Privacy Policy

Our Privacy policy – Updated 06/09/2026

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information.

Privacy in Australia has moved from a policy-based system to one regulated by law. In NSW, these laws are the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 which regulates health privacy, and the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 which generally applies to non-health personal information. This Policy provides guidance on compliance with the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002.

The Health Privacy Principles (HPPs) contained in the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 establish rules for the management of health information. These rules are relevant in a wide range of activities of health services including staff interactions with patients, establishing and maintaining data collections and patient information systems, and the day-to-day sharing of health information for management, evaluation, training, research and other authorised purposes. * NSW Health Privacy Manual for Health Information

This notice describes how we collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal and health information, including for appointment reminders and patient communications, and how you can access your information or make a complaint.

1. Overview of the Privacy Laws That Apply to Us

Star Dental Care is committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with:

The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), which apply to us as a health service provider regardless of size;
The Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW) (“HRIP Act”) and the Health Privacy Principles (HPPs) it contains, which govern health information specifically in NSW; and
The Spam Act 2003 (Cth), which governs how we may contact you by SMS and email.

Where these laws overlap, we apply whichever standard gives you stronger protection.

Further reading: NSW Health Privacy Manual · Health Privacy Principles fact sheet · Australian Privacy Principles guide (OAIC)

2. What Information We Collect and Why

With your consent, we collect and use your personal and health information for:

Treatment — recording your symptoms, examinations, test results, diagnoses, and treatment history, and sharing relevant details with other treating specialists where you have agreed to a referral.
Payment — submitting claims to your health fund or Medicare and providing them with the information they need to process your claim.
Practice operations — quality assessment, safety and clinical-guideline development, staff training, and legal or insurance purposes. Where we share information with business associates for these purposes, we only share de-identified information unless the law requires otherwise.

Appointment and recall communications — contacting you about upcoming appointments, overdue check-ups, and recall reminders (see Section 3 below).

3. How We Contact You — SMS, Email, and Marketing Communications

We use your phone number and email address to send you:

Appointment reminders and confirmations
Recall and overdue check-up reminders
Practice updates directly relevant to your care (for example, an unexpected closure affecting your appointment)

These are treated as factual, service-related communications, not marketing, and are sent on the basis of your ongoing relationship with the practice as a patient.

We may also, only with your consent, send:

Birthday greetings
Requests to leave a review of your experience
Practice news or promotional offers

Your rights regarding marketing communications:

We will always identify Star Dental Care clearly as the sender.
Every marketing message includes a working, free way to opt out (reply STOP to SMS, or use the unsubscribe link in emails).
If you opt out, we will stop sending that type of message within 5 working days, and your opt-out will remain in effect for at least 30 days from when you make it.
Opting out of marketing messages does not affect appointment or recall reminders, which we send as part of providing your care — you can ask us at any time to change how or whether we contact you for these too, and we will accommodate reasonable requests.

We keep a record of when and how you consented to marketing communications. You can ask us at any time what consent we hold on file for you.

4. Patient Communication Platforms and Third-Party Service Providers

We use a third-party patient communication platform to help manage and send appointment reminders, recall notices, and (where you’ve consented) marketing messages. This platform is connected to our practice management software and syncs patient contact and appointment information to enable these communications.

Overseas disclosure: Our patient communication platform is provided by a company with operations based overseas, though message delivery to Australian numbers occurs via an Australian SMS gateway. This means your personal information (such as your name, phone number, email address, and appointment/recall status) may be handled or stored on servers located outside Australia.

Before using this service, we take reasonable steps to ensure our provider has appropriate safeguards in place to protect your information consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles. If you would like more detail about where your information is stored or processed, please contact us using the details in Section 9.

5. Your Health Information Rights

You have the right to:

Request a restriction on certain uses or disclosures of your health information, in writing to our office (we will respond within 40 days);
Obtain a copy of this Privacy Policy on request;
Inspect and obtain a copy of your health and billing records, by written request;
Appeal a denial of access to your information, except in limited circumstances prescribed by law;
Request correction of incomplete or incorrect information in your record;
Lodge a statement of disagreement if a correction request is refused, to be attached to future disclosures of that information;
Request an accounting of disclosures of your health information required to be kept by law (this does not include internal use for treatment, payment, or operations, or disclosures made to you or at your request);
Request that we communicate with you by an alternative method or at an alternative address; and
Withdraw any consent you’ve previously given for a specific use or disclosure, except where we’ve already acted on it.

To exercise any of these rights, contact our office in person or in writing during business hours. We will assist you with the steps involved.

6. Our Responsibilities

We are required to:

Protect the privacy of your personal and health information as required by law;
Provide you with this notice of our privacy practices;
Tell you if we’re unable to accommodate a request you’ve made; and
Accommodate reasonable requests about how we communicate your health information to you.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Updates will be posted on this page with a new effective date shown at both the top and bottom of the page.

7. Other Circumstances Where We May Disclose Your Information

We may disclose your information (permited disclosures), without your consent, in the following circumstances permitted or required by law:

Notification — to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative, or other responsible person about your location, general condition, or (where applicable) death, unless you have told us not to.
Communication with family — using our best judgement, to a family member, close friend, or other person you identify, where relevant to their involvement in your care, unless you object, or in an emergency.
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) — regarding adverse events, product defects, or recalls.
Workers compensation — with your permission, to the extent required by workers compensation law.
Public sector official, including government employee – information or an opinion about an individual’s suitability for appointment or employment as a public sector official,
Public health — to public health or legal authorities as required by law, for example regarding notifiable diseases.
Abuse or neglect — to public authorities as required or permitted by law.
Correctional institutions — where you are in custody, to the extent necessary for your health and safety or that of others.
Law enforcement — as required by law, including under court order or in connection with criminal proceedings.
Health oversight — to relevant oversight bodies for health oversight activities.
Judicial or administrative proceedings — as required or permitted by law, with your consent, or under court order.
Emergencies — under the Health Privacy Principles and the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989 (NSW), some obligations are modified during a declared emergency (for example, fire, flood, epidemic, or similar) to allow disclosures necessary to protect health, safety, or essential services.

Any other use or disclosure not described in this Policy will only occur where authorised by law or with your written authorisation, which you may revoke at any time (except to the extent we’ve already relied on it).

8. Security

We take reasonable physical, electronic, and administrative steps to protect your personal and health information from unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure.

9. Questions or Complaints

If you have questions about this Policy, would like more information, or want to raise a concern about how we’ve handled your information, please contact us:

Star Dental Care Phone: (02) 6583 6111 61 Lord Street, Port Macquarie, NSW

If you believe your privacy has been breached, you may lodge a written complaint with our office, and we will respond to it. You also have the right to make a complaint to:

The Health Care Complaints Commission (NSW), regarding health service complaints; or
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), regarding complaints under the Privacy Act 1988 — oaic.gov.au

We will not require you to waive your right to complain to either body as a condition of receiving treatment, and we will not retaliate against you for making a complaint.

Author: Dr Jeremy Rourke, B.D.S. Hons. Syd Univ. Dental Surgeon This Privacy Policy was last updated on 06/09/2026.

Changes to the Privacy Policy

Please note that this Privacy Policy may change from time to time. We will post any Privacy Policy changes on this page, and each version of this Privacy Policy will be identified at the top of the page by its effective date.

If you have any additional questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please feel free to contact us on 65836111

Author; Dr Jeremy Rourke, B.D.S. Hons. Syd Univ. Dental Surgeon

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