Privacy statement.
At Proof of Character, we are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of your personal and health information. This Privacy Statement describe how Proof of Character collects, uses and safeguards personal information that you provide to us, and outlines our practices in compliance with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and the Victorian Health Records Act 2001. When we refer to personal information, we mean information or an opinion about you, from which your identity is apparent or can be reasonably ascertained.
We are committed to promoting confidence in the manner in which your personal information is handled by us.
We collect personal and health information for the primary purpose of providing psychological assessment and treatment services. The information we collect may include:
Personal details (name, date of birth, contact information)
Health and medical history
Psychosocial history and assessments
Treatment notes and progress reports
We collect information directly from you or from third parties with your consent, such as referring healthcare providers.
Use and Disclosure
Your personal and health information is used for the purposes of assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and the coordination of care. We may also use your information for administrative purposes, including billing and appointment reminders.
We will not disclose your information to third parties without your consent, except as required by law, for billing and administrative purposes, or in situations where your safety or the safety of others is at risk. We will not rent, sell or exchange information about you to third parties except to your employers or potential employers, where you consent, where you would reasonably expect the information to be disclosed or, as noted, where we are legally required to disclose such information.
Security
We protect the quality and integrity of your personally identifiable information and we have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to do so.
We take all reasonable steps to protect your information from unauthorised access, improper use or disclosure, unauthorised modification, or unlawful destruction or accidental loss. Your information is stored securely, and our staff is trained to respect and maintain confidentiality of personal data.
We ensure that your personal data will not be disclosed to State institutions and authorities except if required by law or other regulation.
Access and Correction
You can ask us whether we are keeping personal data about you.
You have the right to access and request corrections to your personal and health information. To do so, please contact our practice manager.
Where we have prepared an assessment on behalf of your employer, or a third party such as an insurance agent, a copy or summary of your assessment report should be requested from your employer or the relevant third party agency.
Complaints
If you have concerns about the handling of your information or believe your privacy has been breached, please contact us. We are committed to providing a fair and responsive system for handling and resolving complaints concerning the handling of personal information. You have a right to complain and to have your complaint handled efficiently if you are concerned about our handling of your personal information.
We take privacy complaints seriously and will investigate and address them promptly.
Retention and Disposal
We retain your information for the time necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected or as required by law. When no longer needed, we ensure it is securely disposed of.
Website and Electronic Communication
In general, you can visit Proof of Character website without telling us who you are and without revealing any information about yourself.
Our website may use cookies and collect non-identifiable information for statistical purposes.
The internet browser that you use may make use of a feature called a "cookie" to assign identification to your computer. We do not use cookies to store personal data or to link personal data to non-personal data. If your browser accepts cookies, a cookie will be placed on your computer which will allow our webservices to recognise you when you return to our website. No personal information will be stored in this cookie.
There may be occasions when you choose to give us personal information. Generally this will be for the purposes of:
receiving further information from us; or
for recruitment, selection and development purposes by potential employers, managing recruitment and human resource processes and any related purpose where you have consented to the collection.
We do not collect or use personal data for purposes other than those detailed within this statement, and will ask you when we need information that personally identifies you or allows us to contact you.
Email and electronic communication may not be completely secure. We recommend using discretion when sharing sensitive information electronically.
Changes to Privacy Statement
We may update this Privacy Statement as needed to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The most recent version will be available on our website.
By engaging our services, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information as described in this Privacy Statement.
If you have any questions or concerns about our privacy practices, or the handling, use, or disclosure of your personal information by us, please contact our practice manager.