Privacy Policy

This policy is effective from May 2025.

About this Policy

This Privacy Policy outlines how Climb Psychology collects, uses, discloses, stores, secures, and disposes of your Personal Information. It applies to our website (www.climbpsychology.com.au) and the psychological services provided by Climb Psychology.

References to “Climb Psychology,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to ABN 96 723 513 278. References to “you” and “your” refer to individuals whose Personal Information we collect.

Climb Psychology is committed to protecting your privacy and complying with the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Psychological Society’s Ethical Guidelines. This Privacy Policy complements our confidentiality obligations to clients. By accessing our website or using our services, you agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy.

Information Collection and Use

"Personal Information" refers to information or an opinion about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, as defined by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

Examples of the Personal Information we may collect include:

• Name

• Contact details (email address, phone number, address)

• Date of birth

• Payment information

We aim to collect only the Personal Information necessary for the specific task or service we are providing.

We use your Personal Information for the following purposes:

• To provide and manage our psychological services

• To communicate with you, including scheduling appointments or responding to inquiries

• To improve our website and service offerings

• To comply with legal obligations and ensure the safety of our clients

• For billing and payment processing

Your Personal Information may be collected through avenues such as:

• Telephone and email interactions

• Visiting or interacting with our website

• Enquiries submitted via our website (www.climbpsychology.com.au)

• During appointments

• Completion of online or hardcopy forms

In addition to Personal Information, we may collect sensitive information in connection with your enquiry, appointment, or treatment. According to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), sensitive information is a subset of Personal Information and includes details about:

• Health information

• Racial or ethnic origin

• Political opinions or memberships

• Religious or philosophical beliefs

• Trade union or professional body memberships

• Criminal records

Sensitive information specific to your care may include case notes, medical reports, referrals, medication history, and other health-related details. We collect such information only with your consent and when it is reasonably necessary to provide our services to you.

Sensitive information may be gathered directly from you, or from third parties, such as your referring GP. We use sensitive information strictly for the following purposes:

• The primary purpose for which it was collected

• A secondary purpose directly related to the primary purpose

• With your consent or where required or authorised by law

Website Data Collection

Our website is hosted by Hostinger Website Builder, which may automatically collect certain data when you visit our site. This data may include your IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, referring URLs, and information about how you interact with the website (e.g., information about your website usage, such as the pages you visit and how long you stay on each page). Hostinger uses this information to ensure website functionality, monitor performance, and maintain security. Climb Psychology itself does not use cookies or tracking technologies to collect Personal Information. However, Hostinger Website Builder, which hosts our website may use certain analytics tools to monitor website performance and interactions. For more details about Hostinger’s data practices, please refer to their Privacy Policy here.

Disclosure of Personal Information

We do not sell or rent your Personal Information. Your Personal Information may be disclosed to third parties in a number of circumstances including the following:

• You have consented to the disclosure; or

• We reasonably believe that disclosure is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to the life, health or safety of an individual, or to public health or safety; or

• You would reasonably expect your Personal Information to be disclosed and disclosure to that third party is for a purpose directly related to the primary purpose for which your Personal Information was collected, for example, to your GP, emergency services, or for billing or payment purposes; or

• Where required or authorised by law

We use third-party providers like Titan email, Hostinger Website Builder, Halaxy (practice management software), and Zoom for administrative purposes, some of which have data centres based overseas. This may involve storing Personal Information outside Australia. While these providers have strong data security practices, including encryption and secure storage, handling of your information overseas may not be governed by Australian privacy laws. By providing Personal Information, you consent to its overseas transfer and acknowledge that Climb Psychology is not accountable for how overseas recipients manage it. We encourage you to review their respective privacy policies for more details.

Security, Storage and Disposal of Personal Information

Climb Psychology stores Personal Information securely to protect it from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. To enhance security, we employ two-factor authentication (2FA) for accessing critical systems, including email accounts, Halaxy (practice management software), Zoom, and our website builder. Client files are stored electronically through Halaxy (www.halaxy.com), which employs its own robust security measures, including encryption. You can view Halaxy’s privacy policy here.

While we take measures to safeguard your information, no system is completely secure and we cannot guarantee the security of data transmitted over the internet. Any exchange of information with us is at your own risk. If a breach occurs involving unauthorized access, disclosure, or loss of your Personal Information that could cause serious harm, we will investigate and notify both you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, as required under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

When your Personal Information is no longer needed, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify it. However, client files are retained for a minimum of seven years, as required by law.

Requests for Access and Correction

Clients may, at any time, request access to and correction of the Personal Information held about them. The treating psychologist may review the information with them, subject to exceptions in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). If it is determined that the Personal Information is inaccurate, outdated, or incomplete, reasonable steps will be taken to correct it as appropriate to the circumstances.

Opt-Out Options

We will endeavor to de-identify or delete your Personal Information upon request, except where we are required to retain it by law or professional obligations. You can also withdraw your consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of your information at any time, although this may affect our ability to provide you with services.

Links to other Websites

Our website may contain links to other websites, whose data protection and privacy practices may differ from ours. These links are meant for your convenience only. Links to third party websites do not constitute endorsement or approval of these websites. We are not responsible for the content and privacy policies of these other websites and we encourage you to consult their privacy policies before using their websites.

Policy Updates

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time by posting the amended policy on our website. All modifications will be effective immediately upon our posting of the changes on our website. Please return from time to time to review our privacy policy.

Complaint Handling

If you have concerns about how your privacy is managed, please contact us at admin@climbpsychology.com.au. We will acknowledge your complaint within 14 business days and will aim to resolve it promptly, keeping you informed throughout the process. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at http://www.oaic.gov.au or call 1300 363 992.

Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us by email at admin@climbpsychology.com.au.