Privacy Policy
Effective date: 1 March 2024
About this policy
This is a privacy policy about the personal information of individuals which is protected by the Australian, New Zealand or Singapore law which applies to them, and how we manage it. It outlines the kinds of personal information we collect and hold, how we do so and the purposes for which we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information. This policy also states how individuals may access personal information about them that is held by us and seek correction of it, how individuals may complain about a breach of relevant privacy laws or regulations and how we will deal with such complaints. This policy also states whether we are likely to disclose personal information to overseas recipients and, where practicable, specifies those recipients’ countries.
We do business in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Different policies and laws may apply to our personal information management practices elsewhere.
Who are we?
We operate various veterinary clinics and specialty and emergency hospitals (a list of which is at https://bestforpet.com.au/find-a-vet/), and also the businesses known as United Veterinary Group, Veterinary Training Centre, Vet Nurse Plus and Bamganie Pets Cremation Service. Any reference to “we”, “our” and “us” is a reference to the activities and operations, in any or all of Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, of one or more related bodies corporate of NVA Australia Parent Pty Ltd ABN 21 609 622 640 and its subsidiaries.
Collection, holding and use of personal information
We collect, hold and use the types of personal information outlined below. We do this for the reasons and in the ways indicated.
- Clinic clients’ and other customers’ personal information: We collect personal information about individuals when they obtain veterinary services from us, or our other services (for example veterinary training, veterinary practice support services and pet cremation services) or when they are referred to us (for example by other veterinarians). We do this in person, over the phone and via online communications, including our website and by email. This information may include names, addresses, age, phone numbers, email addresses, pet details, pet insurance information, credit card details, information we request so as to comply with professional standards and laws governing the conduct of veterinary practices and records of This information is used in connection with transactions with the individuals. It may also be used for market research and to inform individuals (including prospective clients and customers) about our services and goods. When individuals telephone us, we may record the conversation with consent for quality review purposes.
- Best For Pet member details (https://bestforpet.com.au/): This information is similar to the above, and also includes purchases you have made and benefits you have used under the program, pet-related preferences, interests and This information is collected when you join Best For Pet primarily through membership application forms. We also collect personal information through member survey forms in which we ask members to provide details about a range of issues relating to goods and services in which they are interested and about the Best For Pet loyalty and wellness program. Information about members is used to administer membership accounts and to develop and inform members about Best For Pet events, offers and promotions and our products and services.
- Competition entrant details: From time-to-time we conduct competitions and collect personal information about entrants provided on entry forms, such as name, address, phone number and email address. This information is used for conducting the competitions and to send entrants details about our products and services.
- Online sites: We collect personal information when individuals communicate with, or purchase services or goods from, us through our websites and other online sites, such as name, email address, items purchased, credit card details and details provided in messages. Payment details provided through our online sites are processed through a secure web server.
- Cookies: We allow cookies to be used to improve your experience with our online sites, to evaluate online site performance and to record your behaviour and activities when you visit our online sites for the purpose of analytics and targeted online We may access information from cookies set by others, such as social media service providers. Some third parties may set cookies on your device for the purpose of collecting your personal information for their purposes, which may include information about your interactions with our online sites. You can generally limit which online sites and which of your devices allow cookies to be used. You can do this by changing the settings on your devices (for example your browser settings) and you may also be able to change your third-party account settings. For example any Facebook account you have allows adjustable settings to limit tailored advertising. There is a lot of publicly available information about cookies. Examples are “Targeted online marketing” published by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (see https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/your-privacy-rights/social-media-and-online-privacy/targeted-online-marketing) and information at https://allaboutcookies.org/.
- CCTV: We record CCTV footage of public areas at our veterinary clinics, hospitals, offices, and other premises where our services are We do this for safety and security.
- Client and other customer complaints: This information may include name, address, phone number and complaint details and is used for complaint handling
- Recruitment and employment personal information: This is about job applicants for the purpose of assessing their suitability for employment and about employees. This may include any information relevant for these purposes, such as employment history, references, education, training, qualifications, registrations and licenses required for employment, salary, work eligibility, psychometric testing results, tax-related information, bank account details and emergency contacts. We generally collect this personal information directly from individuals or from recruitment service providers (for example LinkedIn and SEEK) or referees. If you are an individual who will be working under a visa issued by the relevant government authority, we will also collect and disclose information about you via the government authority or a migration agent acting on your behalf.
We may collect other personal information appropriate for purposes primarily related to our carrying on of business, such purposes being governance, management, audits, risk management, compliance, staff training, product development and incident responses.
If you provide us with the personal information of other individuals (such as an emergency contact, a referee or a joint pet owner) for purposes connected with any of our uses and disclosures of personal information as referred to in this policy, we are relying on you first having obtained their consent to do so rather than on our own separate communications.
From time to time, we acquire other businesses. Such transactions generally involve the disclosure of personal information from the vendor organisation to us, either as part of the due diligence process or as a result of a transfer of assets or company ownership. It may also be collected from our Internet searches. In such cases, we collect the personal information already held by the newly acquired business.
We generally hold personal information collected by us in individual clinics’ and hospitals’ personal information systems and in our enterprise data warehouse. In addition, our personal information security measures involve:
- where there is a selection of a cloud-based service provider to hold personal information on VetPartners’ behalf, including, as a selection criterion, an assessment of that provider’s security practices;
- for personal information held within clinics or hospitals systems, requiring regular data migration to our enterprise data warehouse;
- limiting personal information-access authorisations to appropriate levels of seniority and roles within VetPartners group members; and
- including security issues as part of privacy training of VetPartners’
Disclosure of personal information
We disclose personal information:
- to our service providers for their service provision to us. Examples are payment processors, data entry service providers, marketing agencies, market researchers, mailing houses, network administrators, labour hire, virtual and online veterinary medicine consultation providers, and debt collectors – each of which may have their own privacy policies outlining how they handle personal information;
- for advisory services, to professional advisers, such as solicitors and accountants;
- for governance and management purposes, to our related bodies corporate;
- to authorised persons who may have been named when individuals are transacting with us;
- to third parties within individuals’ reasonable expectations or where expressly permitted under applicable privacy law, for example, where it is with individuals’ consent or where we are legally required to do so, such as pursuant to a court order or warrant;
- as appropriate in connection with the conduct of veterinary services, for example to pet insurers and under professional standards and laws governing the conduct of veterinary
It is our policy to consider the extent to which our service providers comply with privacy principles under applicable laws and to seek supporting contractual commitments from them.
Marketing communications
We communicate details about our products and services to past, existing and potential clinic clients and other customers and Best For Pet members. These communications are sent in various forms, including mail, SMS, email and social media. Individuals can opt-out of receiving direct marketing communications at any time by lodging a request with our Privacy Officer or by using opt-out facilities provided in direct marketing communications.
Access and correction
Individuals may request access to personal information we hold about them by sending a written request to our Privacy Officer. We may charge a fee for providing access if it requires a significant amount of time to locate the information or to collate or present it in an appropriate form. We may decline to provide access to personal information where doing so may have an unreasonable impact upon the privacy of others or where we are not required by applicable privacy or other laws to give that access.
Where their personal information is out-of-date or incorrect, individuals may inform us of this and request that we correct it.
Pseudonyms and anonymity
Individuals may, where it is practical to do so, choose not to identify themselves or provide personal information in their interactions with us. If you choose not to provide certain information about yourself, we may not be able to provide you with the products or services you require.
Overseas transfers
We are likely to disclose personal information outside Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Our reasons are generally:
- in connection with services from a provider who is located, or uses locations outside one of those places, such as the Philippines;
- for disclosures between ourselves and our other related bodies corporate. Our main company locations are the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Sweden;
- when our business which collected your personal information is in a different country to your location; and
- in connection with insurance arrangements, for example public liability issues involving an overseas
Complaints
If you are not satisfied with how we handle your personal information, you can lodge a complaint in writing with our Privacy Officer. Our policy is to aim for a response time within 14 days to discuss your concerns and outline options about how they may be resolved. Our policy is to aim for your complaint to be resolved in an appropriate manner with which you are satisfied. You may contact our Privacy Officer to enquire about the progress of your complaint at any time.
If you are not happy with how we have resolved your complaint, you may lodge a complaint with the relevant government’s privacy regulator contact details for the privacy regulators of Australia, New Zealand and Singapore are:
Australian Information Commissioner www.oaic.gov.au
Telephone +61 1300 363 992
New Zealand Privacy Commissioner www.privacy.org.nz
Telephone: +64 0800 803 909
Singapore Personal Data Protection Commissioner https://www.pdpc.gov.sg/
Telephone: +65 6377 3131
Other privacy terms
This privacy policy is in addition to some other provisions which may be relevant to our management of your personal information, depending on your dealings with us and on our particular businesses. Examples are terms of use of our websites and specific consents you may give us under terms relevant to the Best For Pet loyalty and wellness program.
Amendments to policy
We may amend this policy from time to time to ensure that it remains accurate in view of any alterations to our personal information handling practices due to new technologies and changed business circumstances. Any updated policy will be published on our website.
Further information
Our Privacy Officer’s contact details for correspondence about our management of personal information is:
Privacy Officer VetPartners
Level 2, Building A, The Park Estate, 5 Talavera Road, Macquarie Park, NSW 2113, Australia
Telephone: (calling from Australia) 1800 881 864 or (calling outside Australia) +61 1800 881 864
e-mail: privacy@vetpartners.com.au