Our policies.

Privacy policy

Endeavour Hills Specialist Clinic is committed to protecting the privacy of the patient information we collect and to handling your personal information responsibly, in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles, the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic), cyber security legislation and other relevant privacy legislation (together, privacy legislation).

This policy explains how we collect, use and disclose your personal information, how you can access it and ask for it to be corrected, and how to make a complaint if you think there has been a breach of privacy legislation. It also covers how we use artificial intelligence (AI) in the practice.

We may change our processes and systems for handling personal information from time to time. When we do, we will update this policy, and the current version will be available on our website and at the clinic.

1. When and why consent is required

   When you first attend the clinic, we will ask for information such as your contact details and ask you to confirm your consent to us collecting it. This consent allows our practitioners and staff to gather, access and use your personal health information to provide healthcare to you. Only practitioners and staff who need your information to care for you will access it.

   If we ever want to use your personal information for a purpose not described in this policy, we will ask for your consent first.

2. Collection of personal and health information

   We collect the personal and sensitive health information needed to provide healthcare. This may include:

   • personal identifiers such as your name, date of birth, address and contact details
   • medical history, clinical notes, diagnostic test results and treatment plans
   • Medicare and private health insurance details
   • information generated or processed by AI-enabled tools used in clinical or administrative work.

   We mostly collect information directly from you. In some circumstances, and with appropriate authority, we may also obtain it from third parties such as your other treating practitioners, hospitals, diagnostic services and My Health Record. Occasionally we may collect information from other people, such as a patient's parent or guardian.

   CCTV footage. We record CCTV footage at our premises for security and safety.

   Clinical images. From time to time we may take photographs or images with your consent, obtained at the time, including on a personal device.

   Website enquiries. When you send an enquiry through our website, the name, contact details and message you enter are emailed to reception through a third-party email delivery service. Please don't include clinical details or test results in the form. Our website also counts page visits with an analytics service that does not use cookies or identify you.

   Where you are identified or reasonably identifiable, this information is personal information and we treat it as such under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

3. Use and disclosure of personal information

   We may use or disclose your personal and health information to provide medical treatment and care, including communicating with other healthcare providers involved in your care. We may also use or disclose it to defend a claim, to work with our IT contractors, and for administrative purposes such as billing and meeting our legal obligations.

   We may communicate with you or about you by SMS, email, secure messaging, encrypted messaging or fax, and these communications may include personal and health information.

   We do not disclose personal information to overseas recipients unless it is necessary to provide care and appropriate safeguards are in place, in line with Australian Privacy Principle 8. Our website and its enquiry form run on third-party services that may process information outside Australia, including in the United States and Japan.

4. Research, education, quality improvement and marketing

   We are committed to improving the quality of our care and supporting clinical education, and may use your information in the following ways.

   Quality improvement and staff education. We may use patient information for internal audits, staff training, clinical review and accreditation, de-identified where practicable. These processes help us maintain high standards of care and safety.

   Research. From time to time we may take part in health research. If a project needs identifiable information, we will ask for your express consent before sharing it. A member of our team may contact you about a research opportunity, but researchers will never contact you directly unless you have agreed to it. We only provide identifiable information for research that has ethics approval and meets legal and privacy requirements.

   De-identified data. We may contribute de-identified health data to health improvement initiatives or registries. This data cannot identify you and is stored securely. If you don't want your data included, please tell reception.

   Marketing. We will not use your personal information to market goods or services to you without your express consent. If you do consent, you can opt out at any time by telling us in writing or using the unsubscribe link.

5. Use of artificial intelligence

   We may use AI tools to support clinical decision-making, streamline administration and improve communication with patients. Examples include:

   • automated transcription of clinical consultations
   • AI-assisted appointment scheduling.

   When we use AI:

   • we use it in line with the Australian Privacy Principles and relevant ethical standards
   • your personal information is not used to train AI models without your express consent
   • a person reviews everything an AI tool produces, under clinical oversight
   • no automated decision-making tools are used in the practice.

6. Anonymity and pseudonyms

   The Australian Privacy Principles allow you to deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym, except where that is impracticable or the law requires you to be identified. If you would like to do this, please ask and we will consider your request. Because of the nature of healthcare, we will usually need you to be identifiable.

7. Data security and retention

   We take reasonable steps to keep your personal information accurate, complete, up to date and relevant, and to protect it from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, change or disclosure. These steps include:

   • secure electronic medical records with role-based access controls
   • regular staff training on privacy and data protection
   • a cyber security framework.

   We keep information for as long as our legal and professional obligations require. Once it is no longer needed and the minimum retention period has passed, we securely destroy or de-identify it.

8. Website disclaimer

   The content on this website is general information only and is not medical advice. We make reasonable efforts to keep it accurate and up to date, but we cannot guarantee this at all times. Our website may link to third-party sites, whose privacy practices are their own.

9. Access to and correction of your information

   You have the right to access the personal information we hold about you and to ask for it to be corrected. Please send your request to us in writing, using the contact details below.

   We will respond within 10 business days. Making a request is free, but a small fee may apply to cover the cost of providing copies. We may need to confirm your identity, and some requests may be limited by law.

10. Privacy enquiries and complaints

    If you have a question or concern about how your personal information is handled, or want to access or correct it, please contact:

    Endeavour Hills Specialist Clinic26 Erica Close, Endeavour Hills, Victoria 3802Phone 03 9708 1200Email Pracmanager@ehsc.com.au

    Please don't include sensitive health information in an unencrypted email. Tell us what happened and the outcome you would like. We will acknowledge your concern, review it, keep you informed and respond when our review is complete.

    If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (opens in a new tab) on 1300 363 992 or, for Victorian health service complaints, the Health Complaints Commissioner (opens in a new tab).

Separated parents policy

Separated families can face extra complexity when managing their child's healthcare. This policy explains how Endeavour Hills Specialist Clinic manages the rights and responsibilities of separated parents and guardians of patients under 18, and what you can expect from us when we care for your child.

It is based on the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

1. Parental responsibility

   Under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), both parents generally keep parental responsibility for their child after separation, unless a court order says otherwise. This means both parents ordinarily have the right to:

   • consent to or refuse medical treatment for their child
   • access their child's medical records
   • receive clinical information about their child's health and treatment
   • talk directly with our clinical team about their child's care.

   Either parent with parental responsibility can consent to routine treatment on their own. Both parents don't need to be present or agree before treatment goes ahead.

   Parental responsibility is a legal concept under the Family Law Act. It is separate from day-to-day arrangements such as who the child lives with or spends time with, so a parent with limited day-to-day care may still have full parental responsibility.

2. Parenting orders

   A parenting order is a court order that can change or restrict a parent's rights, including the right to consent to treatment or to access medical records. Where an order affects these rights, it overrides the general position described above.

   If a current court order is relevant to your child's medical care, please:

   • tell reception at or before the first appointment
   • give us a copy of the order for your child's file.

   We will note the order in your child's clinical record, flag it for all treating staff and act in line with it as far as it relates to the care we provide.

   It is your responsibility to tell us about any current parenting orders. We cannot be held responsible for acting in good faith on the information we have if we were not told about an order that affects parental rights.

3. Consent to treatment

   Routine treatment. For routine consultations and treatment, consent from one parent with parental responsibility is enough. We don't need both parents' consent before providing standard medical care.

   Significant or contested treatment. Where a proposed treatment is significant or irreversible, or we know the parents disagree about it, we take extra care. In these cases we may:

   • try to get consent from both parents where possible
   • delay non-urgent treatment until the parents or a court resolve the matter
   • seek advice from our medical indemnity insurer.

4. Access to medical records

   Both parents with parental responsibility have equal rights to access their child's medical records, unless a parenting order restricts this.

   Please make requests for your child's records in writing to reception. We will respond within 30 days of receiving your request.

   We provide the same clinical information to both parents on request. We don't pass information between parents, so each parent needs to make their own request.

   If a parenting order restricts one parent's access to their child's records, we need a copy of that order before we can withhold information from that parent. We can't act on a verbal claim that access has been restricted.

5. Communication between parents

   Parents are responsible for keeping each other informed about their child's treatment, appointments, diagnoses and clinical information. The clinic is not responsible for:

   • passing clinical information, letters or results from one parent to the other
   • telling both parents about appointments, recalls or changes to treatment
   • mediating disagreements between parents about their child's care.

   Our clinical software allows one primary contact per child, based on the information we are given. Appointment reminders, e-scripts and general communication go to that contact, who is responsible for sharing relevant information with the other parent or guardian.

   If both parents want to receive correspondence such as appointment letters, reports or results, each parent should give reception their own contact details and ask for this. We will make reasonable efforts to arrange it where it doesn't create an undue administrative burden.

6. Attending appointments

   Either parent with parental responsibility can bring their child to an appointment without the other parent's permission.

   Our clinicians always put the child's wellbeing first during a consultation. We may reschedule or change an appointment if conflict between parents is affecting the consultation or the child's wellbeing.

7. Disagreements between parents

   We are a medical clinic, not a mediator or legal authority. We can't resolve disagreements between parents about their child's care, and we won't take sides. If you disagree about a significant medical decision, we encourage you to:

   • get independent legal advice
   • contact a family dispute resolution service
   • apply to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia for a specific issues order if the matter can't be resolved.

   In the meantime, we will keep providing care in the child's best interests, based on the information and authority available to us.

8. Adolescent patients and confidentiality

   Young people who show enough maturity and understanding (known as Gillick competence) can make decisions about their own healthcare and health information without their parents. This applies whether or not their parents are separated.

   When an adolescent patient is Gillick competent, sensitive information they share, such as about gender identity, mental health or sexual health, may be recorded confidentially and not shared with either parent without their consent, unless there is an overriding safety concern.

   For separated families, this means neither parent automatically has access to everything in their adolescent child's record. Our clinicians assess each situation individually and act in the young person's best interests.

9. Keeping us informed

   Family circumstances change. Please let us know promptly if any of these change:

   • contact details for either parent or guardian
   • living arrangements that affect who brings the child to appointments
   • new or varied parenting orders
   • who holds parental responsibility.

   Up-to-date information helps us care for your child safely and act in line with current legal arrangements.

   If ongoing disputes, failure to follow this policy or communication problems become disruptive to our staff, clinicians or clinic operations, we may discharge the family from our care.

Fee policy

We are a private billing clinic. Our fees reflect the time and quality of care our practitioners provide, and they vary by practitioner and appointment type.

We aim to keep our fees affordable, but they are likely to rise over time with changes to Medicare rebates and practice running costs.

Medicare rebates reduce your out-of-pocket costs. They are available for most specialist consultations with a valid referral, and for some allied health appointments with a referral or care plan from your GP.

1. Payment of fees

   Full payment is due on the day of your appointment. Once you have paid, if your appointment is eligible, our team will submit your Medicare claim for you. Rebates usually arrive within 24 hours of being processed. There will normally be a gap, or out-of-pocket amount.

   Any advice we give about fees and out-of-pocket costs assumes there is a valid referral on file for your appointment.

   Reception will tell you the fee and the expected gap when you book an initial appointment, whether you are new to the clinic or haven't been seen for a long time. Before that appointment, we will ask you to sign a fee agreement.

   The fee charged on the day reflects the Medicare item number your practitioner chooses. This follows Medicare rules and reflects the nature of the consultation, the problems discussed and their complexity.

2. Questions about fees

   Please raise any questions or concerns about fees and payment before the day of your appointment, by calling reception or sending us an enquiry.

Policy review

These policies were last updated in October 2026. We review them at least once a year, and whenever our operations, the law or the technology we use changes. We may tell patients about significant changes in printed notices at the clinic or on this website.