Privacy Policy Promise

Client files are held in a secure, encrypted electronic document management system (Cliniko) which is designed for healthcare professionals and complies with the Australian Privacy Principles. This system is accessible only to authorised parties of Serene Psychology who have all signed formal confidentiality agreements. The information stored on each file includes personal details such as name, date of birth, address, and contact numbers, as well as sensitive health information, medical history, clinical notes, and other data collected as part of providing psychological services.

A client's personal information is collected in a number of ways during psychological consultation with Serene Psychology, including when the client provides information directly to Serene Psychology using hardcopy forms, electronic forms, correspondence via email, or when the client interacts directly with Serene Psychology, employees of Serene Psychology such as the receptionist, and when other health practitioners provide personal information to Serene Psychology via referrals, correspondence and medical reports.

If the client does not wish for their personal information to be collected in a way anticipated by this Privacy Policy, Serene Psychology may not be in a position to provide the psychological service to the client.In some circumstances, clients may request to be anonymous or to use a pseudonym, unless it is impracticable for Serene Psychology to deal with the client or if Serene Psychology is required or authorised by law to deal with identified individuals.

A client’s personal information is gathered and used for the purpose of providing psychological services, which includes assessing, diagnosing and treating a client’s presenting concerns. The personal information is retained in order to document what happens during sessions, and enables the psychologist to provide a relevant and informed psychological service.

Clients’ personal information will remain confidential except when:

1. 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 Serene Psychology/the treating psychologist would place a client or another person at serious risk to life, health or safety; or

3. The client’s prior approval has been obtained to:

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

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

c) disclose the information in another way; or

d) 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.

A client's personal information is not disclosed to other recipients, unless the client consents or such disclosure is otherwise required by law. Clients' personal information will not be used, sold, rented or disclosed for any other purpose.

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

At any stage clients may request to see and correct the personal information about them kept on file. The psychologist 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 with Serene Psychology. These requests will be responded to in writing within seven business days, and an appointment will be made if necessary for clarification purposes.

If clients have a concern about the management of their personal information, they may inform Serene Psychology. Upon request they can obtain a copy of the Australian Privacy Principles, which describe their rights and how their personal information should be handled. 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 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 are the sole owners of the information collected on this site. We only have access to/collect information that you voluntarily give us via email or other direct contact from you. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone.

We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. We will not share your information with any third party outside of Serene Psychology, other than as necessary unless you provide verbal or written consent to liase with the third party and even then, this is limited to what is agreed. Think of this as “need to know”. Even if you ask Serene Psychology to share information with your treating GP for example, we only share what is absolutely necessary unless otherwise requested. You the client are the property holder of your file and you can request this be disclosed to you at anytime per Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency legislation and clinical practice guidelines.

Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email in the future to tell you about practice updates, educational resources, workshop information new products or services, or changes to this privacy policy.

When you subscribe to our digital resources (such as the Mindfulness PDF) or join our mailing list, we collect your name and email address. This information is collected with your express consent for the purpose of delivering the requested resource and providing practice updates, educational content, or information about upcoming events (e.g., the Serene Woman Retreat). We use Flodesk as our third-party email service provider to manage these communications. Your data is stored securely within their platform and is never sold or rented to third parties.

You may opt out of any future contacts from us at any time. You can do the following at any time by contacting us via our website or emailing admin@serenepsychology.com.au to:

See what data we have about you, if any.
Change/correct any data we have about you.
Have us delete any data we have about you.
Express any concern you have about our use of your data.

 You may opt out of receiving marketing or educational emails at any time by clicking the ‘Unsubscribe’ link at the bottom of any email or by contacting us at admin@serenepsychology.com.au. Once you unsubscribe, you will no longer receive automated emails, though your clinical records (if applicable) will be retained as required by health record legislation.

This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of any other site that collects personally identifiable information.

From time-to-time our site requests information via surveys. Participation in these surveys is completely voluntary and you may choose whether or not to participate and therefore disclose this information. Information requested may include contact information (such as name and shipping address), and demographic information (such as zip code, age level). Contact information will be used for specified purposes only. Survey information may also be used for purposes of monitoring or improving the use and satisfaction of Serene Psychology.

We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline.

Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a closed lock icon at the bottom of your web browser, or looking for “https” at the beginning of the address of the web page.

While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.

If you feel that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, you should contact us immediately via email admin@serenepsychology.com.au

For more information about privacy issues in Australia and protecting your privacy, visit the Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner’s web site; http://www.privacy.gov.au.

If we become aware of any ongoing concerns or problems with our web sites, we will take these issues seriously and work to address these concerns. If you have any further queries relating to our Privacy Policy, or you have a problem or complaint, please contact us.