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Retail Service Privacy Policy

Privacy notice for bloom™ hearing specialists Australia service clients

1. Introduction

Your privacy is important to us. This Privacy Notice explains how Active Hearing Pty Ltd ABN 91 087 971 051 trading as “bloom™hearing specialists” and our related entities in Australia (hereinafter "Bloom", "we", "us", "our") collect, use, disclose, and manage your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

This privacy notice applies when you engage with us for our services including our audiology or sales in our stores. By using our services, and providing your information to us, you consent to the use, disclosure, and handling of your personal information and any sensitive information as described in this Policy.

We encourage you to carefully review this Privacy Notice to understand how and why we are using personal information about you and what your rights are under Australian privacy laws. If you have any additional questions about our practices, we welcome you to consult the 'Contact Us' section of this Privacy Notice.

 

2. Types of personal information we collect when you use our services

The types of personal information we may typically collect include:

(a) your name, address, contact details (including phone number and email address), date of birth and gender;

(b) details of your health service provider(s);

(c) details of your health insurer;

(d) your Centrelink Pension, DVA Number details or other government-issued identifiers;

(e) billing information;

(f) details of the services provided to you or which you have inquired about;

(g) records of your communications with us.

 

Because of the nature of our services, some of the personal information we collect about you will be sensitive. We only collect sensitive information about you with your consent, or otherwise in accordance with the Privacy Act and applicable health records and related privacy laws. We will use sensitive information for the purpose for which it was provided or a directly related secondary purpose, for purposes that you consent to and as otherwise permitted by law. In this Policy, a reference to personal information is a reference to both personal information and sensitive information.

 

3. Why we handle your personal information

As a general rule, if we are providing goods or services to you, we handle your personal information for the purpose of providing you with those goods and services and for purposes that would be considered relevant and reasonable in the circumstances. If you are our client, we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information for purposes including:

· Providing hearing health services, including consultations, hearing assessments, hearing aid fittings, device maintenance, and aftercare support.

· Managing your relationship with us, including scheduling appointments, sending reminders, and responding to enquiries. · Recommending and supplying hearing devices and related products, based on your clinical needs and preferences.

· Processing payments, assessing your eligibility and/or managing your benefits and claims under the Australian Government Hearing Services Program, other government program, or private insurance.

· Communicating with your nominated healthcare providers, such as your general practitioner, ENT specialist, or audiologist, where relevant for your care.

· Meeting legal and regulatory obligations, including verification of your identity or maintaining clinical records and reporting in accordance with healthcare regulations under the Hearing Services Administration Act 1997 (Cth).

· Conducting business operations, including training, auditing, quality assurance, and clinic administration.

· Sending you information about products, services, upgrades, promotions, or educational content related to hearing health (unless you opt out of marketing communications).

· Improving our services, including requesting feedback, conducting voluntary patient satisfaction surveys, and analysing service usage trends.

· Handling complaints and resolving disputes related to our services or your health information.

 

Only with your additional consent, or where otherwise permitted or required by law, we may use your personal information for additional purposes, including:

(a) Communicating with your family, carers, or other authorised representatives; and (b) Transferring your health records to third party medical practitioners, or health service providers involved in your care.

 

4. How and when we collect your personal information

We collect your personal information at various points during your interactions with us.

The methods and timing of our data collection are as follows:

· Directly from You: We collect personal information (including sensitive health information) that you voluntarily provide when you:

o Complete registration, inquiry, or appointment forms, either in person, by phone, via emails or through social media.

o Provide information during clinical consultations, assessments, or other interactions with our staff, including details about your relevant lifestyle or medical history

o Subscribe to our communications or provide feedback via surveys or questionnaires.

o Visit our booth at a conference or hearing expo · Through Our Website and Digital Channels:

o Our websites usage is subject to a separate privacy policy, which you may refer to at Website Privacy Policy

· During the Provision of Health Services:

o As part of your care, we collect and analyze personal information derived from assessing your condition—this includes data obtained during hearing assessments conducted at our clinics or through our services.

· From Third-Party Sources: We may also obtain information from third-party sources, such as:

o Referring healthcare practitioners or specialists;

o Your health insurance provider;

o Government agencies (e.g., Medicare, Centrelink, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, and the Hearing Services Program);

o Organisers of hearing conferences, hearing expo or similar events which you had attended, and registered your interest;

o Digital advertising platforms, marketing partners, and lead generation service providers, where you have interacted with our advertisements or provided your information in response to marketing campaigns;

o Publicly available sources. The information you provide about your nominated next of kin or emergency contact will be used solely for contact purposes in the event of an emergency or where clinically appropriate.

By providing these details, you confirm that you have their consent to do so. With your permission, we may also disclose relevant health information to your nominated contact if necessary for your care or in an emergency.

 

5. Who we disclose your personal information to

We may disclose your personal information to third parties only when necessary to provide our services or as required by law.

We are committed to ensuring that any disclosure is made in a responsible manner and in compliance with the applicable privacy laws, including the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Below, we outline the categories of third parties to whom we may disclose your personal information and the purposes for doing so.

With Bloom Hearing Specialists. We operate the Bloom Hearing Specialist services in Australia with our related entities in Australia. In order to streamline operations and enhance your overall experience, we share certain systems and customer information within Bloom Hearing Specialist entities. This allows us to recognise you across different store locations operated by our affiliates, provide more consistent service, and better respond to your preferences and needs—regardless of which store you visit.  

With your healthcare practitioners, specialists, appointed representative or family member. We may disclose your personal information to your healthcare practitioners, specialists, or appointed representatives when necessary to provide coordinated care or treatment. This may include sharing information relevant to your diagnosis, treatment plans, or ongoing healthcare needs. We may also share information with a family member or carer if you have provided consent, or when it is required to support your care.

With your insurance or financial institution. Your personal information may be disclosed to your insurance company or financial institution for the purpose of processing claims, verifying coverage, and assessing eligibility for services. This includes sharing information relevant to the cost of treatments, payment processing, and coverage details.

With the Australian Department of Health. The Department of Health may disclose your personal information to, and receive personal information about you from, the Departments of Human Services, Veterans’ Affairs, Social Services, Defence, Employment and the National Disability Insurance Agency.

With service providers. Your personal data may be disclosed to third parties who process personal data on our behalf, and therefore acts as our data processors, e.g. data hosting providers, IT service providers and fulfilment contractors.

With WS Audiology. Bloom Hearing Specialists is part of a global group of companies known as WS Audiology. We may share your information with our subsidiaries or affiliated companies who handle your information as data processors in order to provide you with access to our services, improve and optimize the website etc.

 

For Legal and User Interests. We may disclose and use your personal information when we reasonably believe it's necessary to:

(a) Satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request;

(b) enforce our Terms of Service and other agreements, policies, standards, or other legal rights, including the investigation of potential violations;

(c) Detect, prevent, or address illegal or suspected illegal activities, including payment fraud, security or technical issues;

(d) Protect against harm to our rights, property, safety, security or that of our users or the public, as required or permitted by law;

(e) protect infringements to third party intellectual property rights which we have been legally licensed / authorized to act on behalf of.

 

This disclosure may involve sharing information with law enforcement agencies, public authorities, the third party intellectual property holders, or other organizations as strictly necessary.

Merger or acquisition. In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or similar occurrences, your personal data may be transferred to advisors and the succeeding entity. We will make efforts to provide advance notice, share pertinent details about the event and the successor, and request the successor to handle your personal data in alignment with this Privacy Notice. Should the successor need to process your personal data beyond the authorized scope in this Privacy Notice, they will be responsible for notifying you, providing details about their intended processing, and obtaining your consent, and/or the consent of your parent and/or guardian (if applicable), as required by applicable laws and regulations. In circumstances where your personal information is disclosed to a third party, other than where required to do so by law, we will use reasonable endeavours to ensure that those third parties undertake to protect your privacy to the same extent that we do. We will never sell your personal information to third parties.

Due to the global nature of our organization and operations, international data transfers are necessary for us to provide our services. Your personal data may be transferred to, stored, and processed overseas. We take reasonable steps to ensure that any overseas recipients handle your personal information in accordance with Australian privacy laws and maintain appropriate safeguards to protect your privacy. However, please be aware that data stored with overseas service providers may not be subject to the same privacy protections as those provided under Australian law. We will take steps to ensure that any transfers of personal information are done securely and in compliance with applicable privacy regulations. We are committed to ensuring the security and compliance of your personal data, regardless of where your data is processed or stored, and will take all necessary and appropriate measures to safeguard your information in accordance with applicable laws and regulation.

 

6. Security

We prioritize the security of your personal data and employ industry-standard measures to safeguard it against unauthorized access to or improper use. Our security practices include the use of organizational controls, technical protection, and other protection measures. While we are committed to implementing robust security measures to ensure your data is protected when handled by us, it is also essential to recognize that your role in safeguarding your information is equally important. To protect yourself from potential risks like phishing or identity fraud, we encourage you to exercise caution when sharing personal details in person or over the phone, especially if the request seems unusual or unexpected. If anyone contacts you claiming to be from our clinic or service, and you are unsure about their identity, please do not hesitate to contact us directly to verify their authenticity.

 

7. Your Rights

You may have certain rights when it comes to the processing of your personal data. These rights may include the right to access, correct, delete, restrict the use of, or withdraw your consent to the processing of your data. Request access to your personal data. It allows you to receive a copy of personal data that we have recorded about you and ensure that we process it lawfully.

You may send a written request to us via the contact details provided under “Contact Us”.

The right to rectification. Request rectification of personal data that we hold about you. This gives you the opportunity to have incorrect or incomplete information we hold about you corrected. The right to erasure. You may have the right to have all or some of your personal data erased by us. To the extent that continued processing of your data is necessary, for example, to comply with our legal obligations or to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims, we are not obliged to delete your personal data. Right to anonymity. You may deal with us anonymously to request general information about our products or services.

However, if you choose not to provide personal information when requested, we may not be able to provide you with our full range of goods and services, you may not be able to obtain health concessions or other benefits you may be entitled to, or we may not be able to do business with you. If you have any further inquiries or to exercise your legally entitled rights, please contact us through the provided details in the ‘Contact us’ section below. In order to safeguard your privacy and ensure the secure handling of your personal data, you may be required to verify your identity or account ownership before we can accept or respond to your request. While we strive to accommodate all requests, we may decline or charge a fee for those that are unreasonable or unnecessary and permitted by applicable law.

This includes situations that are clearly repetitive or excessive, could pose significant practical challenges, require disproportionate technical efforts, or introduce operational risks, such as the potential for fraud. Kindly be aware that should you choose to withdraw your consents or object to the collection, processing, or retention of specific essential information or activities, it may impact our ability to provide you with our services, either partially or entirely, due to operational or technical constraints.

If you believe that your data protection rights under the APP have been violated, you may also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

  • Postal Address: GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001
  • Phone: 1300 363 992 (within Australia)
  • International Phone: +61 2 9942 4099
  • Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
  • Online Enquiry Form: Submit an Enquiry Complaint Form: Lodge a Privacy Complaint

 

8. Contact us

If you do not wish to be contacted by us (about special offers, discounts or other promotional events), or if you wish to request access to the personal information that we hold about you and/or to make corrections to that information you may write to bloom™ hearing specialists Marketing Department, Suite G.03, Ground Floor, 191-197 Salmon Street, Port Melbourne, Victoria, 3207, or send an e-mail to marketing@bloomhearing.com.au.

Please remember to provide as much detail as you can as this will help us to find the information.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Notice, your personal data, or our privacy practices, please feel free to contact us via email at: dataprotection.apac@wsa.com

All bloom™hearing specialists employees are charged with the responsibility to provide reasonable information and assistance to ensure that complaints are lodged effectively using our Customer Relationship system.

 

Providing customers with easy access and a point of contact to lodge a question, concern or complaint is a fundamental element of our overall complaint policy.

Complaints may be lodged by:

· Customer Feedback web form

· Phone on 1800 554 968

· Email: info@bloomhearing.com.au

· Post: bloom™ hearing specialists Marketing Department, Suite G.03, Ground Floor, 191-197 Salmon Street, Port Melbourne, Victoria, 3207

 

Complaints will be acknowledged, and customers will be advised of a reference number that can be used to identify progress of their complaint within 3 business days. We take all complaints seriously, and will respond to your complaint within a reasonable period. Please provide us with as much detail as possible so that we can fully consider your question, concern or complaint.

 

10. Data retention

We will retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Notice, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. The criteria used to determine our retention periods include the nature of the data, the purposes for which it was collected, legal obligations, potential disputes, technical constraints and business needs. Once the retention period expires, your personal data will be securely deleted or anonymized, or if deletion is not possible (for example, because the data has been stored in backup archives that are no longer or technically costly to retrieve access to), then it will be securely stored and isolated from further processing until it expires or is purged, as accepted by applicable laws. Please contact us using the information provided in the "Contact Us" section of this Privacy Notice for more details about our data retention practices.

 

11. Changes to this Privacy notice

From time to time and in line with customer expectations and legislative changes, our Policy and privacy procedures will be reviewed and, if appropriate, updated. Such updates will be published on our website. If you continue to use our services after notice of changes has been published on our website, you hereby provide your consent to the changed practices.

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