Welcome. When you seek counselling support, you trust me with some of your most personal stories. I view the protection of your privacy not just as a legal requirement, but as a core element of creating a safe, healing space for you.
This policy explains transparently how I look after your personal information. As a solo practitioner and a registered member of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA), my practice is governed by the PACFA Code of Ethics and the federal Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). I handle all client details in strict accordance with the 13 Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
Exploring Services Anonymously
Your comfort is important. Wherever it is practical and legally allowed, you are welcome to contact me or make general enquiries anonymously or by using a preferred name (pseudonym). However, once we begin formal therapy or if you require NDIS-funded billing, I will need your full legal identity to provide safe care and process invoices.
The Information I Collect
To offer you the most comprehensive and personalised care, I collect two types of information:
How Your Information is Securely Cared For
I store your records in a way that carefully protects them from unauthorised access or loss.
How Your Information is Used and Shared
Your details are used solely to guide your care and manage practice logistics (like billing). Your information is never sold or used for marketing purposes.
When I May Need to Share Your Information
I will always seek your clear permission before sharing your data with anyone else (like writing a letter to a doctor). However, there are a few important exceptions where I am legally or ethically required to share information:
Accessing or Correcting Your Records
You are always welcome to ask to see the personal information and clinical notes I hold about you. If you notice anything that is incorrect or out of date, you can request an update. Simply send me your request in writing, and I will respond promptly.
My Care in Data Incidents
I maintain strict data security. In the highly unlikely event of a data breach that could cause you serious harm, I will follow the Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme. This means I will contain the issue, contact you immediately to support you, and notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
Feedback and Complaints
If you ever have a question or feel concerned about how your information has been managed, please speak with me directly so I can address it for you. If we cannot resolve it together, you have every right to reach out to the OAIC Privacy Complaint Portal, contact the NDIS Commission (1800 035 544), or my counselling registering body, Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) (03 9046 2270).
This policy explains transparently how I look after your personal information. As a solo practitioner and a registered member of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA), my practice is governed by the PACFA Code of Ethics and the federal Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). I handle all client details in strict accordance with the 13 Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
Exploring Services Anonymously
Your comfort is important. Wherever it is practical and legally allowed, you are welcome to contact me or make general enquiries anonymously or by using a preferred name (pseudonym). However, once we begin formal therapy or if you require NDIS-funded billing, I will need your full legal identity to provide safe care and process invoices.
The Information I Collect
To offer you the most comprehensive and personalised care, I collect two types of information:
- Personal Details: Your name, date of birth, contact details, emergency contact, and NDIS or other funding body number (if applicable).
- Sensitive Health Details: Your session notes, assessments, health history, and details about your wellbeing shared during our time together.
How Your Information is Securely Cared For
I store your records in a way that carefully protects them from unauthorised access or loss.
- Safe Storage & Longevity: Your clinical files are kept on a secure, password-protected device. Access is restricted to authorised personnel, and physical and digital security measures are maintained to protect your information from unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. Where a client has consented to the use of NovoNote AI for generating session summaries, this information is stored on encrypted digital servers based within Australia. By Australian law, health records must be securely kept for 7 years from our final session (or until you turn 25 if you began therapy as a minor). After this time, they are safely and permanently destroyed.
- Video Sessions: Online consultations take place viaPsychology Today's telehealth software, using secure, end-to-end encryption. Sessions are completely private; no video or audio is ever recorded or saved.
- AI Note-Drafting Support: To focus fully on you during our sessions, I useNovoNote AI (by NovoPsych) to help draft accurate summaries. Audio from our session is securely processed into a temporary transcript. Once the summary note is saved to your secure practitioner file, the audio and temporary transcript are permanently deleted. Your data stays in Australia and is never shared with third parties or used to train AI models.
How Your Information is Used and Shared
Your details are used solely to guide your care and manage practice logistics (like billing). Your information is never sold or used for marketing purposes.
When I May Need to Share Your Information
I will always seek your clear permission before sharing your data with anyone else (like writing a letter to a doctor). However, there are a few important exceptions where I am legally or ethically required to share information:
- Safety Concerns: If I genuinely believe there is a serious, immediate risk to your safety or the safety of another person.
- Protecting Children: If I become aware of or suspect the abuse or neglect of a child, which requires mandatory reporting under South Australian law.
- Legal Requirements: If your files are legally requested by a court subpoena.
- NDIS Verification: Because this practice supports NDIS participants, official quality auditors from the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission may occasionally review files to check that standard requirements are being met. You can choose to opt out of this specific review at any time.
Accessing or Correcting Your Records
You are always welcome to ask to see the personal information and clinical notes I hold about you. If you notice anything that is incorrect or out of date, you can request an update. Simply send me your request in writing, and I will respond promptly.
My Care in Data Incidents
I maintain strict data security. In the highly unlikely event of a data breach that could cause you serious harm, I will follow the Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme. This means I will contain the issue, contact you immediately to support you, and notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
Feedback and Complaints
If you ever have a question or feel concerned about how your information has been managed, please speak with me directly so I can address it for you. If we cannot resolve it together, you have every right to reach out to the OAIC Privacy Complaint Portal, contact the NDIS Commission (1800 035 544), or my counselling registering body, Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) (03 9046 2270).
