Confidentiality & Data Protection

Confidentiality and Privacy

Personal information gathered by your psychologist will remain confidential expect for certain circumstances. In most cases, any sharing of information will only occur with your consent.  

All personal information gathered by the psychologist during the provision of psychological service will remain confidential and secure except when:  

1. A court subpoena or other disclosure is required or authorised by law.
2. Your consent cannot be gained due to a requirement to get you emergency services during a medical crisis.
3. If there is unauthorised access to data held by the Association, some limited information may need to be shared with the Office of the Information Ombudsman.
4. Failure to disclose the information would place you or another person at risk of harm.
5. Given your prior approval, or consent of a parent or guardian who is legally authorised to act on your behalf, to provide a written report to another professional or agency or discuss information with another person, e.g., parent or employer.
6. You or your child have provided your consent to share your information for a specific reason and purpose.
7. You would reasonably expect your personal information to be disclosed to another professional or agency, and disclosure is directly related to the primary purpose for which it was collected, such as to the referring practitioner of treatment and progress.
8. Clinical consultation with another professional is required to provide better services. If your information is shared in this context, all care is taken to deidentify your information in such a way that you remain anonymous.

If, during your treatment/group program, the psychologist becomes aware of a risk to someone’s life, health, or well-being, the psychologist is required to report the matter to the appropriate agencies and/or to parent/guardians. 

*Please note that we will not engage with you or your family members in public or online in a way that will identify you as a client. This is to protect your privacy and due to the requirements to uphold professional boundaries. Please only contact your psychologist through the Childhood Cancer Association contact details rather than approach them on social media or in public forums.

Data Collection and Storage

Information collected as part of the program (e.g., attendance, feedback) will be securely stored at the Childhood Cancer Association Office. It is only accessed by the facilitators and as required, by authorised staff and personnel engaged by the Childhood Cancer Association. Yours and your family members information is stored either in a physical filing cabinet at the Childhood Cancer Association office, and/or on a secure cloud-based storage system.