Privacy Policy

Prime Psychology (“us”, “we”, or “our”) recognises the importance of your privacy and respects your right to control how your personal information is collected and used. This Privacy Policy outlines how Prime Psychology collects, uses, discloses, and manages personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs; 2014) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth; “Act”), and the Australian Psychological Society – Code of Ethics (2007).

1. Collection of Personal Information:

1.1 Prime Psychology collect personal information necessary for providing psychological services and for administrative purposes. Personal information can be defined as any information which identifies you or could reasonably be used to identify you. This may include:

  • Contact details (name, address, phone number, email).

  • Date of birth.

  • Current and past medical information.

  • Medical history of your family that informs the current service.

  • Educational and occupational background.

  • Any legal or criminal history if required.

  • Medicare or health insurance details.

  • Referral information.

1.2 We use personal information to:

  • Provide psychological assessment and psychological treatment services.

  • Communicate with you regarding appointments and services.

  • Manage Medicare billing and health insurance claims.

  • Conduct quality assurance activities.

  • Comply with legal and regulatory requirements.

The above information is used to inform accurate assessment, diagnosis and treatment plans for Prime Psychology clients. Not disclosing this information may increase the risk that the assessment, diagnosis and treatment plans are misinformed and thus, sub-optimal.

1.3 To assist with gathering the most holistic and informed history of the client, personal information may be collected through a variety of ways, including:

  • Directly from you.

  • From parents, family members, or friends.

  • Through a referring doctor.

  • Through the Prime Psychology website or practice management software.

  • Third Parties (e.g., NDIS providers, insurance providers).

We endeavour to keep you informed of the information collected and the source of that information, and if appropriate, will obtain your written informed consent to contact and retrieve that information.

 

2. Children and minors:

Reasonable steps will be made to not obtain personal information from an individual who is under the age of sixteen (16) without the consent of a parent or guardian.

 

3. Disclosure of Personal Information:

3.1 Prime Psychology only uses and discloses personal information for the purpose of providing optimal psychological services. This traditionally exhibits as a report written by the clinician and sent to the referrer (e.g., GP) or referring organisation/contact.

3.2 Sometimes a psychologist is required to disclose personal information by law without the consent of the client. We are required by law to disclose such information to an entity (e.g., law enforcement agencies, various Federal, State or local government departments, the Courts).

3.3 Importantly, Prime Psychology may have to disclose personal information of a client without consent if there is a serious threat to the safety, life, or health of the client or an individual of the public.

3.4 Furthermore, with providing an optimal psychological service in mind, we may also disclose personal information to:

  • Other healthcare providers involved in your care (with your consent).

  • Medicare Australia for claiming purposes.

  • Private health insurers for billing purposes.

  • Our employees, professional advisors/supervisors, and contractors.

 

4. Security of Personal Information:

4.1 We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorized access, modification, or disclosure. This includes:

  • Restricting access to personal information to authorized staff only.

  • Using secure methods to destroy or de-identify information no longer needed.

  • Implementing physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards.

4.2 Please be aware that, despite taking appropriate measures to protect personal information, no data security measures can guarantee 100% security all of the time. Prime Psychology cannot guarantee the security of any information transmitted via the internet. Please accept that any such transmission via the internet is at your risk.

4.3 If your personal information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify it. Personal information may be stored electronically overseas through third party data centers.

5. Access of personal information:

5.1 You have the right to access the personal information we hold about you, subject to certain exceptions allowed by law. Any request for your personal information must be in writing to ensure security and recording standards. We will respond within reasonable time to your request for access of personal information.  Prime Psychology reserves the right to charge an administration fee to cover the costs of responding to your request of obtaining your personal information. 

5.2 Prime Psychology can refuse access to such personal information, where we are legally entitled to do so. This may be for reasons prioritising health and safety, such as if providing information may have an unreasonable negative impact on other individuals. When this is the case, we will provide reasons for refusal to the requesting individual.

 

6. Data breach notification scheme:

6.1 If there is reason to suspect a data breach of your personal information has occurred, we will undertake an assessment in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breach Scheme. If it is determined that there has been an eligible data breach, Prime Psychology will notify you within a reasonably practical time frame.

6.2 For more information, see the national requirements we adhere to below:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/notifiable-data-breaches/

 

7. Complaints:

For any questions, concerns or complaints regarding privacy, or if you believe we may have wrongfully disclosed your personal information or breached our privacy policy, please call us on 0480 606 453 or send your complaint via email (samuel@primepsychology.com.au).

If you are unsatisfied with our response after contacting us, you are entitled to contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), by phoning 1300 363 992 or writing to the Director of Complaints, Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 1042.

 

8. Changes to this Privacy Policy:

This privacy policy is current as of June 2024. Prime Psychology may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices or for legal reasons. The most current version will be available on our website.

---

This Privacy Policy was last updated on 27/06/2024.