We respect your privacy
Thea Baker Wellbeing respects your right to privacy and is committed to safeguarding the privacy of our customers and website visitors. We adhere to the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). This policy sets out how we collect and treat your personal information.
“Personal information” is the information we hold which is identifiable as being about you.
Communication
We use Short Message Service (SMS) technology to send reminders for your appointments and, in some instances, members of our clinical or administration team may also contact you via SMS for short communications. SMS messages are unencrypted and, although unlikely, we cannot guarantee the privacy and confidentiality of these communications. Any SMS sent and received forms part of your client record.
We also use electronic mail (email) to communicate with you, those involved in your care and treatment, and those responsible for the administration of your files. This includes the delivery of your appointment invoice via email. Email technology is unencrypted and, although it is unlikely and we take steps to protect your information, there is a possibility that information can be intercepted and read by other parties besides the person to whom it is addressed. This applies to any information you send to us as well.
If you wish to send us any confidential documents or information, please contact us and we can provide a secure upload link for you to use. Any email or document sent and received forms part of your client record.
Collection of personal information
As part of our service provision, Thea Baker Wellbeing needs to collect and record personal information from you that is relevant to your situation, such as your name, contact information, medical history and any other relevant information. This collection of personal information will be a necessary part of our assessment of your needs and helps inform any treatment offered or service provided.
Your personal information is kept securely and stored in an electronic system that exceeds security compliance requirements. Your client record can be accessed only by your clinician, as well as our administration team members who support our clinical team.
Your personal information is retained in order to document what happens during sessions and appointments and enables our team to provide a relevant and informed service to you.
If you do not wish for your personal information to be collected, we may not be in a position to provide the services that you are seeking. You may request to use a pseudonym (or fake name) unless Thea Baker Wellbeing is required to use your legal name for dealings with third party funders, such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Thea Baker Wellbeing will, from time to time, receive and store personal information that you provide to us directly or give to us via other means, such as through our website. Additionally, we may also collect any other information you provide while interacting with us.
How we collect your personal information
Thea Baker Wellbeing collects personal information from you in a variety of ways, including when you interact with us electronically or in person, when you access our website and when we provide our services to you. We may receive personal information from third parties. If we do, we will protect it as set out in this Privacy Policy.
Use and disclosure of your personal information
All personal information gathered by Thea Baker Wellbeing will remain confidential except when:
- the information you have provided is subpoenaed (officially requested) by a court; or
- failure to disclose the information would in the reasonable belief of your clinician, or other Thea Baker Wellbeing team members, place you or another person/s at serious risk to life, health or safety; or
- your prior approval has been obtained to discuss your treatment with, or provide written information to, another person, professional or organisation; or
- your information is discussed as part of clinical supervision; or
- disclosure is otherwise required or authorised by law.
Your personal information will not be sold for marketing purposes.
As indicated above, we may from time to time need to disclose personal information to comply with a legal requirement, such as a law, regulation, court order, subpoena, warrant, in the course of a legal proceeding, or in response to a law enforcement agency request. These requests will be discussed with you.
You may be seeking to have your treatment sessions covered by a third party including but not limited to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) or the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal (VOCAT). In these instances, we will contact the listed organisations to confirm your eligibility for coverage, including any limitations that may apply. Any request from these organisations for treatment reports and updates will be discussed with you before detailed information is provided.
If we have any safety concerns, such as if you fail to attend an appointment without notice or if a risk is identified during a session, we may get in touch with your emergency contact.
In the event that unauthorised access, disclosure or loss of your personal information occurs, Thea Baker Wellbeing will activate its data breach plan and use all reasonable endeavours to minimise any risk of consequential serious harm.
Thea Baker Wellbeing may contact you by a variety of measures including, but not limited to telephone, email, SMS or mail.
Security of your personal information
Thea Baker Wellbeing is committed to ensuring that the information you provide to us is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure information and protect it from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification and disclosure.
The transmission and exchange of information are carried out with some risk. We cannot guarantee the security of any information that you transmit to us or receive from us. Although we take measures to safeguard against unauthorised disclosures of information, we cannot guarantee that this is the case.
Access to your personal information
At any stage, you are entitled to access your personal information kept on file, subject to exceptions in the relevant legislation. We may discuss the contents with you and/or give you a copy, subject to the exceptions in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
If it is confirmed that personal information is inaccurate, out of date or incomplete, reasonable steps will be taken in the circumstances to ensure that this information is corrected.
Please speak to your clinician or our administration team if you would like to discuss this further, but any requests to access your file must be made in writing, preferably via email to hello@theabaker.com.au We will respond to your request within 10 working days, and an appointment will be made if necessary for clarification purposes.
Complaints about privacy
If you have any complaints about our privacy practices, please feel free to send in details of your complaints to hello@theabaker.com.au . We take complaints very seriously and will respond shortly after receiving written notice of your complaint.
If you have a concern about the management of your personal information, please let us know as soon as possible. Upon request, we can supply you with a copy of the Australian Privacy Principles, which describe your rights and how your personal information should be handled.
If you wish to lodge a formal complaint about the use of, disclosure of, or access to, your personal information, you may do so with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by phone on 1300 363 992, online at http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/making-a-privacy-complaint or by post to:
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, GPO Box 5218, Sydney, NSW 2001.
Changes to Privacy Policy
Please be aware that we may change this Privacy Policy in the future. We may modify this Policy at any time, in our sole discretion and all modifications will be effective immediately upon our posting of the modifications on our website or notice board. Please check back from time to time to review our Privacy Policy.
Telehealth Service
Where appropriate, your service may be provided by telephone or videoconferencing. You are responsible for the costs associated with setting up the technology needed so you can access telehealth services (such as using your own mobile or laptop and any internet data usage). Thea Baker Wellbeing will be responsible for the cost of the call to you and the cost associated with the platform used to conduct telehealth services.
To access telehealth consultations, you will need access to a quiet, private space and the appropriate device (i.e. phone, laptop, tablet or computer, with a camera, microphone and speakers; and a reliable broadband internet connection). For online EMDR, you will also need headphones that can connect to your laptop or computer, via a cord or Bluetooth. You may use your phone or tablet for standard telehealth sessions, however, these devices are not suitable for online EMDR.
Please note, that a telehealth consultation may be subject to limitations such as an unstable network connection which may affect the quality of the session. In addition, there may be some services for which telehealth is not appropriate or effective. Your clinician will consider and discuss with you the appropriateness of ongoing telehealth sessions.
PRIVACY POLICY COMPLAINTS AND ENQUIRIES
If you have any queries or complaints about our Privacy Policy please contact us at:
Email: hello@theabaker.com.au
Phone: 0468 663 551