Privacy policy

About this policy

Hills Hearing (“we”, “us”, “our”) is an independent audiology clinic based at Shop 1, 10 Merriville Road, Kellyville Ridge NSW 2155, also providing services at partner clinics across the Hills District and Hawkesbury.

We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including the Australian Privacy Principles, and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW). This policy applies to information we collect at our clinics, over the phone, by email and through this website.

What information we collect

We only collect information we need to provide our services. This may include:

• Contact details: your name, date of birth, address, phone number and email address.
• Health information: your hearing history, symptoms, relevant medical history and medications, hearing test results, hearing aid details and notes from your appointments.
• Funding and eligibility details: pension or concession card details, Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) card details, Hearing Services Program eligibility, private health fund details, and workers’ compensation or claim details where relevant.
• Referrer details: the name and contact details of your GP, specialist or other referrer.
• Workplace testing details: for industrial or pre-employment hearing tests, your employer’s details and the purpose of the test.
• Payment details needed to process fees.
• Website enquiries: the details you enter in our online forms (see “Our website” below).

For children, we collect information from a parent or guardian.

How we collect it

We collect most information directly from you: in person, by phone, by email, through our online forms or through our online booking system. Sometimes we receive information from others, such as your GP or specialist, the Hearing Services Program, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, an insurer or claims agent, or your employer for workplace testing. Where we collect information from someone else, we do so with your consent or where the law allows it.

Why we collect and use it

• To assess your hearing and provide audiology services, hearing aids, microsuction and custom ear plugs.
• To manage appointments, including confirmations and reminders.
• To process payments and claims with the Hearing Services Program, DVA, private health funds, insurers or workers’ compensation schemes.
• To communicate with your GP, specialist or referrer about your care, with your consent.
• To respond to your enquiries.
• To meet our legal, professional and record-keeping obligations, and to improve the quality of our services.

We will not use your information to send you marketing without your consent, and we never sell your personal information.

Who we may share it with

We only share your information where it is needed for your care, where you have agreed, or where the law requires or allows it. This may include:

• your GP, specialist or other health practitioners involved in your care;
• the Hearing Services Program (Australian Government), the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, private health funds, insurers and workers’ compensation bodies, to process funding and claims;
• your employer, for workplace hearing tests you have agreed to;
• hearing aid manufacturers, limited to the details needed to order, repair or service your devices;
• service providers that help us run the clinic, such as our practice management, email, online booking and website hosting providers;
• government agencies or courts, where required by law.

Some of these providers may store or process information outside Australia. When this happens, we take reasonable steps to make sure your information is handled in line with Australian privacy law.

Our website

Enquiry forms. When you send an enquiry through our website, the details you enter (such as your name, phone number, email address, preferred clinic or service and your message) are emailed to our clinic inbox and stored securely in our website system. Only authorised Hills Hearing staff can see them. We use them to reply to you and arrange appointments, and we delete enquiries once they are no longer needed. Please don’t include detailed medical information in a web form; we’ll discuss that with you directly.

Online booking. Our “Book online” links take you to a booking system run by a third-party provider. Information you enter there is handled by that provider under its own privacy policy and shared with us so we can manage your appointment.

Maps and external links. Our pages show embedded Google Maps. Google may collect information, such as your IP address, and set cookies when the map loads. Links to other websites, such as hearing aid manufacturers, are covered by those websites’ own privacy policies.

Cookies. Our website itself only uses cookies needed for it to work, such as staff login cookies. We do not use advertising cookies.

How we store and protect your information

We store records in secure electronic systems and, where applicable, in locked storage at our clinic. Access is limited to staff who need it, and our systems are password protected. We take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access, change or disclosure.

We keep health records for as long as the law requires. In NSW this is generally at least seven years after your last appointment, or for children, until they turn 25. After that, records are securely destroyed or de-identified.

Accessing and correcting your information

You can ask to see the information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it if it is wrong, out of date or incomplete. Please contact us in writing (details below). We will respond within 30 days. We may need to confirm your identity first. If we can’t give you access or make a correction, we will explain why in writing.

Dealing with us anonymously

You can make a general enquiry without giving your name. To provide hearing services, process funding or make claims, we need to identify you.

Data breaches

If a data breach is likely to cause serious harm to anyone affected, we will notify those people and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, as required by the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

Questions and complaints

If you have a question or a concern about how we have handled your information, please contact us first. We take every complaint seriously and aim to respond within 30 days.

If you’re not satisfied with our response, you can contact:

• Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC): oaic.gov.au, 1300 363 992
• Information and Privacy Commission NSW (for health records): ipc.nsw.gov.au, 1800 472 679

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated.