Bellingen Psychology is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal and health information responsibly, in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), AHPRA record-keeping requirements, and the APS Code of Ethics.

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This document serves two purposes: it's our Privacy Policy (setting out how we generally handle personal information across the practice) and our Collection Notice (telling you, at the time we collect your information, what we're collecting and why). You'll be pointed to this document whenever you provide personal information to us, and it's also available at any time on our website and on request.

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If anything in this policy is unclear, or you'd like more detail about how your specific information is being handled, please contact us using the details at the end of this document.

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1. Who We Are

‍Bellingen Psychology is a private psychology practice providing psychological assessment and treatment services. This policy applies to all personal and health information we collect, whether you're a private-fee client, a bulk-billed client under a Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP) or Eating Disorder Plan (EDP), an NDIS participant, a SIRA workers compensation client, attending a DSP assessment, or accessing telehealth or parent/carer-assisted services.

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2. What Information We Collect

‍Depending on the service you're accessing, we may collect:

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• Contact and identifying details (name, date of birth, address, phone, email)

• Health and medical information relevant to your care, including your presenting concerns, diagnosis, treatment history, medications, and progress

• Information from standardised psychological assessments and questionnaires (for example, WHO-DAS 2.0, K10, DASS-21)

• Referral information and reports from your GP, psychiatrist, paediatrician, or other treating professionals

• Medicare and billing details, including Mental Health Care Plans, Eating Disorder Plans, and rebate information

• For SIRA-funded clients: your claim number, insurer and case manager details, Certificate of Capacity, and approval documentation

• For NDIS participants: your NDIS plan details, plan management arrangements, and information relevant to coordinating your supports

• For clients under 18: information provided by, and about, a parent or guardian as part of the consent process

• Emergency contact details, and, for telehealth sessions, the location you're attending from

• Where relevant, the name of a parent or carer authorised to assist with appointment scheduling or payment on an adult client's behalf.

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3. How We Collect Information

‍Wherever possible, we collect information directly from you - for example, during your clinical interview, through intake and consent forms, or through assessments and questionnaires you complete.

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We may also collect information from other sources, always in line with your consent where required:

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• Your GP, psychiatrist, paediatrician, or other treating health professionals

• Medicare, where you're accessing a rebate

• Your insurer or case manager, if your treatment is SIRA-funded

• Your Support Coordinator, Recovery Coach, Plan Manager, or Local Area Coordinator, if you're an NDIS participant

• A parent or guardian, where you're under 18 or where a parent/carer is assisting with your care under a separate consent arrangement.

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4. Why We Collect Your Information

‍We collect and use your personal and health information to:

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• Assess your needs and plan and provide appropriate psychological treatment

• Monitor your progress and adjust your care as needed

• Meet Medicare, SIRA, NDIS, or Services Australia (DSP) requirements relevant to your funding pathway

• Communicate with other professionals involved in your care, with your consent

• Manage appointments, billing, and account administration

• Meet our professional, legal, and ethical obligations, including AHPRA and APS requirements

• Improve our services, including through de-identified information discussed in clinical supervision.

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If you choose not to provide certain information, we may not be able to provide some or all of our services to you - for example, without a valid referral, you may not be able to access a Medicare rebate.

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5. How We Use and Disclose Your Information

‍Your information is treated as confidential. Outside of the specific circumstances below, we don't share your information without your consent.

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We may disclose your information:

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• To your GP, psychiatrist, paediatrician, or other treating professionals, with your consent, or where required for reporting under an MHCP or EDP

• To Medicare, for the purposes of processing rebates

• To your insurer and case manager, where your treatment is SIRA-funded - this reporting is a standard part of how workers compensation funding works, not an exception to confidentiality (see our SIRA Consent & Confidentiality Form for more detail)

• To your Support Coordinator, Plan Manager, or other members of your NDIS support team, with your consent and limited to what's necessary to coordinate your supports

• To Services Australia, where you're undergoing a DSP assessment, with your written consent

• Where required or authorised by law - for example, in response to a subpoena, under mandatory reporting obligations (such as those relating to child safety or family violence), or where there's a reasonable belief that not disclosing would place you or someone else at serious risk of harm

• To our professional indemnity insurer or legal advisers, where necessary

• In de-identified form, during clinical supervision with senior clinicians, for the purposes of maintaining high standards of care.

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Wherever possible, we'll discuss any planned disclosure with you beforehand.

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6. Digital Platforms, AI, and Cross-Border Disclosure

‍We use the following secure digital platforms as part of providing our services:

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• Halaxy — for appointment scheduling, billing, and clinical records.

• Novonote / Novopsych — with your separate, specific consent, to assist with clinical notetaking, and to administer and score standardised assessments.

• Zoom — for telehealth sessions.

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Cross-border disclosure: We take reasonable steps to ensure your health information is stored in Australia wherever possible. Halaxy and Novonote/Novopsych store Australian patient health data on servers located in Australia. However, some service providers used by these platforms (such as payment processing or other technical infrastructure providers) may process limited personal information outside Australia. Where this occurs, we rely on contractual and technical safeguards to protect your information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles. Medicare claims are processed through Australian Government systems.

Squarespace (Website Hosting): Bellingen Psychology's website is hosted by Squarespace. Information submitted through our website contact form, together with technical information collected when you visit our website (such as website analytics), may be processed or stored on servers located outside Australia, including in the United States and other countries where Squarespace or its service providers operate. Squarespace maintains security measures designed to protect personal information. By using our website or submitting an enquiry through our website, you acknowledge that your information may be disclosed to overseas recipients for the purpose of providing website hosting, website functionality, and related services.

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Zoom is a US-based platform, and video and session data may be processed or stored outside Australia as part of its standard operation. More information is available in Zoom's privacy policy.

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Any use of AI (currently Novonote/Novopsych) to assist with notetaking or assessment scoring will always be discussed with you directly, and your consent for its use is separate from your general consent to treatment - you can decline without it affecting your access to care.

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7. Data Security

‍We store your information securely using industry-standard safeguards, and access is limited to authorised staff involved in your care or the administration of our practice. Electronic systems are used for clinical and administrative purposes only.

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8. Access and Correction

You have the right to request access to, or correction of, your personal and health information at any time. Please contact us using the details below, and we'll respond within a reasonable timeframe. In some circumstances, access may be limited as permitted by law (for example, where access would pose a serious risk to your or someone else's safety).

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9. How Long We Keep Your Information

‍Bellingen Psychology retains personal information and health records only for as long as necessary to provide services, meet legal, professional, funding, accounting and regulatory obligations, and to resolve any complaints or disputes.

As a private health service provider in New South Wales, clinical records relating to adults are generally retained for a minimum of seven (7) years from the date of the last health service provided. Where records relate to a person who was under 18 years of age at the time the record was created, records are generally retained until the individual reaches 25 years of age, unless a longer retention period is required by law.

Where services are funded or supported through schemes such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), NSW Workers Compensation (SIRA), Medicare, private health insurers, or other third-party funders, records may be retained for longer where required to comply with applicable legislation, funding agreements, audit requirements, professional standards, or other legal obligations.

Once the applicable retention period has expired, and where there is no legal or professional reason to retain the information, records will be securely destroyed or permanently de-identified in accordance with applicable privacy and health records legislation.

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10. Website and General Enquiries

If you visit the Bellingen Psychology website or contact us via our website or email, we may collect personal information that you voluntarily provide, such as your name, email address, telephone number, and any information you include in your enquiry. This information is used solely to respond to your enquiry, provide information about our services, or facilitate an appointment if requested.

Our website is hosted by Squarespace. When you visit our website, Squarespace may automatically collect certain technical information, including your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, referring website, and the date and time of your visit. This information is used to provide website functionality, maintain website security, and generate aggregated website analytics that help us understand how visitors use our website and improve its performance.

Squarespace may use cookies and similar technologies to enable website functionality, remember user preferences, and collect anonymous usage statistics. You can manage or disable cookies through your web browser settings; however, doing so may affect the functionality of some parts of the website.

Information submitted through our website contact form is transmitted securely and is used only for the purposes of responding to your enquiry. We do not use information collected through our website for marketing purposes unless you have specifically requested this or provided your consent.

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11. Complaints

‍If you're ever unhappy with how your personal information has been handled, please contact us directly in the first instance at the details below - we take these concerns seriously and will work with you to resolve them.

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You can also make a complaint to:

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• The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), for privacy-specific complaints

• AHPRA or the Psychology Board of Australia, regarding a registered psychologist

• The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, if your complaint relates to NDIS-funded supports

• SIRA, if your complaint relates to your workers compensation claim.

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12. Changes to This Policy

‍We review this policy regularly and will update it as needed to reflect changes in our practice or the law. The current version is always available on our website and on request.

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13. Contact Us

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If you have any questions about this policy, or how your information is collected, used, or stored, please contact us:

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Bellingen Psychology Email: support@bellingenpsychology.com.au

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This Privacy Policy & Collection Notice should be read alongside the specific Consent & Confidentiality Form relevant to your service pathway (Standard, Bulk-Billed, SIRA, EDP, NDIS, Telehealth, DSP Assessment, or Parent/Carer-Assisted Support), which sets out additional detail specific to your circumstances.