Our Policies

Protecting your privacy

Curtin Heritage Living and its affiliates collects, stores, uses and distributes a range of information that is defined as both personal and sensitive by the Privacy Act 1988 and the supporting Australian Privacy Principle. We are committed to protecting the privacy of your information and this statement defines how we have implemented these Principles. We will take reasonable steps to protect the information we hold from misuse, interference, loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We will also take steps to ensure personal and sensitive information is accurate, complete and up to date and we will archive and/or dispose of all records securely when they are no longer needed.

Why do we collect personal and sensitive information?

Curtin Heritage Living and its affiliates collects, holds and uses personal and sensitive information, when it is reasonably necessary for us to have that information to help us plan and deliver safe and effective services for you. We may also use your personal information for quality assurance, reporting and service improvement purposes, however your identity will not be disclosed in these circumstances. You have the right not to provide personal or sensitive information, however withholding information might mean we are not able to satisfactorily fulfil our obligations to you.

What information do we collect?

We will only collect information that will assist us in providing you with quality services. The following information may be collected by us in relation to our clients or prospective clients:

• Your name and date of birth
• Your contact details
• Your previous and current medical history (including, where clinically relevant, a family medical history) and details of treatment and health services you have received
• Information about your healthcare, service and lifestyle preferences and wishes
• Information about other healthcare professionals and health service providers who are involved in your care
• Your attorney, guardian or other person(s) responsible for decisions about your healthcare or who are authorised to assist with decisions about the care and services you receive from us and others
• Details relevant to administering your payment arrangements such as your banking details, your pension entitlements and arrangements, and information regarding your income and assets
• Your Medicare number, health care card number and your entitlement to other benefits or subsidies. Where we have collected a government related identifier (such as your Medicare number), we will not adopt that identifier as our own identifier, and we will only use or disclose that identifier as required or permitted by law

The following information may be collected by us in relation to resident representatives:

• Your name and date of birth
• Your contact details
• Records of your interactions with us, including emails, letters, notes and in some cases, with the explicit consent of you, video or voice recordings

How do we collect information?

Our organisation will, where practicable, collect information directly from you (for example, when we have contact with you in person, over the phone, by email or via the internet). We may also collect personal information about you from third parties including:

• Your family members, a carer, an attorney, a guardian or a person responsible for your healthcare decisions;
• Other healthcare professionals and health service providers involved in your care;
• The Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) or other services which may have assessed your need for care or referred you to us for care; and
• Government agencies responsible for administering relevant entitlements and benefits (such as Centrelink, Medicare, Department of Health, Department of Social Services, Aged Care Complaints Commissioner, National Disability Insurance Agency, Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and other government agencies responsible for home care services)

If you are not able to give us this information yourself, we may need to collect it from someone else who is legally able to give the information to us. We will keep a record of the services we provide to you and will add new information to your record as required

How is your information stored and protected?

Curtin Heritage Living and its affiliates will record and update information about you in hard copy and electronic form. We will store this information securely. Where possible your information will be stored in Australia but on occasion, we may be required to store electronic information outside Australia. If we do this, we will take reasonable care to ensure that the overseas agency protects your personal information in a secure way. We have strict policies regarding who may see your personal information, including a Privacy and Confidentiality Policy and procedures around the dissemination, storage and disposal of documents which requires all staff and contractors to keep your personal information confidential

Who else might have access to or receive information about you?

Curtin Heritage Living works closely with other agencies and contractors who help us facilitate and coordinate services and may give your information (by telephone, fax, email or hard copy) to:

• Government departments and agencies who provide us with funding;
• Emergency Services; (including ambulance, police, fire brigade) who may be called upon to assist during the delivery services;
• Assessment bodies;
• Other contracted organisations and businesses who may be called upon to assist us to plan, promote and deliver our services; and
• Any persons activng on our behalf, including professional advisors

Where Curtin Heritage Living provides your information to other agencies, we will ensure they hold privacy standards equivalent to our own. Curtin Heritage Living will not provide your information to any other organisation for the purposes of that organisation’s direct marketing.

Direct marketing

From time to time, we may contact you (by post, email, phone or SMS) to provide you with information about our services and other business partners that may be of interest to you. This includes information or services that can help improve your wellbeing. When you become our customer, you consent to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes (as described in this document) unless you have contacted us to withdraw your consent. If you do not wish to receive marketing material from us, you can contact us at any time to let us know.

Access to and correction of your personal information

Under the Privacy Principles (subject to some exceptions), you have a right to access and copy personal information which Curtin Heritage Living holds about you. You also have a right to ask us to correct personal information which is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date. If you would like access to your personal information held by or have a complaint about the way we manage your information, please put your request in writing and send it to:

The Managing Director
Curtin Heritage Living
40 Marine Parade
Cottesloe WA 6011

Data Breach Notification

In the event your personal or sensitive information is lost or accessed by unauthorised parties, Curtin Heritage Living will determine the impact to you and will appropriately notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as soon as reasonably practical

Privacy and Security online

Online security

Our websites use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption to keep your transactions secure and private. SSL is the industry standard for data encryption. It provides a secure link between your browser and our server, and scrambles your personal information to ensure it is kept private during transmission over the internet

What we collect when you use our website

When you access our websites, we may collect anonymous technical information about your use of the website. This may include information such as the type of browser used to access the website and the pages visited.

The information is used by Curtin Heritage Living to make decisions about maintaining and improving our websites and online services. This information remains anonymous and is not linked in any way to personal identification details. When you visit our websites, we may set a cookie on your machine so that when you next visit our website it links to your personal information that is stored in our system. A “cookie” is a small text file placed on your computer by a web server when you access a website. Cookies are frequently used on websites. Cookies in themselves do not identify the individual user, just the computer used. We use cookies to collect data to help us determine which pages are most popular, peak usage times and other information that helps us make our websites easier and more efficient for you to use. You can choose if and how a cookie will be accepted by configuring your preferences and options in your browser. For example, you can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie or to reject cookies. However, if you decide not to display cookies, then you may not be able to gain access to all of the content and facilities of this website

If you are unhappy with the way we handle your personal information

You may contact us at any time if you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or about the way in which your personal information has been handled. The Managing Director will first consider your complaint to determine whether there are simple or immediate steps which can be taken to resolve the complaint. We will generally respond to your complaint within one week. If your complaint requires more detailed consideration or investigation, we will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within one week of receipt and endeavour to complete our investigation into your complaint promptly.

We may ask you to provide further information about your complaint and the outcome you are seeking. We will then typically gather relevant facts, locate and review relevant documents and speak with individuals involved. In most cases, we will investigate and respond to a complaint within 30 days. If the matter is more complex or our investigation may take longer, we will let you know. If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint, you are entitled to make a complaint to:

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
Sydney NSW 2001
T 1300 363 992
enquiries@oaic.gov.au

You are also entitled to raise a matter with the:

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
GPO Box 9819
Perth WA 6000
T 1800 951 822

www.agedcarequality.gov.au/making-complaint/lodge-complaint

How are change to this Privacy Policy made?

This Privacy Policy may be reviewed or amended from time to time. The most current version of the policy will be published on this website

Consistent with Shine values – Respect, Integrity, Commitment and Collaboration – we will actively uphold the human rights, safety and wellbeing of our clients. We have a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of abuse, neglect, and substandard care. Safeguarding those who are vulnerable is our responsibility. Any person who becomes aware of, suspects, or receives an allegation of abuse, neglect, or substandard care that has or may have caused harm to a resident has a duty to report the matter immediately.   

We are committed to the prevention of harm to our clients, and to upholding their human and aged care rights. We will maintain appropriate systems and processes to mitigate the risk of harm occurring to our clients. All team members, volunteers, and others working with us will advocate for our clients and encourage and empower our clients to self-advocate. 

Our Aim

To always promote the wellbeing and human rights of our clients and to provide safe, effective and high-quality care and services.

Prevention

We will: 

• Create and maintain a person centered, positive culture of respect and zero tolerance to abuse, neglect and substandard care in any form 
• Mitigate risk and promote safety in our services with clear policies, procedures and systems 
• Never knowingly employ anyone who poses a risk to the safety of others, and immediately remove anyone who poses a risk to the safety of our residents 
• Provide team members with information, training, and clear expectations of behaviour and standards in our code of conduct, values, and policies and procedures

Response

We will: 

• Respond quickly and effectively to: 
• any potential for, or suspicion or allegation of, abuse or neglect 
• any situation that has, or could have, resulted in harm to a resident 
• Immediately act to safeguard our clients. This may involve seeking emergency assistance from police or ambulance, offering physical and emotional support or treatment, engaging communication supports, and seeking advice from independent advocates 
• Fully and thoroughly investigate all serious incidents and near misses, with senior positions retaining responsibility for investigations and actions to prevent recurrence. Should an allegation or suspicion involve a senior position, we will engage independent external investigator 
• Notify the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission within required timeframes 
• Maintain contact with, and involve, the client, the client’s family of choice, advocates and other supporting people at the client’s request 
• Seek opportunities to learn from all investigations and to improve the safety, quality and effectiveness of care 
• Respect the privacy and confidentiality of those involved in matters relating to abuse and neglect 
• Comply with all relevant legislative, regulatory and legal requirement

Responsibility and accountability

• All team members are responsible for safeguarding our clients 
• The Managing Director is responsible for the development and implementation of systems and supports to protect, uphold, and safeguard the rights of our clients, and to respond effectively to any suspected or potential infringement upon those rights 
• The Board is accountable for the effectiveness of our safeguarding systems and processes