Privacy Policy.

This document describes the privacy policy of Comfort Psychology for the management of your 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 Health Privacy Principles in the Health Record Act 2001 (Vic), and the Australian Psychological Society Code of Ethics. 

Client information 

Your records are held in a secure online document management system (Halaxy) which is accessible only to authorised employees. The information on each file includes personal information such as your name, address, contact phone numbers, medical history, and other personal information collected as part of providing the psychological service. Email correspondence is held securely using Google Workspace, and online questionnaire results are held securely using NovoPsych.

Your records will be held securely by Comfort Psychology for a minimum of 7 years (or until the age of 25 for clients under 18 years old) as per the relevant State and Commonwealth laws.

How your personal information is collected 

Your personal information is collected in a number of ways during psychological consultation with Comfort Psychology, including when you provide information directly using hardcopy forms, correspondence via email, online forms or questionnaires, through interacting directly with other Comfort Psychology employees, and when other health practitioners provide personal information about you via referrals, correspondence and medical reports. 

Consequence of not providing personal information

If you do not wish for your personal information to be collected in a way anticipated by this Privacy Policy, Comfort Psychology may not be able to provide the psychological service to you. 

You may request to be anonymous or to use a pseudonym, unless it is impracticable for Comfort Psychology to deal with you, or if Comfort Psychology is required or authorised by law to deal with identified individuals. You will also not be able to claim any rebate available to you for the service. In most cases it will not be possible for you to be anonymous or to use a pseudonym, however we are happy to discuss your individual circumstances with you further if required.

Purpose of holding personal information 

Your personal information is gathered and used for the purpose of providing psychological services, which includes assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. It is kept securely and, in the interests of your privacy, is only used by your psychologist and the authorised personnel of the practice (as necessary). Your personal information is retained in order to document what happens during sessions, and enables your psychologist to provide a relevant and informed psychological service. 

Disclosure of personal information 

  1. Your personal information will remain confidential except when:
    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 your psychologist at Comfort Psychology place you or another person at serious risk to life, health, or safety; or

  3. your prior approval has been obtained to

    • provide a written report to another professional or agency. e.g., a GP or a lawyer; or

    • discuss the material with another person, e.g., a parent, employer, health provider or third-party funder; or

    • disclose the information in another way; or

    • 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.

Your personal information is not disclosed to overseas recipients, unless you consent, or such disclosure is otherwise required by law. Your personal information will not be used, sold, rented, or disclosed for any other purpose.

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

Your psychologist may consult with the Principal Psychologist (Bianca Comfort) at Comfort Psychology through supervision. All data and personal information is kept within secure systems at Comfort Psychology, and information discussed in supervision is bound by the same standards of confidentiality, and will not be discussed with any other parties. Should your psychologist seek supervision outside of Comfort Psychology, your confidentiality will be maintained by removing any identifiable personal information in any conversations held, and no written information or data will be transferred.

Requests for access and correction to client information 

At any stage you may request to see and correct the personal information about you kept on file. The psychologist may discuss the contents with you and/or give you a copy, subject to the exceptions in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). If we are 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 sent to admin@comfortpsychology.com. These requests will be responded to in writing within 30 days, and an appointment will be made if necessary for clarification purposes. 

Concerns 

If you have a concern about the management of your personal information, please notify Comfort Psychology at admin@comfortpsychology.com. Upon request you can obtain a copy of the Australian Privacy Principles, which describes your rights and how your personal information should be handled. 

We ask that you give us the opportunity first to deal with your complaint, however, if you wish to lodge a formal complaint about the use of, disclosure of, or access to, your personal information, you may do so with 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. 

We reserve the right to update or modify this policy as necessary to reflect changes in our service practices or in response to evolving legal and regulatory requirements. We encourage you to review our policies periodically for any updates, which can be found on our website or by emailing admin@comfortpsychology.com