Legal
This policy covers Lantern Psychology Centre as an organisation. Each independent practitioner is responsible for their own client records and privacy obligations.
Lantern Psychology Centre is a shared practice of independent clinicians. This policy covers information collected by Lantern Psychology Centre as an organisation, for example, through this website, general enquiries and referrals sent to our administration. Each clinician operating from Lantern runs their own independent practice and is responsible for their own clinical records and their own privacy obligations. Once you become a client of an individual clinician, their privacy policy governs how your health information is handled. Please ask them directly for a copy.
This policy explains how Lantern Psychology Centre collects, uses, stores and discloses personal information. It applies to visitors to this website, people who submit an enquiry or referral through this site, and people who contact our administration by phone, email or fax.
We are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), and by the health records legislation applying in the Australian Capital Territory.
The information we collect depends on how you contact us. It may include:
Some of this is sensitive information under the Privacy Act, including health information. We only collect it where it is reasonably necessary to help connect you with a suitable clinician, and where you have consented to provide it.
This website does not use advertising or tracking cookies. Our hosting provider records standard technical information such as page requests and approximate location, used only to keep the site running and secure.
We collect personal information in order to:
We do not use your information for marketing, and we do not sell or trade personal information.
If you submit an enquiry or referral, the information you provide is shared with clinicians at Lantern Psychology Centre for the purpose of review and allocation. This is set out on the form at the point you submit it.
We may also disclose personal information where:
We are a collective of independent practitioners who share referrals and rooms. We do not triage patients. If you are at immediate risk, please contact your GP, call 000, or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Enquiry and referral information submitted through this website is stored in secure, access-controlled cloud services. Access is limited to Lantern administration and the clinicians to whom a referral is directed.
We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access or disclosure. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted over the internet.
Enquiry and referral records held by Lantern administration are retained only as long as necessary for the purpose they were collected, or as required by law, and are then securely destroyed.
Clinical records created by an individual clinician are held by that clinician under their own obligations, which in Australia generally require records to be kept for at least seven years from the date of last contact, or in the case of a person under 18, until they turn 25.
You may request access to the personal information Lantern Psychology Centre holds about you, and ask us to correct anything inaccurate or out of date. Contact us using the details below. We will respond within a reasonable period.
If your request relates to clinical records, please contact the individual clinician directly, as those records are held by them rather than by Lantern.
If you have a concern about how your personal information has been handled, please contact us first at info@lanternpsychology.com.au so we can try to resolve it.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.
Lantern Psychology Centre
Email: info@lanternpsychology.com.au
Phone: 0403 755 113
Fax: 02 6188 7368
Rowland House, 5/10 Thesiger Court, Deakin ACT 2600
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on this page, with the date it was last updated shown at the top.
This document describes the privacy policy of the Lantern Psychology Centre for the management of the personal information of her clients. The psychological service provided is bound by the legal requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
As part of providing a psychological service to you, Lantern Psychology Centre needs to collect and record personal information from you that is relevant to your situation, such as your name, contact information, medical history and other relevant information as part of providing psychological services to you. If you do not wish for your personal information to be collected in a way outlined in this form, Lantern Psychology Centre may not be able to provide the psychological service to you.
Your personal information is gathered as part of your assessment and treatment and retained in order to document what happens during sessions and enables the psychologist to provide a relevant and informed psychological service to you. It is only accessed by your psychologist, and if necessary, by authorised staff and personnel engaged by this practice in accordance with the practice’s policies and procedures.
Client information is stored electronically using Halaxy, a secure Australian-based practice management system. Information is stored on protected servers with industry-standard security measures, including access controls and encryption, and is accessible only to authorised staff involved in your care or practice administration. For more information regarding Halaxy, please see the Halaxy Terms of Use and Halaxy Privacy Policy
There are situations where your personal information may be released without obtaining your consent, including when:
If you are accessing Medicare rebates, Medicare requires your psychologist to provide written reports to your referring GP in accordance with the Better Access initiative. Similarly, where services are funded or subsidised by the Australian Defence Force (ADF), the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA), or a private insurer, reporting may be required in line with the relevant funding or contractual arrangements. Such reports typically include information about assessment, progress, and recommendations relevant to your care and are limited to what is required for funding, continuity of care, or compliance purposes.
Psychologists are required to engage in professional consultation and supervision to ensure safe and effective care. Where client information is discussed in this context, reasonable steps are taken to de-identify information so that you are not readily identifiable. Information is shared only to the extent necessary for professional purposes and in accordance with professional standards and privacy legislation
This practice may use AI-assisted tools to support the preparation of clinical notes and administrative records. These tools are used as documentation aids only and do not provide clinical advice or make treatment decisions. The use of this tool is optional, and you, as a client, can choose to decline its use. Where used, information is processed and stored in secure, access-controlled systems, with access limited to the treating practitioner and authorised practice staff.
Your data
CCTV cameras operate in waiting rooms only for the purpose of maintaining safety, security, and the protection of clients, staff, and property. Any personal information collected through CCTV is handled in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including the Australian Privacy Principles, and the Surveillance Devices Act 2010 (ACT). CCTV footage is securely stored in Australia in access-controlled systems, with access restricted to authorised personnel only. Footage is retained for no longer than 30 days, unless required for incident review, a complaint, risk management, or a lawful request by a regulatory or law-enforcement authority, in which case it may be retained for longer as permitted by law.
This consent will remain valid as long as the service continues to be provided. It will lapse if there is a minimum of 2 years without contact following the last appointment. You are also able to withdraw consent at any time, though consent cannot be withdrawn retrospectively (for services that have already been provided).
All personal information gathered by the psychologist during the provision of the psychological service will remain confidential though there are exceptions.
Your consent will be requested:
At any stage clients may request to see and correct the personal information about them kept on file. The psychologist may discuss the contents with them and/or give them a copy, subject to the exceptions in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). If satisfied that personal information is inaccurate, out of date, or incomplete, reasonable steps will be taken in the circumstances to ensure that this information is corrected. All requests by clients for access to or correction of personal information held about them should be lodged in writing at info@lanternpsychology.com.au. These requests will be responded to in writing within 30 days, and an appointment will be made if necessary for clarification purposes.
If clients have a concern about the management of their personal information, they may inform Alison Christie at info@lanternpsychology.com.au. Upon request, they can obtain a copy of the Australian Privacy Principles, which describe their rights and how their personal information should be handled.
Ultimately, if clients wish to lodge a formal complaint about the use of, disclosure of, or access to, their personal information, they may do so with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by phone on 1300 363 992 or online at http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/making-a-privacy-complaint