The Legal Stuff

All psychologists are legally required to be registered in Australia, which means I am registered with the Psychology Board of Australia. I am also a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society, which is the largest professional organisation for psychologists in Australia. These safeguards mean your psychologist is properly trained and ensures you receive high-quality, ethical service.

As a client of an APS psychologist, you have the right to expect that:

· You will be treated with respect at all times

· Your cultural background and language tradition will be respected 

· You will be given a clear explanation of the services you will receive

· You will be asked to give your consent for any service provided by your psychologist.

·prior to the service commencing and as it progresses

· You will receive an explanation about the confidentiality of the service and the exceptional situations where your confidentiality may not be protected.

· You will receive a clear statement about fees for your psychologist’s services

· There will be a discussion about the estimated number of sessions required to achieve your goals.

· You will receive skilled and professional services from your psychologist.

· There will be clear goals that you and your psychologist are working toward

· You can ask any questions about the service you are receiving.

 The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) is the government regulator of psychologists in Australia. If you are concerned about your Psychologist’s conduct, you could initially talk to the Psychologist about those concerns and attempt to resolve them together. If that conversation with your Psychologist is not productive, you can lodge a formal complaint (known as a ‘notification’) via the AHPRA website. 

https://www.ahpra.gov.au/notifications/make-a-complaint.aspx

Or by calling 1300 419 495.

As part of providing a psychological service to you, I will need to collect and record personal information relevant to your situation, such as your name, contact information, medical history and other relevant information, as part of providing psychological services to you. 

This collection of personal information will be a necessary part of the psychological assessment and treatment conducted.

Your personal information, gathered as part of your assessment and treatment, is kept securely and, in the interests of your privacy, used only by me and the authorised personnel of the practice (as necessary). 

Your personal information is retained to document what happens during sessions, and allows me to provide a relevant and informed psychological service to you. 

All personal information gathered in the provision of the psychological service remains confidential, except when:

1. The information you have given to Michael Romeo is subpoenaed (officially requested) by a court of law; or
2. Failure to disclose the information would in the reasonable belief of Michael Romeo place you or another person at serious risk to life, health or safety; or
3. You would reasonably expect your personal information to be disclosed to another professional or agency (e.g. your GP) and disclosure of your personal information to that third party is for a purpose which is directly related to the primary purpose for which your personal information was collected; or
4. disclosure is otherwise required or authorised by law.
5. Your prior approval has been obtained to:

• Provide a written report to another professional or agency. e.g., a GP or a lawyer; or
• Discuss the material with another person, eg. a parent, employer or health provider; or
• disclose the information in another way

 As part of the assessment and therapy process, I may need to liaise with other people or agencies relevant to your therapy goals (e.g., your GP, specialist, parent, Workcover, etc.).

Please note that if you intend to claim rebates from Medicare or another organisation (such as WorkCover), then your psychologist must provide summary reports to external agencies regarding your treatment progress. Under the Medicare scheme, these reports will normally be sent to your GP or psychiatrist. 

The short answer is YES.

The Psychology services provided at FNDPsych are bound by the legal requirements of the National Privacy Principles from the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000. 

All communications between you and your psychologist become part of your clinical records, which are confidential in the database and also stored in your client file. Patient files are held in a secure electronic database accessible only by your treating psychologist. 

A patient has a general right to access all information in their file, unless one of the exceptions to National Privacy Principle 6 applies. 

These exceptions restrict access where:

• Giving access would pose a serious threat to the physical or mental health of any individual 

• Giving access would jeopardize the privacy of others 

• Giving access would hinder any law enforcement activities 

If you wish to view and/or have a copy of the material recorded in your file, by law, it is necessary to make the request in writing and send it to: 

Attention: Michael Romeo, PO Box 5066 KAHIBAH NSW 2290 

Upon receiving your request, we will discuss your access options. Please allow 14 days for these arrangements, but we will strive to make your file available earlier if possible.