Privacy Policy
This policy describes the privacy policy of Kate Lawson Counselling (ABN 31 253 720 908) for the management of clients’ personal information. Kate Lawson Counselling service respects your privacy and adheres to the legal requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
What sort of information do we collect?
A client’s personal information is collected and used for the purpose of providing you with a counselling service. This includes information such as name, address, contact phone numbers, emergency contact details, date of birth and payment details, as well as sensitive health information relevant to the service being provided.
This information will be used primarily for the management of your treatment and so we can provide the services you request. It will also be used for the administration of our practice, such as for invoicing (either directly to you or through an insurer or compensation agency) and communicating with you (and your emergency contacts if necessary).
How is the information collected?
We collect information in several ways, mainly from you during treatment sessions, registration forms, correspondence, website forms and telephone calls. However, we may also collect your personal information from third parties, such as from referrals or via reports we receive from other professionals.
How we protect your personal data
Client files are held in a secure electronic document management system (Halaxy) and/or in a secure filing cabinet. Halaxy is accessible only to Kate Lawson and an administration assistant. For more information regarding Halaxy, please see the Halaxy Terms of Use and Halaxy Privacy Policy. Information about Halaxy security can be found here.
Who might the information be given to?
Clients’ personal information will remain confidential except when:
The disclosure of personal information is required to comply with a legal requirement;
Kate Lawson Counselling has reason to believe that you or someone else’s immediate safety is at risk; or
A child is being exposed to abuse or neglect; or
Prior approval has been obtained by you to provide reports, handovers, and information to third parties, i.e. lawyers, GPs, health workers.
We do not disclose your personal information to overseas recipients.
Website
When you visit our website
When you come to our website (www.katelawsoncounselling.com.au) we may collect certain information such as browser type, operating system, website visited immediately before coming to our site, etc. This information is used in an aggregated manner to analyse how people use our site, such that we can improve our service.
Cookies
We may from time to time use cookies on our website. Cookies are very small files which a website uses to identify you when you come back to the site and to store details about your use of the site. Cookies are not malicious programs that access or damage your computer. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies but you can choose to reject cookies by changing your browser settings. However, this may prevent you from taking full advantage of our website. Our website may from time to time use cookies to analyses website traffic and help us provide a better website visitor experience. In addition, cookies may be used to serve relevant ads to website visitors through third party services such as Google Adwords. These ads may appear on this website or other websites you visit.
Third party sites
Our site may from time to time have links to other websites not owned or controlled by us. These links are meant for your convenience only. Links to third party websites do not constitute sponsorship or endorsement or approval of these websites. Please be aware that Kate Lawson Counselling is not responsible for the privacy practises of other such websites. We encourage our users to be aware, when they leave our website, to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personal identifiable information.
What if you do not provide your information to us?
If you do not provide us with the relevant and accurate personal or health information we request, it may result in an incomplete assessment that may impact the treatment being provided, and we may not be able to provide you with some or all of our services.
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 social worker 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 in writing at info@katelawsoncounselling.com.au. These requests will be responded to in writing within 30 business days, and an appointment will be made if necessary for clarification purposes.
Concerns
If clients have any concerns about the management of their private information or privacy practices, please email info@katelawsoncounselling.com. au. We take complaints very seriously and will respond accordingly. 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 via at http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/making-a-privacy-complaint.
Contact details
Our contact details are as follows:
Kate Lawson Counselling
Deakin Therapy Collective
4/2 Phipps Close, Deakin ACT 2614
Email info@katelawsoncounselling.com.au
Call 0414 700 395