooperation with law enforcement authorities.

9. General Provisions
   • (Amendments to Policy) We reserve the right to modify this Policy or its terms related to the Services at any time at our sole discretion. When such amendments are made we will change the version number and date at the bottom of this page and publish the updated Privacy Policy on our website at: www.tlcacupuncture.com.au
   • (Acceptance) You acknowledge that you have read this Policy and agree to all its terms and conditions. By accessing and using the Service and submitting your information you agree to be bound by this Policy.
   • (Contacting Us) If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints regarding this Policy, the information we hold about you, or if you wish to exercise your rights, we encourage you to contact TLC Acupuncture Clinic using the details below: info@tlcacupuncture.com.au. We will respond to any query within a reasonable timeframe, and in any case within 30 days of receiving your query or complaint. You may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), for further information visit their website at oaic.gov.au.
   • We will attempt to resolve complaints and disputes and make every reasonable effort to honour your wish to exercise your rights as quickly as possible and in any event, within the timescales provided by applicable Data Protection Laws.

This document was last updated on 30 January 2024