Privacy Policy

Physiotherapist Melbourne (trading as Physio Melbourne) is committed to protecting your privacy in line with the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). This policy explains what personal and health information we collect, how we use it, and how you can access or correct it.

Information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

• Personal details such as your name, address, phone number, email and date of birth
• Health information relevant to your care, including your medical history, current condition, medications and any referral or claim details (Medicare, DVA, WorkCover, TAC or private health insurance)
• Payment information when you pay for a consultation or place an order through our online shop — card payments are processed securely by Stripe, and we don't store your full card details ourselves
• Shipping details if you order a physical product through our shop

How we collect it

Most information is collected directly from you — in person, by phone, through our online booking and contact forms, or at checkout. We may also receive information from your GP or another treating practitioner where you've provided a referral, or from Medicare, DVA, WorkCover or TAC when processing a claim on your behalf.

Dealing with us anonymously

You're welcome to ring us on (03) 9089 7562 with a general question — about whether we treat a particular condition, or what an appointment costs — without giving your name.

Treatment is different. We can't assess or treat you without a clinical record in your name, both because safe care depends on knowing your history and because we're required to keep records of the care we provide.

How we use your information

We use your information to provide and manage your physiotherapy care, process payments and health fund or scheme claims, respond to enquiries, send appointment reminders, fulfil shop orders, and meet our legal and clinical record-keeping obligations. We don't use your health information for marketing purposes.

Who we share it with

We only share your information where it's necessary to provide your care or is required by law, including with:

• Medicare, DVA, WorkCover, TAC or your private health fund, to process a claim or rebate
• Payment processors (Stripe) to process a payment securely
• Visitbase, our online booking system, when you book an appointment
• Cloudflare, which hosts this website and screens our forms for bots
• Resend, which delivers the email we send you
• A court, tribunal or government authority where we're legally required to

Physio Melbourne is a physiotherapy practice operated independently of the other allied health clinics at 3/66 Melville Road, Brunswick West VIC 3055 — we don't share your personal or health information with those other practices unless you've specifically asked us to (for example, if you're also seeing another practitioner in the building for a related condition).

Information sent overseas

Some of the providers above, and their own subcontractors, store or process information outside Australia — principally in the United States. Before disclosing personal information to an overseas recipient we take reasonable steps to make sure it's handled consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles, as APP 8 requires.

Your clinical records themselves are held in our practice management system and are not sent overseas as part of providing your care.

Cookies and website analytics

Cookies that make the site work — keeping your cart, remembering where you are in a booking — are always on. They don't track you across other websites.

We also use Google Analytics to understand how the site is used, andGoogle Ads to measure which ads lead to enquiries. These run by default. They record that a visit or an enquiry happened and roughly where it came from; they are never given your name, your contact details or anything you type into a form, and what they measure is never combined with your health information.

You can turn them off. None of these affects your appointment or what you pay:

• Switch on "Do Not Track" or Global Privacy Control in your browser settings — this site checks for both and stops tracking when it sees them.
• Install Google's official opt-out add-on attools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
• Block or clear cookies for this site in your browser.
• Ask us — call or email and we'll confirm in writing that we've excluded you.

How long we keep it

• Clinical records — kept for at least 7 years from your last appointment, as Victorian law requires of health records. Where you were treated as a child, until you turn 25.
• Enquiries that don't become appointments — kept while we might still be of use to you, then deleted.
• Payment and order records — kept as long as tax and consumer law requires.

When we no longer need information and aren't required to keep it, we destroy it or de-identify it.

Data security

We store patient records and take reasonable steps — including secure systems and restricted access — to protect your information from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. No online system is completely secure, but we work to keep our systems and processes up to date.

If a data breach happens that's likely to cause you serious harm, we'll tell you and notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, as the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme requires.

Access and correction

You can ask to see or correct the personal information we hold about you at any time by contacting us using the details below. We'll respond within 30 days and may need to verify your identity first.

Access can be refused in the limited circumstances the Privacy Act allows — for example where giving it would affect someone else's privacy. If we refuse, we'll tell you why in writing and how to take it further.

Privacy complaints

If you have a concern about how we've handled your personal information, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it directly. If you're not satisfied with our response, you can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). In Victoria, complaints about health records can also go to the Health Complaints Commissioner.

We'll acknowledge a complaint within 5 business days and give you a written answer within 30 days.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practice or the law. The date it was last changed is shown at the top of this page, and that version applies to information we hold from that date.

If we make a change that materially affects how we handle information we already hold about you, we'll take reasonable steps to tell you rather than relying on this page alone.

Contact us

For any privacy questions or requests, contact us on (03) 9089 7562 or through our contact page.