~ Privacy Policy ~

Purpose of this Policy:

Thank you for visiting Jackie Burke Psychology and Consulting. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, store and protect your personal information in the course of providing psychological and counselling services, consulting services, supervision, and related professional services.

Information We Collect:

As part of providing a psychological service to you, Jackie Burke Psychology & Consulting will need to collect and record personal information from you that is relevant to your current situation. This information will be a necessary part of the psychological assessment and treatments provided. As a base, the following information will likely be collected:

· Your name, address and date of birth.

· Your contact details and emergency 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.

· Legal or offending history (in the case of medico-legal services).

· Responses and results from psychological tests and questionnaires.

· Responses and results reasonably obtained as part of a neuropsychological assessment.

· This may be in a ‘pencil and paper’ format, or via a computer.

· Information pertaining to your session notes; treatment plan and your response to treatment.

All of the above material is used to inform accurate assessment, diagnosis and treatment plans for clients at Jackie Burke Psychology and Consulting. Not having this information may increase the risk of sub-optimal assessments, diagnoses and treatment plans.

Confidentiality

All employees receive training at orientation, as well as ongoing training regarding the privacy of client information. Every employee is issued the Jackie Burke Psychology & Consulting privacy and confidentiality policy and signs a confidentiality agreement as part of their terms and conditions of employment.

All personal information gathered by Jackie Burke Psychology and Consulting Pty Ltd during the provision of psychological service will remain strictly confidential except when:

It is subpoenaed by a court or required by Law;
Failure to disclose the information would place you or another person at risk or;
Your prior approval has been obtained to;
- provide a written or verbal report to another professional or agency (e.g. a GP or lawyer); or
- discuss your information with another person (e.g. GP, relative or employer).

Please be aware that to be eligible for rebates from Medicare, the psychologist will have to provide written reports to your GP, psychiatrist or pediatrician with an outline of assessments and treatments provided and recommendations for management as required by Medicare.

In some instances, the psychologist may consult with other psychologists and/or health professionals about aspects of psychological services being provided to ensure the best quality of care is being provided. In these instances, clients are not personally identified.

Storage and Security of Personal Information

All Jackie Burke Psychology and Consulting Pty Ltd. clinicians and employees take reasonable steps to protect the personal information of clients. Paper documents containing personal information will be stored under lock. Electronic information is stored and backed up securely.

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Security measures include:

Secure electronic practice management systems
Password protection and access controls
Role-based access for staff and contractors
Secure storage of paper files (where applicable)
Encrypted communication platforms (where available)
Use of client codes rather than full names in internal communications
Use of a three-point data check before sending documentation by email
Provision of password protected documents and access codes across different platforms (where available)

Personal information is retained in accordance with legal and professional requirements. For health records in NSW, this is generally a minimum of 7 years from the last client contact (and longer for minors).

Research and Personal Information

Where counsellors participate in human research activities and / or continuous quality improvement (CQI) activities, client anonymity will be protected. Jackie Burke Psychology & Consulting will also seek and retain a copy of client consent to any specific data collection for research purposes.

Research requests are to be approved by the Executive Manager. A copy of this approval will be retained by the practice.

Client Access to Their Health Information

You may request access to the personal information we hold about you. Access may be declined in limited circumstances permitted by law (e.g., where access may pose a serious threat to health or safety). If you believe the information we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete, you may request correction. Requests should be made in writing to the contact details below.

Data Breach Plan

Jackie Burke Psychology & Consulting employees understand the importance of being transparent when a data breach occurs – whether or not it is likely to cause serious harm to impacted individuals. Transparency enables individuals to take steps to reduce their risk of harm. It also demonstrates that Jackie Burke Psychology & Consulting takes their responsibility to protect personal information seriously, which is integral to building and maintaining trust in the practice’s personal information handling capability.

As data breaches can be caused or exacerbated by many factors, there is no single way of responding to a data breach. Each breach will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, with an understanding of the risks posed by a breach and the actions that would be most effective in reducing or removing these risks.

Generally, the actions taken following a data breach will follow four key steps:

• Contain the data breach to prevent any further compromise of personal information.

• Assess the data breach by gathering the facts and evaluating the risks, including potential harm to affected individuals and, where possible, taking action to remediate any risk of harm.

• Notify individuals, government bodies and insurers if required.

• Review the incident and consider and implement actions to prevent future breaches.

Jackie Burke Psychology & Consulting will take each data breach or suspected data breach seriously, and move immediately to contain, assess and remediate the incident.

Steps will be taken to contain, assess, and notify either simultaneously or in quick succession.

Jackie Burke Psychology & Consulting determines how best to respond on a case-by-case basis. In some cases, additional steps may be taken that are specific to the nature of the breach.

Contacting Us

If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy, you may contact us using the information below: