Content: Effective Date: 20 June 2025
At Evolve Hearing Aid Specialists, we understand that your personal information is important to you. As a small, locally operated hearing clinic registered under the Australian Government's Hearing Services Program (HSP), as well as servicing clients under Workcover, NDIS, DVA and private clients we are dedicated to handling your personal details with care and in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
This Privacy Policy describes:
The kinds of personal information we gather and hold
How and why we gather that information
How we store, use and share your personal information
How you can access or correct your information
How to raise a concern if you believe your privacy has not been respected
1. Who This Policy Applies To
Content: This Policy is relevant to you if you:
Are a previous, current or prospective client of our hearing services
Have had your personal information provided to us by a third party (for example, a referring GP or family member)
Are a supplier, contractor or service provider to our clinic
Are seeking employment or work experience with us
2. What Is Personal Information?
Content: Under the Privacy Act 1988, personal information means any information or opinion about a person who is identified or can be reasonably identified, whether or not the information is true and whether or not it is recorded in a physical form.
Common examples include a person's name, date of birth, address, phone number, email address and financial details.
Sensitive information is a particular category of personal information that receives additional protection under the Act. It includes information about a person's health, racial or ethnic background, religious beliefs, political opinions, sexual orientation, trade union membership, criminal record, genetic data and biometric information.
3. Why We Have a Privacy Policy
Content: The first of the Australian Privacy Principles requires organisations covered by the Privacy Act 1988 to maintain a clearly expressed and up-to-date privacy policy. As a health service provider participating in the HSP, we are bound by the Privacy Act regardless of our business size, and we take this obligation seriously.
4. What Information We Collect
Content: To deliver quality hearing care and to meet our obligations under the HSP, we need to gather certain details about you. The types of personal information we may collect include:
Full name and date of birth
Residential and postal address
Phone number(s) and email address
Gender
Citizenship or residency status
Pension, concession or Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) card number
Medicare number
Employment and occupational information (where relevant to your hearing needs)
Payment and billing details
Health information, including audiological assessment results, hearing history and related medical details
Disability status and language(s) spoken
Cultural or ethnic background (to help us provide culturally appropriate care, such as arranging an interpreter)
Records of correspondence, feedback and complaints
Any other details reasonably necessary to assess your eligibility for government-funded hearing services or to deliver your care
Because we are required to verify client identities under the HSP, we are generally unable to provide our hearing services on an anonymous basis.
5. How We Collect Your Information
Content: We collect personal information primarily through direct interaction with you. This may occur when you:
Contact us by phone, email or in person to make an enquiry or book an appointment
Attend a hearing assessment, fitting or follow-up consultation
Fill in consent forms, application forms or client registration documents
Ask us to submit a voucher application on your behalf through the HSP
Provide feedback, make a complaint or respond to a client survey
Visit our website
We may also collect information indirectly from:
Your general practitioner or other health professionals involved in your care
A family member, carer or legal guardian acting on your behalf (with appropriate authority)
Government agencies such as the Department of Health and Aged Care, Services Australia or the Department of Veterans' Affairs
Where we collect information from a third party, we will do so lawfully and fairly. If someone is providing information on your behalf, they should have the appropriate authority to do so.
We only collect sensitive information (such as health data) with your consent and where it is directly related to providing you with hearing services.
6. Why We Collect, Use and Share Your Information
Content: We gather and use your personal information for purposes directly connected to delivering our hearing services. These purposes include:
Conducting hearing assessments, fitting and maintaining hearing devices, and providing ongoing audiological care
Processing your eligibility and voucher applications under the HSP
Managing appointments, bookings and follow-up reminders
Communicating with you about your hearing care, including changes to services, new products or technology that may benefit you, and practical information about getting the best performance from your hearing aids
Processing payments and maintaining accurate financial records
Responding to your enquiries, feedback or complaints
Meeting our reporting and compliance obligations to the Department of Health and Aged Care and other relevant government bodies
Improving the quality of our services, including through client satisfaction surveys
If we ever need to use your information for a purpose that is not directly related to why it was originally collected, we will seek your consent beforehand, unless the use is otherwise permitted by law.
We will not sell your personal information to any third party.
Marketing communications: With your consent, we may from time to time send you information about our services, special offers or new products that may interest you. You can opt out of marketing communications at any time by contacting us (see Section 14). We will action your request promptly.
Please note that even if you opt out of marketing material, we will still contact you as part of your ongoing hearing care for as long as you remain our client. As a health services provider, we consider it part of our professional responsibility to keep you informed about matters relevant to your hearing health, given the natural progression of hearing changes over time and continuous advancements in hearing aid technology.
7. Sharing Your Information
Content: We will not share your personal information without your permission unless the sharing is:
Related to the primary reason it was collected (or, for sensitive information, directly related)
Consistent with this Privacy Policy
Required or authorised by law
Otherwise allowed under the Australian Privacy Principles
Depending on the nature of your engagement with us, we may share your information with:
The Department of Health and Aged Care, for eligibility assessment, voucher processing or audit purposes
Services Australia, the Department of Veterans' Affairs or other relevant Commonwealth, State or Territory agencies
Hearing device manufacturers and suppliers, to facilitate orders, repairs and warranty matters
Your GP or other health professionals involved in your care
A family member, carer or guardian, unless you advise us of a restriction (such as a court or tribunal order)
External service providers we engage to support our operations (for example, IT support, practice management software providers), under contractual arrangements that include privacy obligations
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) or law enforcement agencies, where required by law
We require any third-party service providers who handle your information on our behalf to treat it in accordance with this Policy and the APPs.
Sharing sensitive information: We primarily share your sensitive information only for the purpose for which it was collected. Occasionally, we may share it for a closely related secondary purpose that you would reasonably expect, for example to coordinate your hearing care with your GP.
8. Cross-Border Disclosure of Personal Information
Content: We make every effort to store and manage your personal information within Australia. The primary digital tools we use to support the delivery of your hearing care store Australian client data within Australia.
However, some functionalities of the tools and platforms we use may depend on third-party services whose servers may be located internationally. Where this is the case, our service providers are bound by data processing agreements that enforce compliance with data protection standards and safeguard your information from unauthorised use or disclosure.
Under Australian Privacy Principle 8, if we disclose your personal information to an overseas recipient, we remain accountable for how that recipient handles your information. To manage this responsibility, we:
Carefully assess any service provider before engaging them
Seek to use providers that store and process data within Australia wherever practicable
Where overseas processing is involved, ensure contractual arrangements require the provider to handle your information consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles
In circumstances where Hearing Australia is using overseas service providers that may handle personal information, Hearing Australia will do its best to select a service provider in a country with similar privacy protections to those afforded by the Australian Privacy Act.
Where required, obtain your informed consent before disclosing your information overseas
9. Use of Clinical Documentation Tools
Content: We use an AI-assisted clinical documentation tool (Heidi Scribe) to support note-taking during your appointments. This tool:
Listens to the consultation conversation in real time to generate a written transcript and clinical notes. No audio is recorded or stored.
Applies pseudonymisation processes to remove personal identifiers from sensitive health information
Retains health information only for the duration we request as your treating clinician
Does not use any patient data to train, develop or improve AI models
Employs bank-industry encryption on all data both at rest and in transit
The written transcript and notes produced are treated as personal and health information and are managed in accordance with this Privacy Policy and the Australian Privacy Principles.
We will discuss the use of this tool with you and obtain your consent before it is used during your appointment. You have the right to decline the use of the AI scribe at any time, and we will take notes manually instead.
If you communicate with us through social media platforms, be aware that those platforms and their partners may collect and hold your information overseas under their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review those policies separately.
10. How We Store and Protect Your Information
Content: We take the security of your personal information seriously. Your information may be held in:
Electronic client management and records systems
Secure email systems
Cloud-based software
Paper files stored in locked cabinets within our clinic
Access to your information is limited to authorised staff who need it to perform their duties. Our team members are trained to handle personal information with care and to respect your confidentiality.
We take reasonable steps to ensure your information is accurate, complete, up to date and relevant. We may be required to retain certain records for specified periods to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.
11. Accessing and Correcting Your Information
Content: Under Australian Privacy Principles 12 and 13, you have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you and to ask for corrections if you believe it is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date.
To make a request, please contact us using the details in Section 14. There is no fee for making a request. We will ask you to verify your identity, and we will respond within 30 days.
If we are unable to provide access or make a correction, we will explain our reasons in writing and let you know how you can take the matter further.
If we correct information that we have previously shared with a third party, you can ask us to notify them of the correction, and we will do so unless there is a valid reason not to.
If we decline to correct your information, you may ask us to attach a statement noting that you believe the information is incorrect and explaining why.
12. Anonymity and Pseudonymity
Content: Where it is practical and lawful, you are welcome to interact with us without identifying yourself, for example when making a general enquiry about our services. However, for most of what we do, particularly providing hearing care and processing government-funded services, we will need to know who you are. We may need to verify your identity before we can act on your request.
13. Our Website
Content: When you visit our website, our web server may automatically record standard technical data for statistical purposes, such as:
Your server address and top-level domain name
The date and time of your visit
Pages viewed and documents downloaded
The website you visited immediately before ours
The type of browser you are using
We do not attempt to identify individual visitors from this data, except where required by law (for example, in the course of a law enforcement investigation).
Cookies: Our website may use cookies, which are small data files stored on your device to help the site function properly. Cookies do not contain information that personally identifies you. Most web browsers allow you to manage or disable cookies through your settings. If you choose to disable cookies, some parts of our website may not function as intended.
External links: Our website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those external sites and recommend you review their privacy policies separately.
14. Complaints
Content: If you believe we have not handled your personal information appropriately, we encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve the matter directly. Please reach out using the details below.
We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and provide you with an outcome within 30 days. If we need additional time to investigate, we will let you know before the 30-day period has elapsed.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):
Phone: 1300 363 992
Online: www.oaic.gov.au
Post: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
15. Contact Us
Content: If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, would like to access or correct your personal information, opt out of marketing communications, or raise a privacy concern, please contact us:
Evolve Hearing Aid Specialists
Mail: 5 Pritchard Court, Camden Park, SA, 5038
Email: reception@evolvehearing.com.au
Phone: 08 8119 0250
This Privacy Policy was last updated on 20 Jun 2025.
