Access to your information from SA Dental

Privacy and your personal information

When you visit one of our clinics, we record your visit and any treatment provided. This helps to make sure that staff can communicate with each other to provide you with the best care possible.

As an agency of the Department of Health, the South Australian Dental Service complies with a set of Privacy Principles under the Code of Fair Information Practice.

This means that SA Dental Service takes all reasonable steps to make sure that any information about you:

  • is accurate and up to date
  • has only relevant details about you
  • is only provided to those people who need it to treat and care for you or have responsibilities related to your treatment and care
  • is protected from misuse and unauthorised access or disclosure to others (for example treated confidentially).

We will seek your consent before making information about you available to other health providers. However in the case of an emergency, we may provide immediate access to your dental records to ensure you receive treatment.

If you do not want information about you to be provided to others, please discuss this with the staff who are caring for you.

Accessing information

There may be times when you want to access your personal records.  Under the Freedom of Information Act 1991 you have a legal right to access information held by the South Australian Government, subject to certain conditions.

For further information on accessing your records and publicly available determinations see the following pages:

  • SA Dental Freedom of Information —  includes  where to apply, how documents can be accessed costs, contact points, application forms and previous SA Dental Freedom of Information requests.

Further information

If you are concerned about how your personal information is being managed or you have difficulties in accessing your records, talk with staff at your clinic or phone the Client Relations Unit for advice on (08) 7117 0052.

You can also contact:

  • Privacy Committee of South Australia
    GPO Box 2343 Adelaide SA 5001
    Telephone: (08) 8204 8786
    Website: www.archives.sa.gov.au
  • Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner
    PO Box 199 Rundle Mall SA 5000
    Telephone: (08) 8226 8666 or 1800 232 007
    Website: www.hcscc.sa.gov.au