Privacy Policy

Mind at Peace Psychiatry is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information, including sensitive health information, respectfully and securely. This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and store it, when we may share it, and how you can access or correct it. This policy applies to information handled in connection with our psychiatric and related services, including telehealth, our website, online forms, email, telephone and SMS communications. It should be read alongside any collection notice or consent information we provide when you use a particular service.
 

1. Contact us about privacy
For questions, access or correction requests, or privacy concerns, contact Mind at Peace Psychiatry at info@mindatpeace.com.au. Please do not include detailed or urgent clinical information in a general website enquiry.
 

2. Consent and your choices
When you seek care from Mind at Peace Psychiatry, we will explain why we need relevant information and how we will handle it. We generally collect health information with your consent, including consent that may be implied when you provide information for the purpose of receiving care. We will seek specific consent where required, including where we propose to use or disclose information for a purpose that is not otherwise permitted by law.
 

You may ask questions about our information-handling practices or raise concerns before providing information. If you choose not to provide information that is reasonably necessary for safe and appropriate care, this may affect our ability to assess or treat you.
You may deal with us anonymously or using a pseudonym where lawful and practicable. This will generally not be possible when we need to identify you to provide psychiatric care, maintain an accurate clinical record, verify your identity or meet legal, Medicare or professional obligations.

3. Why we collect, use and disclose information
We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information for purposes connected with providing and managing healthcare, including to:
   • assess your needs and provide psychiatric assessment, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and care coordination;
   • maintain accurate clinical and administrative records;
   • communicate with you about appointments, treatment and matters related to your care;
   • prepare referrals, reports, prescriptions and other clinical documents where appropriate;
   • coordinate care with your referring doctor and other treating health professionals, where authorised or otherwise permitted by law;
   • manage bookings, payments, Medicare or other relevant claims, accounts and administration;
   • meet legal, regulatory, professional, accreditation, insurance and record-keeping obligations;
   • manage feedback, complaints, clinical governance, quality assurance, training and service improvement, subject to applicable privacy

   requirements; and
   • protect the safety of patients and others, and respond to emergencies or legal requirements where applicable.
 

We will not use your health information for direct marketing unless you have specifically consented or the law otherwise permits it. You can withdraw marketing consent or opt out at any time by contacting us.
 

4. What information we collect
Depending on the services you receive and your interactions with us, we may collect and hold:
   • identity and contact information, such as your name, date of birth, address, telephone number and email address;
   • health and clinical information, including referral details, psychiatric and medical history, symptoms, diagnoses, treatment plans,

   medications, allergies, relevant family and social history, risk assessments and clinical notes;
   • information provided by you, your authorised representative or, where appropriate and lawful, other people involved in your care;
   • Medicare, health fund, billing and payment information, and healthcare identifiers where relevant;
   • correspondence, appointment and service-use information, including communications by telephone, email, SMS, telehealth or online forms;
   • information required for reports, assessments or other services you request, including information supplied by referring practitioners or

   other  relevant organisations; and
   • technical information generated when you use our website, such as device or browser information, IP address, cookie identifiers and website

   interaction data, where collected by the tools we use.
 

Health information is sensitive information. We limit collection to information reasonably necessary for our functions and activities, or otherwise permitted by law.
 

5. How we collect information
We usually collect information directly from you during registration, appointments, assessments, telehealth consultations, online forms, telephone calls, emails, SMS messages or other communications.
 

Where relevant and lawful, we may also collect information from your referring GP, other treating practitioners, hospitals or health services, your authorised representative, Medicare, a health fund, or other organisations involved in your care or payment arrangements. We may also receive information through systems you have authorised or that are available for healthcare purposes, such as electronic prescribing or My Health Record, where applicable. If we receive information from another source, we will handle it in accordance with applicable privacy requirements and take reasonable steps to ensure it is accurate, complete and relevant.
 

6. When we may share information
We only use or disclose your information for the purposes explained in this policy, for a related purpose you would reasonably expect, with your consent, or where otherwise permitted or required by law. Depending on your circumstances, recipients may include:
   • your referring GP and other treating health professionals involved in your care;
   • hospitals, pathology or diagnostic services, pharmacies or other healthcare providers where relevant;
   • Medicare, a health fund or another organisation involved in processing a claim or payment;
   • service providers who support our practice operations, such as clinical software, appointment, telehealth, document management, secure

   storage, communications, billing, website hosting or IT support providers;
   • professional advisers, auditors, insurers or accreditation bodies where necessary and appropriately authorised;
   • courts, tribunals, regulators, law enforcement or government bodies where disclosure is required or authorised by law; and
   • other people or organisations where disclosure is permitted to address a serious threat to life, health or safety, or another permitted

   situation under privacy law.
 

We limit disclosures to information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose and take reasonable steps to ensure that service providers handle information appropriately. We will not disclose information to a family member, carer or other representative merely because they ask;
We will consider authority, consent, and the circumstances. There may be circumstances where the law permits or requires disclosure without your consent, including certain serious-threat situations, mandatory reporting or notification obligations, court orders or other legal requirements.
 

7. Website, cookies and online communications
When you visit our website, we may collect technical information through server logs, cookies, analytics or similar tools to operate the site, understand how it is used, improve performance and protect against misuse. You may be able to manage cookies through your browser settings. Disabling some cookies may affect website functionality. If you contact us through the website, we will use the information you
submit to respond to your enquiry and for related administrative purposes. Please avoid sending detailed medical or other highly sensitive information through a general website contact form or social media.
 

Email, SMS and telehealth communications carry some privacy and security risks. We use appropriate safeguards, but no method of electronic transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We will explain any specific communication options or risks relevant to
your care.
 

8. Document automation and clinical software
We may use clinical software and document-generation tools to support administrative tasks and prepare documents such as referrals or reports. These tools should be used only by authorised personnel and only for appropriate practice purposes. Documents are reviewed and managed in accordance with the practice’s clinical and administrative procedures.
 

9. Artificial intelligence (AI) scribe tools
If an AI scribe is used during a consultation, it may process audio from the consultation to assist in preparing a draft clinical note. The practice will explain the use of the tool and obtain the consent required for its use before activating it. You can ask questions or raise concerns with your clinician. AI-generated content must be checked by the treating clinician before it is relied on as part of the clinical record. We will use

information processed by an AI scribe only in ways that are consistent with the stated purpose, consent arrangements and applicable law.
 

10. How we store and protect information
We may hold information in electronic clinical and administrative systems, secure email or communications platforms, paper records, and other formats needed to provide care. Audio, images or video may be held only where relevant to a service and actually collected. We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Safeguards may include access restrictions, individual user accounts, authentication controls, staff and contractor confidentiality obligations,
secure premises and storage, system monitoring, backups and secure disposal procedures.
 

We retain records for as long as required for healthcare, legal, regulatory, professional and business purposes, and dispose of or de-identify them securely when no longer required, subject to applicable retention obligations.
 

11. Quality improvement, research and de-identified information
We may review information for clinical governance, service evaluation, quality improvement, staff education and training, where permitted by law and appropriate safeguards are in place. Where information is used or disclosed for research or broader reporting, we will obtain consent or rely on an applicable legal basis and any required ethics or governance approvals. We may use or disclose information in a genuinely de-identified form for reporting, research or service improvement where permitted. De-identification reduces the risk of identification but must
be carried out appropriately. If you have questions about a particular use of your information, please contact us.
 

12. Accessing and correcting your information
You may request access to personal information we hold about you and ask us to correct information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. To make a request, email info@mindatpeace.com.au or contact us on 040 059 5145. We may need to verify your identity and clarify the scope of your request. We will respond within a reasonable period and aim to acknowledge requests within five (5) business days.

 

We may need additional time to locate and review records. In limited circumstances, the law may permit or require us to refuse access or limit a correction. If this occurs, we will explain the reasons where we are permitted to do so and advise you of available
complaint options. If we do not agree to a requested correction, you may ask us to associate a statement with the record noting the correction you sought, where applicable under privacy law.
 

13. Privacy complaints
If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at info@mindatpeace.com.au. Please describe your concern and provide any relevant details. We will acknowledge and investigate the complaint, seek further information if needed, and respond within a reasonable period. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may be able to complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). See https://www.oaic.gov.au/ or call 1300 363 992. The OAIC may ask you to raise your concern with us first and allow us a reasonable opportunity to respond.
 

14. Changes to this policy
We review this policy periodically and when our services, technology or legal obligations change. The current version will be published on our website and the review date updated. Where appropriate, we may notify patients of significant changes.