Privacy Policy

1. What is Personal Information?

Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not, and whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.

2. What Kinds of Personal Information Do We Collect?

We collect various types of personal information necessary to provide our dental services and manage our practice. This may include:

Identification Information: Your name, date of birth, gender, address, email address, and contact phone numbers.
Health Information (Sensitive Information): Your medical history, dental history, current health conditions, medications, allergies, treatment plans, x-rays, clinical notes, photographs, and other health-related details relevant to your dental care.
Financial Information: Payment details (e.g., credit card information, bank account details for direct debit), Medicare details, private health insurance fund details, and billing information.
Appointment Details: Records of your appointments, including dates, times, and attendance.
Website Usage Data: Information about your interaction with our Website, such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, pages viewed, and the time and date of your visit (collected via cookies and analytics tools). This data is generally de-identified but may be linked to you if you provide personal details through the website.
Other Information: Any other information you voluntarily provide to us.

3. How Do We Collect Personal Information?

We collect personal information in several ways, primarily directly from you:

During Appointments: When you attend appointments at our clinic.
Through Forms: When you complete patient registration forms, medical history forms, consent forms, or other practice-related documents.
Via Communication: When you communicate with us by phone, email (), post, or in person.
Through Our Website: When you use our online booking system, submit enquiry forms, or interact with our website features.
From Third Parties: We may also collect information from third parties where necessary for your dental care or as permitted by law, such as:
- Other healthcare providers (e.g., your general practitioner, specialists, previous dentists) with your consent.
- Private health insurance funds for billing purposes.
- Medicare or other government bodies.

4. Why Do We Collect Personal Information?

We collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information for the following primary purposes:

Providing Dental Care: To provide you with high-quality dental treatment, diagnosis, and ongoing care.
Patient Management: To manage your appointments, maintain accurate patient records, and communicate with you about your treatment.
Billing and Payments: To process payments, manage accounts, and liaise with Medicare or your private health insurance fund.
Communication: To send you appointment reminders, recall notices, practice updates, and respond to your enquiries.
Internal Operations: For practice administration, quality assurance, training, and to comply with our legal and professional obligations.
Marketing (with consent): To send you marketing communications about our services, promotions, or health information that may be of interest to you, where you have provided your express consent. You can opt-out of marketing communications at any time.
Website Improvement: To understand how our Website is used and to improve its functionality and user experience.

5. Disclosure of Personal Information

We may disclose your personal information to:

Other Healthcare Providers: With your consent, to other healthcare professionals involved in your care (e.g., dental specialists, medical practitioners, pathology laboratories, radiology services).
Private Health Insurance Funds/Medicare: For the purpose of processing claims and payments on your behalf.
External Service Providers: Third-party service providers who assist us with our operations, such as IT support, practice management software providers, and payment processors. These providers are bound by confidentiality and privacy obligations.
Government and Regulatory Bodies: Where required or authorised by law (e.g., for public health reporting, mandatory reporting obligations).
Legal and Professional Advisors: To our legal, accounting, or other professional advisors.
In an Emergency: In situations where there is a serious threat to your life, health, or safety, or that of another individual.

We will not disclose your personal information to overseas recipients unless we have your consent or are otherwise permitted to do so under the Privacy Act.

6. Storage and Security of Personal Information

Siana Dental takes reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. This includes:

Storing electronic records on secure servers with appropriate access controls and encryption.
Maintaining physical security measures to protect hard copy records.
Implementing internal policies and procedures to ensure staff are trained in privacy and data handling.
Regularly reviewing and updating our security practices.

While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee the absolute security of your information.

7. Access to and Correction of Personal Information

You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you and to request that we correct any inaccurate, incomplete, or out-of-date information.

Access: To request access to your personal information, please contact us in writing. We will respond to your request within a reasonable time and may charge a reasonable fee for providing access to your records, particularly if extensive retrieval is required. We may decline your request in certain circumstances permitted by law.
Correction: If you believe that any information we hold about you is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading, please contact us. We will take reasonable steps to correct the information.

8. Cookies and Website Analytics

Our Website uses “cookies” and similar technologies to enhance your browsing experience and collect anonymous usage data. Cookies are small data files placed on your device. We use them to:

Remember your preferences.
Analyze website traffic and user behavior.
Improve the functionality and content of our Website.

You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. However, if you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this Website may become inaccessible or not function properly.

9. Making a Complaint

If you have a complaint about how Siana Dental has handled your personal information, please contact us in writing using the details below. We will investigate your complaint and respond to you within a reasonable timeframe.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 Phone: 1300 363 992 Website: www.oaic.gov.au

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

Siana Dental may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. Any changes will be posted on our Website, and the updated policy will be effective immediately upon posting. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at:

Siana Dental 598 Hampton St, Hampton, VIC, 3188 Email: