Privacy policy

Anderson Counselling ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use and store it, who we share it with, and how you can access or correct it. We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), which set the standard for how organisations in Australia must collect, use, disclose and secure personal information.

What information we collect

We collect only the information reasonably needed to respond to enquiries and provide counselling services. This includes:

• Contact details you give us when you submit an enquiry through our website contact form — typically your name, email address, phone number and the message you send. This form is processed by Web3Forms, a third-party form service that delivers your message to us by email.
• Booking and session information held in Halaxy, the practice management platform we use to schedule appointments, record clinical notes, and manage invoicing. This may include your contact details, appointment history, and information you share during sessions.
• Website analytics collected automatically through Google Analytics 4 (GA4) when you browse our website, such as pages visited, general location, and device type. GA4 anonymises IP addresses by default, so this data is not used to identify you personally.

We do not knowingly collect sensitive information beyond what you choose to share with us directly, and we do not sell your personal information to anyone.

Confidentiality of counselling records

What you discuss in counselling sessions is treated as confidential. Notes and records relating to your sessions are kept securely in Halaxy and are not shared with any third party without your consent, except in the limited circumstances described below.

There are important limits to confidentiality that apply to all counselling relationships in Australia. We may need to disclose information without your consent where:

• there is a serious risk of harm to you or to another person, and disclosure is necessary to prevent that harm;
• we are required to do so by law — for example, in response to a subpoena, court order, or mandatory reporting obligation; or
• disclosure is necessary to respond to a genuine emergency affecting your safety or the safety of others.

Where possible and appropriate, we will discuss this with you before any such disclosure is made. Outside of these circumstances, your counselling records remain confidential.

How we use your information

We use your personal information to:

• respond to enquiries and arrange appointments;
• provide, record and follow up on counselling sessions;
• manage invoicing and payment, including NDIS self-managed or plan-managed claiming where relevant;
• send appointment reminders or administrative communications; and
• understand how our website is used, so we can keep it useful and accurate.

Third parties we work with

We use a small number of trusted third-party services to run our practice and website. Each processes personal information on our behalf, under their own privacy and security terms:

• Halaxy — our practice management platform, used for bookings, clinical notes and invoicing.
• Web3Forms — processes and delivers messages submitted through our website contact form.
• Google Analytics — provides anonymised website usage statistics.
• Cloudflare — hosts and protects our website, and may process technical data such as IP addresses as part of standard web security and performance functions.

We do not share your personal information with any other third party for marketing purposes, and we do not disclose your information overseas except to the extent that the services above may process data on servers located outside Australia as part of their normal operation.

How long we keep your information

We retain contact and enquiry information only as long as needed to respond to you and, where relevant, to provide ongoing services. Counselling records held in Halaxy are retained in line with professional and legal record-keeping obligations for counselling practice in Australia, after which they are securely deleted or de-identified.

Access and correction

You can ask us at any time for access to the personal information we hold about you, or to have it corrected if it's inaccurate or out of date. We'll respond to reasonable requests as promptly as we can. In some cases — for example, where access would pose a risk to your wellbeing or that of another person, or where we're legally required to retain a record — we may need to limit access, and we'll explain why if that applies.

Website cookies and analytics

Our website uses Google Analytics 4 to understand, in general terms, how visitors use the site. This involves small text files (cookies) stored in your browser. You can disable cookies through your browser settings at any time; doing so won't affect your ability to use the site or contact us.

Questions or concerns

If you have a question about this policy, or want to access, correct or ask about your personal information, please contact Dr. Olga Anderson at olga@andersoncounselling.com.au. If you have a concern we haven't resolved to your satisfaction, you can also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), the independent body responsible for privacy regulation in Australia.