Serenity Psychotherapy & Support Services are committed to protecting the privacy of an individual’s personal information. The following sets out how we aim to protect the privacy of your personal information, your rights in relation to your personal information managed by us, and the way we collect, use and disclose your personal information.
In handling your personal information, we will comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and with the thirteen Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act. We have policies and procedures in place to ensure that:
• Personal information is managed in an open and transparent way.
• The privacy of personal information of participants and staff are protected.
• We collect and handle personal information fairly.
• Personal information we collect is used and disclosed for legally permitted purposes only.
• We regulate access to and correction of personal information.
• We maintain the confidentiality of personal information through appropriate storage and security. Consumer personal information is collected to provide care and services. Personal information we collect could include your:
• Name, address, telephone number and email address
• Date of birth
• Gender
• Advocate or emergency contact’s telephone number and email
• Health information
• Diversity status (ethnicity, lifestyle preferences).
How we collect personal information Participant personal information may be collected from:
• You, the participant.
• Your family members or significant others.
• Your advocate.
• Your doctor or other service providers or facilities.
We will collect personal information directly from you unless:
• We have your consent to collect the information from someone else.
• We are required or authorised by law to collect the information from someone else.
• It is unreasonable or impractical to do so.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us; although you should be advised that this may impact on our capacity to provide services.

Personal information is collected for the purposes of providing care and services. The information may be used to:
• Provide support services.
• Enable service providers and medical practitioners to provide care and services.
Disclosure of personal information We may disclose your personal and health information, for the purpose of your care and services, to:
• Service providers who assist us in providing care and services, medical practitioners, external health agencies such as the ambulance service, hospitals, the national disability insurance scheme, and other relevant government organisations.
• A person you have nominated as being your advocate, e.g. Parent, child or sibling, spouse, a relative, a member of your household, a guardian, an enduring power of attorney, or a person you have nominated to be contacted in case of emergency, provided they are at least 18 years of age.

We may not use or disclose personal information for a purpose other than providing care and services, unless:
• You have consented.
• The purpose is related to providing care and services, and you would reasonably expect disclosure of the information for that purpose.
• We believe on reasonable grounds that the disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your life, health or safety or a serious threat to public health or public safety.
• We have reason to suspect unlawful activity and disclosure is required or authorised by law. We will not disclose your personal information to an overseas recipient. 

We take all reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we hold is protected against misuse, loss, unauthorised access, and accessibility only by our authorised staff. We will take appropriate action to manage cases of breaches and inform you if this does occur.

Accessing the personal information that we hold about you Under the Privacy Act:
You have a right to access your personal information that is collected and held by us. If at any time you would like to access or change the personal information that we hold about you, or you would like more information on our approach to privacy, please contact us. To obtain access to your personal information, you will have to provide us with proof of identity. We will take all reasonable steps to provide access to your personal information within seven (7) days from your request.
All complaints regarding privacy can be lodged via our complaint handling process. At all times, privacy complaints will:
• Be treated seriously.
• Be dealt with as promptly as possible.
• Be dealt with in a confidential manner.
• Not affect your existing obligations or affect the commercial arrangements between you and us.

You will be informed of the outcome of your complaint following completion of the investigation.