Practice policy

Privacy Policy

Last updated: [to be set on review]

Draft placeholder - requires professional legal review. This document is provided as a starting point only. It is not legal advice and must be reviewed and approved by a qualified legal professional before the practice goes live. Handling of health information in Australia engages the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles, and a mental health practice has additional professional obligations.

Wellspring Psychotherapy and Counselling (“the practice”, “we”, “us”) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal and health information with care, in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles.

What we collect

We collect personal information you provide, including your name, contact details, and the health information necessary to provide safe and effective therapy - such as the concerns that bring you to therapy, relevant history, and information gathered during sessions and in intake forms.

Why we collect it

We collect your information to provide psychotherapy and counselling services, to manage appointments and payments, to meet our professional and legal obligations, and to communicate with you about your care. We collect explicit, informed consent before storing sensitive health information, and we make the purpose clear at the point of collection.

How we store and protect it

Information is stored in secure systems with encryption in transit and at rest.
Access is restricted to the practitioner and authorised administrators.
Access to health records and clinical notes is logged.
Payment card details are handled by our payment provider and are never stored by us.

When we may share information

Your information is kept confidential except where disclosure is required or permitted by law - for example, where there is a serious and imminent risk to your safety or the safety of others, concerns about the safety of a child or vulnerable person, or a legal obligation such as a subpoena. Where it is safe and possible, we will discuss this with you first.

Access, correction and deletion

You may request access to the personal information we hold about you, ask for corrections, or request deletion of your data, subject to our professional record-keeping obligations. Contact us at Hilina.therapy@outlook.com to make a request.

Data retention

We retain health records for the period required by professional and legal obligations, then securely dispose of them. A detailed retention schedule will be confirmed as part of legal review.

Contact

Questions or concerns about your privacy can be directed to Hilina.therapy@outlook.com or (03) 7302 8049.