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Privacy Policy

1. What type of information do we collect?

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We collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for us to respond to enquiries, provide psychological services and manage our practice.

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We generally only collect health information where it is reasonably necessary to provide our services and in accordance with applicable privacy requirements.

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Website visitors may browse our website without providing personal information. Some information about your visit may nevertheless be collected automatically through cookies and website analytics, as described below.

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We may collect:

  • your name;

  • email address;

  • telephone or mobile number;

  • information you provide when making an enquiry or requesting an appointment;

  • information necessary to provide psychological services, including relevant health information;

  • information required for billing, Medicare or private health insurance purposes, where applicable;

  • information relating to your appointments;

  • information and documents that you provide to us or that we provide to you in connection with your psychological care;

  • information associated with your use of our Client Portal, including your portal account details; and

  • information you voluntarily provide to us through our website or other communication channels.

 

Our Client Portal is provided through Zanda Health and is available only to existing clients who have been provided with access. Clients can use the Client Portal to manage their appointments, view invoices and access documents that we have shared with them.

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2. How do we collect personal information?

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Where practicable, we collect personal and health information directly from you. In some circumstances, information may be collected from another person or organisation where this is reasonably necessary, authorised by you, or permitted or required by law.

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We may collect personal information:

  • when you complete a contact or enquiry form on our website;

  • when you contact us by email or telephone;

  • when you request or schedule an appointment;

  • when you provide information during psychological consultations;

  • when you complete intake, consent or other practice forms;

  • when you use the Client Portal to manage appointments, access invoices or view documents we have shared with you; and

  • through information collected automatically when you use our website, such as basic technical and website usage information.

 

3. Why do we collect personal information?

 

We collect personal information for the purposes listed above.

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Personal and health information collected in connection with psychological services is handled in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles and applicable professional and legal obligations.

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Website browsing information is used for website administration, security, analytics and performance purposes and is not used to identify you for clinical purposes.

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We collect personal information for the purposes of:

  • responding to enquiries and requests for information;

  • arranging and managing appointments;

  • providing safe, appropriate and effective psychological services;

  • maintaining appropriate clinical records;

  • communicating with you about your care;

  • processing payments, Medicare rebates or private health insurance claims where applicable;

  • providing access to and administering the Client Portal;

  • meeting professional, legal and record-keeping obligations;

  • managing and administering our practice; and

  • improving the functionality and performance of our website.

 

4. How do we store, use, share and disclose information?

 

Our website is hosted on the Wix.com platform. Wix provides the online platform that allows us to present our services and communicate information about our practice. Information submitted through the website may be processed and stored by Wix in accordance with its own privacy practices and security arrangements.

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We use Zanda Health as a third-party practice management and Client Portal provider. Personal information may be processed through Zanda's services for purposes including appointment management, invoicing and providing clients with access to documents that we share with them. Zanda's handling of personal information is subject to its own privacy policy, which is available through the Client Portal.

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We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information is stored securely and protected from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

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Personal information may be used by Pause For Thought Psychology for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including managing enquiries, providing psychological services, maintaining clinical records, administering the practice and improving our website.

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We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information for marketing purposes.

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We may disclose personal information to third parties where this is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which the information was collected, where you have provided consent, or where disclosure is permitted or required by law.

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Depending on the circumstances, this may include disclosure to:

  • Medicare or private health insurers where necessary to process a claim or rebate;

  • other healthcare professionals involved in your care, where appropriate and with your consent;

  • your referring General Practitioner or other treating professional, where you have provided consent;

  • service providers who assist us with practice administration, technology, website hosting, practice management, Client Portal services, payment processing or other business functions;

  • professional or regulatory bodies where required or permitted by law; and

  • government agencies, courts or other authorities where disclosure is required or authorised by law.

 

Where third-party service providers are used, we take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information is handled appropriately and securely.

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Some service providers, including technology providers, may process or store information outside Australia. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure that applicable privacy requirements are met.

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5. How do we communicate with website visitors?

 

We may communicate with website visitors who have submitted an enquiry or otherwise provided their contact details.

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Our primary methods of communication are email and telephone, including calls or text messages where appropriate.

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These communications may be used for administrative and clinical purposes, including the purposes listed above.

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We do not use personal information obtained through our website for direct marketing unless you have provided the necessary consent.

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Please be aware that email and SMS are not completely secure forms of communication. If you have concerns about communicating sensitive information by email or text message, please contact us to discuss alternative arrangements.

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These communications may include:

  • responding to initial enquiries;

  • scheduling, confirming or changing appointments;

  • providing or requesting necessary forms or information;

  • communicating about your psychological care; and

  • providing relevant practice or appointment information.

 

6. How do we use cookies and other tracking technologies?

 

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to support website functionality, security and performance.

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Because our website is hosted through Wix, standard Wix cookies may be used for purposes such as maintaining website security, preventing cyber threats and ensuring that the website functions correctly.

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We also use Google Analytics to understand general patterns of website use, such as which pages are visited, how visitors navigate the website and general website traffic trends. Google Analytics is used for website analytics and performance purposes only.

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To protect your privacy, we have configured Google Analytics with IP anonymisation enabled. We have also disabled Google Signals data collection and granular data collection.

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We do not use Google Analytics or other website tracking technologies to collect, analyse or track your clinical, psychological or health information. We do not use behavioural advertising or personalised advertising technologies on this website.

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The information collected through these tools is used to understand and improve the performance and functionality of our website rather than to identify individual visitors for clinical or marketing purposes.

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You can manage or disable cookies through your web browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the website.

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7. How can you access, correct or withdraw consent?

 

If you have submitted an enquiry through our website and no longer wish us to retain your contact information, you can contact us to request its deletion, subject to any legal or professional obligations that require us to retain the information.

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For current or former clients, certain clinical and health records must be retained for legally or professionally required periods. Accordingly, withdrawing consent does not necessarily mean that we can immediately delete all information held about you.

 

Requests for access, correction or deletion should be made using the contact details below.

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You may:

  • access personal information we hold about you;

  • request correction of information that is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date;

  • ask questions about how we have handled your information;

  • withdraw consent for particular uses or communications; or

  • make a privacy complaint.

 

8. How do we protect your information?

 

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

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This includes using appropriate physical, technical and administrative safeguards for the information we hold.

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If you use the Zanda Client Portal, you are responsible for keeping your login details and password confidential and should not share them with another person. If you believe that your Client Portal account has been accessed without your authorisation, please contact us as soon as possible.

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However, no method of transmitting or storing information electronically can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If we become aware of a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm and that is subject to the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme, we will respond in accordance with our legal obligations.

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9. Privacy complaints

 

If you believe that we have not handled your personal information appropriately, we encourage you to contact us first so that we can investigate and attempt to resolve your concern.

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You may make a privacy complaint by contacting us using the details below.

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We will respond to privacy complaints within a reasonable period and in accordance with our legal obligations.

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If you are not satisfied with our response, or would prefer to make a complaint externally, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

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10. Privacy Policy updates

 

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our practice, website, technology, legal obligations or privacy practices.

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The updated Privacy Policy will be published on this website and will take effect from the date it is posted, unless otherwise stated.

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We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to remain informed about how we collect, use and protect personal information.

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11. Contact us

 

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, would like to access or correct personal information we hold about you, or wish to make a privacy complaint, please contact us:

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Practice Name: Pause For Thought Psychology
Location: Paddington, Brisbane, Queensland
Email: [hello@pauseforthoughtpsychology.com.au]
Phone: [3876 2100]

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You can also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner if you wish to make a privacy complaint:

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Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
Website: https://www.oaic.gov.au/
Phone: 1300 363 992

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