Privacy Policy

At Nest, we are committed to protecting your privacy and treating your personal and health information with care, sensitivity and respect.

This policy explains how we collect, use, store and share your information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

  • We collect and securely store information that helps us deliver safe and effective care, including:

    • Your name, date of birth, contact details, Medicare and billing information

    • Your baby’s medical history, examination notes, and developmental details

    • Referral letters, correspondence with other providers, and investigation results

    • Appointment notes and communications, including messages or emails

    This information is gathered through registration forms, direct communication, clinical consultations, and written referrals.

  • We collect this information to:

    • Deliver high-quality newborn medical care

    • Coordinate care with other health professionals

    • Process payments and Medicare rebates

    • Communicate with you about appointments, follow-up, or results

    • Fulfil our legal and clinical obligations

    We only collect information necessary for these purposes, and we never use it for anything else without your consent.

  • Technology Platforms

    • Our primary clinical software is Halaxy, an Australian-owned cloud based clinic management platform. Halaxy uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) servers based in Australia to store data. It is a reliable and trusted platform used by tens of thousands of practitioners worldwide. You can find out more about Halaxy’s data security here: https://www.halaxy.com/article/security

    • We use several supporting technology systems such as Microsoft Outlook 365 for clinic email, Dialpad for clinic phone calls and Glide Apps for our internal operations dashboard. Whilst these platforms are all secure, encrypted and protected by two-factor authentication, we limit personal health information on these supporting platforms to the minimum required.

    • By choosing to contact us via email or SMS, you accept that these means of communication are not fully end-to-end encrypted and do carry a small risk of privacy breaches.

    • Telehealth consultations are delivered via Halaxy’s end-to-end encrypted video calling system. If required, follow-ups may also be conducted on the same platform when it is clinically appropriate to do so.

    Access & Retention

    • Only those directly involved in your care can access your records. We secure access to all our platforms with dedicated user accounts and two-factor authentication.

    • Per national standards surrounding privacy, we will notify you within 72 hours of a data breach occurring.

    • Per national standards surrounding handling of medical records, we retain the medical records of adult patients for a minimum 7 years from the date of last entry and for children until they reach or would have reached 25 years old.

    Information Sharing

    • We securely exchange relevant clinical information with the other members of your care team. Only the minimum necessary details are shared for continuity of care. We never share your personal or health details with any other parties without your consent. Clinical providers we collaborate with include your:

      • Obstetrician

      • General practitioner

      • Home visiting midwife

      • Allied-health providers (lactation, physio, OT, dietetics etc)

      • Hospital medical teams if your baby is readmitted

    • We audit many clinical quality outcomes and report our progress at regular clinic and hospital quality improvement meetings. These outcomes are tracked in a fully deidentified fashion, with no identifiable data ever leaving Nest without your consent. The parameters and outcomes we track include:

      • Gestation

      • Birth weight

      • Number of babies cared for

      • Nursery admission rate

      • Respiratory support rate

      • APGAR scores

      • Readmission rates

      • Breastfeeding rates

      • Numeric feedback scores

  • You have the right to:

    • Request access to your health records

    • Ask us to correct any inaccuracies

    Just contact us via email and we’ll guide you through the process.

    Questions or Complaints

    If you have questions about this policy, or concerns about how your information is handled, please contact us at hello@nestnewborn.com.au.

    If we can’t resolve your concern, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) via www.oaic.gov.au.