Privacy Policy
How Clarity Care collects, uses, stores and shares your personal and health information, and how to access, correct or complain about it.
Who we are and what this covers
Clarity Care provides community nursing, supported independent living, psychosocial recovery coaching, positive behaviour support and daily living support across Mandurah, the Peel Region and the South West of Western Australia. We are a registered NDIS provider and a registered DVA provider (Provider Number 9728531F).
This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with, and what you can do about it. It applies to participants, veterans, families and carers, referrers, job applicants, and anyone who uses our website.
We handle your information in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, and with our obligations as a registered NDIS provider under the NDIS Code of Conduct and the NDIS Practice Standards.
The information we collect
Personal information — your name, date of birth, contact details, address, emergency contacts, next of kin, NDIS or DVA number, and details of the people involved in your support.
Health information — your health conditions, mental health history, medications, allergies, treatment, clinical notes, risk assessments, behaviour support plans and reports from other practitioners.
Health information is sensitive information under the Privacy Act. It carries stronger protections than ordinary personal information. We generally need your consent to collect it, and we only collect what we need to support you safely.
Other information — funding and plan details, service agreements, invoices and payment records, incident records, complaints and feedback, rosters and service notes. For job applicants, we collect your application, work history, references and screening check results.
Website information — pages visited, approximate location, browser and device type, and the date and time of your visit.
How we collect it
Usually directly from you, in conversation, on forms, or during visits.
We also receive information from your support coordinator, Local Area Coordinator, GP, hospital, treating team, plan manager, the NDIA, DVA, or a family member or guardian who refers you. Where someone refers you, we will tell you what we have been given.
Where you are unable to consent yourself, we work with your guardian or nominee in accordance with the law.
Why we collect it
- To assess whether we can help, and to arrange the right support
- To deliver your support safely and plan your care
- To keep clinical and service records
- To communicate with you and, with your consent, the people around you
- To bill and claim through the NDIS, DVA, plan managers, or you directly
- To meet our legal, funding and reporting obligations
- To manage incidents, feedback, complaints and quality improvement
- To recruit, train and supervise staff
We do not sell your information. We do not share your information with commercial partners for marketing.
Who we share it with
Our staff and contractors — only those who need it to support you.
Other people involved in your care — your GP, treating team, allied health practitioners, hospital, support coordinator or plan manager, where it is needed for your support. We ask for your consent before sharing with anyone outside Clarity Care, unless one of the exceptions below applies.
The NDIA, plan managers and DVA — for claiming, reporting and plan administration.
Your family, carers or guardian — only to the extent you have agreed, or where they are your legal decision-maker.
Regulators — the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, AHPRA, DVA, or the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, where we are required to report or respond.
Service providers — our IT, hosting, email, form and records systems, under agreements that require them to protect your information.
Insurers and legal advisers — where necessary for a claim or legal matter.
When we may share without your consent
The law allows, and sometimes requires, disclosure without consent in limited situations. These include where there is a serious and imminent threat to someone’s life, health or safety; where we are required to report a reportable incident to the NDIS Commission; where we have mandatory reporting obligations; or where we are compelled by a court order or by law.
We will tell you when this has happened wherever it is safe and lawful to do so.
Information sent overseas
Some of the systems we use store information on servers outside Australia.
Online forms. Our referral form and our feedback and complaints form are provided by Fillout, which stores submitted information in the United States.
Referral handling. Once you submit a referral, the information moves into Airtable, the system we use to manage referrals and intake, using an automation service called Make. Airtable stores information in the United States. Make processes it in the European Union and the United States. Both handle the information only to pass it into our intake system.
Website analytics. We use Google Analytics to understand how people find and use our website — which pages are visited, roughly where visitors are located, and what device they use. Google may store this information in the United States and other countries. This is information about website use. It is not linked to your health information, and we do not use it to identify you.
Under Australian Privacy Principle 8, we remain accountable for information we disclose overseas. We take reasonable steps to ensure overseas providers handle your information consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles.
If you would rather not use an online form
You do not have to. We can give you a printed form, or send you a PDF you can print and fill in. You can return it by post, hand it to a staff member, or email it.
Post and hand delivery are the most secure options. Ordinary email is not encrypted, so if you email a completed form it travels across the internet unprotected — we will accept it, but we would rather you posted it or handed it over.
We will not treat you differently for asking. Call 0410 560 769 and we will send one.
Cookies
Our website is hosted by Hostinger. It uses cookies that are necessary for the site to work, caching technology to make pages load faster, and Google Analytics cookies to measure how the site is used.
You can set your browser to refuse cookies. The site will still work, though some things may be less convenient.
Keeping your information safe
We store records in access-controlled systems, limit access to staff who need it, train our staff in privacy and confidentiality, and require confidentiality agreements. Paper records are stored securely.
No system is completely secure. If a data breach occurs that is likely to cause you serious harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as required under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.
How long we keep it
We keep records for at least seven years from the date we last provided you with a service.
Where the person receiving support is under 18, we keep their records until they turn 25.
Some records are kept longer where the law requires it. When records are no longer required, we destroy or de-identify them securely.
Accessing and correcting your information
You can ask to see what we hold about you. Contact us and we will respond within 30 days. In most cases access is free; if a request takes substantial work we may charge a reasonable cost, and we will tell you before we do.
There are limited situations where we may not be able to give full access — for example where it would seriously threaten someone’s life or safety, or unfairly affect another person’s privacy. If we refuse, we will tell you why in writing and explain how to complain.
If something we hold is wrong, tell us and we will correct it. If we disagree, you can ask us to attach a statement noting that you consider it inaccurate.
You can ask us to delete information. We will do so where we are able. Some records we are legally required to keep for the periods above.
Withdrawing consent
You can withdraw your consent to us sharing your information at any time. Tell us in whatever way is easiest for you. Withdrawing consent may affect what support we can safely provide, and we will talk that through with you honestly rather than simply stopping.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, tell us first — we would rather fix it.
Our Director or Manager acts as our Privacy Officer.
Phone 0410 560 769
Email info@claritycare.com.au
Post PO Box 3436, Mandurah East, Western Australia 6210
We will acknowledge your complaint within two business days and respond within 30 days. Raising a concern will not affect your support or how you are treated.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact:
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner — oaic.gov.au or 1300 363 992
- NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission — ndiscommission.gov.au or 1800 035 544
- AHPRA, for concerns about a registered health practitioner — ahpra.gov.au
- DVA, for matters relating to your veterans’ entitlements
Changes to this policy
We review this policy regularly. If we make significant changes we will update the date above and, where the change materially affects you, tell you directly.
Contact us
Phone 0410 560 769
Email info@claritycare.com.au
If you would like this policy in Easy Read, large print, another language, or read to you over the phone, ask us. There is no cost.
Not sure where to start?
Tell us what is going on and we will talk you through the options — including telling you honestly if we are not the right fit.