Privacy & Confidentiality
Effective Date: 5 August 2026
Your privacy
The therapeutic relationship is built on trust. Respecting your privacy and maintaining the confidentiality of what you share are fundamental to the way I practise.
As a registered Clinical Psychologist, I am committed to managing your personal information with care, respect and professionalism. This Privacy & Confidentiality Policy explains how your personal information is collected, used, stored and protected in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and my professional obligations as a registered psychologist.
Information about privacy, confidentiality and record keeping also forms part of the informed consent process before therapy begins
Collecting your personal information
As part of providing psychological assessment and therapy, I collect personal and health information that is relevant to your care.
This may include:
your name, date of birth and contact details
Medicare and referral information
emergency contact details
relevant medical and psychological history
information discussed during therapy sessions
clinical notes
psychological questionnaires or assessment results
correspondence relating to your care where appropriate.
Most information is provided directly by you. With your knowledge and consent, relevant information may also be received from your referring GP or another treating practitioner where appropriate
Why your information is collected
Your information is collected to enable me to provide safe, ethical and effective psychological care.
This includes:
providing psychological assessment and treatment
maintaining accurate clinical records
communicating with you regarding appointments
processing Medicare rebates where applicable
meeting my professional, ethical and legal obligations.
If information relevant to your care is not provided, I may be unable to provide psychological services safely or effectively.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is one of the foundations of psychological therapy.
Creating a space where you feel safe to speak openly and honestly is central to my work. Information shared during therapy is treated with the utmost respect and confidentiality and will only be disclosed with your knowledge and consent, or where disclosure is required or authorised by law.
This may include circumstances where:
there is a serious and imminent risk of harm to you or another person
mandatory reporting obligations apply
disclosure is required by subpoena, court order or another lawful authority.
Where appropriate and wherever possible, I will discuss these situations with you before information is shared.
From time to time, aspects of clinical work may be discussed in professional supervision or peer consultation to support high standards of care. Wherever possible, identifying information is removed.
How your information is stored
Protecting your privacy is an important part of my practice.
My practice uses Halaxy for appointment scheduling, billing and practice administration.
To further protect confidentiality, my clinical therapy notes are maintained separately from practice administration and securely stored as hard-copy records. This reflects my longstanding approach to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the therapeutic relationship.
Reasonable steps are taken to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, misuse, loss, interference, modification or disclosure.
Communication with your GP
If you are accessing Medicare under a Mental Health Care Plan, I am required to provide progress reports to your referring GP in accordance with Medicare requirements.
Any additional communication regarding your care will generally occur with your knowledge and consent unless required or authorised by law.
Professional record keeping
As a registered Clinical Psychologist, I am required to maintain clinical records in accordance with professional, ethical and legal obligations.
Clinical records are retained securely for at least seven years from the date of your last consultation, or longer where required by law, before being securely destroyed.
I take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information I hold is accurate, current and complete. If your contact details or other relevant information change, please let me know.
Website enquiries
If you contact me through this website, I will use the information you provide only to respond to your enquiry or assist you in arranging an appointment.
This website may use cookies and basic website analytics to improve website performance and user experience.
Access to your information
You may request access to your personal information or ask that inaccurate information be corrected.
Requests will be considered in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles, the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and my professional obligations.
Questions or concerns
If you have any questions about this Privacy & Confidentiality Policy or the way your personal information is managed, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
If you have concerns about how your personal information has been handled, I encourage you to discuss these with me in the first instance. If your concerns remain unresolved, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).