The psychological service provided is bound by the legal requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

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Client information

 

Personal information is any information which identifies you or could be reasonably used to identify you.

 

This information includes:

 

* Your name, address and date of birth

* Your contact details

* Current and past medical information

* Your family medical history to the extent that it may inform current services

* Your educational and occupational history

 

In addition, for the purposes of providing psychological services, KM Mackenzie Psychology Pty Ltd will likely collect the following personal information to inform assessment, diagnosis and treatment plans:

 

* Responses and results from psychological tests and questionnaires

* Responses and results reasonably obtained as part of psychological assessment

* This may be in pencil-and-paper format, or via computer

* Information pertaining to your session notes; treatment plan and your response to

treatment

 

Client files are held in:

 

* a secure locked filing cabinet within a locked office,

* a password protected hard drive in a locked filing cabinet,

* an encrypted, cloud-based storage online booking system with medical grade security

 

Consequence of not providing personal information

 

If a client does not wish for their personal information to be collected in a way anticipated by this Privacy Policy, Kirsten Mackenzie may not be in a position to provide psychological services to the client.

 

Disclosure of personal information

 

All personal information gathered during the provision of services 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 Kirsten Mackenzie place a client or another person at serious risk to life, health or safety; or

3.the client’s, or consent of a parent or guardian who is legally authorised to act on their behalf, 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) clinical consultation with another professional is required to provide better clinical services (identifying details will remain confidential); or

d) disclose the information in another way; or

e) 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 the psychologist will activate a data breach plan and use all reasonable endeavours to minimise any risk of consequential serious harm.

 

Requests for access and correction to client information

 

At any stage a client 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 Kirsten Mackenzie. These requests will be responded to in writing within 21 days, and an appointment will be made if necessary for clarification purposes.

 

Concerns

 

If clients have a concern about the management of their personal information, they may inform Kirsten Mackenzie. 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 by emailing kirstenmmackenzie@protonmail. We will endeavour to respond appropriately within 30 days of the receipt of email.

 

Alternatively, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by phone on 1300 363 992, online at http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/making-a-privacy-complaint or by post to:

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, GPO Box 5218, Sydney, NSW 2001.

 

Other agencies which clients may made complaints to are:

 

*The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (ahpra.gov.au)

* Australian Psychological Society (psychology.org.au)

 

Changes to this policy.

 

We may from time to time make changes to this policy to reflect changes in the law or professional best-practice guidelines. All clients and referrers are encouraged to periodically review this policy to remain informed.