Positive Intervention Privacy Policy

Access to and use of this website ("The Positive Intervention Website") which is currently accessible via the domain name positiveintervention.com.au, is provided subject to this privacy policy. Please Also refer to our Terms & Conditions for further information.

PLEASE READ THIS PRIVACY POLICY CAREFULLY AS USE OF THIS WEBSITE
CONSTITUTES FULL ACCEPTANCE OF THIS POLICY AND OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

For purposes of this document, "Positive Intervention" shall include Positive Intervention and its divisions, subsidiaries, successors, parent companies, and their employees, partners, principals, agents and representatives, and any third-party providers or sources of information or data.

This page outlines the the policy adopted by Positive Intervention and the management of the practice's client and Counsellor information. This counselling service is committed to protecting and maintaining the accuracy, privacy and security of personal information that we collect about or through you and is bound by the National Privacy Principles of the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act (2000). At Positive Intervention we aim for the highest level of client service and satisfaction. As such we have stringent policies in place to ensure the utmost respect for your online as well as offline security and privacy.

Client Information
Client files may be retained in a secure filing cabinet and on computer (fire walled with security codes) which are accessible only to Counsellors and authorised employees. The information on each file includes personal information such as name, address, contact details and such other information as is relevant to the counselling service being provided.

We will endeavour to keep your information accurate and up-to-date, however from time to time it will be necessary for you to inform us of any changes to personal information that we hold in order for us to do so.

Personal information
Positive Intervention does not collect personally identifying information about any individual at any of its websites, except when knowingly provided by such individual. This is done via voluntary submission, you always have the option not to provide the information we request. However if you choose not to provide the information we request you may be unable to access certain options and services.

Browser level information & cookies
Positive Intervention web servers automatically collect information about a site user's IP address, browser type and referrer. This information is provided by every user's browser and is automatically logged by most websites. We collected this information in a database and it is used in an aggregated and anonymous manner in our internal analysis of traffic patterns within our websites.

A cookie is a small data file that most websites write to your computer's hard drive when you visit such sites. A cookie file can contain information, such as a user session code, that the site uses to track the pages you have visited in an anonymous manner and keeps session information so your online transactions are accurate. Positive Intervention may use cookies solely to track user traffic patterns throughout our websites and to allow you access to certain sections of the site.

We use this data on a totally anonymous basis and we do not correlate this information with personal data of any user. Most internet browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually change your browser settings to display a warning before accepting a cookie, or to refuse all cookies. However, if you choose to disable the receipt of cookies from our website, you may not be able to use certain features.

Confidentiality
All personal information gathered by the counsellor during the provision of the counselling service will remain confidential and secure except when:

1. It is subpoenaed by a court of law
2. Failure to disclose the information would place you and/or another person at risk
3. Your prior approval has been obtained to…
   1. provide a written report to another professional or agency eg a GP, other health care professional, lawyer or supporting agency such as Work-Cover or a Third Party Insurance agency
   2. discuss the material with another person, eg. Parent or employee

Access to client information
At any stage a client may request to see the information on his/her file. All requests by a client for access to information held must be made in writing to the Practice Manager. These requests will be responded to within 14 days. Such a request will usually require a meeting with the relevant counsellor so that any information queried can be explained and the counsellor may provide a copy of that information to the client.

Requests to change information contained in the practice records will be evaluated by the counsellor and only altered at the complete discretion of the counsellor and then only when the counsellor is satisfied that an error has been made in the recording of that information.

Mass email
We may send emails to those receiving one of our services and/or those registered at our website. These emails may be regarding things such as service status, new products and services and promotions etc. You can always choose to opt-out of such lists at any time by sending an unsubscribe email in reply to the email you recieved or contacting us via this website.

Use of your information and materials gathered from our website
When supplying Positive Intervention with personal information, you are sharing that information, when necessary, with Positive Intervention and its staff as well as vendors providing other services for Positive Intervention. If you do not want your information to be shared, you can choose not to allow the transfer of your information by not using that particular service. When you send us any feedback, suggestions, ideas or other materials in relation to or via our websites, you agree that we can use, reproduce, publish, modify, adapt and transmit them to others free of charge and without restriction, subject to our obligations in our Privacy Statement.

We typically use information gathered at our website for:

• identification and correspondence between Positive Intervention and its authorised representatives and you
• and assessment of our website.

By using our website, you agree to the collection and use of information. If you have any further concerns about how we will use information that is provided to us, please contact us. To obtain further information in respect of your rights regarding privacy, please refer to the Australian Governments pages for privacy.

Use of your information and materials in regards to counselling
Over the course of consultation, the information supplied will be used to enable the Counsellors to make informed professional decisions in providing the most appropriate assessment and treatment needed. Such information is retained in order to document what has occurred during the course of any consultation.

On going training and supervision of our counsellors may occasionally call for the Video recording of a counselling session. This is occasionally a helpful intervention for the management of some issues. Should the need to video arise your written consent will be sought prior to the video session and this privacy policy applies to that recording in exactly the same way as it does to a written record of the session.

Concerns
If a client has a concern about the management of his/her personal information please inform the Practice Manager of Positive Intervention. Ultimately, if the client wishes to lodge a formal complaint about the privacy of his/her personal information, this may be lodged with the Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner on 1300 363 992 or GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 1042

This document was last updated: 13th June 2007.