Privacy and Legal

At Waiora Wellness Center, we are committed to respecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal and health information is handled securely and transparently. This Privacy Statement explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your information, and your rights in relation to it.

What Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of information when you engage with our services or use this website:

• Personal Information: such as your name, date of birth, address, contact details (phone, email), proof of eligibility, and identification verification, when enrolling or requesting services.

• Health Information: medical history, diagnoses, medications, test & immunisation records, allergies, and other information relevant to your care.

• Administrative & Service-Related Data: appointment history, billing & payment records, correspondence, and service usage.

• Usage & Technical Data: When you use our website or online forms, we may collect data such as IP address, browser type, access times, pages visited, cookies, and other similar tracking technologies to improve user experience, website functionality, and security.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for purposes including, but not limited to:

• Providing safe, effective, and continuous health care.

• Enrolling you with Waiora Wellness Center, National Hauora Coalition (PHO), and the National Enrolment Service (NES).

• Verifying your eligibility for publicly funded health services.

• Managing appointments, communications (e.g., reminders, follow-ups), and administrative operations.

• Monitoring, planning, reporting, and improving our services.

• Responding to feedback or complaints.

• If you consent, we will use de-identified data for research, health programmes, or evaluation (with oversight from an approved Health Research Council Ethics Committee when required).

Sharing & Disclosure

We respect your privacy. We will not sell your personal or health information. We may share or disclose information in the following circumstances:

• With other health professionals directly involved in your care (e.g., specialists, labs).

• With Waiora Wellness Center’s PHO (National Hauora Coalition), NES, and other statutory health bodies for purposes of funding, audit, reporting, and planning.

• With government agencies, when required by law.

• With your explicit consent for purposes beyond standard health care (for example, research).

Storage, Security & Retention

• Information is stored securely, whether electronically or in paper form, and accessed only by authorised staff.

• We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to prevent unauthorised access, loss, or misuse of data.

• We retain health records for a minimum of 10 years from the last date of care, in line with the Health Information Privacy Code 2020 and Ministry of Health requirements.

• After required retention periods, records are securely destroyed or anonymised where appropriate.

Minors’ Information and Consent

• Patients under 16 years of age generally require a parent or guardian to provide consent on their behalf.

• Where a young person is considered competent to make their own health decisions (consistent with NZ law and clinical judgment), their consent will be respected.

Notifiable Privacy Breaches

• In the event of a privacy breach that may cause serious harm, we will meet our obligations under the Privacy Act 2020, including notifying the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and affected individuals where required.

Your Rights

Under New Zealand law, you have rights, including:

• To request access to the personal and health information we hold about you.

• To ask for correction if any information is inaccurate or incomplete.

• To be informed about what we hold, how we use it, and who we share it with.

• To withdraw consent for uses beyond care (for example, research), though this may not affect prior lawful uses.

• To lodge a complaint with us if you believe we have breached this statement or privacy laws, or to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

Cookies & Website Use

• We may use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience on our site, help with navigation, analyse usage trends, and assist in security.

• You can disable cookies through your browser settings, but some parts of the website may not function properly without them.

• Our website may contain links to external sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites.

Changes to this Statement

We may update this Privacy Statement periodically. Any changes will be posted on this page, along with the date of the last update. We encourage you to review this statement periodically to stay informed about how we protect your privacy.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests in relation to your personal or health information, please contact us:

• Waiora Wellness Center

• 0800 696 242

• customerquery@waiora.health

Last updated: 19th Sept 2025