Privacy Policy

ND Collective Pty Ltd
Website: https://www.ndcollectivehub.com.au
ABN: 51 662 889 901

Privacy Policy (Policy).

Thank you for accessing our Privacy Policy. Your privacy is important to us and we are committed to protecting your privacy in your dealings with ND Collective.

Through this Policy, we will explain:

what kinds of personal information we collect from you; and
how we collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information in the course of providing services to you and in the context of our business.

We are ND Collective, Australian Business Number 51 662 889 901.

Privacy is a human right, and we respect the privacy of people with neurodiversity, a developmental delay or disability. People with a disability have a right to privacy, including the collection, use and disclosure of information concerning them and the services they receive.

As an allied health provider, we subscribe to the NDIS Code of Conduct (2019) (the NDIS Code).

Amongst other things, this means we:

respect and protect the privacy of everyone that receives supports and services from us and our workers;
manage health information about any people we support and our workers in accordance with privacy laws related to the management of health information; and
have this Policy and provide you with information about our privacy policy and procedures to help ensure we (and our workers) understand our obligations.

We are committed to treating you in a dignified way that maintains your personal privacy.

Privacy is more than simply meeting our legal obligations. We are committed to understanding and respecting your privacy needs and preferences. Our goal is to provide our services in a manner that upholds your personal dignity at all times. Your trust is important to us, and we strive to ensure that your privacy is prioritised in everything we do.

In this Policy we explain:

the kinds of personal information that we collect and hold
why we hold this information;
who will have access to this information;
how we ensure that information is secure;
how we use the information;
how you can access and amend information held about you;
and how to make a complaint if you feel that we have breached our privacy obligations to you.

ND Collective have several obligations to you under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (including the Australian Privacy Principles) (the Privacy Laws). This Policy is intended to reflect our obligations under the Privacy Laws as well as under the NDIS Code of Conduct.

Hard copies of this Policy are available upon request.

When we mention “clients” or “you” in this document, we are referring to both former and current clients, as well as individuals who inquire about our products and services, including potential clients. We value each interaction and aim to provide the best experience for everyone involved. Your engagement with us is important, and we are here to assist you in any way we can.

What kinds of personal information do we collect and hold?

In this Policy, “personal information” means information or an opinion about an individual whose identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained. To provide our services to clients, we need to know personal information about them and others, including:

names, ages, dates of birth, genders, and other identifying information;
Medicare and health fund details
developmental, medical, ethnic, language, cultural and social histories (including medications, diagnoses, surgeries, and allergies);
details about disabilities, impairments, challenges, barriers and facilitators;
family histories, to the extent they may be relevant to our services;
education information
hobbies, motivations, interests, and activities in which clients and their families like to participate;
financial information concerning the ability of clients to pay for our products and services;
details related to the NDIS, including details of assessments, plans and packages;

How do we collect personal information?

We may collect personal information about you in several ways, including:
by telephone (e.g. when you or someone else call us);
via our website when you use our products and services;
via pages on our social media sites;
through client questionnaires;
by written letters, reports and other documents (e.g. that you provide to us);
through emails, SMS and other forms of electronic communication;
in consultation and other interactions with you (including face-to-face and telehealth).
by taking notes and making recordings of our interactions with you.

When we request your consent to use yours and your child’s personal information, we will ensure that it is opt-in, affirmative, and freely given. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Simply contact us to inform us of your decision, and we will promptly respond to your request. Your privacy and choices are our top priority.

Who do we collect personal information from?

We collect personal information from someone authorised to act on the behalf of the child (e.g. their parents, carers or guardians). Whenever possible, we will request information directly you. However, in certain situations, we may need to reach out to others to better understand a client’s circumstances.

Why do we collect personal information?

We collect personal information to effectively deliver, review, and enhance the products and services we offer. Typically, these services and products are related to allied health services. Your information helps us ensure that we meet your needs and continuously improve our offerings as we are dedicated to providing you with the best experience. Collecting and storing yours and your child’s personal information ensures that we are acting in accordance with the standards required by law, the NDIS Code of Conduct, or our professional ethics requirements. If we cannot obtain your child’s personal information, we would not be able to carry out our business and provide our products or services to you.

Client personal and health information is important for ND Collective for the following reasoning:

for administrative purposes of managing our business;
when necessary, to fulfil our obligations under law, regulation, the NDIS Code and/or our professional ethics rules;
for billing management (either directly or through insurers or other compensation agencies);
for discussions between workers related to the care of clients;
for discussions and other communications, e.g. with your doctors, other health professionals, and others related to your care;
for discussions with insurers (including the NDIS and its agents);
for any insurance or compensation or other claims or litigation (including threatened litigation);
for security and workplace safety purposes, e.g. to monitor the safety of participants, workers and others;

At times, we may use personal information (but not sensitive health information) to provide you with news or offers about our products or services that may be of interest to you or your child. We will ensure that your consent to receive this type of communication from us is opt-in, affirmative and freely given. These products and services will be related to our services described above and will be products and services that we believe will be relevant to you. You have a right, at any time, to tell us that you don’t want to receive this type of material.

Can people access our products and services anonymously?

No. Due to the nature of our services and products, we cannot offer them to people who wish to be anonymous, wish to use a pseudonym or who do not provide us with enough information to properly identify them for the purposes of providing services and products.

Who will have access to your personal information?
Your information may be seen or used by people working for or on behalf of ND Collective and other service providers including (without limitation):

our directors and owners;
our professional workers (employed or contracted);
our administrative staff (employed or contracted);
our third-party professional advisors and service providers, including (without limitation) our lawyers, book-keepers, accountants, auditors, tax consultants, actuaries, management consultants and IT service providers (including software-as-a-service providers);
Medicare, private health insurance providers, our insurers and reinsurers;
the National Disability Insurance Agency and its agents;

We will not rent, sell, trade or otherwise disclose to any other third parties any personal information about you without your consent, or unless we are required to by law (including pursuant to a court or tribunal order), or where a permitted general situation (including a permitted health situation) exists within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), or if we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary for enforcement-related activities.

Security of your personal information and data retention

Our personal information, and that of our children is important to us. We will use reasonable endeavours to prevent unauthorised access to, modification of, disclosure, misuse, or loss of that information, except as required by law (e.g. under mandatory reporting laws, and our obligations to report incidences of violence, exploitation, neglect and abuse, and sexual misconduct to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and the police).

Our directors and staff have reviewed the requirements of the Privacy Laws and our third-party service providers are aware that they are required to comply with the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
All personal data collected is stored securely in our practice management system which requires 2 step authentication. All files used at ND Collective are electronic.

If we no longer need personal information about you for any purpose described above, then we will take reasonable steps to destroy the information or to ensure that such information is de-identified. This obligation is subject to an important exception – we may be required to retain some information (e.g. health, financial or tax records) to comply with our statutory and other legal obligations.

Access to and accuracy of your personal information

We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information we collect about or from you is accurate, complete, up-to-date and relevant whenever it is used, collected or disclosed.

Subject to the recognised exceptions to access for organisations contained in the Australian Privacy Principles (APP12.3), you have a right to access your information if you wish (subject to any privilege or legal restrictions); and, if it is reasonable and practicable to do so, we will give you access to the information in the manner requested by you. By law, we may charge you a reasonable fee to cover the cost of retrieving and processing the information.

If you believe personal information that we hold about you or your child is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete or misleading, we will, on receipt of your request, take steps that are reasonable in the circumstances to correct the information.

Information about social media plug-ins

To improve the quality of our services to clients, our website includes social media plug-ins of the large social media networks, including Instagram and Facebook. Upon opening a website on which a social media plug-in is embedded, the social network provider will collect and process information on your visit to our website for its own business purposes. This is not initiated or controlled by ND Collective, but is a built-in feature of most social media plug-ins. For further information about these plug-ins and privacy, refer to the social media platform’s privacy policy.

Information about cookies

Our websites use cookies to enable, optimise and analyse site operations, as well as to provide content and to allow you to connect to social media. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer’s browser directory or program data subfolders when you visit our website. They are stored on your computer for the duration of your visit or for when you re-visit our website at a later time. They allow our website to store or access information from your browser about you, your settings, or your device. They are uses mainly to ensure our website works well and, as a rule, do not contain information that could identity you directly. You can find out more about cookies via: www.allaboutcookies.org.

Complaints and asserting your privacy rights

If you believe your privacy has been prejudiced by something we have done or failed to do, you have a legal right to lodge a complaint. If you make a complaint to us, our Privacy Officer will treat it very seriously, and will apply our Complaints Management NDIS Complaints Management and Resolution System Policy.

Our Privacy Officer is Elise Brady, who can be contacted by phone at 0422102441, or email at admin@ndcollectivehub.com.au.
The ND Collective Privacy Officer will respond to you in writing within 15 days of receiving your complaint. If you are not satisfied with our response, we will assist you to make contact with an independent ombudsman service,

A breach of your privacy may constitute a breach of the NDIS Code of Conduct. In this situation, you or anyone can make a complaint to us, or to the NDIS. As suggested in the NDIS Code of Conduct, we encourage you to contact us first, to see if we can resolve the matter directly.

A breach of privacy by a professional who works for us (e.g. an allied health care worker) may also be a breach of their professional code of conduct or code of ethics.
As noted above, you have several statutory rights under privacy laws, including rights to information, access, rectification and the withdrawal of your consent to the collection and use of personal information. If you wish to assert any of these rights, please contact our Privacy Officer using the contact details included above.

Additional information

If you have any questions about this Policy, or have any concerns about the personal information you or others have given us about you, please contact us at admin@ndcollectivehub.com.au
More information on the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) can be found on the website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner: https://www.oaic.gov.au/