Privacy Policy
SA Spine & Health
Last updated: 24 August 2026
1. About this Privacy Policy
SA Spine & Health respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal and health information we collect and hold about you.
This Privacy Policy explains how SA Spine & Health collects, uses, stores, discloses and protects your personal information, including sensitive health information.
SA Spine & Health is an allied health practice and handles health information as part of providing healthcare services. We are committed to complying with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
This Privacy Policy applies to our patients, prospective patients, website visitors and other individuals who provide personal information to SA Spine & Health.
2. Our details
SA Spine & Health
South Plympton
463 Cross Road
South Plympton SA 5038
Morphett Vale
267 Main South Road
Morphett Vale SA 5162
Warooka
22 Brentwood Road
Warooka SA 5577
Email: saspineandhealth@gmail.com
Website: www.saspineandhealth.com.au
For privacy enquiries, please contact our Practice Manager or Privacy Officer using the contact details above.
3. What information do we collect?
Depending on your relationship with us and the services we provide, we may collect and hold personal information including:
your name, date of birth and contact details;
residential and postal address;
emergency contact details;
Medicare details and other healthcare identifiers;
Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) information, where applicable;
private health insurance information;
WorkCover and workers' compensation information, where applicable;
motor vehicle accident and insurance claim information, where applicable;
employment and workplace information where relevant to your treatment or claim;
medical and health history;
information about injuries, symptoms, diagnoses and treatment;
medications and other relevant treatments;
clinical notes and treatment records;
referrals, reports and correspondence from other healthcare providers;
diagnostic imaging, test results and other relevant clinical information;
appointment and attendance information;
billing and payment information;
information provided through forms, emails, telephone calls, SMS, online bookings and other communications; and
other information reasonably necessary to provide healthcare and administer our services.
Health information is considered sensitive information under Australian privacy law and receives additional privacy protections.
4. How do we collect your information?
Where reasonably practicable, we collect personal information directly from you.
This may occur when you:
make an appointment;
attend one of our clinics;
complete a new patient or intake form;
provide information during an assessment or consultation;
communicate with us by telephone, email, SMS or other electronic means;
make a payment;
submit information through our website or online booking system; or
otherwise interact with SA Spine & Health.
In some circumstances, we may collect information from other people or organisations where reasonably necessary or permitted by law.
This may include:
your general practitioner or specialist;
another allied health or healthcare professional involved in your care;
hospitals and other healthcare providers;
Medicare;
the Department of Veterans' Affairs;
private health insurers;
WorkCover or relevant workers' compensation authorities;
insurers, claims managers and rehabilitation providers;
your employer, where relevant and appropriately authorised;
your parent, guardian, carer or authorised representative; or
another person or organisation you have authorised us to communicate with.
5. Why do we collect your information?
We collect personal and health information for purposes including:
providing assessment, treatment and allied health services;
understanding your medical and health history;
assessing and managing your condition or injury;
developing and monitoring your treatment and rehabilitation plan;
communicating with you about your treatment and appointments;
communicating with other healthcare providers involved in your care;
making referrals and preparing clinical reports;
processing payments and managing accounts;
processing Medicare claims;
processing DVA claims and providing services under applicable DVA arrangements;
managing WorkCover and workers' compensation claims;
communicating with insurers, employers, rehabilitation providers and claims managers where relevant and authorised;
maintaining accurate and complete clinical records;
meeting our legal, regulatory, professional and contractual obligations;
managing complaints and resolving concerns;
maintaining the safety and quality of our healthcare services;
protecting the health and safety of our patients, staff and other persons; and
other purposes reasonably necessary for providing our services or permitted or required by law.
We only seek to collect information that is reasonably necessary for our functions and activities.
6. Consent to the collection of health information
Where required, we will seek your consent to collect, use or disclose your health information.
Consent may be express, such as signing a consent form, or may in some circumstances be implied by your actions, such as providing relevant health information during a consultation for the purpose of receiving treatment.
We may collect, use or disclose information without consent where this is permitted or required by law.
You may withdraw consent where consent is the basis for a particular use or disclosure. However, withdrawing consent may affect our ability to provide certain services, communicate with other healthcare providers, or administer a Medicare, DVA, WorkCover or other claim.
7. Use and disclosure of your information
We will generally use and disclose your personal and health information for the purpose for which it was collected, including providing healthcare to you.
Where appropriate and authorised, information may be disclosed to members of your treating team and other organisations involved in your healthcare or claim.
This may include:
your GP or specialist;
other allied health professionals;
hospitals and medical services;
diagnostic imaging and pathology providers;
Medicare;
the Department of Veterans' Affairs;
WorkCover and workers' compensation authorities;
insurers and claims managers;
workplace rehabilitation providers;
employers where relevant and authorised;
private health insurers;
legal or professional advisers where reasonably necessary;
government agencies where required or authorised by law; and
other persons or organisations where you have provided appropriate consent.
We will only disclose information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.
We may also disclose information where required or authorised by Australian law or where another exception under the Privacy Act applies.
8. Medicare, DVA and WorkCover
SA Spine & Health provides services to patients who may be funded or supported by Medicare, the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA), WorkCover or other third parties.
Where applicable, we may collect and disclose relevant personal and health information to administer your treatment, claim, payment or funding arrangement.
This may include providing relevant information to:
Medicare;
the Department of Veterans' Affairs;
WorkCover and relevant workers' compensation authorities;
insurers;
claims managers;
employers;
workplace rehabilitation providers; and
other authorised parties involved in managing your claim.
The information disclosed will be limited to information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose and handled in accordance with applicable privacy requirements.
9. Practice management and clinical software
SA Spine & Health uses PracSuite as its practice management and clinical software system.
We use PracSuite to assist with functions including:
managing patient records;
recording clinical information;
managing appointments;
communicating with patients;
managing billing and payments;
processing relevant claims; and
administering our practice.
PracSuite is provided by Smartsoft Pty Ltd.
As PracSuite is a third-party technology provider, its systems and integrations may involve third-party service providers and may involve the storage or processing of information outside Australia.
SA Spine & Health takes reasonable steps to ensure that third-party providers used in connection with our practice handle information appropriately and in accordance with applicable privacy requirements.
You may contact us if you would like further information about the third-party systems we use.
10. Overseas disclosure
SA Spine & Health does not intentionally engage overseas-based providers for the direct provision of healthcare services.
However, some technology and software providers used by our practice may involve overseas storage, processing or disclosure of information.
In particular, PracSuite's privacy documentation states that information entered into PracSuite may be disclosed to, stored by or used by third-party providers located outside Australia as part of PracSuite's functionality, integrations and background operations.
Accordingly, your personal information may be transferred to or handled in countries outside Australia.
Where personal information is disclosed overseas, SA Spine & Health will take reasonable steps to ensure that applicable privacy requirements are met.
You may contact us if you would like further information about overseas disclosures associated with the systems we use.
11. Direct marketing
We may contact you about matters directly related to your healthcare, appointments and services.
Where we wish to use your health information for direct marketing, we will only do so where permitted by law and, where required, with your consent.
You may opt out of receiving marketing communications at any time.
We will not sell your personal or health information to third parties.
12. Website and online services
Our website is:
When you use our website, we may collect information such as:
your IP address;
browser and device information;
information about how you use our website; and
information you voluntarily submit through online forms or other website features.
We may use cookies or similar technologies where necessary to operate, secure and improve our website.
If our website contains links to third-party websites, those websites have their own privacy policies. SA Spine & Health is not responsible for the privacy practices of external websites.
13. How do we protect your information?
SA Spine & Health takes reasonable steps to protect personal and health information from:
misuse;
interference;
loss;
unauthorised access;
unauthorised modification; and
unauthorised disclosure.
Depending on the circumstances, safeguards may include:
secure clinical and practice-management systems;
password and access controls;
restricting access to information to authorised personnel;
staff confidentiality obligations;
secure physical storage;
appropriate information technology security measures; and
procedures for identifying and responding to privacy and data security incidents.
No method of electronic storage or transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
14. How long do we keep your information?
We retain personal and health information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide healthcare, meet our legal and professional obligations, maintain appropriate clinical records, administer claims and payments, resolve disputes and fulfil other legitimate purposes.
We will retain health records for the periods required by applicable legislation, professional standards and regulatory requirements.
When information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify it.
15. Accessing your information
You generally have a right to request access to personal information and health information we hold about you.
You can make an access request by contacting us at:
We may ask you to verify your identity before providing access.
In some circumstances, we may be permitted or required by law to refuse access to particular information. If this occurs, we will generally explain the reason for our decision.
16. Correcting your information
We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information we hold is accurate, complete and up to date.
If you believe information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date or misleading, you may request that we correct it.
We will consider your request and take reasonable steps to correct information where appropriate.
17. Privacy complaints
If you believe SA Spine & Health has mishandled your personal or health information, you may make a privacy complaint to us.
Please contact:
Privacy Officer / Practice Manager
SA Spine & Health
463 Cross Road
South Plympton SA 5038
or
Email: saspineandhealth@gmail.com
Please provide sufficient information for us to understand your concern and investigate it.
We will investigate your complaint and aim to respond within a reasonable period.
There is no charge for making a privacy complaint.
If you are not satisfied with our response, or your complaint is not resolved, you may be able to make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
18. Data breaches
SA Spine & Health takes reasonable steps to protect personal information against data breaches.
If we become aware of a data breach, we will assess the incident and take appropriate steps in accordance with applicable privacy laws.
Where an incident constitutes an eligible data breach under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme, we will comply with our notification obligations, which may include notifying affected individuals and the OAIC.
19. Children's information
Where we provide healthcare to children or young people, we may collect information from the child, parent, guardian, carer or other authorised person as appropriate.
We take appropriate care when handling information relating to children and will only collect, use and disclose such information for appropriate healthcare, administrative or legal purposes.
20. Healthcare identifiers
Where applicable, SA Spine & Health may collect and handle healthcare identifiers, including Individual Healthcare Identifiers (IHIs), in accordance with the Healthcare Identifiers Act 2020 (Cth), the Privacy Act and other applicable requirements.
Healthcare identifiers may constitute sensitive personal information and are subject to specific privacy and security requirements.
21. Anonymity and pseudonymity
Where it is practical and lawful to do so, you may have the option of dealing with us anonymously or using a pseudonym.
However, this will generally not be practical when providing healthcare, maintaining accurate clinical records, processing Medicare, DVA or WorkCover claims, or where we are required by law to identify you.
22. Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our services, technology, legal obligations or privacy practices.
The most current version will be published on our website and will include the date it was last updated.
23. Contact us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how SA Spine & Health handles your personal information, please contact us:
SA Spine & Health
South Plympton
463 Cross Road
South Plympton SA 5038
Morphett Vale
267 Main South Road
Morphett Vale SA 5162
Email: saspineandhealth@gmail.com
Website: www.saspineandhealth.com.au
Privacy Officer: Practice Manager
Further information
For further information about privacy in Australia, patients can visit the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
The OAIC provides specific guidance for health service providers concerning the collection, use, disclosure, access, correction and protection of health information.