CareSearch is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care and delivered by Flinders University. Flinders University is responsible for maintaining the CareSearch website.

Your privacy is important to us, and we have a firm commitment to privacy in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles. As such, Flinders University’s Privacy Policy (229kb pdf) (the Policy) applies to the CareSearch website.

Under the Policy we comply with the Australian Privacy Principles as set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and with Regulation EU (2016/679) General Data Protection Regulation. If you are an individual located in the European Union, the additional privacy provisions set out in the Policy will apply to you.

The Policy details:

  • the kinds of Personal Information we may collect;
  • the ways we may directly and indirectly collect Personal Information;
  • the ways we hold, store and secure Personal Information; and
  • the purposes for which we collect hold, use and disclose Personal Information.

By using this website, you agree to the data practices described in this statement and the Flinders University Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any part of the Policy, we recommend that you do not provide your Personal Information to us. However, please note that in some systems collecting of data is automatic. For example, telephone systems. If you do not agree with this, do not proceed to use the CareSearch website.

Personal information

Personal Information means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not and whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not. By using the CareSearch website, other services provided by us and/or by contacting us, we may collect and hold Personal Information, including sensitive information about you which may include information about your name, date of birth, nationality, health, race , religion, sexuality, disability status, qualifications, employment), your contact details (address, telephone number, email, fax number), your image and voice (photograph of you, video of you and/or audio of your voice) and other information described in the Policy.

Our use of Personal Information may extend beyond the uses outlined above but will be restricted to purposes that we consider to be related to our functions and activities. We may also be required to disclose Personal Information for any other reason not stated above, when required by operation of law.

Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose Personal lnformation or sensitive information through CareSearch public message boards, this information may be collected and used by others. Note: CareSearch does not read any of your private online communications.

Information automatically logged and Cookies

The CareSearch website may automatically collect Personal Information when you are browsing or using it. The various mechanisms used to collect this information include pixels, server logs, proxy logs and cookies.

This form of Personal Information can include information about your computer hardware and software that is automatically collected by CareSearch. For example:

  • the type of browser and operating system you are using;
  • your top-level domain name (for example .com, .gov, .au, .uk etc);
  • the address of the referring site (for example, the previous site that you visited);
  • your server's IP address (a number which is unique to the machine through which you are connected to the Internet: usually one of your service provider's machines);
  • your computer’s geographic location;
  • the date and time of your visit; and
  • the address of the pages accessed and documents downloaded.

This information is used by CareSearch for the operation of the service, to maintain quality of the service, track website usage patterns, analyse website traffic and to provide general statistic regarding use of the CareSearch website.

Use of Cookies

The CareSearch website uses ‘cookies’ to help you personalise your online experience. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.

One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. The purpose of a cookie is to tell the Web server that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you personalise CareSearch pages, or register with a CareSearch site or services, a cookie helps CareSearch to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information, such as billing addresses, shipping addresses, and so on. When you return to the same CareSearch website, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the CareSearch features that you customised.

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most Web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the CareSearch services or websites you visit.

How Personal Information is collected and held by us

When you use the CareSearch website, other services provided by us and/or contact us we may collect Personal Information directly from you. For example, when:

  • you visit us or we visit you;
  • you contact us in writing or by telephone, or we contact you in writing or by telephone;
  • we provide a service to you or you provide a service to us;
  • you join our mailing list;
  • you participate in an activity organised by us;
  • you complete a survey organised by us;
  • you register, and attend, an event hosted by us.

We may collect Personal Information by indirect means. For example, when:

  • we find Personal Information in a publicly available source such as a newspaper article, website, social media or conference attendance list;
  • we receive Personnel Information in a referral.

We receive Personal Information in hard copy, digital form (including via our website, email, audio recording, video, photograph), over the telephone or by fax. Personal Information is held in hard copy form on property occupied and/or used by CareSearch personnel or in secure electronic data storage managed by Flinders University or third-party providers. Any digital transfer of Personal Information is secured using encryption.

Purposes for which we collect, hold, use and disclose Personal Information

CareSearch collects and uses your Personal Information to operate the CareSearch website and deliver the services you have requested. CareSearch also uses your Personal Information to inform you of other products or services available from CareSearch and its affiliates. CareSearch may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services that may be offered.

The purposes for which we collect, hold, use and disclose Personal Information therefore include:

  • contacting you;
  • providing you with services;
  • providing you with information;
  • developing or improving the quality of our services;
  • internal business purposes;
  • providing you with marketing material;
  • publishing photographs and videos on the CareSearch website;
  • publishing on the CareSearch website and/or in printed materials;
  • advertising and marketing services and/or goods you provide;
  • the purpose or purposes for which you provided your Personal Information to us;
  • providing to third parties including:
    • the organisations and individuals we work with to deliver CareSearch;
    • the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, the government body which funds CareSearch, for any purpose it requires;
    • contractors we engage to supply us with goods and services. For example, event planners, IT specialists and lawyers.

CareSearch does not sell, rent or lease its customer lists to third parties. CareSearch may, from time to time, contact you on behalf of external business partners about a particular offering that may be of interest to you. In those cases, your unique personally identifiable information (e-mail, name, address, telephone number) is not transferred to the third party. In addition, CareSearch may share data with trusted partners to help us perform statistical analysis, send you email or postal mail, provide customer support, or arrange for deliveries. All such third parties are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide these services to CareSearch, and they are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information.

CareSearch does not use or disclose sensitive personal information, such as race, religion, or political affiliations, without your explicit consent.

CareSearch keeps track of the websites and pages our customers visit within CareSearch, in order to determine what CareSearch services are the most popular. This data is used to deliver customised content and advertising within CareSearch to customers whose behaviour indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area.

CareSearch websites will disclose your personal information, without notice, only if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on CareSearch or the site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of CareSearch; and, (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of CareSearch, or the public.

Security of your Personal Information

CareSearch secures your personal information from unauthorised access, use or disclosure. CareSearch secures the personally identifiable information you provide on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorised access, use or disclosure.

Email mailing list addresses are stored on a separate server and can only be accessed by authorised staff. Your email address will not be disclosed without your consent.

Links to other sites

CareSearch encourages you to review the privacy statements on the websites you choose to link to from CareSearch so that you can understand how those websites collect, use and share your information. CareSearch is not responsible for the privacy statements or other content on websites outside of the CareSearch and CareSearch family of websites.

Accessing or correcting personal information

You may request access to and seek correction of the Personal Information we hold by contacting CareSearch:

  • Phone: 08 7221 8233
  • Post: GPO Box 2100 Adelaide SA 5001
  • Email: caresearch@flinders.edu.au.

Questions or complaints

You can raise questions or complaints about how we have handled your Personal Information by contacting Flinders University at privacy@flinders.edu.au in the manner set out in the Policy. Flinders University will acknowledge receipt of your complaint in writing, within five business days, and investigate and respond to you within 30 business days.

Last updated 22 February 2024