Privacy Policy
This is the privacy policy for Thoughtful Psychology. It explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, how we keep it safe, and your rights. It applies to everyone whose information we handle, including NDIS participants, families and carers, and people who visit our website.
We follow the Privacy Act 1988, the Australian Privacy Principles, and the rules for NDIS providers, including the NDIS Code of Conduct.
If you want, you can use a different name or no name when you first contact us with a general question. But to provide services to you, we will need to know who you are.
What information we collect
We collect information we need to provide psychology and behaviour support services. This may include:
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Your name, address, phone number and email.
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Your date of birth.
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Your NDIS number and plan details.
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Contact details for your family, guardian, or emergency contact.
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Health information, like diagnoses, medications, and reports from other health workers.
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Information from our sessions and assessments with you, including information about behaviours and what supports work for you.
Where we get this information
Most of the time, we collect information from you. Sometimes we may collect it from other people, like your family, your doctor, your support coordinator, your school, or other services that support you. We will only do this with your consent, unless the law says we must.
How we use your information
We use your information to:
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Provide therapy and behaviour support services.
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Write and review your plans and reports.
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Help the people who support you, like family and support workers, to follow your plan.
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Talk with the NDIA about your supports and funding.
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Meet our legal duties as an NDIS provider.
Who we share your information with
When you start with us, we will ask you to fill in a Consent to Share Information form. This form lets you choose who we can share your information with, like your doctor, support coordinator, school, or other services. You can change your mind at any time by telling us.
There are some times when the law says we must share information, even without your consent:
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If we are worried about your safety, or someone else's safety.
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To keep children safe.
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To report to the NDIS Commission, for example about restrictive practices or serious incidents.
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If a court orders us to.
We will never sell your information. We will not send your information overseas.
How we keep your information safe
Your information is stored in our secure, cloud-based practice management system, which meets Australia’s privacy principals. Paper records, where we have them, are kept locked. Only staff who need your information to do their job can see it. All of our staff must keep your information private.
We keep your records for as long as the law says we must. For health records, this is usually 7 years after your last service, or until a child turns 25 though there are some exceptions.
Seeing your information
You have the right to see the information we hold about you. You can also ask us to fix it if it is wrong. Just contact us. We will need to check your identity first.
If something goes wrong
If your information is ever lost or accessed without permission, we will act quickly to fix the problem and we will tell you what happened.
Complaints
If you are worried about how we have handled your information, please tell us. You can make a complaint by phone, by email, talking to any of our staff or complete a concern/complaint form found here. We will take your complaint seriously, deal with it quickly, and keep it confidential as possible. Making a complaint will not affect your services.
If you are not happy with our answer, you can contact:
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The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) — www.oaic.gov.au or 1300 363 992.
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The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission — www.ndiscommission.gov.au or 1800 035 544.
Changes to this policy
We review this policy regularly. If we change the way we handle personal information, we will update this policy and put the new version on our website.
Contact us
If you have any questions about privacy, or want to see or change your information, please contact us. We are happy to help.
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Phone: 0492 190 716