Privacy Policy

Silverlinings Australia Pty Ltd (Silverlinings Psychology) is committed to providing quality services to you and this policy outlines our ongoing obligations to you in respect of how we manage your Personal Information.

We have adopted the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act). The NPPs 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.oaic.gov.au

Personal Information is information or an opinion that identifies an individual. Examples of Personal Information we collect include: names, addresses, email addresses, phone and facsimile numbers.

As part of providing a psychological service to you, Silverlinings Australia Pty Ltd (Silverlinings Psychology) needs to collect and record personal information from you that is relevant to your situation, such as your name, contact information, medical history and other relevant information as part of providing psychological services to you. This collection of personal information will be a necessary part of the psychological assessment and treatment that is conducted. Your informed consent will be obtained before any treatment or procedure is initiated and you may withdraw from treatment at any time without prejudice.

This Personal Information is obtained in many ways including Intake Sessions, correspondence, by telephone and facsimile, by email, via our website www.silverliningspsychology.com.au, from your website, from media and publications, from other publicly available sources, from cookies and from third parties. We don’t guarantee website links or policy of authorised 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. You may unsubscribe from our mailing/marketing lists at any time by contacting us in writing.

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.

Sensitive information is defined in the Privacy Act to include information or opinion about such things as an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious or philosophical beliefs, membership of a trade union or other professional body, criminal record or health information.

Sensitive information will be used by us only:

• For the primary purpose for which it was obtained
• For a secondary purpose that is directly related to the primary purpose
• With your consent; or where required or authorised by law

Your Personal Information may be disclosed in a number of circumstances including the
following:

• Third parties where you consent to the use or disclosure; and
• Where required or authorised by law.

All information obtained during treatment is kept confidential and secure, except when:

1. It is subpoenaed by a court;
2. Failure to disclose the information would place the patient or another person at risk of harm;
3. Your (parent and/or young person where appropriate) prior approval has been obtained to:
   1. provide a written report to another professional or agency—e.g., to a lawyer; or
   2. Discuss the material with another person— e.g., a parent, educator, health professional.

In the course of treatment, personal information is collected to enable treatment. All notes taken in the course of treatment and all communications relating to treatment become a part of the patient’s clinical records. Your Personal Information is stored in a manner that reasonably protects it from misuse and loss and from unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. You have a general right to access the patient records (subject to some exceptions which mainly relate to privacy, health, child consent or legal considerations) and a request must be made in writing. You have a right to amend your records and personal information if incorrect. 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 year after ceasing engagement with your treating psychologist, and up to age 25 years for a young person under the age of 18.