Privacy Policy

Last updated: Oct 22, 2026

About this policy

This policy explains how Peppermint Dental (trading as OSO Centre) and Daleys Point Dental (trading as OSO Oral Surgery Ourimbah) ("we", "us", "our") collect, use, store and share your personal and health information, and how you can access or correct it.

Peppermint Dental is operated by Peppermint Dental Pty Ltd as trustee for the Peppermint Dental Unit Trust, ABN 69 833 548 007, trading as OSO Centre. Daleys Point Dental is operated by Daleys Point Dental Pty Ltd as trustee for the Daleys Point Dental Unit Trust, ABN 28 461 831 862, trading as OSO Oral Surgery Ourimbah. Both practices follow this policy.

We handle your information in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including the Australian Privacy Principles, and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW), including the Health Privacy Principles. Our dental practitioners are registered with the Dental Board of Australia through Ahpra and follow the Board's Code of conduct, including its standards on confidentiality, privacy and health records. We also follow the Australian Dental Association's policies on privacy and confidentiality and its Guidelines for Dental Records.

What information we collect

We collect only the information we need to provide safe, appropriate dental care and to run our practices. This usually includes:

• Contact and identity details: name, date of birth, gender, address, phone numbers, email address and emergency contact.
• Health information: medical and dental history, medications, allergies, x-rays and other images, clinical notes, photographs, scans, treatment plans, test results and referral letters.
• Funding and payment details: Medicare number, private health fund details, Department of Veterans' Affairs details, Child Dental Benefits Schedule eligibility, and billing records. Card payments are processed through secure payment terminals; we do not keep your full card number.
• Other information: your preferences for appointment reminders, records of your communications with us (including correspondence and notes of phone calls), and feedback or complaints. Together with your clinical information, these form your dental record.

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

How we collect it

Wherever practical, we collect information directly from you: when you book, complete a patient form (on paper or online), attend an appointment, or contact us by phone, email or our website.

Sometimes we collect information from others, such as:

• your parent, guardian or carer, if you are a child or need assistance;
• other health practitioners, such as your doctor, specialist or a dentist who referred you;
• health funds, Medicare or the Department of Veterans' Affairs, to confirm eligibility and process claims;
• radiology or pathology providers who perform tests for us.

If you do not give us the information we ask for, we may not be able to treat you safely or process claims on your behalf.

Why we collect and use it

We use your information to provide and manage your dental care, including to:

• assess, diagnose and treat you, and keep accurate clinical records;
• communicate with you about appointments, recalls, treatment and payments, including by SMS and email;
• coordinate your care with other health practitioners;
• process payments and claims with Medicare, health funds and the Department of Veterans' Affairs;
• run our practices, including quality improvement, clinical audits, staff training, accreditation, insurance and handling complaints;
• meet our legal and professional obligations.

We will not use or disclose your information for any other purpose unless you consent, you would reasonably expect it and it is directly related to your care, or the law requires or allows it (for example, to lessen a serious threat to someone's life, health or safety).

Who we share it with

We share your information only as needed for the purposes above. This may include:

• other health practitioners involved in your care, such as specialists, your doctor, or dental laboratories that make your crowns, dentures or aligners;
• Medicare, private health funds and the Department of Veterans' Affairs;
• service providers who support our practices, such as our practice management software, appointment reminder, IT support, accounting and debt recovery providers. They may only use your information to provide services to us;
• our professional advisers and insurers;
• anyone you authorise, such as a family member or carer;
• regulators, government bodies or courts where the law requires it, including Ahpra and the Dental Board of Australia under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law.

We do not sell your information. We do not upload your information to My Health Record.

Overseas disclosure

We store and process your information in Australia. We do not disclose your personal or health information to recipients outside Australia. If this changes, we will update this policy.

How we store and protect it

We keep your records mainly in electronic form, in secure practice management and imaging systems. Any paper records are kept in secure areas of the practice.

We protect your information with password-protected access controls, staff confidentiality agreements and training, encrypted backups, and physical security at our premises. Staff can only access the information they need for their role.

If a data breach is likely to cause you serious harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as required by the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

How long we keep it

We keep health records for at least 7 years after your last visit. For patients under 18, we keep them until at least age 25. After that, we destroy or de-identify records securely.

Our website, marketing and technology

Our website. Our website does not currently offer online booking or online forms. To make an appointment or ask a question, please phone or email us, and we will collect the details you give us. Our website uses cookies and analytics tools (Google Analytics) to understand how visitors use the site. This data does not identify you personally. You can disable cookies in your browser settings.

Marketing. We do not use or disclose your personal information for direct marketing, and we do not send marketing or promotional emails or newsletters. Appointment reminders, recalls and other messages about your care are part of your care, not marketing.

Clinical photos and testimonials. We will not use your name, photographs, x-rays or other clinical images in advertising, on our website or on social media without your separate written consent. Images used for teaching or case presentations are de-identified unless you agree otherwise. We do not ask patients for testimonials about clinical care, consistent with Ahpra's advertising guidelines.

Automated decision-making. We do not use computer programs to make decisions about you that could significantly affect your rights or interests, such as decisions about your treatment or eligibility for a service. Your dentist makes all clinical decisions. Our software may help with tasks such as appointment scheduling, reminders and record-keeping.

Artificial intelligence. If we use AI-based tools to support care, such as note-taking or image analysis, a registered practitioner remains responsible for all clinical decisions and records. We will tell you if an AI tool records or transcribes your appointment and ask for your consent first.

Your rights

Access and correction. You can ask to see or get a copy of your dental records, including x-rays and scans, or ask us to correct information you believe is wrong, out of date or incomplete. Please make your request in writing to our Privacy Officer. We will respond within 30 days. We may charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of copying, but not for making a request, and we will not withhold copies because of an unpaid account. We keep the original records and provide copies, and we will ask how you would like to receive them (for example, securely by email or collected in person). If we refuse a request, we will tell you why in writing.

Transferring your records. With your written consent, we will promptly send copies of your records to another dentist or health practitioner to support your ongoing care. If one of our practices closes, is sold or relocates, we will manage and transfer your records in line with privacy and health records laws and let you know how to access them.

Anonymity. You may use a pseudonym or stay anonymous for general enquiries. For treatment and claims, we need to identify you.

Complaints

If you have a concern about how we have handled your information, please contact our Privacy Officer first. We will acknowledge your complaint within 7 days and aim to resolve it within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact:

• Office of the Australian Information Commissioner: 1300 363 992, oaic.gov.au
• Information and Privacy Commission NSW: 1800 472 679, ipc.nsw.gov.au

Contact us

Privacy Officer — Paul Lascelles. You can reach him through either practice:

We review this policy regularly and will publish any changes on our website. A printed copy is available free at reception.