Privacy Policy

SJ3 Mental Health Consulting is a telehealth psychology practice providing psychological services to individuals across Australia. Our registered psychologists are registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and practise in accordance with the Psychology Board of Australia's Code of Conduct.

For privacy enquiries, please contact us at: [email protected]

We may collect the following types of personal information:

• ›Identity information: Your full name, date of birth, and gender.
• ›Contact information: Email address, phone number, and state/territory of residence.
• ›Health information: Mental health history, presenting concerns, treatment notes, referral details, and Medicare information. Health information is classified as sensitive information under the Privacy Act and is afforded the highest level of protection.
• ›Medicare and billing information: Medicare card details, private health insurance details, and payment information.
• ›GP and referral details: Name and contact details of your referring General Practitioner, where applicable.
• ›Website usage data: IP address, browser type, pages visited, and session duration, collected via analytics tools.
• ›Communications: Enquiries, messages, and correspondence you send to us via our website contact form, email, or telephone.

We collect personal information in the following ways:

• ›Directly from you when you complete our online contact or booking forms.
• ›During your initial consultation and throughout the course of your treatment.
• ›From your referring GP or other health professional, with your consent.
• ›From third parties such as Medicare Australia, where applicable.
• ›Automatically through our website via cookies and analytics tools.

We will always collect personal information directly from you where it is reasonable and practicable to do so. You are not required to provide personal information to browse our website; however, we cannot provide psychological services without collecting the information necessary to do so safely and effectively.

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• ›To provide psychological assessment and treatment services to you.
• ›To communicate with you about your appointments, treatment, and care.
• ›To process payments and Medicare or insurance claims.
• ›To maintain accurate clinical records as required by law and professional standards.
• ›To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations under Australian law.
• ›To improve our services and website (using de-identified data only).
• ›To respond to your enquiries submitted via our website or by email.

All personal and health information you share with your psychologist is strictly confidential. Your information will not be disclosed to any third party without your written consent, except in the following circumstances:

• ›Where disclosure is required or authorised by law (e.g., in response to a court subpoena or mandatory reporting obligations).
• ›Where there is a serious and imminent risk to the life, health, or safety of you or another person, and it is unreasonable or impracticable to obtain your consent.
• ›Where required for Medicare reporting — if you are accessing services under a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP), your psychologist is required to provide a summary report to your referring GP.
• ›Where required for NDIS reporting, if applicable.
• ›With your prior written consent, to communicate with another treating health professional (e.g., your GP, psychiatrist, or specialist).

Your information will never be sold, rented, or disclosed for commercial purposes.

We take the security of your personal and health information seriously. We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information from unauthorised access, misuse, loss, or disclosure. These measures include:

• ›Encrypted, password-protected clinical record systems.
• ›Secure, end-to-end encrypted video conferencing platforms for telehealth sessions.
• ›Restricted access to client records — only your treating psychologist and authorised administrative staff can access your file.
• ›Secure electronic storage of all client records.

In accordance with the ethical guidelines of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and applicable law, client records for adults are retained for a minimum of seven (7) years from the date of last contact. Records for clients who were minors at the time of treatment are retained until the client reaches 25 years of age.

We are subject to the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme under the Privacy Act 1988. In the event of an eligible data breach that is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and affected individuals as required by law.

Our services are delivered via secure telehealth video platforms. While we take all reasonable precautions to protect the privacy and security of your sessions, you should be aware that:

• ›No technology platform is entirely free from risk. There is a small residual risk of unauthorised interception.
• ›You are responsible for ensuring you are in a private location during your session.
• ›Sessions are never recorded without your explicit written consent.

Our website may collect non-identifying usage data through cookies and analytics tools (such as page visits, session duration, and browser type). This data is used solely to improve the functionality and user experience of our website. It is not linked to any personal or health information.

You may disable cookies in your browser settings; however, this may affect the functionality of certain parts of our website.

Under the Australian Privacy Principles, you have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you, and to request that inaccurate, out-of-date, or incomplete information be corrected.

To make an access or correction request, please contact us in writing at [email protected]. We will respond to your request within 30 days. In some circumstances, we may be unable to provide access (for example, where disclosure would pose a serious threat to another person's health or safety), and we will explain the reason for any refusal.

If you believe we have breached your privacy or not handled your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles, we encourage you to contact us first so we can attempt to resolve your concern:

Email: [email protected]

We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and aim to resolve it within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

• ›Website: www.oaic.gov.au
• ›Phone: 1300 363 992

Complaints about the professional conduct of a psychologist may also be lodged with AHPRA at www.ahpra.gov.au.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal obligations, or regulatory requirements. The updated policy will be posted on this page with a revised "last updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.