Ignite Healthcare Privacy Policy

1. Purpose and Scope

Ignite Healthcare is committed to protecting the privacy, dignity, and confidentiality of personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, store, and protect personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

Ignite Healthcare recognises and respects the rights of people to privacy, dignity, and confidentiality, and ensures personal information is handled in a way that supports choice, control, and informed decision-making.

This Policy applies to personal information collected by Ignite Healthcare in the course of providing community-based allied health services, operating our business, and managing our workforce.

Updates to this Privacy Policy will be published on our website.

2. What is Personal Information?

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

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Names, dates of birth, and contact details
• Health, disability, and assessment information
• Client and participant records
• Employment, student placement, and contractor information

In this Policy, personal information includes sensitive information, such as health information, as defined under the Privacy Act.

3. Types of Personal Information We Collect

Depending on your relationship with Ignite Healthcare, we may collect:

• Contact information
• Client and participant health and therapy-related information
• Emergency contact details
• NDIS-related identifiers and information required for service delivery and compliance
• Employment and workforce information (employees, contractors, students, volunteers)
• Financial and billing information
• Correspondence and communication records
• Images, audio, or video recordings where consent has been provided
• Other information as deemed relevant or necessary to provide our services

4. Who We Collect Personal Information From

We may collect personal information from:

• Clients and NDIS participants
• Parents, guardians, nominees, carers, and family members (where relevant)
• Referrers and other healthcare professionals
• Employees, contractors, students, and volunteers
• Service providers and professional partners
• Website users and individuals who contact us
• Other individuals or organisations as relevant

5. How We Collect Personal Information

We collect personal information when you:

• Receive services from Ignite Healthcare
• Contact us via phone, email, website, or online forms
• Are referred to us by a healthcare professional, school, or funding body
• Engage with us as a worker, student, or volunteer
• Interact with our digital systems or platforms

Where reasonable and practicable, we collect personal information directly from you. In some circumstances, we may collect information from third parties (such as carers, guardians, nominees, referrers, or funding bodies) where lawful, necessary, or with consent.

6. Anonymity and Pseudonymity

Where lawful and practical, individuals may interact with Ignite Healthcare anonymously or using a pseudonym. However, this may not be possible where it would prevent us from providing safe services, meeting clinical, funding, or legal obligations, or ensuring participant wellbeing.

7. Consent and Supported Decision-Making

Ignite Healthcare collects, uses, and discloses personal information with consent, where required, and in accordance with legal and regulatory obligations.

Where a participant has a nominee, guardian, or support person, Ignite Healthcare will take reasonable steps to ensure consent is obtained, supported, and documented in accordance with requirements and supported decision-making principles.

8. Why We Collect, Use, and Disclose Personal Information

We collect, use, disclose, and store personal information for purposes including:

• Delivering community-based service
• Managing referrals, assessments, therapy, and follow-up care
• Communicating with participants, families, carers, and referrers
• Billing, invoicing, and governmental compliance)
• Recruiting, managing, supervising, and supporting our workforce
• Clinical governance, quality improvement, and risk management
• Managing complaints, incidents, and feedback
• Meeting legal, regulatory, and professional obligations
• Operating, maintaining, and improving our systems and services
• Other purposes as required in the day-to-day operational needs of the business

We may also use personal information for secondary purposes where reasonably expected or authorised by law.

9. Marketing Communications

Ignite Healthcare may provide information about our services, updates, or relevant events. You may opt out of marketing communications at any time.

Opting out of marketing will not affect service-related communications such as appointment reminders.

10. Disclosure of Personal Information

We may disclose personal information where lawful, necessary, or with consent, to the following :

• Healthcare professionals and service partners involved in service delivery
• Government agencies and funding bodies
• Professional advisors, insurers, auditors, and regulators
• IT, cloud storage, and software service providers
• Other individuals or organisations as deemed operationally necessary

11. Overseas Disclosure

Some systems used by Ignite Healthcare may store information on servers located outside Australia. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure overseas recipients handle personal information in a manner consistent with Australian privacy laws.

12. Security and Storage of Personal Information

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure, including:

• Secure electronic systems and access controls
• Password protection and role-based access
• Confidentiality obligations for staff and contractors
• Secure storage of physical records
• Data retention and secure destruction processes

Personal information is retained only for as long as required by law, contractual obligations, or clinical and business needs.

13. Access and Correction of Personal Information

Individuals may request access to personal information we hold about them and request corrections if information is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date.

Requests must be made in writing. Identity verification may be required. A reasonable administrative fee may apply for copies of records.

14. Maintaining Data Quality

Ignite Healthcare takes reasonable steps to ensure personal information is accurate, complete, and up to date. Individuals are encouraged to notify us of any changes.

15. Complaints and Privacy Enquiries

If you have concerns or complaints about how personal information is handled, please contact us:

Ignite Healthcare
5/417 Ferntree Gully Road, Mount Waverley VIC 3149
Email: info@ignitehealthcare.com.au
Phone: 1800 446 448

Complaints may be made without fear of retribution and will not affect the quality or continuity of services provided.

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

16. Policy Updates

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time. The current version will be available on our website.