GA Dental Privacy Policy

About this policy

GA Dental is a dental practice at Shop 4A, Greenacres Central, 132 Muller Road, Greenacres SA 5086. The practice is operated by Greenacres (SA) Dental Pty Ltd (ACN 678 159 987), and was previously known as Greenacres Optical & Dental.

We are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). This policy explains how we collect, use, store and share your personal information, including your health information, and how you can access it or make a complaint.

It applies to patients, parents and guardians of patients, people who contact us or use our website, and people who book through our online booking service.

If you have a question about this policy, please speak with reception or contact our Practice Manager (details below).

What personal information we collect

We collect the information we need to provide safe, appropriate dental care and to run the practice. This may include:

Personal and contact details: your name, date of birth, gender, address, phone number, email address, and emergency contact or next of kin.
Health information: your medical history, medications, allergies, dental history and treatment notes. It also includes X-rays, intraoral scans, photographs, test results, and letters from or to other health providers.
Funding and payment details: your private health fund and membership number, Medicare number, and eligibility for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS), the SA Dental Service (SADS) or the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA), plus billing and payment records.
Parent or guardian details for patients under 18, or for patients who need someone to make decisions on their behalf.
Appointment information: bookings, cancellations, reminders and any fees charged under our cancellation policy.
Website and enquiry information: messages you send through our website contact form, and website usage information collected through cookies (see "Our website, online booking and analytics").

Health information is sensitive information under the Privacy Act. We only collect it with your consent, or where the law otherwise allows.

How we collect it

Wherever possible, we collect information directly from you. This happens when you:

complete a new patient form or medical history update
attend an appointment, or speak with us in person, by phone, email or SMS
book an appointment online through HealthEngine
send an enquiry through our website.

Sometimes we collect information from someone else, but only where it's needed for your care or allowed by law. This may come from a parent, guardian or carer; a doctor, specialist or other health provider who refers you; your health fund; or a government program such as CDBS, SADS or DVA.

If you don't give us the information we ask for, we may not be able to treat you safely or process your health fund claim.

Why we collect, use and disclose it

We use your information to:

assess, diagnose and treat you, and keep accurate dental records
explain treatment options and costs, and obtain your consent
communicate with you about appointments, including SMS and email reminders
process payments, health fund claims and government program claims
refer you to, or receive referrals from, other health providers
send you recall reminders when you're due for a check-up
manage the practice, including billing, quality improvement, staff training, insurance and legal obligations
respond to your enquiries and complaints.

We only use or disclose your information for these purposes, for a directly related purpose you would reasonably expect, with your consent, or where the law requires or allows it. For example, the law allows disclosure to prevent a serious threat to someone's life, health or safety.

We do not sell your personal information. We will not send you marketing messages unless you have agreed to receive them, and you can opt out at any time.

Who we share it with

We only share your information where it's needed for the purposes above. This may include:

other health providers involved in your care, such as specialists, your doctor, hospitals and radiology services
dental laboratories that make crowns, dentures, mouthguards, aligners and similar appliances
clear aligner and implant suppliers, where needed for your treatment
private health funds, Medicare and Services Australia, the SA Dental Service and the Department of Veterans' Affairs, to process claims and confirm eligibility
service providers who help us run the practice, such as our practice management software, appointment reminder, online booking (HealthEngine), payment, IT support and website providers
our insurers, lawyers and professional advisers, where needed
government agencies or courts, where the law requires it.

We expect our service providers to protect your information and use it only for the service they provide to us. With your consent, we can also share information with a family member, carer or another person you nominate.

Our website, online booking and analytics

Contact form. When you send an enquiry through our website, we receive your name, contact details and message. We use them only to respond to you. Please don't include health details in the form. We will discuss those with you directly.

Online booking. Online appointments are made through HealthEngine. HealthEngine collects your details under its own privacy policy and passes your booking to us. We encourage you to read HealthEngine's privacy policy before booking.

Website hosting. Our website is hosted by Wix.com, which stores website data, including contact form messages, on its servers.

Cookies and analytics. Our website uses cookies, including Google Analytics, to understand how visitors use the site, for example which pages are visited and how many people click through to book. This information doesn't identify you by name. You can block cookies in your browser settings, or install Google's opt-out add-on for Google Analytics.

Social media. If you contact us through Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn, those platforms handle your information under their own privacy policies. Please don't send us health information through social media.

Overseas disclosure

Our patient records are stored by our practice software provider in Australia. Some of our online service providers may store or process information overseas:

Wix.com (website hosting and contact form messages) may store data in the United States and other countries.
Google (Google Analytics) may store data in the United States and other countries.

We take reasonable steps to make sure these providers protect your information in line with the Australian Privacy Principles.

Storage, security and how long we keep records

We store your records electronically in our practice management system, and in paper form where needed. We protect them with:

password-protected systems, with access limited to staff who need it
secure backups
locked storage for any paper records
confidentiality obligations for all staff
secure destruction of records we no longer need to keep.

We keep dental records for at least 7 years after your last visit, or for patients under 18, until they turn 25 — whichever is longer, in line with professional record-keeping requirements. After that, we destroy them securely or permanently de-identify them.

Accessing and correcting your information

You can ask to see or get a copy of the personal information we hold about you, including your dental records. Please ask at reception or contact our Practice Manager.

We will respond within 30 days.
We may ask you to confirm your identity first.
We may charge a reasonable fee for copying or preparing records. We will tell you the cost first, and there is no charge for making the request.
In limited cases the law allows us to refuse access, for example where giving access would pose a serious threat to someone's life, health or safety. If we refuse, we will explain why in writing and tell you how to complain.

If you think any information we hold is inaccurate, out of date or incomplete, please tell us and we will correct it. If we don't agree that a correction is needed, you can ask us to attach a statement to your record noting your view.

Dealing with us anonymously

You can ask general questions, such as about our services or fees, without giving your name. To treat you, though, we need to identify you and keep accurate records, so we can't provide treatment anonymously or under a pseudonym.

Data breaches

If there is a data breach involving your personal information that is likely to cause you serious harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), as required by the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme. We will also tell you what steps you can take to protect yourself.

Questions and complaints

If you have a question or concern about how we handle your personal information, please contact our Practice Manager:

Practice Manager: Dr Liliana Gomez, Principal Dentist, GA Dental, Shop 4A, Greenacres Central, 132 Muller Road, Greenacres SA 5086 Phone: 08 8369 2288 Email: reception@greenacresdentalsa.com

We will acknowledge your complaint within 7 days and aim to resolve it within 30 days.

If you're not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992. For concerns about a health service more generally, you can also contact the SA Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner (HCSCC) at www.hcscc.sa.gov.au.

Changes to this policy

We review this policy regularly and will publish any changes on our website and at reception. You can ask for a printed copy at reception at any time.

Last updated: October 2026