Assist Care Cairns Pty Ltd (we, us or our) provides disability support services and operates this website. We are committed to handling personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and other applicable laws.

Health information includes information about a person's health, disability, injury, support needs and health services. It is sensitive information and receives additional protection under Australian privacy law.

This policy applies to participants, prospective participants, representatives, family members, carers, advocates, referrers, service providers, job applicants, staff and other people who interact with us.

We usually collect information directly from you through conversations, service and intake processes, email, phone, our website forms and documents you provide.

With your consent, authority or where permitted by law, we may also collect information from a representative, family member, carer, advocate, support coordinator, plan manager, health professional, government agency (including the NDIA), another service provider, referee or recruitment provider.

If you give us information about another person, you must be authorised to do so and should make them aware of this policy. If we receive unsolicited information, we will assess whether we could lawfully have collected it and will securely destroy or de-identify it where required.

We may disclose information for the purpose for which it was collected, for a related purpose you would reasonably expect, with consent, or as permitted or required by law. Recipients may include authorised representatives; workers and contractors who need the information; health and allied health professionals; support coordinators; plan managers; other service providers; the NDIA, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission or other authorities; emergency services; insurers; professional advisers; auditors; and technology, website, email, document storage and security providers.

We do not sell personal information.

We use reasonable physical, administrative and technical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. These may include access controls, staff confidentiality and privacy training, secure premises and systems, authentication, backups, malware protection, updates and procedures for responding to suspected data breaches.

Website form submissions are transmitted to our authorised team by email. Recruitment attachments are validated and attached to the application email; the website does not intentionally add them to its Media Library. No internet transmission or storage system is completely secure, so please avoid including information that is not necessary.

We retain information only for as long as needed for our functions and legal obligations. Retention periods vary according to the type of record, the participant's age, NDIS and employment requirements, limitation periods and safeguarding needs. When information is no longer required, we take reasonable steps to securely destroy it or de-identify it, unless the law requires retention.

You may ask for access to personal information we hold about you or ask us to correct information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. Contact our Privacy Officer using the details below and describe the information concerned. We may need to verify your identity or authority before responding.

We will respond within a reasonable period, generally within 30 days. We do not charge for making a request, but may charge reasonable costs for providing access after telling you in advance. If the law permits us to refuse access or correction, we will generally explain why in writing and tell you how to complain.

You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal and contractual limits. This will not affect handling that occurred before withdrawal and may affect our ability to provide a service or respond to a request.

If you believe we have mishandled personal information, contact our Privacy Officer. Please explain what happened and the outcome you are seeking. We will acknowledge your complaint, investigate it fairly and keep you informed. We aim to provide a response within 30 days; if we need more time, we will explain why.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) (opens in a new tab). The OAIC can be contacted on 1300 363 992. Other regulators or complaint bodies may also be available depending on the issue.