Website Privacy Policy
This policy outlines our ongoing obligations to you in respect of how we manage your Personal Information.
Hunter Psychological Services has adopted the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act). The APPs govern the way in which we collect, use, disclose, store, secure and dispose of your Personal Information.
A copy of the Australian Privacy Principles may be obtained from the website of The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.aoic.gov.au
What is Personal Information, and how and why do we collect it?
Personal information is any information that identifies you or could reasonably be used to identify you.
This Personal Information is obtained in many ways including correspondence, by telephone and facsimile, by email, via our website www.hunterpsych.com.au, from media and publications, from other publicly available sources and from third parties.
We collect your Personal Information for the primary purpose of providing our services to you. We may also use your Personal Information for secondary purposes closely related to the primary purpose, in circumstances where you would reasonably expect such use or disclosure.
When we collect Personal Information, we will, where appropriate and where possible, explain to you why we are collecting the information and how we plan to use it.
Disclosure of Personal Information
As per the APS ethical guidelines, your Personal Information may be disclosed in a number of circumstances including the following:
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If you are at immediate risk of harm to yourself or someone else
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If you provide consent to release of your personal information
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Where legally obliged to do so
Hunter Psychological Services will take all reasonable steps to ensure the security of clients' Personal Information from misuse, interference, or loss, and from unauthorised modification, access, or disclosure.
Please note that Hunter Psychological Services utilises third-party software to electronically store Personal Information in client files. We have taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the software that is utilised(1) complies with the following:
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Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (“Privacy Act”) (including the Australian Privacy Principles under that Act)
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health records legislation, including the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic), Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW), Health Records (Privacy and Access) Act 1997 (ACT); and
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marketing legislation, including the Spam Act 2003 (Cth) and the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 (Cth).
Security of Personal Information
Your Personal Information is stored in a manner that reasonably protects it from misuse, loss, and unauthorized access, modification, or disclosure.
When your Personal Information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify your Personal Information. However, most of the Personal Information is or will be stored in client files which will be kept by us for a minimum of 7 years, as required by the APS Ethical Guidelines.
Access to your Personal Information
You may access the Personal Information we hold about you, subject to certain exceptions. If you wish to access your Personal Information, please contact us in writing.
Hunter Psychological Services will not charge a fee for your access request but may charge an administrative fee for providing a copy of your Personal Information.
In order to protect your Personal Information we may require identification from you before releasing the requested information.
Maintaining the Quality of your Personal Information
It is important to us that your Personal Information is up to date. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that your Personal Information is accurate, complete, and up-to-date. If you find that the information we have is not up to date or is inaccurate, please advise us as soon as practicable so we can update our records and continue to provide quality services to you.
Policy Updates
This Policy may change from time to time and is available on our website.
Privacy Policy Complaints and Enquiries
If you have any queries or complaints about our Privacy Policy please contact us at:
0456002861
Suite 1/45 Pearson Street Charlestown
(1) Hunter Psychological Services utilises the software Halaxy to store Personal Information pertinent to the client file. You can find their privacy policy at the following website: https://www.halaxy.com/article/privacy