Introduction to privacy
Symbion and its related bodies corporate (Symbion) is committed to the right to privacy and the protection of personal information in accordance with privacy laws and including compliance with the National Privacy Principles.
About Symbion's privacy policy
This privacy policy ("Policy") outlines how we manage personal information. It also describes the sorts of information we hold and why, as well as how that information is collected, held, used and disclosed. Depending on the Symbion organization with which an individual deals, further information may apply in addition to the matters discussed in this Policy.
We encourage readers to check our website regularly for any updates (see 'Further information' below).
Whose personal information do we collect
Individuals from whom we collect personal information include:
our customers
our customer’s clients (eg pharmacy customers)
our patients
health professionals
business contacts
employees and
contractors
Dealing with us anonymously
Where it is lawful and practicable to do so, individuals may deal with us anonymously (e.g. when enquiring about our products and services generally).
Collecting personal information
If an individual is acquiring or has acquired a product or service from Symbion, we may collect and use their personal information to:
provide the required products and services
administer and manage those services, including charging, billing and collecting debts
inform the individual of the ways the products and services provided could be improved
conduct appropriate checks for credit worthiness
research and develop our services
gain an understanding of the individual's needs so we may provide them with better service
maintain and develop our business systems and infrastructure, including testing and upgrading these systems
determine and negotiate pricing and service levels for our products and services
performance reporting and benchmarking of an individual’s business
to improve and help us better tailor our product and service offering , including developing new products, services, promotional offers and purchasing opportunities; and
to conduct market research and other forms of analysis.
What personal information do we collect?
The information collected may include an individual's:
name
date of birth
occupation
gender
current and previous address (postal and email)
telephone number
financial details
tax file number
health information and
other information that we consider necessary
How do we collect personal information?
We will, if reasonable and practicable to do so, collect personal information directly from the individual concerned. This may take place when the individual fills out documents such as an application form or an administrative form or when the individual gives us personal information in person, over the telephone or through our websites.
In certain circumstances, we will collect personal information from third parties. For example, we may need to collect personal information from:
a credit reporting agency
an individual's financial advisers
an individual's representatives (e.g. authorised representatives or legal advisers)
an individual's employer
an individual's health service provider
an individual's treating health professional
publicly available sources of information or
any other organisation identified below (see 'Disclosing personal information' below).
Collecting sensitive information
Unless we have consent, we will not collect information that reveals an individual's racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs or affiliations, membership of a political trade union, details of their health, disability, sexual orientation or criminal record.
This is subject to some exceptions including if:
the collection is required by law or
the information is necessary to provide a health service.
Consequences of not providing personal information
Failing to provide Symbion with certain personal information means that, potentially, we may not be able to provide the relevant service to you.
Disclosing personal information
We may disclose personal information to the organisations described below. The purposes of disclosure will be those set out in the "Collecting personal information" section above.
Where personal information is disclosed, we will seek to ensure that the information is held, used and disclosed consistently with the National Privacy Principles contained in the Act, any relevant Health Privacy Principles under state legislation (e.g. those contained in the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) or the privacy provisions contained in Part 2 of the Health Records (Privacy and Access) Act 1997 (ACT)) and other applicable privacy laws and codes.
The relevant organisations include:
outsourced service providers who manage the services we provide (e.g. mailing services, billing and debt recovery functions, marketing services, data analysis specialists, data processing organisations and loyalty program administrators)
our suppliers
our business associates and others for purposes directly related to the purpose for which the personal information is collected
credit reporting agencies
our advisers (including our accountants, auditors and lawyers)
government and regulatory authorities and other organisations, as required or authorised by law
organisations involved in marketing our products and services
organisations jointly participating in, or assisting us to manage, a promotion, event, seminar or competition
organisations involved in a transfer or sale or our assets or business
organisations involved in managing our corporate risk and
our related companies
Also, we may need to disclose an individual's personal information to their representatives (e.g. their authorised personal representatives or their legal advisers).
We or they may also use your personal information to help us improve our products and services.
Where possible, we try to ensure that our disclosure of information to other organisations (for example suppliers) is in a way which does not personally identify individuals.
Transborder data flows
Because we operate throughout Australia and overseas, some disclosures (see 'Disclosing personal information' above) may occur outside the state or territory in which an individual is resident.
Using government identifiers
In certain circumstances we are required to collect government identifiers such as tax file numbers, Medicare numbers, pension numbers or Veteran's Affairs numbers. We do not use or disclose this information other than when required or authorised by law.
Marketing our products and services
We assume that we have consent to use or disclose personal information for the purposes of informing individuals about the following matters in a business context unless we are told otherwise:
Symbion’s products and services that may be of interest and suit their requirements and
promotions or other opportunities in which they may be interested
You understand that you can opt out of receiving marketing communications by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and including the contact details that you no longer want used).
We assume we have consent to use service providers to assist us with marketing (e.g. mailing services or advertising agencies) unless we are told otherwise (see 'Contacting us' below).
Storing personal information
We store personal information in different ways, including in paper and electronic form. The security of personal information is important to us and we take reasonable steps to protect it from misuse or loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Some of the ways we do this include:
requiring our staff to maintain confidentiality
implementing document storage security policies
imposing security measures for access to our computer systems (see 'Privacy on the internet' below)
providing a discrete environment for confidential discussions
only allowing access to personal information where the individual seeking access has satisfied our identification requirements and
ensuring there is access control into our buildings
Privacy on the internet
We take care to ensure that the personal information given to us on our websites is protected. Our websites have electronic security systems, including firewalls and data encryption. Depending on the Symbion organisation with which an individual deals, user identifiers, passwords and other access codes for our staff and third parties may be used to control access to personal information.
Also individuals may access external websites by clicking on links we have provided on our websites. These external websites are not subject to our privacy standards. Individuals need to review those websites to ascertain how the relevant organisation manages personal information.
Cookies
Symbion uses cookies only in those areas that require session management to improve your experience on this web site. Our cookies are used only to determine your browser and user preferences for our site. This helps us to provide you with the best service and to make it easier when you shop. The cookies are memory resident in your computer and the Symbion web server uses them to manage the current session only.
Keeping personal information accurate and up to date
We take all reasonable precautions to ensure that the personal information we collect, use and disclose is accurate, complete and up to date. However, the accuracy of that information largely depends on the quality of the information provided to us. We therefore suggest that individuals:
let us know if there are any errors in their personal information; and
keep us up to date with changes to their personal information (e.g. their name and address). Individuals may do this by mail (see 'Contacting us' below).
We protect your privacy in several ways:
Access to customer account information is limited to those who need access for the performance of their job.
We use full login and password controls on our system.
All full and part-time employees are required to sign a confidentiality clause as part of their terms of employment.
Confidentiality and database access controls are reviewed periodically and updated as required to further protect our personal data.
Accessing personal information
Individuals have a right to access their personal information, subject to some exceptions allowed by law. Individuals can contact us to obtain a form to request access (see 'Contacting us' below). We may charge a fee for collating and providing access to personal information.
Complaints
Individuals who believe that we have breached their privacy rights in any way or wish to discuss any issues about our privacy policy should contact our Privacy Officer (see 'Contacting us' below).
We will try to satisfy any questions and correct any errors on our part.
If we do not satisfactorily answer an individual's concerns, they have the right to make a complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner:
By telephone: 1300 363 992
By email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
By facsimile: +61 2 9284 9666
Contacting Us
Individuals may ask any questions about privacy and the way we manage personal information or obtain a form requesting access to personal information by:
calling Selwyn Patterson
Further Information
For further information about Symbion and how we operate, please refer to our website www.symbion.com.au. If you would like more information about privacy in general, please refer to the Privacy Commissioner's website: http://www.privacy.gov.au
Changes to our Privacy Policy
Symbion reserves the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time and to notify you of such amendment by way of posting an updated version of the Privacy Policy on our website. You should periodically refer to the Privacy Policy.
