BlueCare is an agency of UnitingCare Queensland. The UnitingCare Queensland privacy policy explains the how, what, when and why of the Personal and Sensitive Information (which includes Health Information), we collect, hold, use and disclose when you interact with our services. We take your privacy seriously, and are committed to treating your Personal Information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Act) and other relevant State and Territory laws that govern the use of Personal Information.

DEFINITIONS

Us and You: When we say ‘us’, ‘we’ or ‘our’ in this Policy, we mean UnitingCare Queensland and our services, which include BlueCare community services and residential aged care, retirement living, UnitingCare family and disability services, Lifeline crisis services in Queensland (including 13YARN and Lifeline Community Recovery), The Wesley Hospital, St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital, Buderim Private Hospital, St Stephen’s Hospital in Hervey Bay and Lifeline retail in Queensland. 

When we say ‘you’ or ‘your’, we are referring to the person, including an authorised representative of the person, that is engaging with our services, or visiting our websites.

Privacy Statement: This document is our Privacy Policy Statement, written in accordance with the Act, which details the ways we manage Personal Information.

Personal information: This is a term defined in the Act. It refers to information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether true or not, and whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not. Some examples of Personal Information are your name and address, your signature, and your date of birth.

Sensitive information: This term is defined in the Act. In summary, it refers to a subset of Personal Information, attracting a higher level of protection under the Act. It includes health, genetic and biometric information as well as information about race or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of political parties, sexual orientation and criminal record.

Health information: This term is defined in the Act. In summary, it refers to information or an opinion about an individual’s physical or mental health or disability, health preferences including future provision of health services, use of health services, bodily donations (e.g. blood, organs) and genetics. 

ABOUT US

We have supported Queensland communities for over 100 years and we provide a range of health, aged care, disability and community services to thousands of people every day. We have over 15,000 staff and 8,000 volunteers who care for, and support people from all walks of life, 2024 of life, including older people, people with a disability, children, families and First Nations people.

Why We Collect, hold, use and disclose Personal Information

We collect Personal Information so that we can provide you with the best and most suitable services possible including health, aged care, disability and community care services. We only collect Personal Information necessary to deliver our functions and activities sustainably, to a high level of quality and in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. When you engage with some of our services, we may notify you that one of our purposes of collecting your information is to contact you for the purpose of marketing, fundraising, research participation and/or volunteering. That is because as a charitable not-for-profit organisation, we provide you with the opportunity to help us make a difference through donations or other contributions to our work and services. When you provide us with accurate, complete and up to date information about yourself, it helps us to run our services efficiently and provide you with the best possible service.

Kinds of Information We Collect

The types and forms of Personal Information that we collect from you will depend on your relationship with us, the nature of the service we are providing or activity you are involved in, and the legal obligations we may have.

Information we collect may include:

  • Name
  • Date of birth
  • Occupation and qualification
  • Details of treating practitioners including General Practitioner
  • Medical history, test results, diagnosis and health preferences
  • Telephone numbers and addresses (postal and email)
  • Banking details to enable the processing of your account
  • Gift and donation amounts
  • Police check results
  • Blue card numbers
  • Pension or other concession details
  • Medicare number, Health Fund details
  • Names and telephone numbers of persons to contact in an emergency
  • Copies of documents outlining your supported decision maker/s, and health preferences (e.g. Enduring Power of Attorney or Advanced Health Directive)
  • Family histories and family relationship details

At times we are required to collect government identifiers such as Medicare, Pension or Veteran’s Affairs numbers. We will only use or disclose this information in accordance with the Act and relevant Laws.

We also collect relevant Personal Information in connection with applications for employment, volunteering and chaplaincy/missional roles, contracts for personal services, marketing and fundraising activities, feedback and complaints processes, commercial arrangements, as a part of applications for accreditation of Visiting Medical Practitioners.

When you engage with some of some of our services, we may notify you that one of the purposes for which we collect your Personal Information is for marketing, fundraising or volunteering communications to you. If we do this, we will ask you if you would like to opt out of receiving contact from our fundraising and marketing teams. Unless you opt out, any Personal Information that may be shared with these teams is limited to your name and contact details and does not include any Sensitive Information or Health Information. You may opt out of receiving these communications at any time.

Information Collected by Our Websites

When you visit one of our websites, we do not try to identify you or collect Personal Information. However, you might choose to provide your Personal Information when you complete an online form or make an enquiry via the ‘contact us’ page. Our websites take every precaution to protect Personal Information collected and measures are in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of this information (see the Security section of this policy).

To help us keep our websites working optimally, our sites may collect statistics about visits, such as how many people visit our sites, the user’s IP address, which pages people visit, the domains our visitors come from and which browsers they use. This information will not used to identify you.

Cookies

Our websites may collect ‘cookies’ when you access them. Cookies identify your IP address and browser type, but not your Personal Information. Whilst cookies enable better website functionality, you can choose to reject them if you wish.

Third Party Links

Be aware that our websites may contain links to other websites that are not ours. These sites are not subject to this Privacy Policy Statement, and we are not responsible for the content of these websites or the privacy practices of these sites.

How We Collect Your Information

In most cases, we collect your Personal and Sensitive Information from you directly (unless you are unable to provide the information). For example, we collect this from you when you:

  • Provide admission forms.
  • Provide administration, consent and financial forms.
  • Make employment applications for an advertised role.
  • Provide Personal and Sensitive Information in person or over the telephone. You will be notified if a telephone call that you make to us will be recorded.
  • Lodge a complaint with us or provide feedback to us.

We endeavour to gain your consent when collecting your Personal Information. This may happen before, during or after the process. Once you have provided your consent, you are able to withdraw it at any time by contacting us. However, please understand that by withdrawing your consent, we may not be able to provide you with the services you require.

If we are unable to collect Personal Information from you directly, we may obtain further information from a third party, such as:

  • An authorised representative (e.g. your legal adviser).
  • A health service provider (e.g. order prosthetics).
  • A family member (e.g. a complaint).
  • Other sources where necessary to provide services.

Anonymity

If you choose, you can deal with us anonymously or use a pseudonym, as long as that does not contravene legal requirements. However, in order for us to provide you with the best service, we will need to know your personal details. That way we will be able to work with other providers and apply any relevant concessions or financial arrangements such as with insurance funds, Medicare, or pharmaceutical benefits.

How We Use and Disclose Your Personal Information

We generally use and disclose your Personal Information for the purpose for which we have collected it. There are various exceptions to this, including where:

  • You have consented to the use of your Personal Information for another purpose.
  • Your Personal Information is used or disclosed for another related purpose.
  • In relation to your Sensitive Information, the other purpose is directly related to the reason why it was collected.
  • We are required or authorised by law to disclose your information for another purpose.
  • The use or disclosure is otherwise permitted by the Act.

It is also important to know that we may, in special circumstances, be obliged or permitted by law to disclose information about you to appropriate entities, including law enforcement agencies and other government agencies with relevant authority. This may potentially include copies of your health information, or our records including inspections of our IP logs. We comply with the Act and Laws that regulate how and when such disclosure may occur. 

Here are some examples of how your Personal Information may be used and disclosed:

  • Enabling better co-ordination between us and other providers involved in your care and treatment.
  • Providing information to a person responsible for making decisions about your care and treatment (e.g. attorney, parent, child, guardian, spouse) if you are incapable of making a decision or cannot communicate.
  • Business activities including management, funding, service monitoring, planning, evaluation and complaint handling, insurer or legal services.
  • Quality assurance processes, accreditation, audits, risk, client/patient satisfaction surveys and staff education and training.
  • Invoicing, billing and account management.
  • Undertaking customer surveys, customer and market research and analysis.
  • Compiling or analysing statistics relevant to public health and safety e.g. reporting a notifiable disease.
  • Provision of reminders for appointments or follow-up care.
  • Letting you know about support services options available to assist you.
  • Inviting you to participate in events, fundraising, volunteering and sharing marketing and fundraising information with you, unless you have asked us not to. 
  • Inclusion in research undertaken by us. (Use of your Personal Information for health related research is subject to approval by our Human Research Ethics Committee which is governed by National Health and Medical Research Council Guidelines).
  • Responding to subpoenas, notices of non-party disclosure and other requirements for disclosure of documents and information that are required or authorised by law.

Marketing And Fundraising

We are focused on individual care and community outcomes. We strive to continually improve and offer the best and most relevant services and support to you and the people and communities we serve. When you become a customer, client or patient of ours, we may use your Personal Information for direct marketing or fundraising purposes, in accordance with the Act. This means from time to time our marketing, fundraising or volunteering teams may contact you with fundraising or marketing materials or volunteering opportunities by mail, SMS, telephone, targeted online advertising or online behavioural marketing. You can request not to receive these communications at any time, and we will stop contacting you in this way. You can opt out of receiving fundraising, volunteering or marketing communications by following opt out instructions in communications that you have received. If you do not have these instructions and would like to opt out (or opt into) these communications, please contact us via the details at the end of this Privacy Policy Statement.

Unsolicited Information

If we receive unsolicited Personal Information, we will make an assessment as to whether we could have collected the Personal Information from you ourselves. If we could not, we will destroy it or de-identify it as soon as it is lawfully and reasonably possible to do so taking into account the purposes of the provision of such information. This can be affected by the options available to us and the resources and costs of taking such action.

Accessing and Correction of Your Personal Information

If you would like to see your information that we hold, you can ask us by writing to the relevant service. These requests can be limited by exceptions permitted by law, and you may be charged a reasonable fee for us providing this information. We will let you know the fee when you submit your request.

We always aim to keep the most accurate, complete, up-to-date and relevant Personal Information. However, if you seek correction of any Personal Information that we hold, please contact us by applying in writing to the relevant service. If we cannot change your information we will let you know why. There is no charge for requesting the correction of your Personal Information.


OTHER TIMES AND WAYS WE COLLECT, USE AND DISCLOSE INFORMATION

Contractors: When we outsource services or hire contractors to perform professional services, they are required to comply with the requirements of the Act, other relevant legislation and our Privacy Policy.

Pastoral Care: We may provide your Personal Information to our Pastoral Care Team and Chaplains accredited by our services to offer pastoral care while you are receiving services from us.

Automatic licence plate recognition: Licence plate recognition technology may be used at our facilities. This technology captures a photographic image of your vehicle licence plate to record your entry time and calculate your parking fee.

Closed Circuit Television Surveillance (CCTV): We use CCTV to maintain the safety and security of customers, visitors, staff and property. These systems may but not always, collect and store Personal Information.

Job Applications: An applicants’ Personal Information is only collected to help us assess (and if successful) engage the applicant. This information is then held to satisfying legal obligations, and is used to manage the individual’s employment, insurance, and contact information. We may store information about an unsuccessful applicant for the purpose of future recruitment.

Employee Information: Employment records are managed in accordance with workplace laws and not privacy legislation. Records of current and past employees which are directly related to the employment relationship are exempt from the application of the Act.

Volunteer Records: Records of Personal Information collected and held by us in relation to our volunteers will be managed in accordance with the Act.

SECURITY

Security

Security is a high priority for us. We have strong policies and procedures in place, and we take all reasonable steps to keep Personal Information you provide us secure and protected from misuse, interference and loss, as well as unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Our security measures include but are not limited to:

  • Educating our staff and clients about their obligations to your Personal Information.
  • Requiring our staff to use passwords when accessing our systems.
  • Employing firewalls, intrusion detection systems and virus scanning tools to protect against unauthorised persons and viruses entering our systems.
  • Using dedicated secure networks or encryptions when we transmit electronic data.
  • Providing secure storage for physical records.

When information we hold is identified as no longer needed for any purpose, we ensure it is effectively and securely destroyed or deleted.

Overseas Disclosure

If we disclose Personal Information to an overseas recipient, we will only do so in circumstances where we comply with the Act.

Use of cloud-based storage

In the course of managing our services, we use cloud technology for the purpose of storing our information. All contracts with service providers limit their handling of Personal Information to only what is required. There are also strict security measures in place.

LEGISLATION

The Act protects Personal Information that is held by relevant organisations. It regulates how we may collect, use, disclose and store Personal Information including, sensitive information, and how you may access and correct your Personal Information that we hold. This statement does not apply to Personal Information collected by us that is exempted under the Act.

QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS

If you have any questions or concerns, would like to correct your Personal Information or you wish to make a complaint about a breach of the Act at any time, please get in touch. We take your privacy very seriously, so we are always ready to listen. If you are not happy with the way we collect, use, hold or disclose your information you are welcome to lodge a complaint. To do so, please contact:

UnitingCare Queensland, Level 5, 192 Ann Street, Brisbane 4000

Postal: GPO Box 45 Brisbane Qld 4001

Telephone: 07 3253 4000

Email: privacy@ucareqld.com.au

POLICY STATEMENT CURRENCY

This Privacy Policy Statement may be updated from time to time.

Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)

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