Privacy Policy

This document describes the privacy policy of Still Skye Psychology for the management of your personal information. Psychological services provided by this practice are bound by the legal requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

Personal Information

As part of providing psychological services, it is necessary to maintain records of certain personal details. Your information is stored securely and accessed only by your psychologist and authorised staff or service providers where required, in accordance with practice policies and procedures. 

The information collected may include:

Name, address, contact details, and emergency contact details
Medicare, payment, and billing details
Relevant health and personal history
Clinical notes, psychological assessments or screenings, and treatment records
Information received from third parties such as your GP, school, support coordinator, or other referrers where relevant to your care

How your personal information is collected

There are a number of ways your personal information is collected, including when:

You provide information directly to your psychologist in your session and in writing such as email, SMS, or other written communication
You interact with administration staff
You use digital systems such as Halaxy online forms or telehealth

Other health practitioners, such as your GP, provide relevant information

Third parties such as lawyers, employers or insurance companies provide relevant documentation or correspondence

If you have concerns that the information held is inaccurate or incomplete, please discuss your concerns with your psychologist.  

Use of digital tools and AI

Still Skye Psychology uses secure digital systems to support service delivery and administration, including practice management software, telehealth platforms, accounting software, and secure cloud storage. Any use of such tools is conducted in accordance with professional and ethical obligations.

Clinical information is primarily stored within secure clinical systems located in Australia.

Where AI-assisted tools are used to support note-taking or administrative functions, reasonable steps are taken to protect confidentiality, minimise identifying information where appropriate, and ensure information is not used to train AI models.

Some administrative or cloud-based systems may store or process information in secure data centres outside Australia. Where this occurs, reasonable steps are taken to ensure providers maintain appropriate privacy, confidentiality, and security standards.

Purpose of holding personal information

Psychologists are required to keep clear and accurate client records as part of their professional obligations. Your personal information is collected and retained for the purpose of:

Providing psychological treatment, assessment, or screening service
Maintaining clinical records
Communication with you and relevant parties (with consent where required)
Administrative and billing purposes
Meeting legal, ethical, and professional guidelines

If you do not wish for your personal information to be collected, we may not be able to provide the psychological service to you. Please discuss any concerns you have with your psychologist.

How your information is stored and protected

Your personal information is stored securely using electronic systems and practice management software. Reasonable steps are taken to protect your information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access or modification, and disclosure. This practice uses a combination of multifactor authentication, biometric access controls, encrypted devices and data storage, and secure, password-protected systems.

Data retention

Your client records are retained in accordance with legal and professional requirements:

Adult records: minimum 7 years from last contact
Clients under 18 years: until age 25

Telehealth and electronic communications

Telehealth services may be used where appropriate and agreed to by clients. While secure platforms are used, electronic communication carries inherent risks.

Email and SMS notifications are not fully secure, and clients consent to the use of these methods for administration and communication purposes.

Confidentiality of information

Personal information gathered by your psychologist will remain confidential except for certain circumstances. In most cases, any sharing of information will only occur with your consent.

Our practice asks for your consent to share information when:

Sharing information with a family member, guardian or carer.
Discussing with others, such as your GP, employer, or any agencies which may be paying for your attendance.
Providing a written report regarding your assessment or treatment to another professional or agency, such as your GP, lawyer or insurance company.
For disclosing the information in any other way not referenced in this document.

Exceptions to confidentiality

There are times when your psychologist may release your information without obtaining your consent such as:

When a court requires information by issuing a subpoena, or providing information is otherwise required or authorised by law.
When it is required because the psychologist must make a mandatory report on a concern.
When the psychologist discloses information because they believe you or someone else is at risk of serious harm.
Psychologists are required to consult and receive supervision from colleagues from time to time. If your information is shared in this context, all care is taken to de-identify your information in such a way that you remain anonymous.

Data breach policy

In the event of a data breach involving personal information, Still Skye Psychology will activate its data breach response procedures, take reasonable steps to minimise consequential serious harm, and notify affected individuals and relevant authorities where required.

Requests to access or correct your information

At any stage you may request to see and correct the personal information about you kept on file. If you would like to access your information, please submit your request in writing. Your psychologist may discuss the contents with you, correct inaccurate data, and/or give you a copy, subject to the exceptions in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

All written requests for access to, or correction of, information will be responded to in writing within 30 days and an appointment will be made if necessary for clarification purposes. A reasonable fee may be charged for providing access.

Concerns

If you have a concern about the management of your personal information, you may inform your psychologist. Upon request you can obtain a copy of the Australian Privacy Principles, which describe your rights and how your personal information should be handled.

Ultimately, 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 Lodge a Privacy Complaint with OAIC
By post to: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, GPO Box 5288, Sydney, NSW 2001.

Contact details

Still Skye Psychology
5/2 McIlwraith Street, Childers Queensland 4660
admin@stillskyepsychology.com.au
Phone: 0419 168 103

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time. The current version is available on request.