INTRODUCTION

The Queensland Dental Group^TM is committed to providing you with the best possible customer service experience. The Queensland Dental Group^TM is also committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information and is bound by the relevant privacy legislation, including the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in the privacy act as well as other relevant State Legislation, that impose specific obligations in regard to the handling of personal and health information that directly or indirectly identifies a person. This Privacy Policy and principles therein are in accordance with these laws and supports the Queensland Dental Group’s need to collect information for its services and functions as well as the right of the individual and their right to have their information handled in ways that protect the privacy of their personal and/or health information. This policy outlines reasons why the Queensland Dental Group^TM collects personal information, how this information is stored and handled, how the privacy of individuals is protected.

WHAT INFORMATION IS COLLECTED AND HOW IT IS USED

In general, the personal information we collect about you includes your name, contact details including phone numbers, mailing address and email address and in some cases financial information, in the form of your credit card details when making a payment in person, on an event registration form. or as supplied by yourself or a person representing your interests and doing so on your behalf. We may collect some or all of this information when you call us by phone, send us an email, submit a message via the Queensland Dental Group^TM website or come and talk to us in person. The Queensland Dental Group^TM exercises care in storing collected information securely, protecting it from unauthorised access. Computer systems are password encrypted and access is restricted to authorised staff. For individuals pre-advising of their allergies or special dietary requirements when registering for an event, the names of these delegates, their allergies and their dietary requirements are communicated with third party hotel or catering companies for the event. Conference event delegate information is used to send event registration confirmation documents to delegates for an event or events they have registered for. At a later stage the contact details may be used to write to delegates to inform them of upcoming events or other associated information. Delegates can advise the Queensland Dental Group^TM if they do not wish to receive any communication about upcoming events. For patients, in order to provide you with the highest standard of dental care, the Queensland Dental Group^TM is required to collect personal information from you. This information covers basic details such as your name, address and telephone number but it is also necessary for the oral health practitioner to obtain from you details regarding your general health and past medical and surgical events. Without this general health picture, the treating practitioner is unable to plan your care properly. We value the need to safeguard this information in accordance with the principles laid down in privacy legislation and the guidelines issued by the Australian Dental Association.

The Queensland Dental Group will release and provide information it holds about any person or persons where required to do so by law or subpoena or if action is necessary to comply with the law and the reasonable requests of one or more law enforcement, government or regulatory agencies.

SECURITY

The security of your personal information is of a high importance to us. We have implemented appropriate processes and techniques including physical security, such as locks and security systems and computer and network security, including firewalls and passwords to protect personal information from loss, misuse and interference and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. In addition, access to your personal information is limited to those who specifically need it to conduct their responsibilities. However, it is important to be aware that no method of data transmission over the internet or any form of electronic storage is 100% secure. Accordingly, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you send to us or receive from us online. This is particularly true for information that you send us via email as we have no way of protecting this information until it reaches us. The same is true for information that we provide via email to you. We cannot guarantee absolute security, however we endeavour to utilise commercially acceptable methods for protecting your personal information.
WEBSITE USAGE TRACKING

The Queensland Dental Group^TM also collects information that is not personal information. For example, we may collect data relating to activity on our websites via tracking technologies such as cookies. The information collected may include, but is not limited to, the browser type, version and language, operating system, pages viewed while browsing the website, page access times and referring website. We generally use this information to report statistics, analyse trends, administer our services, diagnose and resolve problems and target and improve the quality of our products and services. To the extent this information does not constitute personal information, the National Privacy Principles do not apply and we may use this information for website analytical purposes. You may disable cookies through adjusting your browser settings if you prefer for this information not to be collected.

PAYMENTS AND CREDIT CARD DETAILS

The Queensland Dental Group^TM does not accept online payments. Payment options include cheque, direct deposit, EFTPOS and also accepts a variety of credit cards. All transactions processed by the Queensland Dental Group meet industry security standards to ensure your details and payments are protected. However, as stated above, it is important to be aware that no method of data transmission over the internet or any form of electronic storage is 100% secure. Accordingly, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information, such as credit card details or any other details either within an email or attached to an email that you send to us or receive from us online.

USE OF THIRD PARTIES

The Queensland Dental Group^TM uses gathered information to assist you with your needs and to promote its own purposes and objectives. The Queensland Dental Group^TM aims to use the collected information for the purpose or purposes for which it was collected. The Queensland Dental Group^TM does not exchange such information with other parties or sell the collected information. However, from time to time, the Queensland Dental Group^TM hires other companies to assist with dental conference events or to provide services on its behalf, such as to assist with, but not limited to, printing. The Queensland Dental Group^TM takes reasonable steps to ensure that these organisations are bound by confidentiality and privacy obligations in relation to the protection of your personal information. For patients, private information will not be disclosed to those not associated with your treatment without your consent except as provided under the legislation and where we consider you would have a reasonable expectation of us to provide such information. In rare instances, we may be legally required to disclose information to government departments and would provide this if required by law.

ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

You may seek access to the information held about you and we aim to provide this access, wherever feasible, without undue delay. For patients, this access might be by inspection of your dental records at the time of the appointment or by special access or copying of information at other times. There will be no charge made for requesting this information but there may be fees levied just to cover the costs associated with the processing of this request and for copies of the information.

CONCERNS AND COMPLAINTS

Should you have any concerns, please discuss these with a Queensland Dental Group team member. Our staff are trained to respect personal information and handle it in accordance with privacy principles. Any complaint that is not resolved informally through discussion with a Queensland Dental Group team member should be submitted in writing and mailed to: The Director, Queensland Dental Group, Ground Floor, Silverton Place, Suite 12, 101 Wickham Terrace Brisbane Qld 4000. A complaint about information privacy is an expression of dissatisfaction with Queensland Dental Group^TM procedures, staff, agents or quality of service associated with the collection or handling of personal or health information. The Queensland Dental Group^TM will be efficient and fair when investigating and responding to any complaints about the privacy of personal information that are received.

UPDATES OF THE PRIVACY POLICY

The Queensland Dental Group^TM reserves the right to update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or require further information, please contact us at ce@qdg.com.au.