Privacy Policy

1. About this Privacy Policy

The website (whitecoat.com.au) (the Website) and domain name are owned and operated by Whitecoat Pty Ltd ACN 616486090 (Whitecoat, we, our). Whitecoat Pty Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124 AFSL and Australian credit licence 234945 (the Bank).

The Website provides a range of products and services in the health industry, including operating a website which allows individuals to search, compare and select healthcare providers.

This privacy policy (Privacy Policy) explains how we collect, use, hold, disclose or otherwise handle or manage information about you. It also explains the ways in which you can contact us to access or correct the information we hold about you or make a complaint. We collect and handle your personal information in accordance with our legal obligations, including those under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

This Privacy Policy applies to the following types of individuals (in each case (you, your):

Public User

An individual who accesses or uses the Website in any way, including to search for, compare or select a Healthcare Provider.

Healthcare Providers

An individual who has elected to be published on the Website as a provider of healthcare services (either operating by themselves or in business with other healthcare providers), registered a profile with Whitecoat; or subscribed to a service provided by Whitecoat.

Acknowledgement and Consent

By accessing and using the Website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and the information collection and handling practices outlined in it and consent to such collection and handling of your personal information.

This Privacy Policy is available, free of charge, on our Website or on request using the contact details provided: PrivacyOfficer@whitecoat.com.au.

2. What information does Whitecoat collect and hold?

Public User

If you are a Public User accessing the Whitecoat Website, we will collect certain information from you or from the computer or mobile device that you use, including:

Collection	Purpose
details of the website that referred or otherwise linked you to the Website	We collect information about how you use our website for the purposes of analytics, marketing and site performance measurement. This allows us to enhance our user experience, our products and services and online functionalities.
session data (such as the date and time you visited the Website, time spent, content viewed, pages visited and any searches you made during your session)
your IP or server address or domain name
the type of device, operating system and internet browser you used.
information that you provide to us in any other way, such as through our ‘Contact Us’ page found on our Website.

 

Healthcare Provider

If you are a Healthcare Provider, the personal information we collect and hold about you may also include any information about you that is provided in the course of you subscribing to one of our services, including:

Collection	Purpose
your user name and password;	To enable you with secure account access to the Website
your identification information, including your first and last name, and any associated proof of identification (such as your driver’s licence or passport details); your contact information, including your phone numbers and your email and postal addresses;	to contact you and otherwise manage our ongoing relationship with you; to provide and operate the Website which may involve: publishing certain information about Healthcare Providers to allow individuals to search, compare and select Healthcare Providers; contacting Healthcare Providers in relation to our products or services; to contact you for the purpose of direct marketing in relation to our products or services, or the products or services of our affiliated entities, joint venture partners, business partners or other third-parties (unless you have unsubscribed)
details of the healthcare services you provide (such as the types of services provided and the cost or wait time for those services);	to allow individuals to search, compare and select Healthcare Providers on the Website
details of any professional memberships, registrations or qualifications that you hold or maintain;	to allow individuals to search, compare and select Healthcare Providers on the Website
government related identifiers (such as your Medicare provider number) or registration details (for government rebates);	To help identify the Healthcare Provider and to improve data quality on the Website
financial information (such as your banking or payment information, credit/debit card number, cardholder name and card expiration date);	to provide any online booking services that are made available through the Website
Information that you provide to us in any other way, such as through our ‘Contact Us’ page found on our Website.

 

Where practicable, we will collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information for the purposes described above on a de-identified basis.

We will not disclose your personal information to anyone for purposes other than those set out above or as otherwise set out in this Privacy Policy unless:

• you authorise us to do so;
• your safety or the safety of others in the community is at risk; or
• we are required to or permitted by law or industry regulation to do so.

3. How does Whitecoat collect your personal information?

Public User

Cookies are small text files placed on your computer for later retrieval by our web server. Cookies do not alter the operation of your computer or mobile device in any way and are frequently used on websites.

You can choose if and how a cookie will be accepted by configuring your preferences and options in your browser, however if you disable cookies on your computer, this may result in you being unable to use the Website to the fullest and optimum extent.

The information we collect through cookies will be aggregated and not attributed to individual users.

Healthcare Provider

Where practicable, we will collect personal information directly from you:

• when you interact with us in person, via email or by phone (in which case we may make a call recording of that interaction);
• when you interact with us electronically or online through the Whitecoat Website or on social media; or
• in the course of you subscribing to one of our services as a Healthcare Provider.

In addition, we may periodically obtain information about you from third parties, including:

• from Australian private health insurers
• your past or present employer or another Healthcare Provider;
• our affiliated entities, joint venture partners, licensees, business partners and other third-party sources (including professional associations, industry bodies, state registration boards and government agencies);

• organisations who provide services to Whitecoat (such as administration, membership management, marketing or research services);
• third party websites, including websites which operate booking services which can be accessed through the Website.
  
  

4. How does Whitecoat hold your personal information?

From time to time, we may hold your personal information in any combination of data storage facilities, cloud computing facilities or paper-based files, which may be operated or held by us or by third party service providers under a contractual arrangement. Where possible, we will seek to ensure that those service providers are bound by obligations of privacy and confidentiality that are similar to those set out in this Privacy Policy.

We will take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to protect your personal information from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Some of these steps may include employing the following security measures:

• physical measures (such as restricting access to our premises and securely destroying paper-based files);
• technical measures (such as employing appropriate firewalls and intrusion prevention systems on our systems and encrypting the data we collect and transmit); and
• administrative and organisational measures (such as restricting the access and use of personal information by Whitecoat employees).
  
  

Retention of personal information

We will retain your personal information until we no longer need it for any purpose that is permitted by the Privacy Act or to comply with an Australian law or a court/tribunal order. In that case, we will take such steps to destroy or de-identify the information as are permitted and required under Australian law.

5. How can you gain access to and correct your personal information?

Access and correction through the Whitecoat profile

If you have registered a profile with Whitecoat as a Healthcare Provider you may be able to access and correct some of your personal information when you log on to your Whitecoat profile.

How can you access your personal information?

If you would like to request access to the personal information we hold about you, you can contact us on 1300 717 240 or email us at PrivacyOfficer@whitecoat.com.au.

We’ll try to respond to your request within 30 days. If we can’t, we’ll let you know why it’s taking longer.

In most cases, we will need to verify your identity before we can provide you with access.

How can you correct your personal information?

The accuracy and quality of your personal information is important to us. If you would like to request that we correct any personal information we hold about you, or advise us of any changes to your contact details and other information, you can contact us on 1300 717 240 or email us at PrivacyOfficer@whitecoat.com.au. We will take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure that the personal information that we collect, hold, use and disclose is accurate, up-to-date and complete.

In most cases, we will need to verify your identity before we can correct the information we hold about you.

If we don’t think the information needs correcting, we’ll write to let you know why. You can ask us to include a statement with the information that says you believe it is inaccurate, incomplete, misleading or out of date.

In particular, for Healthcare Providers we will correct your personal information:

• if you are a Healthcare Provider working out of your personal home and do not want your address to display on the Website

you may also have us remove your practicing location for safety or other compelling reasons.

6. How can you contact us or make a complaint?

Contacting us

If you have a query in relation to how we collect, use, hold, disclose or otherwise handle or manage your personal information, you can contact our Privacy Officer on 1300 717 240 or email us at PrivacyOfficer@whitecoat.com.au.

Complaints

If you feel that your privacy has not been respected, or we have not conducted ourselves in accordance with this Privacy Policy, please contact our Privacy Officer on  1300 717 240 or email us at PrivacyOfficer@whitecoat.com.au. Where we have received a complaint from you, we will investigate that complaint and to respond as soon as possible. To do so, we may need to ask you for additional information. Generally, we will use our best endeavours to resolve your complaint promptly and to your satisfaction.

If we are unable to satisfactorily resolve your concerns and you wish to lodge a complaint, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OIAC) which has the power to investigate the matter and make a determination.

You can also contact the OAIC or visit the OAIC’s website at https://www.oaic.gov.au/ for further information about the Privacy Laws and the application of the Privacy Act.

7. Updates to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy was last updated on 29/08/2023 and is effective from that date.

We may make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time without prior notice to you, in which case we will make an updated copy of the Privacy Policy available through the Website.