In March 2014, the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) replaced the National Privacy Principles and Information Privacy Principles. The Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) is an Australian law which regulates the handling of personal information about individuals. This includes the collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information, and access to and correction of that information. The Privacy Act includes 13 Australian privacy Principles that apply to the handling of personal information. Click here for Privacy fact sheet 17 (Australian Privacy Principles) http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-act/the-privacy-act
Exploring the Ascending Psychology Website:
Who we are:
Our website address is: https://ascendingpsychology.com. We are a private Psychology Practice located in Murwillumbah, NSW.
What personal data we collect and why we collect it:
Comments:
When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
Media:
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
Contact forms:
Cookies:
If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
Embedded content from other websites:
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Analytics:
How long we retain your data:
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
What rights you have over your data:
If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Where we send your data:
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
Confidentiality in Therapy:
Before you start therapy, we will ask you to read our consent form and confidentiality agreement. Personal information is gathered by your Psychologist as part of an assessment and treatment process. This information is kept securely to ensure your privacy. If you have been referred by your GP or other medical practitioner, your Psychologist is required to write a brief letter to your doctor, updating them on the assessment findings and treatment outcomes. Government agencies like Medicare also collect anonymised data and statistics as part of the Bulk Billing scheme. It is a requirement that all Psychologists follow strict guidelines for professional conduct that is in line with AHPRA and the Australia Psychological Society (APS) Code of Ethics.
Limits to Confidentiality
All personal information gathered by a Psychologist or counsellor during either assessment or treatment will remain confidential except in the following situations:
- It is subpoenaed by a court; or
- Failure to disclose information would place you or another person at serious risk to life, health or safety; or
- Your prior approval has been obtained to:
- provide a written report to another agency or professional (i.e. Lawyer or GP); or
- discuss the material with another person (i.e. parent, spouse, family); or
- disclose the information in any other way; or
- Disclosure is otherwise required or authorised by law; or
- When consulting with colleagues, or during supervision, as guided by the APS Code of Ethics
Questions
If you have any questions about the storage of your information, please do not hesitate to contact one of our friendly team members.