Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy for Management of Personal Information

This document describes the privacy policy of Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd (ACN: 674 618 805) for the management of patients’ personal information. The psychological service provided is bound by the legal requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

Patient Information

Patient files are held in a secure electronic document management system and held for 7 years from the last contact with Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd, this is a mandatory legal requirement and in-line with Australian legal guidelines. Patient files are encrypted and stored in Australia, and are only accessible to authorised employees. The information on each file includes personal information such as name, address, contact phone numbers, medical history, and other personal information collected as part of providing the psychological service.

How Patients’ Personal Information is Collected

A patient’s personal information is collected in a number of ways during psychological consultation with Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd, including when the patient provides information directly to Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd using digital or hardcopy forms, correspondence via email, when the patient interacts directly with Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd employees such as the receptionist, and when other health practitioners provide personal information to Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd, via referrals, correspondence and medical reports.

Consequence of not Providing Personal Information

If the patient does not wish for their personal information to be collected in a way anticipated by this Privacy Policy, Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd may not be in a position to provide the psychological service to the patient. Patients may request to be anonymous or to use a pseudonym, unless it is impracticable for Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd to deal with the patient or if Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd is required or authorised by law to deal with identified individuals. In most cases it will not be possible for the patient to be anonymous or to use a pseudonym, however if the Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd agrees to the patient being anonymous or using a pseudonym, the patient must pay consultation fees at the time of the appointment and may not be eligible for Medicare rebates.

Purpose of Holding Personal Information

A patient’s personal information is gathered and used for the purpose of providing psychological services, which includes assessing, diagnosing and treating a patient’s presenting issue. The personal information is retained in order to document what happens during sessions and enables the psychologist to provide a relevant and informed psychological service.

Disclosure of Personal Information

Patients’ personal information will remain confidential except when:

It is subpoenaed by a court; or
Disclosure is otherwise required or authorised by law
Failure to disclose the information would in the reasonable belief of the Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd place a patient or another person at serious risk to life, health or safety; or
The patient’s prior approval has been obtained to:

Provide a written report to another professional or agency, e.g., a GP or a lawyer/legal counsel; or
Discuss the material with another person, e.g., a legal guardian, health provider, employer, or third-party funder; or
Disclose the information in another way; or
Disclosure of personal information to another professional or agency (e.g. your GP), disclosure of your personal information to that third party is for the sole purpose which is directly related to the primary purpose for which your personal information was collected.

A patient’s personal information is not disclosed to overseas recipients, unless the patient consents or such disclosure is otherwise required by law. Patients’ personal information will not be used, sold, rented or disclosed for any other purpose.

In the event that unauthorised access, disclosure, or loss of a patient’s personal information occurs Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd will activate its data breach plan and use all reasonable actions to minimise any risk of consequential serious harm.

Requests for Access and Correction to Patient Information

At any stage patients may request to see and correct the personal information about them kept on file. The psychologist may discuss the contents with them and/or give them a copy, subject to the exceptions in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). If satisfied 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. All requests by patients for access to or correction of personal information held about them should be lodged with Privacy Officer of Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd. These requests will be responded to in writing within 30 days and an appointment will be made if necessary for clarification purposes.

Concerns

If patients have a concern about the management of their personal information, patients may inform Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd. Upon request patient can obtain a copy of the Australian Privacy Principles, which describe their rights and how their personal information should be handled. Ultimately, if patients wish to lodge a formal complaint about the use of, disclosure of, or access to, their personal information, patient may do so with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by phone on 1300 363 992, online at https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints/lodge-a-privacy-complaint-with-us or by post to:

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001.

Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd Website and Email Subscription

This following information sets forth the Privacy Policy for the Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd website, https://consciousmindcentre.com.au.
Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd is committed to providing you with the best possible customer service experience. Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd is bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), which sets out a number of principles concerning the privacy of individuals.

Collection of Your Personal Information

There are many aspects of the site which can be viewed without providing personal information, however, for access to future Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd customer support features you are required to submit personally identifiable information. This may include but not limited to your name and email address.

Sharing of Your Personal Information

We may occasionally hire other companies to provide services on our behalf, including but not limited to handling customer support enquiries. Those companies will be permitted to obtain only the personal information patient need to deliver the service. Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd takes reasonable steps to ensure that these organisations are bound by confidentiality and privacy obligations in relation to the protection of your personal information.

We will not share or sell your personal information with any third party agency without your written permission.

Use of Your Personal Information

We will use the information you have provided to send you relevant information from time-to-time. Whilst the information can be useful, you are free opt-out or change your subscription details at any time.

For each visitor to reach Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd’s website, we expressively collect the following non-personally identifiable information, including but not limited to browser type, version and language, operating system, pages viewed while browsing the Site, page access times and referring website address. This collected information is used solely internally for the purpose of gauging visitor traffic, trends and delivering personalised content to you while you are at this Site.

We may use your personal information for the following:

Services we provide to you;
Statistical research

Changes to this Privacy Policy

Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time in the future, any changes apply to information acquired after that change.

Accessing Your Personal Information

You have a right to access your personal information, subject to exceptions allowed by law. If you would like to do so, please let us know. You will be required to put your request in writing for security reasons. Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd reserves the right to charge a fee for searching for, and providing access to, your information on a per request basis in-line with Australian Psychological Society fee guide.

Contacting Us

Conscious Mind Centre Pty Ltd welcomes your comments regarding this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy and would like further information, please contact us by any of the following means during business hours 7am – 4pm Monday to Friday on 07 5616 2119, via email: admin@consciousmindcentre.com.au, or via post: