Service Agreement

Terms of Service

As part of providing a clinical service to you, The Therapy Clinic (ABN 15 638 510 273) and your clinician will need to collect and record personal information from you that is relevant to your current situation. This information will be a necessary part of your assessment and treatment that is conducted. We also collect some information for billing purposes. This information may be accessible to our administration or support staff.

Purpose of Collecting and Holding Information
The information is gathered as part of the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of your condition, and is seen only by your clinician. The information is retained in order to document what happens during sessions, and enable them to provide a relevant and informed service. We may also store and use your personal information for billing and accounting purposes.

Client Information
Client files are held in a secure digital databases which are accessible only to authorised employees and agents of The Therapy Clinic Pty Ltd. Hardcopies are securely destroyed. In the event we must keep hardcopies, these are stored securely in a locked cabinet. The information on each file includes personal details such as name, address, contacts, and other information which is relevant to the service we provided and maintenance of any related records for issuing or managing billing and payment.

Access to Client Information
At any stage you as a client are entitled to access information about you kept on file, unless relevant legislation provides otherwise. Your clinician may discuss with you appropriate forms of access. We may charge a small administration fee for this access.

Concerns
If you have a concern about the management of your personal information, please inform your clinician. Upon request, you can obtain a copy of the National Privacy Principles, which describe your rights and how your information should be handled. Ultimately, if you wish to lodge a formal complaint about the use of, or access to, your personal information, you may do so with the Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner on 1300 363 992, or GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 1042.

Confidentiality
All personal information gathered by your clinician during the provision of our service will remain confidential and secure except where:

It is subpoenaed by a court, or
Failure to disclose the information would place you or another person at serious and imminent risk; or
Your prior approval has been obtained to
- Provide a written report to another professional or agency. eg. GP or lawyer,
- Discuss the material with another person. eg. Parent or Employer; or,
If disclosure is otherwise required or authorised by law.

Additional information about how we collect, use and store private information is contained within our Privacy Policy and may be viewed here: www.thetherapyclinic.com.au/privacy-policy

Important Information About Fees and Cancellation Policy
Fees
Consultation fees are payable at the time of the session by electronic payment, credit card or cash. Our services are delivered subject to our latest fees available at www.thetherapyclinic.com.au/fees. We reserve the right to change these at any time. If you are referred by your GP under a Mental Health Care Plan, you may be entitled to a rebate from Medicare. Please note report writing is charged at the report writing fee and is may not be covered by third parties or insurers.

If you have been referred through a funded scheme, Workcover, Open Arms or an EAP provider, the fees will be covered by that agency or scheme. You may be bulk billed at our discretion. Please note we may decline to offer you a further service if you miss your appointment without giving at least 24 hours’ notice of cancellation. Where we take electronic payments for services rendered, these payments are subject to the terms and conditions set out by the relevant electronic payments processor. We use Tyro (see: https://www.tyro.com/terms-and-conditions/), Paypal (see: https://www.paypal.com/au/webapps/mpp/ua/legalhub-full) and Stripe (see: https://stripe.com/au/privacy) though may also use other payment processing services at our discretion.

Cancellation Policy
If, for some reason, you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, you will need to provide at least 24 hours’ notice. If you fail to give 24 hours notice of cancelation, you may be charged the full fee for your session. This is because it is difficult to fill appointments at short notice and overhead costs need to be covered. Payment of the cancellation fee needs to be made prior to any subsequent sessions. If you are coming through an agency, a late cancellation may mean you lose one of your sessions. Cancellation fees may be reduced or waived at our discretion.

Telehealth Consultations
Where appropriate the services you receive may be provided by telephone or videoconferencing. You are responsible for the costs associated with setting up the technology needed so you can access telehealth services. The Therapy Clinic will be responsible for the cost of the call to you and the cost associated with the platform used to conduct telehealth services.
To access telehealth consultations you will need access to a quiet, private space; and the appropriate device, i.e. smartphone, laptop, iPad, computer, with a camera, microphone and speakers; and a reliable internet connection.

The privacy of any form of communication via the internet is potentially vulnerable and limited by the security of the technology used. To support the security of your personal information this practice uses Power Diary which is compliant with the Australian standards for online security and encryption. We may elect to use other secure telehealth services as necessary. By agreeing to this you consent to the usage of these services. All care will be taken to ensure these are secure and your data and privacy are protected though you recognise this cannot be guaranteed.

Limitations of Telehealth
A telehealth consultation may be subject to limitations such as an unstable network connection which may affect the quality of the session provided. In addition, there may be some services for which telehealth is not appropriate or effective. Your practitioner will consider and discuss with you the appropriateness of ongoing telehealth sessions.

A Small Request for Clients Using Electronic Bank Payments
We send out invoices via email to many of our clients. This grants a few extra minutes in session where we can do therapy rather than spend those minutes taking payment. All our invoices are issued with an invoice number. When you include this invoice number in your online banking Reference field, it is easy for us to track your payment to us.
When you don't include the invoice number in your bank's reference field, we spend significant additional time on our bookkeeping.

We have a simple request: Please always include your invoice number in all electronic payments to us. Thank you.

This policy is current as of 01 January 2019. Reviewed 22 February 2022.