Merit Medical Australia Pty Ltd (ABN: 47 167 357 397) and its related companies (together “we”, “us”, “our” and other similar expressions) are committed to protecting your personal privacy. This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) tells you (the “user”) how we collect, store, use and disclose your personal information obtained via the ask4UFE educational patient awareness site [www.ask4UFE.com.au] (“ask4UFE Site”) and how we comply with the requirements of applicable privacy laws (“Privacy Laws”). We encourage you to read this policy carefully so that you understand our information handling practices.

By using our website or by otherwise providing us with your personal information, you agree to the terms of this Policy and consent to the collection, use and disclosure or your personal information in accordance with this Policy. You may withdraw your consent at any time, and request that we cease collecting, using or disclosing your information.

Information We Collect

In order to provide users of the ask4UFE Site with educational information, information about our products and/or affiliates services and to improve ask4UFE Ste, we may collect, use or disclose personal information about you. If we are not provided with all the personal information we request, you acknowledge that we may not be able to supply all requested information, products or services.

The types of information we may collect includes names, postal addresses, email addresses, IP addresses, geolocation data, and other contact details. We do not normally collect or store ‘sensitive information’, as defined in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (eg. information about ethnic origin, religious beliefs or health). However, if we do, we will only collect that information with your consent or as otherwise permitted by law. The type of personal information we collect from you will depend on the information or services requested and the method by which you provide this information.

How We Collect Personal Information

We collect a user’s personal information directly from that individual. For example, we may collect personal information from you when you use the ask4UFE Site to complete a voluntary survey or ask us questions by providing us with your personal contact information, whether by telephone, email or in writing.

Purpose of Collection

We collect personal information so we can:

  • provide you with responses to your questions or enquiries;
  • provide you with UFE information that we think may be of interest to you;
  • seek your opinion or comments about the ask4UFE Site, information or referred to products and services;
  • improve the function of the ask4UFE Site and develop programs, products, services or content and customize the information or services that may be of interest to you;
  • carry out our management, administrative quality assurance and complaint handling activities in a professional and efficient manner; and
  • meet our legal obligations.

Use and Disclosure

We use and disclose the personal information we collect for the purposes indicated above, and for other secondary purposes. We will only use and disclose your personal information in accordance with this Policy and the Privacy Laws.

In carrying out our business and in accordance with this Policy and the Privacy Laws, it may be necessary for us to disclose the personal information we collect to our related entities, service providers and contractors, who help us provide the ask4UFE Site. For example, we may disclose the personal information we collect to our professional advisors such as legal practitioners, accountants and insurers. We will not use or disclose your personal information to a third party unless:

  • you have consented to the use and disclosure;
  • the third party is our service provider or contractor, in which case we will require them to use and disclose the personal information only for the purpose for which it was provided to them;
  • the third party is a person involved in a dealing or proposed dealing (including a sale) of all or part of our assets and business;
  • the disclosure is to a related body corporate; or
  • the disclosure is permitted, required or authorised by or under law.

Disclosure to Overseas Recipients

We may disclose personal information outside Australia in accordance with Privacy Laws, to countries whose privacy laws may not provide the same level of protection as Australia’s privacy laws. For example we may transfer your personal information to Amazon Web Services in the United States of America.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that the overseas recipients of your personal information do not breach the privacy obligations relating to your personal information and we will comply with all Privacy Laws relating to cross-border data disclosure.

  • United States of America

Website & Cookies

To ensure we are meeting the needs and wants of our website users we may collect aggregated information by using cookies or similar electronic tools. Cookies are small amounts of information sent from a web server to your computer. These cookies are used to retain login and location information in order to make your experience more convenient and personal. We do not use cookies to track your internet activity before or after you leave our website. We do not use this technology to access any personal information of a user in our records and a user cannot be personally identified from a cookie.

Our service providers may place cookies on our website to collect or receive information which may include personal information. These service providers are not permitted to use or disclose this information for any purpose other than as part of the services they provide to us.

If you do not wish to allow cookies or if you consent to the use of cookies but later wish to opt out, you may delete cookies that have been set and change your browser settings to block any further cookies. The “help” function of your browser should tell you how to do this. Please note that if you do not allow cookies your experience on our website may be impacted.

Marketing

If you consent to receive information and marketing from us, we may use your personal information to advise you of new products, services and marketing initiatives that we think may be of interest to you. This may include product and service offerings, newsletters and general information about us. If you no longer wish to receive information about our products and services you can opt-out of by contacting us via email at [email protected] or clicking the unsubscribe button in the email communication. We never disclose personal information to a third party for the purpose of allowing them to direct market their products or service to you, unless you have expressly consented to that disclosure.

Security of Your Personal Information

We take all reasonable steps to keep secure any personal information which we hold about you and to protect your personal information from loss, misuse or unauthorised alteration or access. Any personal information you provide to us is stored on secure servers. While we will make every reasonable effort to ensure the integrity and security of our network and systems, we cannot guarantee that our security measures will prevent third-party “hackers” from illegally obtaining this information. We also maintain security measures at our physical facilities where our servers are located to manage and protect the use and storage of records containing personal information.

Access

If at any time you want to know what personal information we hold about you, you can request access to your record by contacting us using the contact details listed below. We may charge a fee to cover the reasonable costs we incur in processing your request. We may also choose to deny your request for access where:

  • the access impacts on the privacy of others;
  • the request for access is frivolous or vexatious;
  • there are existing or anticipated legal proceedings; or
  • such access can be denied under law or by a law enforcement agency.

Quality & Correction

At all times we strive to ensure that the information we hold about you is accurate, complete and up-to-date. If at any time you believe the personal information that we hold about you is incorrect, incomplete or inaccurate, you should let us know using the contact details set out below. We will use all reasonable efforts to correct the information and will respond to your request within 30 days.

Ownership of Material for Ask4UFE Site

In the event that you submit any material for inclusion on the ask4UFE Site (including without limitation, personal information, know-how, comments, ideas, questions, techniques, abstracts or similar), you agree

  • that such material will not be deemed to be confidential;
  • that such material will not be deemed to be proprietary; and
  • to grant to us an irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use, disclose, copy, modify, adapt, publicly display and translate all or any of such material for any purpose whatsoever without restriction and without requirement for a fee or compensation.

We reserve the right, in our absolute discretion, to remove or delete, without notice, any material you submit for inclusion on this ask4UFE Site. We also have the right to disclose your identity to any third party who is claiming that any material posted or uploaded by you to our site constitutes a violation of their intellectual property rights, or of their right to privacy.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

We may revise or change this Policy from time to time. If we decide to change our Policy, we will notify you of any change by posting an updated version of the Policy on the ask4UFE Site. Please check the website regularly.

If the Policy changes materially so that your personal information will be used in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection, we will notify you by email, and where necessary, we will seek your consent. However, you are responsible for ensuring that the email address you have provided is current. If the email address is incorrect or no longer operable, we have no further obligation to notify you other than posting an updated version of the Policy on the ask4UFE Site

Complaints

We are committed to constantly improving our procedures so that personal information is treated appropriately. If you feel that we have failed to deal with your personal information in accordance with this Policy or in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles, please contact us, using the details listed below, so we have an opportunity to resolve the issue to your satisfaction. We will log your complaint and our privacy officer will:

  • listen to your concerns;
  • discuss with you the ways in which we can remedy the situation; and
  • put in place an action plan to resolve your complaint and improve our information handling procedures if appropriate.

We will respond to your complaints within a reasonable time. If you are not satisfied with the handling of a complaint, you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner via this link.

Contact Us

If you require more detailed information about our information handling practices or if you have any concerns or questions about our handling of your personal information, you can contact us at:

Merit Medical Compliance Officer
[email protected]

We will endeavour to respond to your enquiry as quickly as possible.