Privacy Policy
HIP respects your privacy.
Protecting your personal information
The following is information about HIP’s Privacy Policy and the way in which HIP has implemented the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988. Protecting your personal information has always been important to HIP, and is now required by law. The Commonwealth Privacy Act determines that HIP must handle your personal information in accordance with a set of National Privacy Principles.
HIP only collects information that is necessary to administer your membership. By this, we mean managing your account and keeping you informed of opportunities available to you as a fund member.
Authorised use of information by others
HIP has appointed a fund administrator, along with a life insurer and other organisations to provide services to you on our behalf. They are authorised to use your personal information only to administer your fund membership, under the strictest confidence.
Your personal information will not be used or disclosed for any other purpose without your consent, except where required by superannuation, taxation or other relevant law.
For example, HIP’s fund administrator is required to report certain information to the Australian Taxation Office for tax related purposes.
Your personal details
The personal information collected by HIP from you, or through your employer, includes your contact details, date of birth, Tax File Number (if you have chosen to quote it), and, where relevant, may include certain details about your health, which you have provided. Over time, this will be supplemented with financial and other information necessary to administer your account.
Additional information may be collected from medical practitioners or from your employer for the purpose of assessing your eligibility for higher levels of insurance cover or for the assessment of a claim. We would only seek such information with your consent.
HIP has strict security measures in place, and staff who handle your personal information have the knowledge, skills and commitment to protect it from unauthorised access or misuse.
Use and storage of information
Information provided when you join HIP
When you fill out a Member Application form to join HIP you are asked to provide information to assist us to administer and keep you informed about your account. Where you do not complete an Application, your name, date of birth and address will be provided to HIP by your employer to enable us to accept and process your superannuation contributions.
The information we collect and store about you includes:
- Name
- Address
- Date of birth
- Tax File Number; and
- In some cases, where you have requested insurance cover for Death, Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) or Income Protection, certain information about your health.
Your contact details and date of birth are required to ensure that HIP allocates contributions to the correct member account, and for other account administration purposes, including keeping you advised of your benefit with HIP and opportunities available to you as a member of HIP.
Secure storage of information
Once your details have been recorded on the fund administrator’s computer system, your original Member Application is securely stored at HIP’s document storage facility.
Access to your information is restricted to staff that requires the information to administer your account and provide information and services to you. A system of passwords and different levels of access to certain staff is used to protect the information held on the system.
Your Tax File Number is recorded in an encrypted form. It is provided to HIP to be used only for approved purposes as required by legislation.
Information relating to your work
Information that we collect about your job title and occupation is used for statistical purposes only, and will not identify you personally. These details enable us to develop a profile of the fund’s membership, to assist in the future development of investment products and other fund features. Providing this information is optional, as it is not essential information for the administration of your account.
Nominating your dependants for Death benefits
You are asked to advise HIP of the names of the persons who you would like to receive your superannuation in the event of your death. This information assists the Trustee to distribute your Death benefit fairly to your dependants or to your estate.
The Trustee will always take your wishes into account, but will also look at all your dependants at the date of your death. Advising HIP about your relationship with the persons you nominate is not required if you consider this to be an unreasonably intrusive request.
Keeping your details up to date
In order to keep your information as current as possible, we ask that you let us know of any changes to your personal details.
You decide about additional information
If you decide at any time that you do not wish HIP to advise you of opportunities and additional services open to you as a member of HIP, you can request to not receive this additional information by writing to us at HIP, Locked Bag 23, Haymarket NSW 1236.
Information provided to our insurer
ING Life Limited provides insurance cover for HIP members for Death only, Death and Total & Permanent Disablement (TPD), and for Income Protection. HIP will advise the insurer of the personal details about you that the insurer requires to administer and assess insurance-related matters. This information includes your name, date of birth, contact details and information about your health that you have provided to HIP.
Information about your health
ING Life Limited may contact you to seek your consent to collect additional information about your health if you apply for higher levels of Death and TPD insurance cover.
Your consent will always be obtained before any details are requested from your treating doctor or other health service providers.
Incomplete or inaccurate information
If you submit incomplete or inaccurate information to ING Life Limited, they may not be able to provide you with the insurance cover you are seeking, or complete their assessment of your insurance-related matters.
Information required when making a claim
In the event that you claim for either TPD or Income Protection (for temporary disablement), the relevant insurer may provide your personal information to HIP and our fund administrator, to assist with the assessment and administration of the insurance claim. The insurer may also pass information to claims investigators, medical practitioners, re-insurers, insurance reference bureaux and certain organisations to whom they outsource some functions.
If your claim is declined and you take legal action or complain to the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT),
HIP and our service providers must provide your personal details and information about your health to legal representatives of HIP and the insurer, officers of the SCT and court officials.
In all cases where contractors and agents may become aware of your personal information, strict confidentiality arrangements apply. Personal information may only be used for the purpose of administering and assessing your insurance-related matters.
Your rights
As a member of HIP, you may ask to see the information we hold about you and to have it corrected if necessary. To find out more about the personal information we hold about you and how it is handled, please phone HIP on 1300 654 099.
If you would like more information about the Privacy Act, you can contact the Federal Privacy Commissioner’s hotline service on 1300 363 992, or visit the website at www.privacy.gov.au.
If you believe your privacy has been breached, you should write to:
HIP Privacy Officer
PO Box K1038,
HAYMARKET NSW 1236
Your privacy and the internet
What information do we collect?
The information we collect about you depends on how you use HIP’s website.
If you visit an unsecured area of the website to read or download information (an area where you aren’t required to log on), the only information recorded by us will be the date and time of your visit to the site, the pages viewed, the operating system in use and any information downloaded.
We won’t record information that allows us to identify you. Interactive services on the website such as super retirement calculators, salary sacrifice and insurance calculators often require you to enter personal information. We generally don’t retain any of this information. An exception is where a service such as a budget planner allows you to suspend or save your plan and retrieve it at a later time. In that case, the information is stored so that you may recover it later and resume your plan. This stored information will not be viewed by HIP.
Cookies
A cookie is a small text file sent to the user’s browser that allows the web page server to retrieve information from the computer. Cookies can either be temporary session cookies, or stored permanently on a computer. They are used for a range of purposes, including security and personalising services.
The SuperSite™ component of the HIP website uses temporary session cookies to provide secure, personalised services. These cookies are removed from your computer when you log out of SuperSite™.
HIP uses cookies to obtain information regarding the use of the website. By using the website you agree to HIP’s use of technology of this type. You can configure your preferences and options in your browser to reject all cookies, however this means you will be unable to use SuperSite™.
How we handle email
We will preserve the content of any email that you send us, if we believe we have a legal requirement to do so. Your email message content may be monitored for security issues, including where email abuse is suspected. Our response to you may be monitored for quality assurance purposes.
If you provide us with your email address, we may use it to send our regular communications such as updates on new and existing products and services that will enhance our relationship with you. If you do not wish to receive such information, or previously indicated that you would like to and have now changed your mind, phone HIP on 1300 654 099.
Security
HIP takes reasonable steps to preserve the security of personal information in accordance with the Privacy Statement. All member information is protected from unauthorised access through the use of secure passwords, user log-ons and other security procedures. Developments in security and encryption technology will be reviewed regularly.
Links
HIP’s website has links to other internet sites. Once you leave HIP’s website, the guidelines of this privacy policy no longer apply. Please read carefully relevant privacy policies or terms and conditions governing these linked sites to ensure your privacy is protected. HIP’s website also contains links to the websites of our third party providers of goods and services. These third party websites may collect information about you, to which HIP has access. For more details you need to check the relevant privacy policy.
This website is provided by Private Hospitals Superannuation Pty Ltd ABN 59 006 792 749, AFSL 247063, RSE L0001533, Trustee of Health Industry Plan (SPIN HIP0100AU, RSE R1056617), and is general information only. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or specific needs so you should look at your own financial position and requirements before making a decision. Please note that investments can go up and down. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. You should assess your own financial situation and needs, read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and consult an adviser if required before making a decision about products on this website.