Privacy Policy
1. About this Privacy Policy
I am committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information with care, respect and confidentiality.
This Privacy Policy explains how I collect, use, store and disclose personal information, including sensitive health information, when you visit this website or engage my psychological services.
I provide psychological services as a private clinical psychologist in Western Australia and am required to comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, "I", "me" and "my" refer to Dr Ashley Frew.
2. What information do I collect?
Depending on how you interact with me, I may collect personal information including:
your name and contact details, such as telephone number, email address and address;
date of birth and other identifying information;
information provided when you make an enquiry or request an appointment;
information contained in referrals, correspondence and reports from other health professionals;
information about your psychological, medical and personal history;
information relating to your mental health, wellbeing, relationships and circumstances;
Medicare details and other information required for billing, rebates or health-service administration;
information about your treatment, appointments, progress and psychological assessments;
information provided by other people or organisations where this is relevant and permitted;
information contained in communications with you, including telephone, email, text message and telehealth communications; and
information you voluntarily provide through this website, including information submitted through contact or consultation forms.
Health information is considered sensitive information under Australian privacy law and receives additional protections.
3. How do I collect your information?
I generally collect personal information directly from you.
This may occur when you:
contact me by telephone, email or through my website;
submit an enquiry or consultation request;
complete intake or consent forms;
attend an appointment, either in person or via telehealth;
provide information during psychological assessment or treatment;
make a payment or request a Medicare or other rebate; or
communicate with me before, during or after treatment.
Where appropriate and with your consent, I may also collect information from other people or organisations involved in your care, such as your GP, psychiatrist or another treating professional.
In some circumstances, information may be collected without your consent where this is authorised or required by law, or where permitted under the Australian Privacy Principles.
4. Why do I collect your information?
I collect and hold personal information where it is reasonably necessary to:
provide psychological assessment and treatment;
understand your circumstances and provide appropriate clinical care;
communicate with you about appointments and your care;
maintain accurate clinical records;
communicate with other treating professionals where you have authorised this or where disclosure is otherwise permitted by law;
prepare reports or correspondence where requested or required;
process Medicare claims, rebates, payments and accounts;
meet legal, professional, regulatory and record-keeping obligations;
manage the administration and security of my practice; and
respond to enquiries made through my website.
I only collect information that is reasonably necessary for these purposes.
5. Website information
When you visit my website, some information may be collected automatically by the website or its hosting and technology providers.
This may include information such as:
your IP address;
browser and device information;
pages visited;
date and time of visits;
referring websites; and
general website usage information.
This information may be used for website security, maintenance, analytics and improving the website.
Where cookies or similar technologies are used, they may collect information about how visitors interact with the website. You can generally adjust your browser settings to manage or disable cookies.
6. Website enquiries and consultation forms
If you submit an enquiry or consultation request through my website, I will use the information you provide to respond to your enquiry and, where relevant, to assess or arrange an appointment.
Please avoid including detailed or highly sensitive health information in a website enquiry unless it is specifically requested.
Website forms and email are not necessarily equivalent to a secure clinical communication system. If you become a client, I will provide information about appropriate methods of communicating sensitive clinical information.
7. How I use and disclose your information
I will generally use your personal and health information only for the purpose for which it was collected, for a directly related purpose that you would reasonably expect, or where otherwise permitted or required by law.
With your consent, information may be disclosed to relevant health professionals or other people involved in your care where this is clinically appropriate.
Information may also be disclosed where required or authorised by law, including in circumstances involving serious risks to a person's life, health or safety, or where disclosure is otherwise permitted under the Privacy Act.
I will not sell your personal information.
I will not use your health information for direct marketing without your specific consent.
8. Confidentiality
Confidentiality is an important part of psychological care.
I take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of information disclosed during psychological services. However, confidentiality is not absolute and there are circumstances in which information may need to be disclosed without consent, including where required or authorised by law or where necessary to address a serious threat to life, health or safety.
The limits of confidentiality will be discussed with you as part of the commencement of psychological services.
9. How I store and protect your information
I take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
Clinical records and other personal information may be stored electronically and/or in secure physical records.
I use appropriate security measures, access controls and reputable service providers to help protect information held by my practice.
No method of electronic transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure. However, I take reasonable steps to minimise privacy and security risks.
10. Third-party service providers
I may use trusted third-party providers to assist with the operation and administration of my practice and website. Depending on the services I use, these may include providers of:
practice management and clinical record systems;
appointment booking systems;
telehealth services;
electronic payments and accounting;
email and SMS communications;
website hosting and maintenance;
cloud storage;
Medicare or health-service administration; and
website analytics or security.
Where third-party providers handle personal information on my behalf, I take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate privacy and security arrangements are in place.
11. Overseas disclosure and storage
Some technology and service providers used by my practice or website may store or process information outside Australia.
Where personal information is likely to be disclosed to an overseas recipient, I will take reasonable steps to ensure that the information is handled in accordance with applicable privacy obligations.
The countries in which information may be stored or processed will depend on the particular technology and service providers used by my practice.
12. Access to your information
You generally have the right to request access to personal information I hold about you.
If you would like to access your information, please contact me using the details below.
I will generally respond to an access request within a reasonable period. There may be circumstances where access is limited or refused where permitted or required by law, including where providing access could have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of another person or where providing access could pose a serious threat to someone's life, health or safety.
13. Correction of information
I take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information I hold is accurate, complete and up to date.
If you believe information I hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, you may ask me to correct it.
Please contact me using the details below and explain what information you believe needs to be corrected.
14. Privacy concerns or complaints
If you have a concern or complaint about the way I have handled your personal information, please contact me in the first instance.
I will acknowledge and investigate your complaint and aim to resolve it promptly and fairly.
If your concern is not resolved, you may contact the following bodies:
Psychology Board of Australia
Phone: 1300 419 495
Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
Phone: 1300 419 495
15. Changes to this Privacy Policy
I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to my practice, website, technology, services or privacy obligations.
The most recent version will be published on this website.
17. Contact
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your personal information is handled, please contact me
Dr Ashley Frew
contact@drashleyfrew.com.au
0407 849 903
696 Beaufort Street Mount Lawley WA 6050
Related information: This Privacy Policy should be read alongside any client consent, intake, telehealth and collection notices provided when psychological services commence.