Illume Psychology (Illume Psychology, we, us, our) values the privacy and confidentiality of your personal information and health information. We are committed to protecting your privacy, and comply with our obligations under the Information Privacy Act 2000 and the Health Records Act 2001. The privacy policy outlines how we collect and manage personal information, and the procedures in place to protect your privacy.

The privacy policy does not affect our obligation of confidentiality to you if you are our patient. 

Using and continuing to use the Illume Psychology website and services indicates that you accept the Privacy Policy and approve the collection, use and disclosure by Illume Psychology of your personal information according to the terms below.

Collecting personal information

As part of providing a psychological service to you, Illume Psychology needs to collect and record personal information from you that is relevant to your situation. This collection of personal information will be a necessary part of delivering psychological assessment and treatment.

Personal information is any information that can be used to identify you. We collect personal information you disclose to us in communications between us and you. as well as transaction details relating to your payment of services from us. We collect current and historical personal information, such as your name, contact details, identification, employment, health details, payment details and Medicare details.

Sometimes we collect personal information from third parties, including public sources, your representatives and the parties with whom we exchange information as described here.

Most of your personal information is provided to us directly by you and for a specific purpose. When we collect personal information, we will whenever practical, communicate why this information is being collected. 

The personal information collected by Illume Psychology includes:

• The content of any forms (hardcopy or electronic) you submit directly to us or via the website asking us to provide services or information;

• Information submitted if you ask to receive newsletters/updates, promotional materials or you complete a feedback form; and

• Any communication you submit directly or via email or phone, which may include personal information such as name, email address and phone number.

• Information obtained for the purpose of delivering psychological services to you.

Personal information collected is for the purpose of responding to your contact with Illume Psychology.

Any Illume Psychology staff may read your written communications with Illume Psychology, including emails.

Illume Psychology may not be able to provide you with required information or services if you do not provide the personal information requested.

Sensitive information

Sensitive information is personal information that generally has greater privacy protections under the Privacy Act. We will only collect sensitive information (e.g., health, race and sexual preferences or practices) from you if it is relevant to providing you with Illume Psychology clinical services.

Information provided by "cookies"

Illume Psychology uses "cookies" and similar technology built into Squarespace website software to assist in improving the browsing experience for users, to allow use of features on the Illume Psychology website, and to make it easier to access our services. Cookies identify how visitors interact with the Illume Psychology website, including traffic coming into and out of the website. Cookies enable our webserver to collect information back from your browser each time you visit the Illume Psychology website. Statistical information may be recorded about your usage, the time of your visit, its duration, the pages you visit and style settings.

The use and access of this information is restricted to Illume Psychology and is not used to identify individual users of the Illume Psychology website, unless legally required.  

Using and disclosing information  

We will only use your personal information provided for the purposes for which it was collected unless:

• You consent to its use for another purpose;

• You would reasonably expect it to be used for a related purpose (or if the information is sensitive information, for a directly related purpose); and

• It is subpoenaed by a court, or disclosure is otherwise required or authorised by law.

• Your approval has been obtained to:

  a) Provide a written report to another professional or agency (e.g., lawyer, GP, school) or

  b) Discuss the material with another person (e.g., parent/carer, employer, school, supervisor). This might occur through referral to another mental health professional/practitioner and/or through reports provided or returned following these referrals.

  c) Discuss the material with other mental health professionals, or students training in psychology and/or counselling or a related discipline for the purpose of patient care and teaching/training.

  Please let Illume Psychology know if you do not want your information used for these purposes (b and c above) and this will be noted in your file. It is a registration requirement that psychologist's have have clinical supervision for their patient work.

We will not disclose your personal information to any third parties without your consent, unless permitted or required to do so by law, in particular when we exercise our Duty of Care. We may exchange your personal information with your and our representatives, and with our service providers that assist us with archival, auditing, accounting, client contact, legal, business consulting, banking, payment, debt collection, delivery, data processing, data analysis, document management, research, investigation, insurance, website or technology services.

Duty of Care

In circumstances where your communication with Illume Psychology raises safety concerns, we will endeavour to contact you to check the welfare and safety of you and/or others. If necessary for protection of you and/or others, Illume Psychology may give relevant information provided by you to appropriate persons, such as a caregiver, medical practitioner, crisis service or police.

Where possible we will work with you openly, letting you know if our concerns reach the point where we need to involve other services, such as when failure to disclose the information would in the reasonable belief of Illume Psychology place you or another person at serious risk to life, health or safety.

Data Quality, Security and Retention

Your personal information is gathered as part of your assessment and treatment, is kept securely and, in the interests of your privacy, used only by Illume Psychology clinical staff and the authorised personnel of the practice (as necessary). Your personal information is retained in order to document what happens during sessions, and enables Illume Psychology to provide a relevant and informed psychological service to you.

We hold personal information in a number of ways including electronically and in hard copy form, both at our own premises and with the assistance of our service providers.

Your personal information is only kept while it is required for the purpose for which it was collected, for a permitted secondary purpose or as required by law.

We take reasonable steps to ensure the personal information we collect, use and disclose is accurate, current, complete and relevant. Informing Illume Psychology of changes to your contact details will help keep your information up to date.

We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we maintain from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, interference, modification and disclosure; and to only keep personal information while it is required for the purpose for which it was collected or for a permitted secondary purpose. However, no transmission of information over the internet is completely secure. Whilst we have implemented security technology and procedures to protect your information, Illume Psychology gives no warranty and cannot ensure the security of any information which you send to us online, and individuals do so at their own risk. If you are concerned about communicating sensitive material to us over the internet, you may prefer to contact us by phone or provide information directly.    

Illume Psychology uses the practice management software, Powerdiary. In general, the third-party providers used by us will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to allow them to perform the services they provide to us. Certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies in respect to the information we are required to provide to them for your payment-related transactions. For these providers, we recommend that you read their privacy policies so you can understand the manner in which your personal information will be handled by these providers.

Access to your personal information  

Should you wish to gain access to your personal information or ask that it be corrected please contact us.

Contact Us

If you wish to access your personal information or have any questions about our Privacy Policy, please contact connect@illumepsychology.com.au or phone 0412 803 277