Terms of Service

These Terms of Service apply to the medical services provided by Surf Coast Superclinic (ABN to be confirmed) at 40 Main Street, Winchelsea VIC 3241, and to your use of this website. By attending our clinic, booking an appointment, or using this website, you agree to these terms.

These terms should be read together with our Privacy Policy, which explains how we handle your personal and health information.

Nothing in these terms limits or excludes any rights you have under the Australian Consumer Law or other laws that cannot be excluded by agreement.

We provide general practice medical services, including consultations, chronic disease management, preventive health care, immunisations, health assessments, and telehealth appointments.

Clinical decisions, including whether a particular treatment, test, referral or prescription is appropriate, rest with the treating practitioner and are made in accordance with their professional judgement and relevant clinical guidelines. We do not guarantee any particular treatment or outcome.

We may decline to provide a service where it would be clinically inappropriate, outside a practitioner's scope of practice, or contrary to law or professional obligations.

Booking and walk-ins

Appointments can be booked online or in person. Walk-in patients are welcome during opening hours, though wait times will depend on how busy the clinic is on the day. Current opening hours are listed on our contact page.

Attending your appointment

• Please bring your Medicare card to every appointment
• Bring any concession, DVA or Health Care Card, a list of your current medications, and any relevant test results or letters
• If you are a new patient, please arrive a little early to complete a registration form
• A standard consultation covers one main concern. If you have several issues to discuss, please ask for a longer appointment when booking

Cancellations

If you cannot attend a booked appointment, please let us know as early as possible so the time can be offered to another patient. We ask for at least 24 hours notice where you are able to give it.

Telehealth

Telehealth consultations are available where clinically appropriate and where you meet the eligibility requirements set by Medicare. Some concerns require a physical examination, and your practitioner may ask you to attend the clinic in person instead. You are responsible for being in a private, safe location with a reliable connection for the duration of a telehealth consultation.

Surf Coast Superclinic bulk bills consultations for patients with a valid Medicare card. This means there is no out-of-pocket cost to you for a bulk billed consultation — we claim the Medicare benefit directly and accept it as full payment.

To be bulk billed, you must present a valid Medicare card and sign the assignment of benefit at the time of your consultation.

If you do not hold a valid Medicare card, or if you are seeking a service that Medicare does not cover, please speak with our reception team before your appointment. Fees may apply, and we will always tell you the cost before the service is provided.

Some services provided at the clinic may attract a cost that is not covered by Medicare, such as certain vaccines, dressings, or consumables. We will let you know in advance where this is the case.

Test results are not provided over the phone or by email. Please book a follow-up appointment to discuss your results with your practitioner, so they can be explained properly and in context.

Our practitioners review results as they arrive, and we will contact you if a result needs urgent attention. However, you should not assume that no news means a normal result. Please always book the follow-up appointment your practitioner recommends.

Prescriptions and referrals are generally provided during a consultation, so that your practitioner can review your circumstances before issuing them. Requests for repeat prescriptions without an appointment are at the discretion of the practitioner and may not always be possible.

Referrals cannot be backdated. Please arrange your referral before attending a specialist appointment, as a backdated referral may affect your Medicare rebate.

We maintain your medical records in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic). You have the right to:

• Request access to the health information we hold about you
• Request correction of information that is inaccurate or out of date
• Request that a copy of your records be transferred to another provider

An administrative fee may apply for producing copies of records. Full details of how we collect, use, store and disclose your information — and how to make a request — are set out in our Privacy Policy.

To help us care for you safely, we ask that you:

• Give accurate and complete information about your health and medical history
• Tell us about all medications, supplements and treatments you are taking, including those prescribed elsewhere
• Tell us promptly if your health changes or if a treatment is not working
• Keep your contact details up to date so we can reach you about results
• Attend appointments you have booked, or cancel them in good time
• Treat our staff and other patients with courtesy and respect

We do not tolerate abusive, threatening, discriminatory or violent behaviour towards our staff or other patients. Where this occurs, we may decline to continue providing care and will assist you to find another provider.

The information on this website is general in nature. It is provided for information only and is not medical advice. It does not take account of your personal circumstances and should never be relied on in place of a consultation with a qualified health practitioner.

Using this website, submitting a form, or reading our content does not create a doctor-patient relationship. That relationship begins when you attend a consultation with one of our practitioners.

This website may link to, or embed, services operated by third parties, including online booking platforms and mapping services. We are not responsible for the content, availability, or privacy practices of those third-party services, and your use of them is governed by their own terms.

We take reasonable care to keep the information on this website accurate and current, but we do not warrant that it is complete, error-free, or continuously available.

Forms submitted through this website are transmitted securely and stored in Australia. Please do not use our website forms to report an urgent medical concern. Enquiries are answered during business hours and are not monitored continuously.

Email and web form communication is not a secure channel for detailed clinical information. Please raise clinical matters with your practitioner during a consultation.

We welcome feedback, and we would like the chance to put things right. If you have a concern about your care or your experience at the clinic, please raise it with our practice manager in the first instance. We will acknowledge your complaint within 7 business days and aim to respond within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact:

• Health Complaints Commissioner (Victoria)
  Phone: 1300 582 113
  Website: www.hcc.vic.gov.au
• Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
  Phone: 1300 419 495
  Website: www.ahpra.gov.au

Privacy complaints are handled under the process set out in our Privacy Policy.

Our services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies those guarantees.

Subject to that, and to the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for loss or damage arising from your reliance on general information published on this website, from the unavailability of this website, or from your use of third-party services linked from it.

We may update these terms from time to time to reflect changes in our services or in the law. The current version is always the one published on this page, and the date at the top shows when it was last updated. Please review it from time to time.