Policies

We publish our policies online for ease of access as well as to maintain transparency.

PRIVACY POLICY

27th Feb 2026

  • PART 1 – ABOUT THIS POLICY

1.1 Purpose

Osborne Jones t/a Babble Buddies is committed to protecting the privacy of personal information we collect and hold about individuals.

Babble Buddies complies with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), other privacy laws that govern how private sector health service providers like Babble Buddies handle your personal information (including your health information), and Speech Pathology Australia’s Code of Ethics (2010). 

This Privacy Policy explains how Babble Buddies manages the personal information we collect, use and disclose. 

Babble Buddies is a private speech pathology practice under the ownership of Alice Ritchie.

  • PART 2 – HOW BABBLE BUDDIES HANDLES YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

2.1 Babble Buddies’ Legal Obligations:

In order to provide you with the health care services that you have requested, Babble Buddies will need to collect and use your personal information. If you provide incomplete or inaccurate information to us or withhold personal and health information from us we may not be able to provide you with the services you are seeking. 

2.2 What information does Babble Buddies collect?

We will only collect the information we need for the particular function or activity we are carrying out.

We collect information from you that is necessary to provide you with speech pathology services and to manage our relationship with you. The information we collect includes: your name, date of birth, address, health fund details and information about your health history and family history. We require this information to assist the speech pathologist to diagnose and treat you. 

2.3 How does Babble Buddies collect health information?

We will usually collect your health information directly from you. Sometimes, we may need to collect information about you from a third party (such as a relative or another health service provider).

2.4 How does Babble Buddies use your information? 

Babble Buddies uses your personal information for the purpose you have given the information to us. We will use your information to provide speech pathology services to you, to manage our relationship with you and to contact you in relation to matters concerning your care. We may also use your information for other purposes permitted under the Privacy Act 1988.

Who might we disclose your information to?

We may disclose your information to the following people:

(a) disclosure to other health professionals involved in your treatment

Your personal information will generally only be used by the speech pathologist involved in your care, however on occasion your care may be provided by a number of health professionals (for example., speech pathologist, occupational therapist and/or psychologist) working or consulting together. We may disclose your information to these health professionals as part of the process of providing your care and to other health professionals involved in your care.

(b) the referrer

Babble Buddies will usually send a discharge summary to the referrer (i.e., your medical practitioner) following discharge from Babble Buddies or at other times, as required for your care. 

If you do not wish us to provide a copy of your discharge summary to the referrer you must let us know. Also, if the referrer’s details have changed please let us know. 

(c) Relatives, guardian, close friends or legal representative

We may provide information about your condition to your parent, child, other relatives, close personal friends, guardians, or to a responsible person for you, unless you tell us that you do not wish us to disclose your health information to any such person.

Other uses and disclosures

In order to provide the best possible environment in which to treat you, we may also use or disclose your personal and health information where necessary for:

  • activities such as quality assurance processes, accreditation, audits, risk and claims management, patient satisfaction surveys and staff education and training;

  • invoicing, billing and account management;

  • to liaise with your health fund, Medicare or the Department of Veteran's Affairs and where required provide information to your health fund, Medicare or the Department of Veteran's Affairs to verify treatment provided to you; 

  • the purpose of sending you standard reminders, for example for appointments and follow-up care, by text message or email to the number or address which you have provided to us.

(f) Other uses with your consent

With your consent we may also use your information for other purposes such as including you on a marketing mail list, or research. Please note, however, that unless you provide us with your express consent for this purpose, we will not use your information in this way. We will not disclose your personal information to any individual who is outside Australia.

2.5 Access to and correction of your health information 

You have a right to access the personal and health information that we hold about you. You can also request an amendment to your personal and health information should you believe that it is inaccurate. 

If we do not agree to change your medical record/personal information in accordance with your request, we will permit you to make a statement of the requested changes and we will enclose this with your record. 

Should you wish to obtain access to or request changes to your health record you can ask for our Privacy Officer (see details below) who can give you more detailed information about (name of the practice)'s access and correction procedure.

Please note that Babble Buddies may recover reasonable costs associated with supplying this information to you. 

2.6 Data Quality 

Babble Buddies will take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information which we may collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete and up-to-date. 

2.7 Data Security

Babble Buddies will take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We use technologies and processes such as access control procedures, network firewalls, encryption and physical security to protect your privacy. 

Babble Buddies will destroy or permanently de-identify any of your information which is in its possession or control and which is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was collected provided Babble Buddies is not required under an Australian law or court/tribunal or otherwise to retain the information.

2.8 What to do if you have a complaint about privacy issues 

If: 

(a) you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy; 

(b) Babble Buddies does not agree to provide you with access to your personal information; or 

(c) you have or a complaint about our information handling practices, 

You can lodge a complaint with or contact our Privacy Officer on the details below. We will promptly review your complaint and provide a response to you. 

2.9 How to contact us if you have a complaint about privacy issues

By email: alice@babble-buddies.com

PART 3 – HOW BABBLE BUDDIES HANDLES YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION WHEN YOU VISIT OUR WEBSITE

This section of our Privacy Policy explains how we handle your personal information which is collected from our website: www.Babble-buddies.com

This Privacy Policy applies to your use of our website and the use of any of the facilities on our website. 

3.1 Collection

When you use our website, we do not attempt to identify you as an individual user and we will not collect personal information about you unless you specifically provide this to us. 

Sometimes, we may collect your personal information if you choose to provide this to us via an online form or by email, for example, if you:

  • submit a general enquiry via our contacts page;

  • send a written complaint 

When you use our website, our Internet Service Provider (ISP) may record and log for statistical purposes the following information about your visit:

  • your computer address;

  • your top level name (for example, .com.,gov., .org, .au etc.);

  • the date and time of your visit;

  • the pages and documents you access during your visit; and

  • the browser you are using.

Our web-site management agent may use statistical data collected by our ISP to evaluate the effectiveness of our web-site.

3.2 Cookies

A "cookie" is a device that allows our server to identify and interact more effectively with your computer. Cookies do not identify individual users, but they do identify your ISP and your browser type. 

3.3 Links to third party websites

We may create links to third party websites. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices employed by websites that are linked from our website. 

3.4 Use and disclosure

We will use any personal information collected via our website in accordance with our privacy policy.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Health Complaints Commissioner Code of Conduct

The Health Complaints Commissioner can handle complaints about health services provided by any organisation or person in Victoria. This includes both registered providers and general, or non-registered, providers.

General health service providers are those who are not legally required to be registered under national health practitioner regulation law. That is why they are also known as non-registered providers. The many types of practitioners in this category include audiologists, naturopaths, dieticians, speech pathologists, homeopaths, counsellors, massage therapists, alternative therapists and other providers of general health services.

In Australia, 15 health professions do require registration in order to practice. These are known as registered providers and are regulated under a national scheme by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

General code of conduct

The General code of conduct sets standards for general health service providers, meaning those not regulated by AHPRA. It also applies to registered providers operating outside their area of registration, for example a physiotherapist (a registered profession) providing reiki therapy (a general, or non-registered, profession).

The General Code of Conduct became Victorian law on 1 February 2017. Any possible breach of this code by a general provider may be grounds for a complaint to us, which we can attempt to resolve in a variety of ways. In some cases it may also be grounds for a formal investigation by us.

In summary, the general code of conduct says that general health services:

Must

  • Provide safe and ethical healthcare

  • Obtain consent for treatment

  • Take care to protect you from infection

  • Minimise harm and act appropriately if something goes wrong.

  • Report concerns about other practitioners

  • Keep appropriate records and comply with privacy laws

  • Be covered by insurance

  • Display information about the general code of conduct and making a complaint.

Must not

  • Mislead you about their products, services or qualifications

  • Put you at risk due to their own physical or mental health problems

  • Practice under the influence of drugs or alcohol

  • Make false claims about curing serious illnesses such as cancer

  • Exploit you financially

  • Have an inappropriate relationship with you

  • Discourage you from seeking other health care or refuse to cooperate with other practitioners if you do.

General health service providers should refer to the full text of the general code of conduct, taken from Schedule 2 of the Health Complaints Act 2016, to understand their responsibilities.

Providers must make a copy of the general code of conduct, as well as information about how to lodge a complaint with us, easily accessible to their patients or clients. The resources below can help you with this.

You are also welcome to access our free General Code of Conduct elearning module, which you or your staff can undertake at any time. This module provides you with an overview of the code and how it applies to you as a provider.

Actions

Compliance with the general code of conduct should not mean extra work for those already operating safely and ethically, but it does provide grounds for us to take action against those who are not. We may accept a complaint about any possible breach of this code by a non-registered provider in Victoria. We will attempt to resolve complaints quickly and informally where possible, though our process allows for a number of approaches.

We may also investigate any possible breach of this code. At any time during an investigation into a non-registered provider we may issue an interim order prohibiting delivery of a service, or part of a service, by that provider. A final prohibition order may then be issued following investigation, if it is necessary to do so. Prohibition orders in force in other states and territories will be recognised in Victoria.

Following an investigation into a registered or non-registered practitioner, we may issue a public warning statement to alert people to serious risks to their health, life, safety or welfare.

 

Resources

We are happy to provide the following text you can copy and publish on your health service website should you wish:

If you are not satisfied with our service, please contact us. We take complaints seriously and aim to resolve them quickly and fairly.

If you remain dissatisfied with our response, you may contact the Health Complaints Commissioner (HCC). The HCC responds to complaints about health services and the handling of health information in Victoria. Their service is free, confidential and impartial. To lodge a complaint with the HCC:

  • Fill out a complaint form online at hcc.vic.gov.au or

  • Phone 1300 582 113 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday to discuss your complaint.

Updated 27th Feb 2026.