Privacy Policy
Enfys Pty Ltd (ACN: 665 989 426; ABN: 56 665 989 426), trading as Enfys Psychology, is committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (C’th) (Act) and other relevant state laws that apply to the management of personal information.
The following policy sets out how we collect, use, manage and store the personal information we handle regarding clients, prospective clients, visitors to our website, users of services we provide, Enfys Psychology staff and members of the public. This applies to our website and the products and services provided by us and should be read in conjunction with our Terms and Conditions. By accessing our website or using our services, you are agreeing to be bound by the terms of our Privacy Policy.
Definitions
Personal information includes a broad range of information that may identify you, such as (but not limited to) your name, address, birthdate and contact information, for example your phone number and address.
Sensitive information refers to information about your racial or ethnic background, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, memberships of unions or trade/professional associations, sexual orientation or practices, criminal records or health information.
What information do we collect about you?
When you access our services, we collect personal and sensitive information about you, such as medical reports, psychology and other allied health reports, school records and reports, referral letters, medication, health and developmental history and other important information. We may also request identifying information such as Medicare details, bank account details and details of third parties involved in the management or funding of your appointments to support payment of services. This information is a necessary part of the psychological assessment and treatment services provided to you.
We may also collect information about you if you interact with us on a commercial basis, such as service providers, employees or contracts, or as a member of the public. The type of information collected depends on the reasons you are interacting with Enfys Psychology. Typically, it includes your name, your contact details, and any information regarding our interactions and transactions between us.
Some of your personal information may be used for administrative staff and trusted third parties to perform management and operational tasks, such as software, IT and data management and security, bookkeeping and other administration tasks. Where we have collected government identifying information, such as Medicare details, we will not adopt that identifier as our own identifier, and we will only use or disclose that identifier as required or permitted by law.
How do we collect your personal information?
In most cases we collect information directly from you via phone contact, in person or if you send us information via our website, email or through our practice management software (Halaxy). We may also collect personal and sensitive information about you from other sources, such as your GP, healthcare professionals, government agencies administering your entitlements and benefits, parents/caregivers, teachers/educators, legal professionals or a person responsible for your healthcare decisions when appropriate. Our website and services may collect other information such as IP addresses, browser type and other information relating to the device used to access the website.
How we store and protect your personal information
Enfys Psychology tasks reasonable steps to protect your personal and sensitive information from misuse, loss, unauthorised access and modification or disclosure. We use commercially available technical, administrative and physical measures to protect personal and sensitive information that we hold, and take reasonable steps to protect this information by:
Ensuring physical security over paper and electronic data stores, such as locks and security systems, is maintained and monitored regularly.
Maintain security systems, by using a firewall, using passwords and encryption to control access to electronic devices and systems, and by using two-factor authentication when available to access electronic systems.
Taking reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify your personal information once we no longer need it.
Conducting regular privacy and data security audits to assess whether we have adequately complied with and implemented these measures.
Unfortunately, no data security systems can guarantee 100% security all the time. We cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted to us via the internet. If you choose to send information to us online, this is done at your own risk. Wherever possible, we advise sending information through our practice management system, Halaxy, which has its own inbuilt security measures.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any passwords or account information relating to apps, software, platforms or services used through the services you access with Enfys Psychology.
Personal information may be stored electronically through third party data centres located overseas (that to the best of our knowledge comply with Australian legislation), or in physical storage at our premises. When services are completed, all client files are converted into electronic format and stored online via our secure practice management software (Halaxy). Once digitised, hard copies of documentation are shredded and disposed of securely.
Why we collect your personal information
We collect your personal and sensitive information to carry out tasks or activities such as:
assessing whether we are an appropriate service for you.
providing you with psychological services such as assessment and diagnosis, treatment and/or intervention or preparing reports and other written documentation
sending you communications via SMS or email to, for example, to remind you about future appointments, send invoices and provide you with treatment resources and questionnaires.
ensure you receive the correct entitlements to benefits and funding for our services from third-party payers and to comply with their requirements as required.
respond to your enquiries, requests or feedback.
keeping your information up to date and updating records.
Disclosure of your personal information
All personal information gathered by the psychologist during the provision of the psychological service will remain confidential except when:
it is subpoenaed by a court, or disclosure is otherwise required or authorised by law; or
failure to disclose the information would in the reasonable belief of the Enfys Psychology place you or another person at serious risk to life, health or safety; or
during the Supervisor’s own supervision (deidentified information, further clarification is provided below); or
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, eg. Another supervisor, 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 or your child’s school) 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. In the event that unauthorised access, disclosure or loss of a client’s personal information occurs, Enfys Psychology will activate its data breach plan and use all reasonable endeavours to minimise any risk of consequential serious harm.
Mandatory Reporting
Mandatory reporting refers to the legal requirement that certain groups of people are required to report a reasonable belief of child physical or sexual abuse to child protection authorities. Amongst other professionals, Psychologists are listed as mandatory reporters in Victoria.
This means that psychologists have a legal obligation to make a report to child protection if they have a reasonable belief a child is at risk of significant harm and is in need of protection, with, or without notifying you, and with or without seeking your consent.
Professional Supervision
To maintain their registration and provide high quality care, Psychologists at Enfys Psychology may seek professional clinical supervision. During their supervision sessions your information will, at all times, be handled sensitively and deidentified, with no personally identifying information shared unless it is relevant to the discussion. All psychologists in Australia are bound by the same professional, ethical and legal obligations, and all discussions during these supervision sessions are bound by the Enfys Psychology privacy policy.
Telehealth
We have chosen to use a professional Zoom account for Telehealth sessions provided by Enfys Psychology which is compliant with the Australian standards for online security and encryption. We ask that you do not record sessions for your confidentiality and privacy, unless this is discussed prior to your session with the psychologist. Requirements for telehealth services are detailed in our Terms and Conditions.
Audio/Visual Recording
In person or Zoom sessions are not audio or visually recorded in any way, unless this has been discussed with you, and only for the purposes of assessment or treatment. Should recording be deemed appropriate and necessary for the services offered to you, a Consent form for Audio/Visual Recording must be signed before any recording begins.
Consequence of not providing personal information
Providing accurate and complete information is important for the safety, quality and effectiveness of the services we provide. If the personal information you provide to us is incomplete or inaccurate, or if you do not wish for your personal information to be collected in the way described by the Privacy Policy, Enfys Psychology may be unable to provide the services you seek.
You may request to be anonymous or to use a pseudonym, unless it is impracticable for Enfys Psychology to deal with the client, or if it is required or authorised by law to deal with identified individuals. In most cases it will not be possible for clients to be anonymous or to use a pseudonym.
If you have any concerns about the personal and sensitive information you have been asked to provide, please ask for clarification from your psychologist.
Access to your information
At any stage, clients are entitled to access and/or correct information kept on file, subject to exceptions in privacy laws, such as if giving you access would put you or another person at risk of harm. In these circumstances, we must notify you in writing, setting out the reasons for refusing access.
When access is permissible, the psychologist will discuss with you suitable options for access. In most cases this will involve arranging an appointment to discuss the information with the psychologist responsible for your file. These appointments are billed at the current private sessional rates and payable by you at the time of the appointment.
We do not provide copies of any file information without a court subpoena, as clinical records can contain sensitive information relevant to your treatment and may be harmful if read without a psychologist present to explain the information appropriately. Where a person requesting access to your personal information is an authorised representative, such as a lawyer or guardian, we will ask the representative to provide evidence of their authority. In these situations, we will also ask you to provide current and informed consent to share information to us before releasing your personal information, unless the authorised representative provides a document detailing that you have given them consent to share/release of information with Enfys Psychology.
Separated parents
Where both parents/guardians have legal responsibility for a child/dependent, they are both able to request and access information about psychological services provided by Enfys Psychology. We request that a copy of any court orders is provided during the intake process to clarify who has legal responsibility for the child/dependent prior to services being offered.
Social Media
The Psychology Board of Australia and ethical guidelines prohibit relationships and social contact with clients outside of their professional work role. Staff at Enfys Psychology will not request, nor respond to requests to connect via any social media platforms. Enfys Psychology does not, at this time, have any social media accounts. Should you be asked to connect to accounts online that appear to be connected to Enfys Psychology, please let us know immediately so we can take appropriate action to close these scam accounts.
Social Contact
Enfys Psychology will respect your privacy and confidentiality if you, or your child/dependent see your psychologist out in the community (e.g., at school, or at a shopping centre). Your psychologist will not initiate contact and will be guided by your preferences for interaction. Should contact (such as conversation or eye contact) be made by you, or your child, these interactions will be kept brief, and conversations will be redirected should you, or your child/dependent, begin to share your personal or sensitive information. This is to protect your own privacy and confidentiality.
Marketing
At times we may send promotional emails with information regarding services and updates to the terms and services, as well as details of new services. We will never provide your personal information to other organisations for the purposes of direct marketing. You can request to stop these promotional emails by contacting us at any time. If you receive communications from us that you believe conflict with this privacy policy, or are in breach of law, please contact us using the details below.
Changes to this privacy policy
We will update this privacy policy when our information handling practices change. Any information we hold about you will be governed by the most current privacy policy. We suggest you periodically review our Privacy Policy for any changes.
Complaints and Enquiries
If you have any queries or complaints regarding privacy, please contact us on (03) 8712 2436 or email at kate@enfyspsych.com. Formal complaints should be made in writing.