The Frank Whiddon Masonic Homes of NSW (trading as Whiddon) is a not-for-profit entity that provides care services including nursing, respite, residential and in-home care services throughout New South Wales.  We are committed to protecting the personal information that we handle, and this Privacy Policy outlines how we do so in accordance with the law.  This Privacy Policy does not apply to Whiddon’s employee records.

Personal information is any sort of information or an opinion about an individual which identifies that individual, or which can be used to identify them. Personal information includes health information and other sensitive information like genetic information, and information about the individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a trade union or political association, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, sexual preferences or criminal record.

1. Handling personal information

Depending on the nature of your relationship with us, we may collect, hold, use and disclose personal information about you:

  • to provide you with our services;

  • to communicate with you about our services and the manner in which they are provided;

  • to communicate with you about the services you provide to us;

  • to register you as an account holder, and facilitate your activity, on our YourLife website;

  • to facilitate the provision of allied health services, such as physiotherapy, pathology and radiology;

  • to process payment of bills;

  • to accept and process donations;

  • to assess your application for employment with us;

  • to obtain and consider feedback on our services and operations;

  • to comply with our obligations under law;

  • to operate our business effectively and maintain appropriate records; and

  • for other purposes with your consent or as otherwise permitted by law.

2. Collection of personal information

Depending on the nature of our relationship with you, we collect and hold the following types of personal information about you:

  • name and personal details (such as date of birth, gender and nationality);

  • contact details, including those of an authorised representative;

  • details of your relationship with any client or prospective client;

  • health information, including medical history;

  • credit card and bank account details;

  • health insurance and Medicare information;

  • qualifications, references and background checks; and

  • information collected in surveys and other forms of feedback.

Where possible, we collect your personal information directly from you.  However, we may also collect personal information from health, community and residential providers, health care providers treating you, next of kin, guardians, your attorney, or your other authorised representative.

3. Direct marketing

Unless you have requested information or material about our business or our services, Whiddon will not use any personal information for the purposes of direct marketing.  You may opt out of receiving any marketing information from Whiddon at any time by telephoning our reception on 1300 738 388 between 8.00am and 7.00pm Monday to Friday, or by emailing: privacy@whiddon.com.au.

4. Disclosure of personal information

We will not disclose your personal information to third parties unless we are authorised by you, or by law, to do so.  We note that we may disclose your personal information to suppliers (such as residential and community care providers and operators) of goods and services that you have requested.

We send de-identified information to the Australian Bureau of Statistics for statistical purposes and may also use it for other research purposes.

Unless authorised by law or by you, we will not disclose any personal information to overseas recipients. From time to time, Whiddon may participate in research with overseas partners, in which de-identified data may be used.

5. Security and retention of personal information

Whiddon stores personal information in both hardcopy and electronic files.  Hardcopy files are  stored in locked filing cabinets that are housed in secure rooms at our premises.  All electronic files are secured through a range of mechanisms, including passwords. To ensure the security and completeness of all clinical records, primary copies of clinical information are kept in our secure clinical management systems.

We take steps to ensure that only authorised staff have security access to personal information, and only keep personal information for as long as it is required either for our business purposes or as required by law.

6. Anonymity

Due to the nature of the services that Whiddon provides, in most situations it will not be practicable for us to deal with individuals anonymously or through the use of a pseudonym. However, you may make a request to deal with us anonymously or through the use of a pseudonym and we will consider your request on a case by case basis.

7. How to access and correct personal information held by Whiddon

At any time, an individual may make a request for access and/or correction of personal information that we hold.

Whiddon seeks to ensure that the personal information it holds about an individual is kept accurate, up-to-date and complete, however, if you find that any personal information we hold about you is out of date, inaccurate or incomplete, please contact us to correct this information.

There is no charge for making a request for access or correction of personal information. However, Whiddon may charge a fee if you request a copy of client records.

Requests for access and/or correction of personal information should include sufficient details so that we can identify the individual that our records relate to. If a person other than the client is seeking access to personal information, they must accompany their request with evidence of the person’s identity and their authority to access or correct the information.

Written requests should be addressed to:

Executive Assistant
Locked Bag 7014
Minto NSW 2566

8. Website Browsing

Accessing Whiddon’s website (www.whiddon.com.au) will result in some information about your visit being logged, including the time of access, your IP address, and the pages viewed or accessed. This information cannot be used for identification purposes, but allows us to make our website more useful to you.  For more information, please read our Website Terms of Use.

9. Complaints

All complaints relating to the handling and management of personal information, including any alleged breach of Australian privacy law or this Policy should be addressed to:

The Privacy Officer
The Whiddon Group
Locked Bag 7014
Minto   NSW   2566
Email:  privacy@whiddon.com.au

So that we can deal with the complaint appropriately, please include the following information with your complaint:

  • a summary of the privacy concern or alleged breach including, if applicable, details of which client the breach relates to;

  • any action, or inaction, that Whiddon has taken, or failed to take, in relation to the issue; and

  • copies of any relevant documents associated with the complaint, including email communications that Whiddon may have made with you.

 

Whiddon will endeavour to respond to your complaint within 15 business days.

You may also lodge your complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (Ph 1300 363 992) or by email at enquiries@oaic.gov.au or the New South Wales Information Privacy Commission (Ph 1800 472 679) or by email at ipcinfo@ipc.nsw.gov.au.

10. Changes to this Policy

We may amend or update this Policy at any time.  Any changes are effective from the time they are made.