Current as of: 11/06/2025
Introduction
We are a Dietitian and Health service operating in person 3/286 Bolton street, Eltham, Vic, 3095, Australia and telehealth online. Our website address is: https://www.realnutrition.com.au.
This privacy policy is to provide information to you, our patient/ client, on how your personal information (which includes your health
information) is collected and used within our practice, and the circumstances in which we may share it with third parties.
Why and when your consent is necessary
When you register as a patient of our practice, you provide consent for our GPs and practice staff to access and use your personal
information so they can provide you with the best possible healthcare. Only staff who need to see your personal information will have
access to it. If we need to use your information for anything else, we will seek additional consent from you to do this
Why we may collect, use, hold and share your personal information?
Our practice will need to collect your personal information to provide healthcare services to you. Our main purpose for collecting, using,
holding and sharing your personal information is to manage your health. We also use it for directly related business activities, such as
financial claims and payments, practice audits and accreditation, and business processes (eg staff training).
Your health information will not be used or sent to third parties that is not your direct health team without your permission and consent, or unless legally necessary
What personal information do we collect?
The information we may collect about you includes your:
– Names, date of birth, addresses, contact details
– Medical information including medical history, medications, allergies, adverse events, immunisations, social history, family history and risk factors
– Medicare number (where available) for identification and claiming purposes
– Healthcare identifiers
– Health fund details.
Dealing with us anonymously
You have the right to deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym unless it is realistically impracticable for us to do so or unless we are required or authorised by law to only deal with identified individuals.
How do we collect your personal information?
Our practice may collect your personal information in several different ways.
1. When you make your first appointment our practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration.
2. During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further personal information. This practice may use My Health Record to obtain client/ patient information with consent.
3. We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email or SMS, telephone us, make an online appointment or communicate with us using social media.
4. In some circumstances, personal information may also be collected from other sources. Often this is because it is not practical or reasonable to collect it from you directly. This may include information from:
– Your guardian or responsible person
– Other involved healthcare providers, such as specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals, community health services and pathology and diagnostic imaging services
– your health fund, Medicare, NDIS identifier details or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs information as necessary.
When, why and with whom do we share your personal information?
We endeavour to keep your information as confidential as reasonably possible and will aim to seek permission to share your information. Sometimes, we may share your personal information:
– With third parties who work with our practice for business purposes, such as accreditation agencies or information technology providers. These third parties are required to comply with Dietitians Australia’s privacy guidelines and this policy
– With other healthcare providers
– When it is required or authorised by law (eg court subpoenas)
– When it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a patient’s life, health or safety or public health or safety, or it is impractical to obtain the patient’s consent
– To assist in locating a missing person
– To establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim
– For the purpose of confidential dispute resolution process
– When there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (eg some diseases require mandatory notification)
– During the course of providing medical services, through health platforms such as My Health Record
Only people who need to access your information will be able to do so. Other than in the course of providing medical services or as otherwise described in this policy, our practice will not share personal information with any third party without your consent.
We will not share your personal information with anyone outside Australia (unless under exceptional circumstances that are permitted by law) without your consent.
Our practice will not use your personal information for marketing any of our goods or services directly to you without your express consent. If you do consent, you may opt out of direct marketing at any time by notifying our practice in writing.
Our practice may use your personal information to improve the quality of the services we offer to our patients through research and analysis of our patient data.
We may provide de-identified data to other organisations to improve population health outcomes. The information is secure, patients cannot be identified and the information is stored within Australia. You can let our reception staff know if you do not want your information included.
How do we store and protect your personal information?
Your personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms (eg electronic records, photos, videos CT scans, x-rays)
Our practice stores all personal information securely. All electronic records are to be kept securely on a practice management software (currently Splose), with access monitored and regularly adjusted. M.R Nutrition continually aims to ensure security is upheld to the industry standard and above.
How can you access and correct your personal information at our practice?
You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information.
Our practice acknowledges patients/ clients may request access to their medical records. We require you to put this request in writing via email to and our practice will respond within a reasonable time frame and aims for 7 day period response time.
Our practice will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up to date. From time to time, we will ask you to verify that your personal information held by our practice is correct and current. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests in writing to our admin at
How can you lodge a privacy-related complaint, and how will the complaint be handled at our practice?
We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns you may have in writing. We will then attempt to resolve it in accordance with our resolution procedure. Contact details for complaints may be made to Matthew Rigoni via email () or phone (+61 439 306 156) and will return contact within 7 days.
You may also contact the OAIC. Generally, the OAIC will require you to give them time to respond before they will investigate. For further information visit www.oaic.gov.au or call the OAIC on 1300 363 992.
You may additionally contact Dietitians Australia to make a complain about a specific Dietitian via their process outline on their website https://dietitiansaustralia.org.au/working-dietetics/standards-and-scope/making-complaint-about-dietitian
Privacy and our website
We may obtain your personal information such as name and contact details via our website and/or social media link directing you to our website. We will never ask you for your personal information or contact you about sensitive and/or confidential information from or using a social media platform. We may obtain website analytics and cookies from our website to improve the quality and effectiveness of the website.
Policy review statement
At this time of writing, this policy will be reviewed regularly at biyearly intervals to ensure it is in accordance with any changes that may occur. If there have been amendments to the policy, clients and patients will be able to view the most recently updated privacy policy on the REAL Health & Nutrition website with relevant and/or current clients/ patients notified via email.