The Relationship Room

The purpose of The Relationship Room’s Privacy Policy is to provide you, the Client, with relevant information outlining how your personal information is managed and stored. Your privacy is of the utmost importance to us and our Privacy Policy aligns with health industry standards as outlined below.

Confidentiality

Every client has the right to confidentiality. Our services ensure that all personal information is managed appropriately, in accordance with the legal requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act (1988). That is, personal information shared during sessions will remain confidential and secure, or only discussed with other health professionals for the purpose of professional liaison or supervision. Under the requirements of Medicare, Registered Psychologists are required to provide reporting on treatment undertaken to the referring GP or mental health professional.

Our therapists reserve the right to break confidentiality if they believe that the client themselves, or someone else, is at risk of harm. The Relationship Room or the therapist is obliged to release your file if it is subpoenaed by a court. Health professionals are required by law to inform authorities if they have been given information about a past, present or future crime. If the therapist determines that confidentiality needs to be broken, then they will discuss this with the client as soon as practicable. Information may be released with the written permission of the client and agreed on by both parties in the context of couples work.

Consent

As a client of The Relationship Room, you are required to provide consent to the above terms as outlined in our Confidentiality & Consent agreement. Each client is required to provide written consent prior to the commencement of services. Clients may also be asked for written consent for the transfer of personal information to other health professionals.

Personal Information

Personal information includes client name, date of birth, contact details, Medicare number (for identification and claiming purposes), medical information, health fund details (if applicable), and credit card details. Personal information is collected to provide the client with a premium, thorough and professional healthcare service. We use personal information for activities relating to the healthcare service including Medicare claiming, payments, invoicing, online bookings and liaison with healthcare practitioners where required.
Personal information is collected over the phone by our reception team, online through our secure booking system, and via other means including the enquiry form on our website and The Relationship Room’s social media accounts.

You will be required to provide credit card details at the time of booking to secure your appointment time. This applies to both online and face-to-face appointments. Credit card details are securely stored in our bank-encrypted online billing system, STRIPE. For online appointments, payment is processed using your nominated credit card details via STRIPE. For face-to-face appointments, payment is processed using our secure ingenico EFTPOS system.

The Relationship Room takes steps to ensure all personal information remains up to date. If there are any changes to personal information, please contact the clinic.

Data Security

Personal information is stored securely in line with health industry standards. This includes securing our premises under double lock, and placing passwords or varying levels of accessibility to all accounts whereby personal information is stored.

Telehealth sessions are conducted via Zoom. Our telehealth privacy procedures ensure that personal information shared during sessions is transmitted through a private and secure environment.

Privacy + Communication

We predominantly communicate with clients via email and SMS, both of which are performed within a private and secure system that meets health industry standards. By consenting to receive communication from The Relationship Room, you consent to receive appointment information, correspondence, and healthcare information via email and SMS. We ensure appointment and healthcare information via SMS is de-identified where possible.

The client understands that personal information can be sent by email and/or SMS, which is not a secure form of communication as it can be misdirected, disclosed to or intercepted by unauthorised third parties. By giving consent, the client is aware of the privacy risks of email and SMS communication. The client also consents to referrals and other health information be sent via email or post to referring practitioners.

Privacy + Our Website

All personal information gathered through our website (including enquiry forms, promotional database signup, and online bookings) remains confidential and is stored securely.

Policy Review Statement

This Privacy Policy is current from April 2023 and is reviewed annually. The Relationship Room reserves the right to change information enclosed in its Privacy Policy as necessary.