Privacy Policy | Spacious Mind

This privacy policy outlines how Spacious Mind Counselling & Consulting handles personal information of prospective and current clients. By accessing spaciousmindcc.com.au or engaging in services, you agree to be bound by this privacy policy.

Relevant Laws and Guidelines

The services provided are bound by the legal requirements of the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988, the Australian Privacy Principles 2014 and the Australian Counselling Association – Code of Ethics (2022). The ACA Code of Ethics (2022) can be obtained from the ACA website (theaca.net.au).

The Australian Register of Counsellors & Psychotherapists (ARCAP) is an independent, national Register of Counsellors and Psychotherapists established by the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia and the Australian Counselling Association. To ensure quality service to clients, all practitioners listed on the ARCAP Register have:

Completed professional qualifications in counselling or psychotherapy
Meet ongoing professional development requirements including clinical supervision of their practice
Abide by the ethical guidelines of the profession

What is Personal Information?

Personal information means any information which may identify you. Sensitive information is personal information that may include details around your health, sexual orientation, religion, racial or ethnic origin or any criminal records.

What personal Information does Spacious Mind Counselling & Consulting Collect?

To provide optimal services, we will need to collect some information from clients. However, we will try to only collect personal information relevant to the service being provided.

When you register for a course or engage in consulting services we may ask you to provide the following personal information:

Your name, email address
General information about your health and wellbeing
Bank account details or details of third parties involved in the payment of our services

Following consent to counselling services, the following personal information may also be collected, to best support your learning and well-being strategies:

Emergency contact information
Any relevant history of family health and wellbeing, which may inform care and learning strategies
Your educational and occupational history
Details of referring healthcare professionals or those involved in your care

Referral letters, reports, from Health Care Providers
Information related to your session notes; treatment plan and your response to treatment.

Why do we Collect your Personal Information?

Spacious Mind Counselling & Consulting collects your personal information for the following reasons:

To be able to provide optimal services to you
To accurately assess whether our services are the most appropriate for you at this time
To communicate with you, for example to send you appointment reminders, resources, questionnaires or invoices
To respond to your enquiries, questions or feedback
To continuously update your records as needed, so that continuity of service can be provided

Information Provided by Third Parties

Spacious Mind Counselling & Consulting may also require information from other individuals in your support team, such as a parent, carer or spouse or other healthcare professionals such as your GP. You will be informed of the information collected and we will seek and obtain written informed consent ahead of contacting these individuals to retrieve any personal information.

Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

Spacious Mind Counselling & Consulting will only disclose personal information for the sole and primary purpose of providing you with the highest level of service and care. A common example of this is a written report which is sent to your referrer, in addition to others involved in your care, if relevant. We will obtain your written consent to disclose such information.

Please note that in some special circumstances we may be required by law to disclose personal information without your consent. This may occur to “lessen or prevent a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual, or to public health or safety”. In addition, disclosure may be required if requested by Australian law or a court/tribunal order.

Storage and Security of your Personal Information

We will take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference or loss, and from unauthorised modification, access or disclosure:

Paper documents will be stored under lock
Electronic information containing personal information listed above will be stored and backed up securely, in accordance with the ACAP Code of Ethics (2022)
Once your personal information is no longer needed, reasonable steps will be taken to destroy or de-identify this

We cannot guarantee that any electronic information stored on servers accessible through the internet can or will remain fully secure. In addition, there is no guarantee around the security of documents or reports containing personal information that may be provided to you.

Can you Access your Personal Information?

You have a right to access your personal information at any time. Such requests need to be put in writing for security and recording purposes and we must respond within 30 days.

Access to your personal information may be declined where it is legally entitled to do so. For example, where giving you access would put you or another person at risk of harm. In these circumstances, we will attempt to notify you in writing explaining the reasons for the request refusal. If a person requests access to your personal information they will need to be an authorised representative such as a guardian or lawyer. We will ask them to provide evidence of their identity before releasing any information in addition obtaining informed consent from you.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

Spacious Mind Counselling & Consulting may be required to make changes to this policy to reflect changes in the law or professional best-practice guidelines. All clients and referrers are encouraged to periodically review this policy to remain informed.

Feedback and Complaints

You have a right to make a complaint about the handing of your personal information. Complaints can be made via email to spaciousmindcc@gmail.com. A response to reasonable complaints will be made within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with your response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Full contact details for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner can be found at www.oaic.gov.au.