Last Updated: June 2026

Tamar to Coast Midwifery and Lactation 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 https://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 includes name, date of birth, address, email address, phone number, Medicare details, private health insurance details, emergency contact details, and payment and billing information.
As a health service provider, we collect health information relevant to the care we provide including but not limited to: pregnancy and birth history, medical and surgical history, medication information, allergies, infant health information, feeding history and breastfeeding concerns, clinical assessments and notes, referrals, reports and test results, and information provided by other health care practitioners involved in your care.
This Personal Information is obtained directly from the information you provide us in consultations, website enquiry forms or when booking appointments online, client intake forms, health history questionnaires, email communications, telephone consultations, face to face consultations, and from third parties. We may also collect information from: your GP, obstetricians, hospitals, pathology providers, radiology providers, or other health care practitioners involved in your care, where you have consented or otherwise permitted by law. We don’t guarantee website links or policy of authorised third parties.
We collect your Personal Information for the primary purpose of providing our services to you. This includes to: provide antenatal postnatal and lactation care, assess your health care needs, maintain accurate clinical records, communicate with you regarding appointments and services, process payments and invoices, coordinate care with other health care providers, meet legal regulatory and professional obligations, respond to inquiries submitted through our website, and improve our services an administrative process. We may also use your Personal Information in circumstances where you would reasonably expect such use or disclosure.
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 of providing health care - 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.

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 (other health care providers). 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.
We use trusted third party providers to assist in delivering our services, including: Halaxy (practice management and clinical records), Microsoft 365 (email and document management), and Square (payment processing). These providers may store a process information on our behalf and are required to maintain appropriate privacy and security protections. Please refer to the privacy policies of these providers for further information regarding their handling of personal information and stuff

Disclosure of Personal Information
Your Personal Information may be disclosed in a number of circumstances including the following:
• Third parties such as general practitioners, obstetricians, hospitals and maternity services, pathology and diagnostic providers, allied health practitioners, Medicare, private health insurers, regulatory authorities where you consent to the use or disclosure; and
• Where required or authorised by law.
We will only disclose information where; you have consented; the disclosure is directly related to your healthcare; the disclosure is required or authorised by law, or another exception under privacy legislation applies.

Security of Personal Information
Your Personal Information is stored in a manner that reasonably protects it from misuse and loss and from unauthorized 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 21 years.

Access to your Personal Information
You may request access to the Personal Information we hold about you and to update and/or correct it, subject to certain exceptions. If you wish to access your Personal Information, please contact us in writing using the contact details below.
Tamar to Coast Midwifery and Lactation 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 an 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 advise us as soon as practicable so we can update our records and ensure we can 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 via email at:
annika@tamartocoast.com.au