Privacy Policy

The Smile Designer Dental Studio

ABN: 25 637 138 679

1. Introduction

The Smile Designer Dental Studio (“we”, “our”, “us”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal and health information. This policy explains how we collect, store, use, and disclose your information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). As a health service provider, we comply with these requirements regardless of our turnover.

If you have any questions, please contact:Address: 118–120 High Street, South Preston VIC 3072Email: [email protected]Phone: (03) 9089 7574

2. Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of personal and health information:

  • Full name, date of birth, gender, address, phone number, email
  • Medicare, DVA, or private health fund details
  • Dental and medical history, treatment plans, X-rays, photographs, clinical notes
  • Consent forms and payment records
  • Information you provide via our website forms or over the phone
  • IP address, browser type, and anonymised usage data from cookies and analytics tools

3. How We Collect Your Information

We collect information:

  • Directly from you in person, over the phone, by email, or via our online booking system (Ultimo Dental Software)
  • From your health fund, referring practitioners, or laboratories (with your consent)
  • Through digital tools such as Google Analytics and the Meta Pixel when you visit our website

4. Why We Collect Your Information

We use your information to:

  • Provide dental treatment, ongoing care, and follow-up services
  • Process payments and insurance claims
  • Schedule and confirm appointments
  • Communicate with you, including sending promotional emails and newsletters (only if you opt in)
  • Improve our services, including website and marketing performance analytics
  • Comply with legal and regulatory requirements

5. Disclosure of Information

We may disclose your personal or health information to:

  • Other treating practitioners (with your consent)
  • Dental laboratories, pathology services, or radiology providers
  • Medicare, private health insurers, or government agencies for claims processing
  • IT providers, marketing agencies, or cloud storage providers who assist in practice operations (bound by confidentiality and security requirements)
  • Law enforcement or regulators, when required by law
  • We do not sell or rent your information to third parties.

6. Storage and Security

We store patient records in secure electronic systems and locked physical files. Electronic data is encrypted and password-protected. Only authorised staff have access to your information.

7. Cookies, Tracking, and Analytics

Our website uses cookies and third-party tools, including:

  • Google Analytics – to understand how visitors use our site
  • Meta Pixel – to measure and improve the performance of our online advertising
  • You can disable cookies in your browser settings, but this may affect site functionality.

8. Access, Correction, and Complaints

You can request access to, or correction of, your personal or health information at any time by contacting us in writing.If you believe we have breached your privacy, please contact us immediately. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) via oaic.gov.au.

9. Data Retention

We retain patient records for at least seven (7) years after the last entry, or longer for minors, as required by law. When no longer required, records are securely destroyed or permanently de-identified.

10. Overseas Data Disclosure

Some of our IT and cloud service providers may store data on servers located outside Australia. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure your information is handled in accordance with the APPs.

11. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on our website.