Privacy Policy

Last updated: 25 May 2026
Effective date: 25 May 2026

1. About this Privacy Policy

LDS Skin Cancer and Cosmetic Medicine (“LDS“, “we“, “us“, “our“) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal and health information in accordance with Australian law.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, store and protect your personal information, including sensitive health information, when you interact with our clinics, our website (ldscosmetics.com), or any of our services.

This policy is governed by the following legislation:

  • Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs)
  • Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and the Health Privacy Principles (HPPs)
  • Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act 2017 (Cth)
  • The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) Code of Conduct
  • The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code

2. Our clinic locations

LDS operates from the following locations in Victoria, Australia:

  • Maribyrnong clinic: 25 Wests Rd, Maribyrnong VIC 3032
  • Melbourne clinic: 1 Queens Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004

Personal and health information is processed at both locations and through our central administrative systems.

3. What information we collect

3.1 Personal information

We may collect the following personal information:

  • Full name, date of birth, gender
  • Residential and postal address
  • Telephone numbers and email address
  • Medicare number, Pension or Health Care Card details (where relevant)
  • Private health insurance details (where relevant)
  • Emergency contact details
  • Payment information processed via secure third-party providers

3.2 Sensitive health information

As a medical practice, we collect sensitive health information necessary to provide safe and effective care, including:

  • Medical history, current medications, allergies and prior reactions
  • Past surgical, cosmetic or dermatological treatments
  • Skin assessments, lesion records and dermatoscopic imagery
  • Pre-treatment and post-treatment clinical photographs (with your specific consent)
  • Treatment plans, consultation notes and clinical observations
  • Pathology results, specialist correspondence and referral information
  • Consent records for procedures and use of Schedule 4 medicines

3.3 Information collected automatically

When you visit ldscosmetics.com, we may automatically collect:

  • IP address, browser type and device information
  • Pages visited, time on site and referring website
  • Cookies and similar tracking technologies (see Section 9)

4. How we collect your information

We collect information directly from you wherever practicable. This includes:

  • In-person at our clinics during consultations and treatments
  • Via online or telephone booking, including through our booking partner HotDoc
  • Through paper or electronic intake and consent forms
  • Via email, telephone, SMS or messaging communications
  • Through our website, including contact and enquiry forms

We may also collect information from third parties when necessary for your care, for example:

  • Your treating general practitioner or specialist
  • Pathology and radiology providers
  • Other health practitioners involved in your treatment
  • Medicare Australia or your private health insurer

Where we receive unsolicited personal information, we will assess whether we could have lawfully collected it and either destroy or de-identify it where required by APP 4.

5. Why we collect your information

We collect, use and disclose your personal and health information primarily to:

  • Provide medical, cosmetic and skin cancer assessments and treatments
  • Maintain accurate clinical records for safe, ongoing care
  • Communicate with you about appointments, follow-up care and treatment outcomes
  • Liaise with other health practitioners involved in your care
  • Process Medicare claims and private health insurance reimbursements
  • Manage payments, billing and accounts
  • Comply with our legal, regulatory and professional obligations
  • Audit and improve the quality of our clinical services
  • Respond to your enquiries and feedback

6. Use of clinical photographs

Clinical photographs are an important part of cosmetic and skin cancer medicine. We may take pre-treatment, intra-treatment and post-treatment photographs as part of your clinical record.

Clinical photographs are used for the following purposes only with your explicit, separate written consent:

  • Clinical use (always required for treatment): Stored securely as part of your medical record and used to plan treatments, monitor outcomes and provide ongoing care.
  • Educational use (optional): Used internally for staff training, peer review or professional development. Identifying features are removed wherever possible.

You may withdraw consent for educational use at any time by contacting us, without affecting your right to receive treatment.

7. How we disclose your information

We may disclose your information to:

  • Other health practitioners involved in your care, including referring GPs, specialists, pathology providers and pharmacists
  • Medicare Australia and private health insurers for the purpose of claims and rebates
  • Our service providers, including secure cloud-based practice management software, accounting providers, and our website and booking platforms (e.g. HotDoc)
  • Government and regulatory bodies where required or authorised by law, including AHPRA, TGA and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
  • Law enforcement agencies and courts where legally required

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information.

7.1 Overseas disclosure

Some of our service providers (for example, certain cloud-based software vendors) may store data on servers located outside Australia, including in the United States and the European Union. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure those recipients comply with the Australian Privacy Principles or substantially similar standards.

8. Direct marketing

From time to time, we may use your contact details to send you information about our services, clinic updates, educational content or special offers. We will:

  • Only contact you through channels you have agreed to (email, SMS, etc.)
  • Provide a clear opt-out option in every direct marketing communication
  • Honour opt-out requests promptly

You may opt out of direct marketing at any time by clicking “unsubscribe” in an email, replying STOP to an SMS, or contacting us using the details in Section 13.

9. Cookies and website tracking

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to:

  • Remember your preferences
  • Analyse website traffic and user behaviour (e.g. via Google Analytics)
  • Improve user experience and content relevance

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may limit some website functionality.

10. Storage and security

We store personal and health information in both electronic and paper-based formats. We take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, including:

  • Restricted access controls and individual staff logins
  • Encrypted storage and transmission of digital health records
  • Physical security at our clinics, including locked storage of paper records
  • Staff training on privacy obligations and confidentiality
  • Regular review of security practices and software

10.1 Retention periods

In accordance with the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic), we retain health records for:

  • Adult patients: at least 7 years from the date of the last entry
  • Minor patients (under 18): until the patient turns 25 years of age

After these periods, records are securely destroyed or de-identified.

11. Accessing and correcting your information

Under APP 12 and APP 13, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal and health information we hold about you
  • Request corrections to information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete or misleading

To request access or correction, please contact us using the details in Section 13. We will respond within a reasonable timeframe (typically 30 days). A reasonable fee may apply for the retrieval and copying of records, in line with the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic). We will tell you the estimated cost before proceeding.

In limited circumstances permitted by law, we may decline a request for access. If we do, we will explain the reason in writing and outline your options to complain.

12. Data breach notification

We comply with the Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). If we identify a data breach likely to result in serious harm, we will:

  • Notify affected individuals as soon as practicable
  • Notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
  • Take immediate steps to contain the breach and prevent recurrence

13. How to contact us

For any privacy-related enquiry, request, or to make a complaint, please contact our Privacy Officer:

Privacy Officer
LDS Skin Cancer and Cosmetic Medicine
25 Wests Rd, Maribyrnong VIC 3032
Phone: (03) 9966 3640
Email: lds.cosmeticmedicine@gmail.com

14. Making a complaint

If you believe we have breached your privacy, please contact us first using the details above. We will acknowledge your complaint within 7 days and aim to resolve it within 30 days.

15. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services or legal obligations. The most current version will always be available on our website with the “Last updated” date. We encourage you to review it periodically.

This Privacy Policy was last reviewed on 25 May 2026.