Privacy
Privacy policy
How your information is collected, used and protected.
This page is a draft
This policy has not been reviewed by a lawyer and is not yet accurate for this practice. Health service providers in Australia handle sensitive information and are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, and in NSW by the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002. Every bracketed item below needs a real answer before this page goes live, and the whole page should be checked by someone qualified.
The page is set to noindex until that happens.
What is collected
When you use the enquiry form, the information you choose to share is collected: your name, email address, an optional phone number, what you would like support with, your appointment preference, and any message you write.
If you go on to become a client, clinical records are kept separately from this website. [Describe what clinical records are kept, in what system, and for how long.]
How it is used
Enquiry details are used only to respond to you and to arrange an appointment. They are not used for marketing and are not sold or shared with third parties for their own purposes.
Where it is stored
[Name the systems that hold enquiry and client information: email provider, practice management or booking software, note-keeping system, and whether any of them store data outside Australia.]
How long it is kept
[Health records for adults are generally required to be kept for a minimum period, and longer for records relating to children. Confirm the retention period that applies to this practice and state it here.]
Confidentiality and its limits
What you discuss in counselling is confidential. There are limits. Information may need to be disclosed where there is a serious and imminent risk to your safety or someone else's, where a court subpoenas records, or where the law otherwise requires it.
[Confirm the exact limits that apply, including any mandatory reporting obligations, and whether clinical supervision involves de-identified discussion of client work.]
Access and correction
You can ask what personal information is held about you, ask for a copy, and ask for it to be corrected if it is wrong. [State how to make that request and how long a response takes.]
This website
[State whether the site uses cookies or analytics. If nothing is added beyond what is needed to serve the pages, say so plainly. If analytics are added later, this section must be updated.]
Complaints
If you are not satisfied with how your information has been handled, you can raise it directly. [Add the contact route, the relevant professional body's complaints process, and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as the external option.]
Contact
[Email address and postal or practice address for privacy enquiries.]
Last updated [date].