Privacy Policy
Holistic Skin Co is committed to providing quality services to you, and this policy outlines our ongoing obligations to you in respect of how we manage your Personal Information.
We have adopted the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act). The APPs govern the way in which we collect, use, disclose, store, secure and dispose of your Personal Information.
A copy of the Australian Privacy Principles may be obtained from the website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au.
What is Personal Information and why do we collect it?
Personal Information is information or an opinion that identifies an individual. Examples of Personal Information we collect include names, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers.
This Personal Information is obtained in many ways including consultations, correspondence, by telephone, by email, via our website www.holisticskinco.au, from media and publications, from other publicly available sources, from cookies, and from third parties. We don't guarantee website links or the privacy policies of authorised third parties.
We collect your Personal Information for the primary purpose of providing our services to you, providing information to our clients, and marketing. 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 and marketing lists at any time by contacting us in writing.
When we collect Personal Information we will, where appropriate and where possible, explain to you why we are collecting the information and how we plan to use it.
Sensitive Information
Sensitive information is defined in the Privacy Act to include 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.
Sensitive information will be 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 authorised by law.
AI assisted clinical documentation
Holistic Skin Co uses a third party AI tool called Heidi Health to help our therapists produce accurate clinical notes during consultations. Heidi Health is an Australian clinical documentation platform that complies with the Australian Privacy Principles and stores data on secure Australian servers.
When you consent to the use of this tool during your appointment, Heidi transcribes your consultation in real time and deletes the audio immediately after your note is generated. No audio recording is retained. The resulting written note is stored securely, your information is not used to train AI models, and access to your notes is limited to authorised Holistic Skin Co staff.
We will always seek your consent before using this tool during a consultation, both in writing through your intake form and verbally at the start of your appointment. You can withdraw consent at any time, and we will document your appointment manually instead. Declining has no impact on the care or treatment you receive with us.
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. In such a case we will take reasonable steps to ensure that you are made aware of the information provided to us by the third party.
Disclosure of Personal Information
Your Personal Information may be disclosed in a number of circumstances, including:
Third parties where you consent to the use or disclosure
Trusted service providers that help us deliver our services (such as our clinical documentation platform, booking and client management systems, and email providers), each of which is required to handle your information in line with this policy and the Privacy Act
Where required or authorised by law.
Security of Personal Information
Your Personal Information is stored in a manner that reasonably protects it from misuse and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure.
When your Personal Information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify your Personal Information. However, most of the Personal Information is, or will be, stored in client files which will be kept by us for a minimum of 7 years, in line with our obligations as a health service provider.
Access to your Personal Information
You may access the Personal Information we hold about you and update or correct it, subject to certain exceptions. If you wish to access your Personal Information, please contact us in writing.
Holistic Skin Co will not charge any fee for your access request, but may charge an administrative fee for providing a copy of your Personal Information.
In order to protect your Personal Information, we may require identification from you before releasing the requested information.
Maintaining the Quality of your Personal Information
It is important to us that your Personal Information is up to date. We will take reasonable steps to make sure that your Personal Information is accurate, complete, and up to date. If you find that the information we have is not up to date or is inaccurate, please let us know as soon as practicable so we can update our records and continue to provide quality services to you.
Policy Updates
This Policy may change from time to time and is available on our website.
Privacy Policy Complaints and Enquiries
If you have any queries or complaints about our Privacy Policy please contact us at:
5292 0230