Last updated: October 2026. This policy explains how Dr Chris Oosthuizen, Specialist Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon, trading as Form & Function Rhinoplasty and Sinus Surgery (“we”), collects, uses, stores and shares your personal and health information, and how you can see it, correct it or complain. It follows the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988. In this policy “we” means Dr Oosthuizen and the staff who work with him.
What we collect
When you enquire or become a patient we collect:
- your name, date of birth, address, phone number, email address and the details of your referring doctor;
- health information: your history, examination findings, photographs, imaging and test results, operation and anaesthetic records, and your progress afterwards;
- your Medicare number, private health fund details and payment information, where we need them to bill you or arrange your admission;
- for the enquiry form on our website: what you are considering, whether you have a referral, how you heard about us, and any message you write. Please do not put urgent medical details in the form (see our Terms).
We collect this from you directly wherever we can. We may also receive it from your referring doctor, other health providers, and the hospital.
Why we collect it and how we use it
We collect your information to assess and treat you, to arrange your surgery and admission, to communicate with you and your other doctors, to bill and manage accounts, and to meet our legal obligations. We use it for these purposes, and for closely related purposes you would reasonably expect, such as quality improvement and training. We will not use your health information for anything else unless you agree or the law requires it.
Photographs. Clinical photographs are taken for your records and your care. We publish before and after photographs only with your separate written consent, with your eyes masked.
Who we share it with
Your records are kept for us by Westside ENT Pty Ltd, the company that provides our practice staff and systems. It handles them only on our behalf, under the same duty of confidentiality as we have.
We share your information only where needed for your care or where the law requires it, with:
- your referring and other treating doctors, the hospital where you have surgery (Herston Private Hospital, Mater Private Hospital Springfield or Westside Private Hospital), the anaesthetist, assistants, pathology and imaging services;
- Medicare, your private health fund and, where applicable, your insurer or workers’ compensation or compensation scheme;
- our professional indemnity insurer and advisers, if there is a complaint or claim;
- regulators and courts, where required by law (for example AHPRA, the Office of the Health Ombudsman, or a notifiable-disease or child-protection obligation).
We never sell your information.
AI transcription in consultations
We may use an AI transcription tool to help write the notes of some consultations. We will ask for your consent before it is used, and you can say no at any time without any effect on your care. The note is reviewed by Dr Oosthuizen and becomes part of your medical record, protected like the rest of it.
Sending information overseas
Our email is hosted on Microsoft 365. The enquiry form on this website uses Amazon Web Services (Sydney) to send the enquiry to us and Cloudflare to host the website and run a spam check; Cloudflare operates a global network, so technical data such as your IP address can be processed outside Australia. We take reasonable steps to make sure overseas providers handle information in line with the Privacy Principles.
This website
This website uses Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics to measure how many people visit, which pages they read and how they found us, and Google Search Console to see how the site appears in search. These tools use cookies and send technical information such as your IP address to Google, which processes it outside Australia. They do not receive what you type into the enquiry form, and we do not use advertising or remarketing tools. The only other third-party service the enquiry form uses in your browser is Cloudflare Turnstile, which checks that a person, not a program, is submitting the form. The details you type in the enquiry form are sent securely to us by email; they are not stored on the website.
Keeping your information safe
Access to patient records is limited to staff who need it. We destroy or de-identify information securely when it is no longer needed.
If there is a data breach that is likely to cause you serious harm, we will tell you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as the Privacy Act requires.
Contacting you
We use phone, SMS and email to confirm appointments, give pre- and post-operative instructions, and follow up your care. We do not send promotional material.
Seeing and correcting your information
You can ask to see the information we hold about you, and to have it corrected if it is wrong or out of date. Ask in writing (email or letter) or in person, and we will confirm your identity first. We will respond within 30 days. If we cannot give you access to something, we will tell you why in writing.
Questions or complaints
Please contact us first, by phone on (07) 3202 4636, by email at [email protected], or by post to Riverton House, 2/16 Pring Street, Ipswich QLD 4305. We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and reply in writing within 30 days.
If you are not satisfied you can contact:
- the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner: oaic.gov.au, 1300 363 992;
- the Office of the Health Ombudsman (Queensland): oho.qld.gov.au, 133 OHO (133 646).
Changes to this policy
We review this policy at least once a year and when our practices change. The date at the top shows the latest version. A printed copy is available at our consulting rooms on request.
