Privacy Policy
Keir Mathews (ABN 80617201533) is committed to complying with the Privacy Act 1988, the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under that Act, and the privacy provisions of all applicable legislation. The APPs govern the way in which we collect, use, disclose, store, secure and dispose of your Personal Information. A copy of the Australian Privacy Principles may be obtained from the website of The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.aoic.gov.au
What is Personal Information
Personal information is information or an opinion that identifies an individual. Typically, the types of personal information we may collect can include (but is not limited to) your name, address, email address, phone numbers, date of birth, payment details, Medicare and insurer details, as well as health information about you so that we can perform our services. We may also receive health information about you from other health service providers, where you have consented to us collecting that from those third-party providers.
How and why do we collect Personal Information
Personal information is obtained in many ways including counselling sessions, online forms and questionnaires, via correspondence, and via our website. Where it is reasonably practical to do so, we will collect your personal information directly from you. However, in certain cases, we may collect personal information from publicly available sources and third parties, such as referrals or reports from other health professionals. We don’t guarantee website links or policy of authorised third parties. We collect your personal information for the primary purpose of providing our counselling services to you. When we collect personal information we will, where appropriate and where possible, advise you of the purpose for which your personal information is collected, how we intend to use that information, and to whom we intend to disclose it to if required.
Sensitive Information
Sensitive information is a subset of personal information. If we collect sensitive information (as defined under the Privacy Act), we will treat it with the utmost security and confidentiality. Sensitive information is defined in the Act to include information or opinion about such things as an individual's racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious or philosophical beliefs, membership of a trade union or other professional body, criminal record or health information. Sensitive information will be used by us only:
for the primary purpose for which it was obtained
for a secondary purpose that is directly related to the primary purpose
with your consent or
where required or authorised by law.
Disclosing Information
Your personal information may be disclosed to third parties in connection with the purposes for which we collected your personal information. This may include disclosing your personal information to any third parties to whom you have directed or permitted us to disclose your personal information (e.g. if you are a client, to your treating doctor and other health professionals, to an insurer/compensation agency and/or your emergency contacts, if necessary). We may also disclose your personal information where disclosure is authorised, compelled or permitted by law.
Storage and Security
We will hold personal information as either secure physical records, electronically on our computer systems, in cloud storage, and in some cases, on third-party servers. Our goal is to protect the personal information collected by us. We take all reasonable steps to keep your personal information secure, safe and protected from misuse, interference, loss or unauthorised access. When your personal information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained and is not required to be kept by law, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify it. We may need to retain records containing personal information to comply with record-keeping obligations, and for other legitimate business purposes (such as quality assurance).
Data Quality
We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the data we collect, use or disclose, is accurate, complete and up to date and has been obtained directly from you or other reputable sources. If you find that the information we have is not up to date or is inaccurate, please advise us as soon as practicable so we can update our records and ensure we can continue to provide quality services to you.
Accessing your Personal Information
Access and/or corrections to personal information that we hold about you, can be requested in writing. We will respond to all written requests within a reasonable time, and we may charge an administrative fee for providing a copy of your personal information. We are not obliged to correct any of your personal information if we do not agree that it requires correction, and in some exceptional circumstances we may refuse access to the client file. If this occurs, the decision will be made in accordance with applicable laws, and we will provide you with a written notice stating our reasons for refusing access. To protect your personal information, we may also require identification from you before releasing the requested information.
Availability and review of Policy
We will make our Privacy Policy available upon request and will provide a link on our website. This Policy will be reviewed from time to time and any amendments will be incorporated into the updated version.
Complaints
If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, including if you believe we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles, please contact us at: hello@keirmathews.au
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your complaint, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:
GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001
1300 363 992
enquiries@oaic.gov.au
https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints/lodge-a-privacy-complaint-with-us
Date of Privacy Policy: 010225