Last updated: 1 October 2026
This policy explains how Happy Tooth Kurri Kurri (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, holds, uses and shares your personal information, including your health information, and how you can see it, correct it or make a complaint. We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including the Australian Privacy Principles, and by the NSW Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002.
What we collect
To care for you, we collect:
- your name, date of birth, gender, address, phone numbers and email address;
- your medical and dental history, medications and allergies;
- clinical notes, treatment plans, dental images such as X-rays, scans and photographs, and records of the treatment you receive;
- your Medicare, Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) and health fund details, where you use them to claim;
- appointment, billing and payment records;
- details of whoever referred you to us, or how you heard about us;
- emails, letters, messages and completed questionnaires you send us.
We may also hold details about a parent, guardian or other person responsible for you, and an emergency contact.
How we collect it
Mostly from you: on our forms and questionnaires, in person, by phone, by email and through this website, including when you book online. Sometimes we receive it from others, such as another dentist or doctor who refers you, a specialist we refer you to, a dental laboratory, your health fund, Medicare or DVA, or a parent or guardian.
This website, online booking and forms
- Online booking. When you book online you are taken to our booking portal, which is run for us by Principle (app.principle.dental). It collects your name, contact details, date of birth and address, and takes the booking deposit through a secure payment provider. The portal has its own privacy notice and uses Google reCAPTCHA and Google Analytics.
- Patient questionnaires. Questionnaires we send you a link to complete (for example a sleep or nasal questionnaire) are delivered to our practice email through a form service, Web3Forms. They are reviewed by our clinical team before your appointment.
- Cookies and analytics. This website does not use advertising or analytics cookies. The map on our Contact page is provided by Google Maps and our fonts are served by Google Fonts; when those load, Google receives your IP address and may set its own cookies under Google’s privacy policy.
Why we collect and use it
Our main purpose is to provide you with dental care. We also use your information to:
- book appointments and send you confirmations, reminders and recall reminders by SMS, email or phone;
- claim from Medicare (including the Child Dental Benefits Schedule), DVA or your health fund, and to bill you and take payment;
- communicate with other practitioners involved in your care, and with dental laboratories;
- run the practice, including our accounts, quality and safety activities, and reports on the practice’s own performance;
- meet our legal and professional obligations, including record keeping.
If you do not give us the information we need, we may not be able to treat you safely, or to claim on your behalf.
Who we share it with
We share your information only as needed, with:
- other health practitioners involved in your care, such as specialists and your doctor;
- dental laboratories that make crowns, dentures, aligners and other appliances for you;
- Medicare and Services Australia, DVA, and health funds, through electronic claiming (HICAPS);
- service providers who support the practice, including our practice management and online booking software provider, payment, claiming and payment-plan providers, our SMS, email and form services, and our IT support;
- anyone else where the law requires or permits it, or with your consent.
We do not sell your information, and we do not share it with anyone else for their own marketing.
Overseas
Some of the service providers we use may store or process information outside Australia, including in the United States. Where that happens we take reasonable steps to make sure your information is handled in line with Australian privacy law.
How we keep it safe
Your records are held electronically in our practice management software, with limited paper records kept securely at the practice. We take reasonable steps to protect your information, including password-protected systems, access limited to staff who need it for your care, secure backups, and training our team in privacy and confidentiality. No system is completely secure, but we work to keep your information safe.
We keep health records for at least seven years after we last provided a health service to you or, if you were under 18 when we collected them, until you turn 25, as NSW law requires. After that they may be securely destroyed.
Dealing with us anonymously
You may use a pseudonym or choose not to identify yourself where that is lawful and practicable, for example for a general enquiry. For treatment and claiming, we need to know who you are.
Seeing and correcting your information
You can ask us, in writing (by letter or email), for access to the information we hold about you, and ask us to correct anything that is inaccurate, out of date or incomplete. We will respond within 30 days. There is no charge for making a request, for copies of your records, or for correcting your information. If we refuse a request, we will tell you why in writing and how you can complain.
Marketing
We only send you news or offers with your consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time, every message will tell you how to opt out, and you can ask us where we got your details.
Data breaches
If a data breach is likely to cause you serious harm, we will notify you (or publish a notice where that is not practicable) and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, as the law requires.
Complaints
If you are concerned about how we have handled your information, please contact our Privacy Officer in writing first. We will acknowledge your complaint, look into it and respond within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to:
- the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992; or
- the NSW Privacy Commissioner (Information and Privacy Commission NSW) at www.ipc.nsw.gov.au or on 1800 472 679. A complaint to the NSW Privacy Commissioner must be made in writing within six months of when you first became aware of the conduct, unless the Commissioner allows longer.
Contact us
Privacy Officer
Happy Tooth Kurri Kurri
3/110A Lang Street, Kurri Kurri NSW 2327
Phone: 02 4936 2011
Email: info@kurrihappytooth.com.au
You can ask for a copy of this policy free of charge, in another form, by contacting us or asking at reception.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always available on this page.
