Privacy Policy

PRIVACY POLICY

Last updated: 4 August 2026

Alysia Chick, Naturopath respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal and health information.

This Privacy Policy explains how Alysia Chick, Naturopath (“we”, “us” or “our”) collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information when you:

visit our website at www.alysiachick.com;

contact us by email, telephone, social media or through an online form;

book or attend a naturopathic consultation;

participate in a telehealth consultation;

purchase a product, program, resource or service;

subscribe to our mailing list; or

otherwise interact with our business.

These activities are collectively referred to in this Privacy Policy as the “Services”.

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, “you” and “your” refers to any client, prospective client, parent, guardian, customer, website visitor or other person whose information we collect.

1. Our privacy obligations

Alysia Chick, Naturopath handles personal and health information in accordance with applicable Australian privacy laws, including:

the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth);

the Australian Privacy Principles;

the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic); and

any other applicable privacy, health-record or consumer laws.

Health information is sensitive information and is handled with additional care.

2. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to:

our services or business practices;

our website, booking system or software;

the third-party providers we use; or

applicable legal or regulatory requirements.

The revised policy will be published on our website with an updated “Last updated” date.

3. The information we collect

The personal information we collect depends on how you interact with us and which Services you use.

Information you provide to us may include:

your full name;

date of birth;

residential or postal address;

telephone number;

email address;

emergency contact details;

billing and payment information;

appointment and booking information;

information included in enquiries, emails, forms or other correspondence;

account details, usernames or passwords where an online account is available;

product orders, delivery details and purchase history;

marketing and communication preferences; and

feedback, testimonials, reviews or survey responses.

Health and consultation information

When you enquire about or receive naturopathic services, we may collect sensitive health information, including:

current and previous health concerns;

symptoms and health history;

family and genetic history;

dietary and lifestyle information;

medications and nutritional or herbal supplements;

allergies, intolerances and adverse reactions;

information about your mental, emotional and physical wellbeing;

reproductive, hormonal or menstrual health information;

pregnancy or breastfeeding information;

pathology, diagnostic, genetic or functional-testing results;

information supplied by your general practitioner, specialist, allied health practitioner, pathology provider or other healthcare provider;

clinical notes, treatment plans and practitioner observations;

photographs or other information relevant to your care, where you have consented to provide them; and

correspondence concerning your consultations, treatment or progress.

We only collect health information that is reasonably necessary to provide our services, manage your care or meet our legal and professional responsibilities.

Information concerning children

Our naturopathic services may be provided to children.

When services relate to a child, we may collect personal and health information about the child from:

the child;

their parent or legal guardian;

another person authorised by the parent or legal guardian; or

an authorised healthcare provider or testing service.

We may also collect information about a child’s family circumstances, diet, behaviour, development, health history and relevant household factors where reasonably necessary to provide the requested service.

A parent or legal guardian is generally required to provide consent for the collection and use of a child’s information, subject to the child’s age, maturity and applicable law.

Information about a child is not knowingly used for unrelated marketing or advertising purposes.

4. How we collect information

We may collect personal and health information:

directly from you;

through our website;

through online forms, questionnaires or intake forms;

during in-person or telehealth consultations;

through email, telephone, messaging or social media;

through our appointment-booking or client-management software;

when you purchase a product or service;

when you subscribe to our mailing list;

through pathology laboratories, functional-testing providers or supplement suppliers;

from a parent, guardian, family member or authorised representative;

from your general practitioner or another healthcare provider, with your consent or where otherwise permitted by law;

from payment processors, website providers and other service providers; and

automatically through cookies and similar website technologies.

Where reasonable and practicable, we collect personal information directly from the person concerned.

If we receive unsolicited personal information, we will determine whether we could lawfully have collected it. If not, we will take reasonable steps to delete or de-identify it unless we are required or permitted to retain it.

5. Information collected automatically

When you use our website, certain technical information may be collected automatically. This may include:

your IP address;

device type;

browser type;

operating system;

approximate location based on your IP address;

pages viewed;

links selected;

the date and time of your visit;

referral website information; and

information about how you interact with the website.

This information may be collected using cookies, pixels, analytics tools and similar technologies.

6. How we use personal information

We may use your personal and health information to:

Provide naturopathic services

This may include:

assessing whether our services are suitable for you;

arranging and managing appointments;

conducting naturopathic consultations;

understanding your health history and current concerns;

developing and reviewing naturopathic treatment plans;

recommending dietary, lifestyle, nutritional or herbal strategies;

communicating with you about your treatment or progress;

keeping appropriate clinical records;

arranging pathology or functional testing;

reviewing and explaining test results;

coordinating care with another healthcare provider where you have consented or where otherwise permitted by law; and

providing follow-up support within the agreed scope of your service.

Process purchases and payments

This may include:

processing payments;

fulfilling product or digital-resource orders;

arranging postage or delivery;

communicating about an order;

processing refunds, exchanges or returns;

maintaining transaction records; and

detecting potentially fraudulent transactions.

Payment card details are generally collected and processed by a third-party payment provider rather than stored directly by us.

Communicate with you

We may use your information to:

respond to enquiries;

provide appointment reminders;

send service-related information;

notify you of changes to appointments, orders, policies or services;

provide customer support; and

maintain our professional and business relationship with you.

Improve and administer our business

We may use information to:

manage our website and client systems;

improve our services, resources and customer experience;

understand how people use our website;

conduct internal record-keeping and administration;

manage complaints or disputes;

protect the security of our systems;

detect fraud or misuse; and

comply with legal, insurance, accounting and professional obligations.

Marketing

With your consent, or where otherwise permitted by law, we may use your contact details to send:

newsletters;

health education;

recipes and resources;

information about consultations or programs;

product information; and

special offers or business updates

.

You can unsubscribe from promotional emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link in the email or contacting us.

Unsubscribing from marketing will not prevent us from sending necessary transactional or service-related messages concerning your appointments, care, account or purchases.

7. When we disclose information

We do not sell your health information.

We may disclose personal information to third parties where reasonably necessary to operate our business, provide the Services or comply with the law.

Recipients may include:

website-hosting and website-management providers;

client-management and appointment-booking platforms;

secure forms and clinical-record systems;

cloud-storage and email providers;

payment processors and financial institutions;

accountants, bookkeepers, insurers, lawyers and professional advisers;

postal, courier and fulfilment providers;

supplement manufacturers, dispensaries or suppliers;

pathology laboratories and functional-testing providers;

technology-support and cybersecurity providers;

email-marketing and communication platforms;

analytics and advertising providers;

your general practitioner or another healthcare provider, with your consent or where otherwise authorised;

government agencies, courts, regulators or law-enforcement bodies where required or authorised by law; and

a purchaser or adviser involved in a proposed sale or restructure of the business, subject to appropriate confidentiality and privacy safeguards.

Third parties are only provided with the information reasonably necessary for them to perform the relevant service.

8. Health practitioners, testing providers and product suppliers

Where you request or consent to testing, practitioner-only products or coordinated care, we may disclose relevant information to:

pathology laboratories;

microbiome, genetic, hormone, nutritional or other functional-testing providers;

supplement companies or dispensaries;

compounding pharmacies where applicable;

your general practitioner;

specialists; or

other healthcare practitioners involved in your care.

Information may include your name, date of birth, contact details, health information, testing request, practitioner notes or delivery details.

Some testing providers may require you to accept their own privacy policy, terms or consent conditions.

9. Telehealth and electronic communication

Telehealth consultations and electronic communications may involve telephone, video-conferencing, email, secure forms or client-management platforms.

We take reasonable steps to use appropriate systems and protect your privacy. However, no electronic communication or online platform can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

You are responsible for participating in telehealth consultations from a location that provides an appropriate level of privacy.

Email and ordinary messaging services may not be suitable for urgent, highly sensitive or confidential information. Please contact us before sending information electronically if you have privacy concerns.

10. Cookies and website analytics

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to:

enable the website to function;

remember your preferences;

maintain security;

understand website traffic and visitor behaviour;

improve the website and Services; and

measure the effectiveness of marketing.

Cookies are small files stored on your device. Most browsers accept cookies automatically, but you can change your browser settings to block or delete them.

Blocking cookies may affect the functionality of some parts of the website.

Third-party website, analytics, advertising or social-media providers may also use cookies in accordance with their own privacy policies.

11. Third-party websites and links

Our website or communications may contain links to third-party websites, services, social-media platforms, testing providers or product suppliers.

We are not responsible for the privacy, security, availability or content of third-party websites. You should review the privacy policy and terms of any external service before providing personal information.

The inclusion of a link does not necessarily indicate that we endorse or control the third party.

12. Testimonials, reviews and user-generated content

We will not publish a client testimonial, case study, photograph or identifying health information for promotional purposes without appropriate consent.

Where you voluntarily post a public review, comment or other content on our website, social-media page or a third-party platform, that information may be visible to the public.

We cannot control how other people use information that you choose to make publicly available.

You may contact us if you wish to withdraw consent for material published directly by us. We will take reasonable steps to remove the material from platforms under our control, although previously shared or copied material may remain available elsewhere.

13. Anonymity and pseudonyms

You may contact us anonymously or use a pseudonym when making a general enquiry, where practicable.

However, we may need to verify your identity and collect accurate identifying information when:

providing clinical services;

maintaining health records;

ordering testing or products;

processing payments;

delivering purchases;

communicating with another healthcare provider; or

meeting legal, insurance or professional obligations.

Choosing not to provide requested information may limit our ability to provide some Services.

14. Data security

We take all reasonable administrative, technical and physical steps to protect personal and health information from:

misuse;

interference;

loss;

unauthorised access;

unauthorised modification; and

unauthorised disclosure.'

These measures may include:

password-protected systems;

access controls;

secure client-management platforms;

appropriate device security;

restricted access to clinical records;

secure storage and disposal procedures;

staff or contractor confidentiality obligations; and

reviewing the privacy and security practices of service providers.

No security system is completely impenetrable. You should avoid sending highly sensitive information through unsecured communication channels.

If an eligible data breach occurs, we will take appropriate action in accordance with applicable notification requirements.

15. Overseas storage and disclosure

Some third-party service providers may store or process information outside Australia.

Depending on the systems we use, information may be processed or stored in countries including the United States, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, European countries or other locations used by our service providers.

Where personal information may be disclosed overseas, we take reasonable steps to select reputable providers and handle the information in accordance with applicable Australian privacy requirements.

By using the Services, you acknowledge that some service providers may operate or store information outside Australia.

16. How long we retain information

We retain personal and health information for as long as reasonably necessary to:

provide the Services;

maintain appropriate clinical records;

manage our business relationship with you;

meet legal, tax, accounting, insurance and professional obligations;

respond to complaints or disputes; and

protect our lawful interests.

Health records are retained for at least the minimum period required by applicable law, which is currently 7 years.

Where information is no longer required and we are not legally required to retain it, we will take reasonable steps to securely delete, destroy or de-identify it.

Some information may remain in encrypted backups or archived systems for a limited period.

17. Accessing your information

You may request access to personal or health information we hold about you.

To protect your privacy, we may ask you to verify your identity before giving access.

In some circumstances, access may be refused or limited where permitted by law. This may include where access would:

unreasonably affect another person’s privacy;

create a serious threat to a person’s life, health or safety;

relate to legal proceedings or legal advice;

reveal commercially sensitive information; or

otherwise be unlawful.

If we refuse access, we will generally provide written reasons and information about how you may make a complaint, unless the law permits otherwise.

We may charge a reasonable administrative fee for providing access where permitted by law. We will not charge a fee merely for making a request.

18. Correcting your information

You may ask us to correct personal or health information that you believe is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date, irrelevant or misleading.

We will take reasonable steps to correct the information where appropriate.

If we do not agree to make a correction, you may ask us to attach a statement to the relevant record noting that you believe the information is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date, irrelevant or misleading.

19. Withdrawing consent

Where we rely on your consent to collect, use or disclose information, you may withdraw that consent by contacting us.

Withdrawal of consent will not affect actions already taken with your consent.

Depending on the circumstances, withdrawing consent may mean that we are unable to continue providing some or all of the Services.

20. Parents, guardians and authorised representatives

A parent, legal guardian or authorised representative may request access to information on behalf of another person.

Before providing information, we may require:

proof of identity;

proof of parental responsibility, guardianship or authority;

written consent from the person concerned where appropriate; and

any other information reasonably required to confirm the requester’s authority.

Access may be limited where disclosure would not be in the child’s best interests, would unreasonably affect another person’s privacy or is otherwise restricted by law.

21. Complaints

If you have a concern or complaint about how we have handled your personal or health information, please contact us using the details below in the contact us section.

Please provide:

your name and contact details;

a description of your concern;

relevant dates or correspondence; and

the outcome you are seeking.

We will acknowledge and investigate your complaint and aim to respond within a reasonable period.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may be entitled to contact:

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner handles complaints relating to the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles.

Office of the Health Complaints Commissioner Victoria

The Health Complaints Commissioner may handle complaints relating to the privacy and handling of health information in Victoria.

22. Contact us

For questions about this Privacy Policy, requests to access or correct information, withdrawal of consent or privacy complaints, please contact:

Alysia Chick, Naturopath
Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
Email: [email protected]

For the purposes of applicable privacy legislation, Alysia Chick, Naturopath is responsible for the management of the personal and health information described in this Privacy Policy.