Privacy policy

Privacy Commitment

Remedy Healthcare Group Pty Ltd and its subsidiaries understand that your privacy is important to you and we care about protecting the privacy and security of your personal information (including sensitive information). We protect the personal information of our customers and customers of other organisations we work with in accordance with the Privacy Laws.

About this Privacy Policy and your privacy

This Privacy Policy sets out how we handle your personal information. It explains how we can collect, use, hold and disclose this information. It also contains information about how you can access the information we hold about you, how you can ask us to correct your information, or make a complaint about how we have managed your information.

We may also provide you with more specific information about how we handle your information when you receive our terms and conditions or begin receiving services or coaching calls, so you should also read those documents thoroughly.

Some helpful definitions

In this Privacy Policy, we use the following terms:

"We", "us", and "our", refers to Remedy Healthcare Group Pty Ltd and its subsidiaries.

“Personal Information” means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, such as your name, address, date of birth, telephone numbers or email address.

“Privacy Laws” means the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles, the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme, and other applicable laws in relation to the handling of personal information.

“Sensitive information” is information or opinions such as a person’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious beliefs or affiliation, philosophical beliefs, membership of a professional or trade association, membership of a trade union, sexual preferences or practices, criminal record, health information and genetic information.

Information we collect

Personal information we collect

The personal information we may collect, use and disclose will depend on the type of service you request or receive from us. We may collect personal information from you or third parties to manage your accounts and services and to better understand you, your preferences and interests.

Some of the information we may collect includes, but is not limited to:

personal identification and contact details such as name, date of birth, address, telephone number, email address and social media platform username;
demographic information such as age and gender;
financial information such as banking, payment and contribution details;
government issued identifiers such as Medicare and Driver’s Licence numbers;
transaction information such as records of service contacts;
audio recordings of telephone conversations with you;
transcripts of audio recordings and webchat communications with you;
activity or preference information collected by our partners;
website usage; and
employment details and history.

Sensitive information we collect

We will only collect sensitive information if:

we need the information to provide you with the products or services you have requested, or for one of our functions or activities, and have your consent; or
we are legally required or allowed to collect this information.

Some of the sensitive information we collect may include:

health and clinical information, such as your medical history, medical diagnosis, medications you need, behaviour management plans, cognitive capacity, in order to provide you with healthcare services; or
information on your religious, racial, and ethnic background, including if you identify as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person, in order to deliver culturally appropriate services to you.

How we collect your personal information

In most cases, we collect personal information directly from you when you sign up to our programs or services, use our websites, applications or social media, talk to us, provide us with feedback, make a complaint, or visit one of our offices.

If it is not reasonable or practical for us to collect the information directly from you, or if you have consented for us to do so, we may collect information about you from other sources, including receiving information from:

a person you have authorised to act on your behalf, such as your partner, a family member or agent, power of attorney or guardian;
a third party, such as your treating hospital or other health service provider, or private health insurance fund;
referees that you provide us as a prospective employee;
publicly available records including phone directories, websites or the electoral roll;
third parties who make information available to better understand you, your preferences and interests;
organisations that we have an arrangement with to offer or promote products or services to you, including marketing companies if we acquire contact information to tell people about our products and services that may be of interest to them; and
other related entities so we can better manage our relationship with you.

Where you have given us personal information about another person, for example a person you have authorised to act on your behalf, we expect you to tell those people that you have given us their information, and to tell them about this Privacy Policy.

When we get information we didn’t ask for

If we receive unsolicited personal or sensitive information that we do not need to deliver services to you (for example, in correspondence that you may send to us), we will, where reasonable to do so, destroy or de-identify this information. Where we retain this information, it will be subject to this Privacy Policy.

We will not store unsolicited personal or sensitive information we do not require, however, often we are unable to delete such information, particularly where it forms part of correspondence, phone records or other interactions that we do need to retain. Deletion in such circumstances is generally not reasonable or practicable.

If we no longer need to keep your personal information for a business purpose and the legal retention period for keeping this information has passed, we will either destroy or de-identify this information.

This Privacy Policy will not apply to the use of de-identified information because it is not information that identifies you.

Do we collect information electronically?

When you use our website, we do not attempt to identify you as an individual user and we will not collect personal information from you unless you specifically provide this to us, for example by way of completion of an online form or if you send an online enquiry to us. We collect information about our customers’ preferences and behaviours to help us administer and enhance:

the performance of our system;
the content of our website; and
the services we offer to you.

We also monitor web traffic, so we can make sure the website is available during peak periods.

Whenever anyone visits our website, we collect data about their visit using ‘cookies’ to obtain information about how our website is being used and for security purposes.

You may change the settings on your browser to reject cookies, however doing so might prevent you from accessing the secured pages of our website.

Our websites contain links to other third party websites, which are not subject to this Privacy Policy and our procedures. As such, any personal information you provide on these third party websites will be handled under the privacy policies of those platform providers. You will need to refer to those websites directly to obtain their privacy policies and practices.

We may also engage third parties, including Facebook and Google, to use cookies, web beacons and other storage technologies to collect or receive information from our website and elsewhere on the internet to provide measurement and analytics services and target ads. If you wish to opt out of us using your personal information to display targeted advertising on digital platforms, please call us on 1300 224 334. To otherwise manage the ads you see on digital platforms, please visit the platform’s website (for example, Google Ad Settings https://adssettings.google.com/ ; or Facebook Ad Preferences https://www.facebook.com/help/568137493302217).

What if you don’t want to provide your personal information?

You may choose not to disclose your personal information to us (for example, remain anonymous or pseudonymous), however, it may limit our ability to manage emergencies effectively, provide you with the services you have requested or let you know about other services that might better suit your needs.

Some of our services record calls and webchat communications for safety and quality assurance purposes. All recordings and transcripts of communications will be maintained by us in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

How we use and disclose your personal information

We use your personal information to provide you with services (including third party products and services) you’ve asked for, to manage your account, and improve the services you receive. We also use this information to comply with our legal obligations.

Some specific uses may include to:

identify you;
assess your eligibility for a service;
provide and manage services, including answering your enquiries and complaints;
plan and deliver your personal, clinical and care services;
managing our rights and obligations regarding external payment systems;
help us develop insights and conduct data analysis to improve the delivery of services, enhance our customer relationships and effectively manage risks;
understand your interests and preferences so we can tailor our services and marketing, including digital content, and tell you about other products and services that may be of interest to you;
where you opt in, to help us to develop health programs to treat a specific illness or condition or to offer services, special offers and discounts;
improve the service we provide to you by identifying training and development opportunities for our employees and representatives;
interact with regulators and government departments or agencies in relation to a complaint made by you or your representative or an incident that is reportable to a regulator under a legislative act or regulation; and
meet our obligations under applicable laws.

We may also use your information to develop and provide specific health programs for you. Programs we provide may be either:

nature (which are available to all customers); or of a general
offered on an invitation only basis (based on a set of criteria) with the aim of managing a specific illness or condition (e.g. coronary artery disease).

Participation in any of our programs is voluntary and conducted on an opt-in basis, following initial contact from us or our health service provider. When opting into one of our health programs, you will be advised of any further privacy matters that may relate directly to your participation. You may withdraw from a program at any stage.

How we use your information to tell you about our services

We may use your personal information to tell you about services you request or that we think might benefit you. We may contact you in relation to these services, including via:

email;
SMS, MMS or other electronic notification;
social media and other digital platforms;
our website
mail; and
telephone.

We respect the rights of our customers to choose the material they want to receive and how they wish to receive it, including by electronic means. You can therefore choose to receive only the materials you want or opt-out of receiving marketing information from us by calling 1300 224 334.

Who we disclose information to and why

Remedy Healthcare Group is a subsidiary of Australian Unity Limited. Australian Unity Limited and its subsidiaries are referred to as the “Australian Unity Group”.

We may share your personal information within the Australian Unity Group. This helps us provide you with information about other products and services available within the group, verify your personal information and offer a streamlined customer experience across our group.

We may also provide your personal information to selected third parties outside the Australian Unity Group to assist us with providing you with products and services, deliver technology or other support for our business systems, refer us to new customers, or assist us with marketing and data analysis.

To protect your personal information, we only engage with service providers that we believe comply with applicable Privacy Laws and only use the personal information we disclose to them for the specific role we ask them to perform.

We also have agreements in place which set out the terms we expect our service providers to comply with. Before, and during the agreement, we may ask for information to satisfy ourselves that they can and are complying with the terms of the agreement.

For example, we may disclose your personal information to:

your insurer;
your representatives (including a person to whom you have granted a delegated authority, or a guardian, attorney or family member);
hospitals and other health service providers (such as your general practitioner and other allied health practitioners), including to provide you with clinical services for a specific condition, or when it is necessary to prevent or minimise harm or injury, or to allow for safe clinical handover and continuous medical management;
payment systems operators (for example, merchants receiving cards payments);
our contracted service providers, agents and contractors engaged to carry out functions on our behalf (for example, mail houses, distribution and marketing partners, outsourced administration services, software, cloud storage and IT service vendors);
other organisations who we partner with to offer or provide services to you, or who provide analytical or marketing services to assist us to improve the delivery of products and services, and to enhance our customer relationships;
our professional advisers such as financial advisers, legal advisers and auditors;
fraud bureaus or other organisations to identify, investigate or prevent fraud or other misconduct;
external dispute resolution bodies where necessary to resolve a matter you have raised; and
for legal reasons, to law enforcement agencies, quality agencies, regulators, government agencies, courts or external advisors.

We may also disclose your information to others where:

we are required or authorised by law;
we have obtained clear and specific consent from you, we may share with Accredited Data Recipients (ADR) as agreed with you; or
you have expressly consented to the disclosure or the consent may be reasonably inferred from the circumstances.

Disclosing information overseas

We may disclose your personal information to overseas recipients, such as service providers located overseas who help us operate our business. This may include recipients in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Germany, New Zealand and the Netherlands, but this may change from time to time. In some cases, our service providers may store personal information in countries that are not listed above if that is where their computer systems and/or IT services are located.

If we do disclose information overseas, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that your information is provided with the same level of protection as it is afforded within Australia. This may be by only engaging with third parties located in a country which we believe has similar privacy laws to Australia, or by ensuring the third party can provide the same level of protection consistent with the Privacy Laws. We also have agreements in place which set out the terms we expect them to comply with, which include compliance with Privacy Laws and other Australian laws. Before, and during the agreement, we may ask for information to satisfy ourselves that they can and are complying with the terms of the agreement.

Where you ask us to disclose information to an overseas recipient, we may not take the above steps in relation to the management of your information.

How we hold and protect your information

We will store most of the information we hold about you electronically. We store some of your information in secure data centres that are located in Australia and some with selected service providers (including cloud service providers) who may store your information outside Australia. Some information we hold about you will be stored in paper files.

We use a range of physical, electronic and other security measures to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of the personal information we hold, including:

information security such as passwords to control access to computer systems;
privacy training for our employees so that they know how to keep your information safe and secure;
physical security, such as locks and security systems, over our paper and electronic data stores and premises;
access management controls, to prevent unauthorised people accessing our systems;
firewalls, and intrusion detection software security measures, for our website and computer systems; and
processes designed to identify you when you deal with us by phone, online or face to face.

These processes are designed to ensure we only disclose your information to you, or someone properly authorised by you.

Unfortunately, no data transmission over the internet or data storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure, for example, if you feel that the security of any account you have with us has been compromised, please contact us immediately on 1300 224 334.

What you can do to protect your information

You need to keep any access details allocated to you (including your username, password and PIN) confidential and not share them or leave them somewhere that might be easy for others to access or find. Do not allow others to use your credentials, and do not use passwords that are easily guessed (e.g. “Password123!”). Where you allow others to use your credentials or where your credentials are used by others, we will assume that they are you. Let us know immediately if you suspect that there has been unauthorised access to your information or use of your access details.

How we will handle a data breach

In the event of any loss, or unauthorised access or disclosure, of your personal information that is likely to result in serious harm to you, we will investigate and notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and other relevant regulatory bodies, and you, as required under Privacy Laws.

Accessing your personal information

You can request access to the personal information we hold about you by calling 1300 224 334, emailing us via our website, or writing to us using the details provided below. Your request should include a detailed description of the information required. We will need to verify your identity before giving you access.

We will try to provide you with the information you asked for within 30 days. We will keep you updated as to the progress of your request.

What happens if we cannot provide you access to information?

In some cases, we can refuse access or only give you access to certain information (for example, if this access would interfere with the privacy of other individuals or if access would reveal commercially sensitive information). If we are unable to provide you with access to your information, we will inform you of the reasons why.

Correcting your information

If you believe the information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, please contact us on 1300 224 334. If we disagree with the request for correction, we will write to you to let you know why we do not agree.

Resolving your privacy concerns

If you need to resolve an issue or make a complaint about how we manage your personal information, you should first contact us and let us respond to your complaint. If you are not satisfied with our response, there are other steps you can take.

Get in touch with us directly	Call us directly on 1300 224 334, email us at remedy@remedyhealthcare.com.au or contact us through our website
Escalate your complaint to your private health insurer	Details about your private health insurer’s complaints process can be located on their website
Contact our Privacy Officer	Group Privacy Officer Remedy Healthcare Group Pty Ltd GPO Box 2219 Melbourne VIC 3001
Contact an external body	If you have followed these steps and are not happy with the outcome you can contact the relevant external body: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner GPO Box 5218, Sydney, NSW, 2001 Phone: 1300 363 992 Fax : +61 2 9284 9666 Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au Website: www.oaic.gov.au

Changes and getting a copy of this Privacy Policy

We encourage you to review and check regularly for any updates to this Privacy Policy. We will publish the updated version on our website and, by continuing to deal with us, you accept this Privacy Policy as it applies from time to time. If you would like a copy of this Privacy Policy, please contact us.

This Privacy Policy is made on behalf of Remedy Healthcare Group Pty Ltd (ABN 57 132 864 316) and its subsidiaries.

Dated: August 2023