Privacy Policy

Queensland Ostomy Association is a not-for-profit association dedicated to the support of members who have had surgery resulting in a Colostomy, Ileostomy, Ileal Conduit, Urostomy or other external pouch procedure.

The Organisation agrees to abide by The Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles (APP) and has developed this APP Privacy Policy to outline its ongoing obligations with respect to how personal information is managed.

What is Personal Information and why do we collect it?

Personal Information is information that identifies an individual. Examples of Personal Information collected by the Organisation include: names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, facsimile numbers, third party contacts, Medicare and concession card numbers and information related to your eligibility under the Stoma Appliance Scheme. This Personal Information is obtained in many ways including through interviews, correspondence, by telephone, by facsimile, by email, via our website and from third parties. We do not use cookies but cannot guarantee other website links or the policy of authorised third parties. We collect your Personal Information for the primary purposes of providing our services to you and for providing information to you. We may also use your Personal Information for secondary purposes closely related to the primary purpose in circumstances where you would reasonably expect such use or disclosure.
You may unsubscribe from our mailing lists at any time by contacting the Organisation.

What is Sensitive Information?

Sensitive information is defined in the Privacy Act as information or opinion about such things as an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious or philosophical beliefs, membership of a trade union or other professional body, criminal record or health information. Examples of sensitive information that may be collected by the Organisation include information related to a client’s stoma including type of stoma and a record of products used.
Sensitive information will be collected and used by us only:

• For the primary purpose for which it was obtained;
• For a secondary purpose that is directly related to the primary purpose;
• With your consent; or where required or authorized by law.

Third Parties

Where reasonable and practicable to do so, we will collect your Personal Information only from you. However, in some circumstances we may be provided with information by third parties such as a family member or medical professional. In such a case we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that you are made aware of the information provided to us by such third party.

Disclosure of Personal Information

It is the policy of the Organisation not to disclose your Personal Information except where:

• You would reasonably expect the Organisation to disclose the information for a secondary purpose and the secondary purpose is closely related to the primary purpose;
• A permitted health situation exists in relation to the use or disclosure of the information by the Organisation to your Stomal Therapy Nurse or Medical Professional;
• You consent to the use or disclosure of your Personal Information to a third party; or
• It is required or authorised by law.

The Organisation is unlikely to disclose your personal information to overseas recipients

Security of Personal Information

Your Personal Information is stored in a manner that reasonably protects it from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or unauthorised disclosure.

When your Personal Information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained, we will take all reasonable steps to destroy it or to permanently de-identify it. However, some Personal Information is required to be kept by law and will be stored in our files and kept by us for a minimum of 7 years.

Access to your Personal Information

You have a right to access the Personal Information we hold about you and to update and/or correct it, subject to certain exceptions. If you wish to access your Personal Information, please make your request to us in writing.

In order to protect your Personal Information we may require identification from you before releasing such information.

Maintaining the Quality of your Personal Information

It is an important part of providing our services to you that your Personal Information is up to date and we will take all reasonable steps to make sure that your Personal Information is accurate and complete.

To assist with this process, it is important that you advise us at the earliest opportunity of any changes to your Personal Information so that our records can be updated.

Policy Updates

This Policy may change from time to time. A copy of our Privacy Policy is available by contacting the Organisation.

Complaints

Complaints about an alleged breach of our Privacy Policy must be made in writing to:

The Secretary
Queensland Ostomy Association
P.O Box 198 Moorooka
Qld 4105

Acknowledgement: This privacy policy has been adapted from the privacy policy of the Colostomy Association of NSW Inc (CANSW). The Organisation would like to thank CANSW for their generosity in allowing the content of their policy to be reprinted.