Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

At Helix Dental, your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal information are important to us. The way we manage your personal information is governed by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) established under the Privacy Act (as amended from time to time).

Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and manage your personal information in line with our obligations under the Privacy Act. It also outlines how you can access and correct your information, how to raise concerns or complaints about our handling of your data, whether your information may be shared with overseas recipients, and how we respond to data breaches.

As we plan to ensure our Privacy Policy remains current, this policy is subject to change. We may modify this policy at any time, in our sole discretion, and all modifications will be effective immediately upon our posting of the modifications on our website.

2. Key terms we use

Helix Dental (we, us, our) means Helix Dental Pty Ltd (trading as Helix Dental), its related entities and bodies corporate, and the associated dental practices.

You or Your refers to you as a current or prospective Helix Dental patient, an individual user of Helix Dental websites or any of our services.

Personal information is defined in the Privacy Act as information or an opinion that identifies, or could identify, an individual. Some examples are name, address, telephone number, date of birth, medical records, and bank account details.

3. Collecting your information

3.1 What information we collect

The types of personal information we collect depend on how you interact with us. This may include:

• Your contact and identification details, such as your name, address, date of birth, telephone number, email address, and other identity information from any documents you offer as proof of your identity (for example, driver’s licence details or passport).
• Transaction information you provide when dealing with us (for example, bank account details).
• Details about previous dentists you’ve been a patient of.
• Medical information, including your medical history and current health and dental assessments.
• Personal information you give us when you start a relationship with us.
• Any correspondence between you and us.
• Other personal information you provide when you make an enquiry, request information, or otherwise communicate with us.

We may also collect emergency contact details, images or recordings related to your treatment, payment history, and your communication preferences.

3.2. How we collect your information

We may collect personal and health information directly from you or your authorised representatives in several ways, including when you or your representatives:

• Fill out booking or contact forms on our website.
• Share information directly with our staff or associated healthcare practitioners providing services to you.
• Subscribe to newsletters or marketing materials.
• Complete forms or contact us via email, phone, or during your clinic visit.
• Use our services or purchase products from us.

We may also collect health information from third parties, such as your health fund, referrers, or publicly available sources—but only if you consent, would reasonably expect us to do so, or if it’s necessary to provide you with appropriate healthcare or services.

4. How we use and share your information

4.1 Why we collect your information

At Helix Dental, we collect your personal information to provide you with safe, appropriate, and effective dental care and to ensure the smooth operation of our services. We may use your information for purposes including, but not limited to:

• Assessing your dental and health care needs.
• Providing dental and related health services.
• Maintaining and managing your patient records.
• Contacting you in relation to your care or appointments.
• Responding to enquiries, feedback or complaints.
• Managing administrative processes such as invoicing, payments, and private health insurance claims.
• Meeting our legal obligations, such as identification requirements under relevant legislation.
• Recovering unpaid accounts, including through third-party debt collection where necessary.
• Improving our website, services, and patient experience.
• Generating statistics or research insights using de-identified data.

If you choose not to provide some personal information, we may be unable to offer you the full range of our services. Where it is lawful and practical, you may choose to remain anonymous or use a pseudonym when dealing with us.

4.2 When we share your information

In some cases, we may need to share your personal information with third parties to deliver our services, support business operations, or meet legal and regulatory obligations. This may include:

• Dental practitioners, dental specialists, or other healthcare professionals involved in your care.
• Government agencies and regulatory authorities (such as Medicare).
• Private health insurers or health benefit providers to help process claims for reimbursement or payment of your dental treatment.
• External service providers who support our operations (such as IT providers, administrative support, or payment processors).
• Your emergency contact, if required.
• Our legal, financial, and professional advisors.
• Where disclosure is required or authorised by law.

Any third party we engage is expected to comply with our privacy standards and handle your information in line with this Privacy Policy.

4.3 Use of your health information

We only use your health information for the purpose of providing you with dental or related healthcare services, or for purposes directly related to your care.

We will not use your health information for any other purpose unless:

• You have given your consent;
• The other purpose is directly related to your ongoing care, and you would reasonably expect us to use your information in that way (for example, sharing details with another healthcare provider involved in your treatment); or
• We are required or authorised to do so by law.

4.4 Photography and Media Use

As part of your dental care, photographs or digital images may be taken for treatment purposes, such as documenting clinical records or supporting diagnosis and treatment planning. These images remain private and form part of your patient record.

If we would like to use any images for promotional purposes (for example, on our website, social media, or brochures), we will always provide you with a separate written Patient Image Consent Form. You have full control over whether you provide consent, and your treatment will never be affected by your decision.

If you choose to give consent, please note that:

• Your image (and name, if applicable) may appear in publicly available materials.
• Once published online, the content may be viewable globally and may be shared or indexed by search engines.
• Helix Dental cannot control how others may use or distribute the material once it is publicly available.
• You are not entitled to any payment, royalties, or compensation from Helix Dental in respect to the use of these materials.

You are welcome to withdraw your consent for future use at any time by contacting us in writing. We will stop using your image in our advertising where possible if you withdraw consent. You are entitled to view images before providing consent, and image consent will always be separate from treatment consent. Please note that it may not be possible to remove or retract images already published online or shared by third parties.

4.5 Direct marketing

From time to time, we may contact you with updates about our practice or services, or information we think may be useful to you—such as changes to our opening hours, new services, or oral health tips.

You can choose not to receive marketing communications from us at any time. To opt out, just let our team or our Privacy Officer know (see Section 11 for contact details), or use the unsubscribe link included in our emails.

Please note that opting out of marketing communications won’t affect appointment reminders or other messages related to your ongoing care.

We will never sell your personal information, and we won’t share it with third parties for marketing purposes without your consent.

5. How we protect your information

We keep both hard-copy and electronic records, and we take reasonable steps to protect them from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, or disclosure. Paper records are stored securely, and access to electronic information is restricted to authorised staff only. We also back up digital data regularly as part of our security measures.

Your information is only accessed by team members who need it to do their job—whether that’s your dentist, a specialist, or our support staff helping you with bookings or care.

When your information is no longer needed, and we’re not required by law to retain it, we securely destroy or de-identify it.

6. Sharing information outside Australia

In some cases, we may need to disclose your personal information to third-party service providers located outside Australia. This can include off-site data storage providers, cloud-based software platforms, transcription services, or professional advisers.

Whenever we share your information with an overseas provider, we take reasonable steps to ensure it is protected in line with the Australian Privacy Principles—especially around security and use. If practicable, we will let you know where your information is being sent.

By using our services or providing us with your personal information, you consent to it being stored or processed overseas where necessary for our operations.

7. Cookies and website analytics

We use cookies and similar technologies to help improve the functionality, performance, and user experience of our website. Cookies are small text files stored on your device that collect non-personal data about how you use our site—for example, which pages you visit, how long you stay, and whether you’ve visited before.

These insights help us understand how people interact with our website and allow us to make improvements over time. Occasionally, we may also use cookies to tailor website content or deliver more relevant ads about our services via platforms like Google Ads or Facebook. These third parties may collect de-identified information about your browsing activity on our website (this does not include your name, email, phone number or address).

You can control how cookies are handled through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies entirely, or to be notified before they’re stored. Please note, however, that disabling cookies may affect how some parts of our website function.

Our cookies do not collect sensitive or confidential data stored on your device, and we do not use them to personally identify you unless legally required.

8. Using our website and links to other sites

Our website may include links to third-party websites for your convenience. These links do not imply sponsorship, endorsement, or approval of the content or practices of those sites.

Please be aware that third-party websites have their own privacy policies and practices, which may differ from ours. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.

We are not responsible for the privacy or security of any information you share on external websites linked from ours.

9. Accessing and updating your information

We’re committed to keeping the personal information we hold about you accurate, complete, and up to date. If you believe any of your details are incorrect or have changed, please let us know so we can update our records.

You can request access to the personal information we hold about you at any time by contacting our Privacy Officer (see Section 11 for contact details). We will do our best to provide access unless there’s a valid legal reason under the Privacy Act or other applicable laws to withhold it. If that’s the case, we will explain why in writing.

If you request a correction and we agree that an update is needed, we will make the change. If we don’t agree, we will let you know why—and you can ask us to include a note with your record stating that you have requested a correction.

10. Concerns or complaints about privacy

We take your privacy seriously. If you believe there has been a breach of your privacy, or if you have any concerns about how we handle your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer directly (see Section 11 for contact details).

We are committed to addressing all complaints promptly and thoroughly.

If you’re not satisfied with how we handle your complaint, or if you wish to raise a concern directly, you can contact the OAIC:

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
Sydney NSW 2001
Phone: 1300 363 992
Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
Website: www.oaic.gov.au

11. Contact us

We review and update this Privacy Policy on a regular basis. For further information about our management of privacy, please contact us:

Privacy Officer, Helix Dental
2/299 Rio Vista Blvd, Mermaid Waters QLD 4218
07 5572 8969
hello@helixdental.com.au