Privacy policy and disclaimer

Last update:
August 2020

Privacy Policy for Management of Personal Information

This document describes the privacy policy of Sevens Creek Psychology Pty Ltd (ABN 82 641 580 074) “we”, “our” and “us” for the management of clients’ personal information.

The psychological service provided is bound by the legal requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (“the Privacy Act”). This policy sets out how we collect, use, manage and store your personal information together with the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) (“Health Records Act”) and the applicable Health Privacy Principles in the Health Records Act.

We and our psychologists comply with the Health Privacy Principles and the Ethical Guidelines of the Australian Psychological Society in the collection, use, and disclosure of all Health Information and to ensure that all Health Information is kept strictly confidential.

Client information

Client files are held in a secure electronic document management system which is accessible only to authorised employees and is password protected. The information on each file includes personal information such as name, address, contact phone numbers, medical history, and other personal information collected as part of providing the psychological service.

How clients' personal information is collected

A client's personal information is collected in a number of ways during psychological consultation with Sevens Creek Psychology, including when the client provides information directly to Sevens Creek Psychology using hardcopy forms, correspondence via email, when the client interacts directly with Sevens Creek Psychology employees such as the receptionist, and when other health practitioners provide personal information to Sevens Creek Psychology, via referrals, correspondence, and medical reports.

We and our psychologists collect personal information for the purposes of arranging appointments and delivering counselling services as well as communicating with you. We may collect information through our client consent forms, and via our website located at www.sevenscreekpsychology.com.au (“Website”), or in the course of our psychologists undertaking counselling services in consultation and treatment of clients.

Consequence of not providing personal information

If the client does not wish for their personal information to be collected in a way anticipated by this Privacy Policy, Sevens Creek Psychology may not be in a position to provide the psychological service to the client.

Purpose of holding personal information

A client’s personal information is gathered and used for the purpose of providing psychological services, which includes assessing, diagnosing, and treating a client’s presenting issue. The personal information is retained in order to document what happens during sessions, and enables the psychologist to provide a relevant and informed psychological service.

Disclosure of personal information

Clients’ personal information will remain confidential except when:

  1. it is subpoenaed by a court, or disclosure is otherwise required or authorised by law; or
  2. failure to disclose the information would in the reasonable belief of Sevens Creek Psychology place a client or another person at serious risk to life, health or safety; or
  3. the client’s prior approval has been obtained to:
    a) provide a written report to another agency or professional, e.g., a GP or a lawyer; or
    b) discuss the material with another person, e.g. a parent, employer, health provider, or third party funder; or
    c) disclose the information in another way; or
    d) disclose to another professional or agency (e.g. your GP) and disclosure of your personal information to that third party is for a purpose which is directly related to the primary purpose for which your personal information was collected.

A client's personal information is not disclosed to overseas recipients, unless the client consents or such disclosure is otherwise required by law . Clients' personal information will not be used, sold, rented, or disclosed for any other purpose.

In the event that unauthorised access, disclosure, or loss of a client’s personal information occurs Sevens Creek Psychology will activate its data breach plan and use all reasonable endeavours to minimise any risk of consequential serious harm.

Consent

By engaging us or registering your details on our Website or by email or telephone, and/or using the Website or completing a client consent form or otherwise engaging our counselling services, you consent to us and our psychologists collecting, using and disclosing your personal information (including Health Information) for the purposes specified in this Privacy Policy.

Requests for access and correction to client information

At any stage clients may request to see and correct the personal information about them kept on file. The psychologist may discuss the contents with them and/or give them a copy, subject to the exceptions in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). If satisfied that personal information is inaccurate, out of date or incomplete, reasonable steps will be taken in the circumstances to ensure that this information is corrected. All requests by clients for access to or correction of personal information held about them should be lodged with Director, Dr Kate Reid. These requests will be responded to in writing within 30 days and an appointment will be made if necessary for clarification purposes.

All attempts to secure personal information transmitted via our website are made, however users should be aware that there are inherent risks transmitting information via the Internet. An alternative option for users is to contact the practice by telephone or mail. Whilst the risk of anyone intercepting and misusing information transmitted by email is usually quite low, it should be noted that a trained individual may be able to do this.

Please note, the following information may be accessed whilst using our website, in order to improve its efficiency for users:

  • The type of browser you are using;
  • The date and time of your visit;
  • Your top level domain name (for example .com, .gov, .au, .uk etc);
  • The address of the referring site;
  • Your server’s IP address
  • The address of the pages accessed and any documents downloaded.

No attempt will be made to identify users or their browsing activities, unless disclosure is required by law or due to a mandatory requirement of a Court, Governmental Agency or Regulatory Authority. We use the information only for statistical analysis or systems administration purposes.

If your email address is transmitted to us electronically either in an email message or via a web page form, it will only be used for the purpose for which you provide it.

This website contains links to other sites. Sevens Creek Psychology is not responsible for the privacy practices of these web sites and has no knowledge of whether cookies or other tracking devices are used on linked sites. If you have any concerns regarding your privacy you should ensure you are aware of the privacy policies of those sites.

Cookies are pieces of information that Sevens Creek Psychology website transfers to your computer's hard drive for record keeping purposes. Most web browsers are set to accept cookies. We use cookies to make your experience of our website and services as convenient as possible. While cookies do not personally identify you, they do identify your browser.

Cookies are used to estimate the number of users and determine overall traffic patterns through our website. If you do not wish to receive any cookies, you can set your browser to refuse cookies. However, this may mean you will not be able to take full advantage of our services.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we hold is secure and may only be accessed by authorised persons.

However, except to the extent that statutory liability cannot be excluded, we exclude all liability (including in negligence) for the consequences of any unauthorised access to, disclosure of, misuse of or loss or corruption of your personal information. Nothing in this Privacy Policy restricts, excludes or modifies any statutory consumer rights under any applicable law (including the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (C’th)).

Transfer in certain circumstances:

If there is a sale, merger, consolidation, change in control, transfer of substantial assets, reorganisation or liquidation of us then, subject always to the Ethical Guidelines of the Australian Psychological Society, we may transfer, sell or assign personal information (other than Health Information) collected to one or more relevant third parties. Subject always to your consent, we may also transfer any Health Information we hold about you to your psychologist in the event your psychologist leaves our practice.

Concerns

If clients have a concern about the management of their personal information, they may inform Dr Kate Reid. Upon request they can obtain a copy of the Australian Privacy Principles, which describe their rights and how their personal information should be handled. Ultimately, if clients wish to lodge a formal complaint about the use of, disclosure of, or access to, their personal information, they may do so with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by phone on 1300 363 992, online at or by post to:

  • Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
  • GPO Box 5218, Sydney, NSW 2021

We may change this Privacy Policy at any time. If we make changes to this Privacy Policy we will notify you by publication on our website. The revised version of this Privacy Policy will be effective at the time we post it.

Last updated:
August 2020