Privacy Statement
Northfields Psychology Clinic (NPC) is committed to providing psychological therapy and/or assessment based on the following principles:
- Services are provided by provisional psychologists (interns) under supervision. All interns and supervisory staff are required to adhere to the ethical and legal standards outlined in this statement.
- The service provides cognitive assessment and/or time-limited therapy. Should you require specialised, intensive or longer-term support, NPC interns may refer you to the most appropriate service to assist in meeting your needs.
- We will preserve your privacy in accordance with our legal obligations whilst working under Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) standards, and/or professional codes and guidelines (for example, the Australian Psychological Society Code of Ethics.
PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
The collection, storage, use and release of your personal information (which includes your health information) by Northfields Psychology Clinic is covered by the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW).
COLLECTION OF INFORMATION
Personal information collected during intake and service provision enables interns and staff to make informed professional decisions regarding the most appropriate care. Interns will seek your explicit signed consent to commence cognitive assessment and/or therapy. You can choose whether to disclose information to Northfields Psychology Clinic, however failure to disclose relevant information may compromise the level of support provided.
SECURE STORAGE OF INFORMATION
Personal information is stored electronically on a secure digital health management software. Information is only accessible to Northfields Psychology Clinic interns and staff and is handled in accordance with UOW records management obligations. Video and audio recordings are stored within a locked room in NPC or on the intern’s secure UOW OneDrive account. All recordings relating to treatment are deleted at the end of treatment.
CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION
Personal information remains confidential and will only be released to nominated individuals with your written consent, except when:
a) Northfields Psychology Clinic makes a professional judgment that you or another person is at immediate risk of harm.
b) Northfields Psychology Clinic has a legal obligation to do so, such as under subpoena or a search warrant issued by a court of law.
c) Northfields Psychology Clinic makes a professional judgement that a child is at risk of significant harm.
USE OF INFORMATION
Personal information collected by Northfields Psychology Clinic is used exclusively for two purposes:
- For the provision of a service related to cognitive assessment and/or therapy; and
- For the evaluation of the service, through collation of detailed statistics about referral sources, nature of presenting problems, attendance durations, etc.
REQUESTS FOR ACCESS TO CLIENT INFORMATION
At any stage clients may request access to their personal information held by Northfields Psychology Clinic. Requests must be made in writing to the Clinic Manager. These requests will be responded to within 21 working days, and an appointment will be made if necessary for clarification purposes.
UOW’s privacy policy, located on UOW’s website at https://www.uow.edu.au/privacy/ provides further information on UOW’s commitment to protecting your privacy.