Policy

Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement Co. Ltd is committed to ensuring that those who use our services are always treated with dignity and respect.  We respect your right to privacy, and safeguard your personal information.  Personal information will only be disclosed to another party if your consent has been received beforehand, or if we are required or authorised to do so by law, or in a medical emergency.

We are legally required to follow detailed privacy procedures in order to be compliant with our contractual obligations to a range of government departments.  You are always welcome to ask about the particular way in which your privacy is protected when you access a specific service.

Our whole organisation is governed by the sections of the Privacy Act 1988 that relate to the Private Sector.  As we have not established a separate Privacy Code, we have developed our privacy policy around the requirements of the National Privacy Principles that are set out in the Privacy Act 1988.  Our policy is also based on the Guidelines of the National Privacy Principles, and the Guidelines on Privacy in the Private Health Sector that have been issued by the Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner.

Goolburri understands the impact on our reputation and the consumer sensitivities if breaches of information was to occur and has processes to notify individuals and the Commissioner about ‘eligible data breaches’ as per the NDB scheme in Part IIIC of the Privacy Act. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) can provide you with more information about your privacy rights (Ph: 1300 363 992 or www.oaic.gov.au).

Principles and Procedures

Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement Co. Ltd has adopted the following principles and procedures:

Your personal information and the purpose of collecting it

Personal information is obtained from you in order to provide you with effective services.  We may also be required to collect certain information to show how we have spent the money we receive from government or other sources to provide the service.

We need to seek your consent before collecting personal information from you.  The person from this organisation who first makes contact with you will seek your consent to collect certain information, and will try to make sure that you are fully aware of the reason why we need to collect the information.  If you fill out any form that contains personal information, it will be understood that you are consenting to the collection of this information by this organisation.

When it is not possible for people to exercise a valid consent to the collection or possible disclosure of their personal information, we will follow the guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to deal with this situation.

Under National Privacy Principle 8, you have the right to remain anonymous when you make contact with Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement Co. Ltd.  If you choose not to disclose any personal information to us we will need to discuss this with you, as it may make it difficult for us to offer you effective services.

How we use and protect your personal information

Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement Co. Ltd follows procedures to ensure that your personal information is secure, and unauthorised people cannot get access to it.  These procedures include guidelines as to how long information is kept.  Legal requirements determine the time we must keep certain files.  We will only disclose your personal information to someone else if we have sought your consent to do so, or if we are required or authorised to do so by law.

If we need to transfer any personal information about you to another country, we will abide by the requirements set out in National Privacy Principle Number 9, which regulates the transfer of information to another country.  We will always seek your consent if it is necessary to send any of your personal information to another country.

In relation to children and young people, we respect their right to have a reasonable level of control over their personal information.  However, much will depend on the age and maturity of the child or young person and the particular circumstances of the case.

Your right to gain access to information

Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement Co. Ltd endeavours to make sure that the personal information that we collect is accurate, complete and up-to-date.

Generally, you have the right to gain access to the personal information held about you by Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement Co. Ltd.  However, provisions in the Privacy Act 1988 may prevent this from happening every time.  If it is not possible for us to make all or some of your information available to you, we will always explain why access may have been restricted / denied.

If you wish to gain access to the information Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement Co. Ltd holds about you, you must fill out a request form.  Staff will be able to help you with this.  If your request is approved, a staff member must be present when you do so.  You may ask for photocopies of the information, but the original information must not be removed from the premises.

If you have gained access to the personal information held about you by Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement Co. Ltd and you believe the information needs to be corrected, you are entitled to inform us of what changes are necessary.  The staff member helping you will give you a form on which to write changes.  This form will then be attached to your file, and appropriate records updated.

Complaints or further information

Please contact the Child Protection Manager, the Business and Quality Manager, or the Chief Executive Officer of this organisation if you wish to make a complaint or have further enquiries about any aspect of our management of your personal information.

You are also very welcome to make any suggestions that may assist us to provide the best possible protection of your personal information.

Our contact details:

Chief Executive Officer
Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement Co. Ltd
20 Scott Street, Toowoomba Q 4350
Postal Address: PO Box 1198
P: 07 45918000
F: 07 4632 0548