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Privacy

Every day Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service is provided sensitive, personal information to ensure individuals receive the best possible care.  Personal information is provided on the understanding that it will not be mishandled or inappropriately disclosed.

Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service is committed to ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of personal information collected by the service is secured.  That commitment is supported by nine National Privacy Principles in the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) (in relation to all personal information held by the service) and strict confidentiality obligations found in Part 7 of the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 (in relation to health information held by the service).

While our confidentiality obligations cover personal information about individuals who have received, or are receiving a public sector health service, the National Privacy Principles have a broader application in that they cover the collection, use, disclosure, security, quality, access, correction and openness of personal information including personal information about employees and our business partners. 

Even though we are bound by a modified version of the National Privacy Principles found in the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988, it is important to note that Queensland Health is not subject to Commonwealth privacy legislation.

Gold Coast Health Privacy Plan

The Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service (GCHHS) Privacy Plan sets out details of the types of personal information we hold and how we handle this information.

Privacy complaints

Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service takes breaches of privacy very seriously and affirms the right of consumers and their representatives to make complaints of this kind. Complaints regarding breaches of privacy are dealt with in accordance with the Service's complaints management system.

Accordingly, complainants are encouraged to direct their complaint to the Patient Liaison Services in the first instance.

Gold Coast Health Patient Liaison Services are available to support any consumer complaints or enquiries.

Legislation

Queensland legislation which provides privacy and confidentiality protections for personal information include:

Information Privacy Act 2009
Information Privacy Regulation 2009
Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011
Hospital and Health Boards Regulation 2012

Applications for access and/or amendment of personal information may be sought under:

Information Privacy Act 2009
Information Privacy Regulation 2009
Right to Information Act 2009
Right to Information Regulation 2009
Queensland Health's 'Health Information: Disclosure and Access Policy'

For further information regarding access and amendment to Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service documents, please visit the service's Right to Information and Information Privacy site.

Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) At Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service

The Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service (GCHHS) has installed Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) throughout facilities operated by GCHHS.  In addition, GCHHS is currently implementing Body Worn Recording Devices.

The footage will be used for monitoring access facilities, for health and safety reasons, the investigation of incidents and the prosecution of alleged breaches of the law.

A person can request footage about them by making an application under the Right to Information Act 2009 or the Information Privacy Act 2009 to the Manager, Information Access Services.  From time to time, GCHHS may provide footage to the Queensland Police Service in accordance with the terms of the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 and/or the Information Privacy Act 2009.

GCHHS will not give footage of you to any person or agency unless authorised or required by law.

How is this website monitored?

When you look at this web site, our internet service and analytics providers, as well as third-party service providers such as a podcast hosting service, may make a record of your visit and log the following information for statistical purposes only:

  • the user's server address
  • the user's top level domain name (for example .gov)
  • the date and time of the visit to the site
  • the pages accessed and documents downloaded
  • the previous site visited
  • the type of browser used.

No attempt is or will be made to identify users or their browsing activities except, in the unlikely event of an investigation, where a law enforcement agency may exercise a warrant to inspect activity logs.

Website analytics

We use Google Analytics (including display advertising features) on our website to gather anonymous information about visitors to our website. When you visit our web pages, your browser automatically sends anonymous information to Google. Examples of the information include the web address of the page that you're visiting, your IP address and demographic information. Google may also use cookies.

We use this data to analyse the pages that are visited, to improve your experience and make sure our website is useful.

You can read more about how Google uses data. You can choose not to allow Google to collect your information by opting out of Google Analytics or specifically opt out of Google Analytics display advertiser features.


Last updated 01 Jul 2019