Guide to health privacy
Download the Guide to Health Privacy
Updated: 09 May 2025Introduction and key concepts
Explains key concepts relevant to the handling of health information and your obligations under the Privacy Act
Chapter 1: Key steps to embedding privacy in your health practice
How to establish, implement and maintain privacy processes in your practice or workplace to meet your privacy obligations
Chapter 2: Collecting health information
How you should collect health information, notify patients about collection, and related consent issues when collecting information
Chapter 3: Using or disclosing health information
When you're allowed to use or disclose a patient’s health information for a primary purpose or secondary purpose
Chapter 4: Giving access to health information
Your patients’ right to their health information, handling a request for it and the grounds to refuse such a request
Chapter 5: Correcting health information
How to ensure health information you hold is correct and how to handle a request to correct health information
Chapter 6: Health management activities
Defines a health management activity, and how to collect, disclose or use health information for one
Chapter 7: Disclosing information about patients with impaired capacity
When you may disclose health information about a patient with impaired capacity or an inability to communicate consent
Chapter 8: Using and disclosing genetic information in case of a serious threat
When and how you can use or disclose a patient’s genetic information and other related issues
