Privacy Policy for Management of Personal Information

This document describes the privacy policy of Cherish Psychology for the management of clients’ personal information. The psychological service provided is bound by the legal requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and relevant professional and legal obligations.

Last updated: January 2026

1. Client information

Client files are held in either a secure filing cabinet and/or via a secure electronic document management system that is accessible only to authorised employees or authorised service providers in accordance with the practice’s policies and procedures.

Information on client files may include personal information such as name, address, contact phone numbers, relevant medical and developmental history, and other information collected as part of providing psychological services.

Cherish Psychology uses the online practice management system Halaxy. For information about Halaxy’s privacy policy and how it stores and secures personal information, please visit: https://www.halaxy.com/article/privacy

While Cherish Psychology will take reasonable steps to protect personal information, absolute security cannot be guaranteed. To the extent permitted by law, Cherish Psychology excludes liability (including in negligence) for unauthorised access to, disclosure of, misuse of, loss of, or corruption of personal information that occurs through third-party systems (including Halaxy).

2. How clients’ personal information is collected

Personal information may be collected when information is provided directly to your clinician / Psychologist via forms, email, during appointments, through interactions with Cherish Psychology staff (e.g. reception), or when other health practitioners provide information via referrals, correspondence, or reports (with consent or as permitted by law).

3. Consequence of not providing personal information

If a client does not wish for their personal information to be collected in a way anticipated by this Privacy Policy, Cherish Psychology may not be able to provide psychological services.

In some circumstances, clients may request to remain anonymous or to use a pseudonym, unless it is impracticable to do so or Cherish Psychology is required by law to deal with identified individuals.

4. Purpose of holding personal information

Personal information is collected and used for the purpose of providing psychological services, including assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, and documentation of care.

5. Disclosure of personal information

Personal information will remain confidential except when:

  • required or authorised by law;
  • failure to disclose would, in the reasonable belief of your clinician / Psychologist, place a person at serious risk to life, health, or safety;
  • the client has provided prior consent to share information with another professional, agency, or third party for a purpose directly related to care.

Personal information is not disclosed to overseas recipients unless the client consents or disclosure is required by law. Information is not sold, rented, or used for unrelated purposes.

6. Online questionnaires and assessments

Some assessments and questionnaires are hosted by third-party platforms, including overseas providers. Where possible, identifying information is minimised. However, some platforms require full identifying and demographic information.

Privacy policies for commonly used platforms include:

7. Access and correction

Clients may request access to or correction of their personal information by contacting their clinician / Psychologist. Requests will be responded to in writing within 14 business days.

8. Concerns and complaints

If you have concerns about how your personal information has been handled, please raise this with your clinician / Psychologist.

You may also lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):