PRIVACY POLICY
Marenwood Child and Adolescent Psychology
Rebecca Jane Hamilton
ABN: 82 654 365 157
165 Dorset Rd, Croydon VIC 3136
Effective Date: 1 April 2026
1. Introduction
Marenwood Child and Adolescent Psychology (“we”, “our”, “us”) is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the personal and health information we collect. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose and otherwise handle personal information in accordance with our obligations under the following legislation:
• Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs)
• Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and the Health Privacy Principles (HPPs)
• Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic)
• The Australian Psychological Society (APS) Code of Ethics
This policy applies to all personal information collected through our practice, including through our website, online booking systems, telehealth services, contact and enquiry forms, and in-person consultations.
2. About Our Practice
Marenwood Child and Adolescent Psychology is operated by Rebecca Jane Hamilton, a registered psychologist. Our practice provides psychological services to children and adolescents, including cognitive testing, educational assessments, autism assessments and ADHD assessments. Services are delivered both in-person at our Croydon clinic and via telehealth.
3. What Personal Information We Collect
The types of personal information we may collect depend on the nature of your interaction with us. This may include:
3.1 Client and Parent/Guardian Information
• Full name, date of birth and gender of the child or adolescent client
• Parent or guardian names, contact details (address, phone, email) and relationship to the child
• Emergency contact details
• Medicare number, private health insurance details and healthcare identifiers
• Referral letters and reports from other health professionals, schools or allied health providers
• Relevant family, developmental, medical, educational and social history
3.2 Health Information
• Clinical notes, assessment results and psychological reports
• Information about diagnoses, treatment plans and progress notes
• Cognitive, educational, autism and ADHD assessment data and scores
• Correspondence with other treating professionals
3.3 Website and Digital Information
• Information submitted through online booking or enquiry forms (name, email, phone number, reason for contact)
• Telehealth session metadata (date, time, duration) and any recordings if consent is provided
• Website usage data collected through cookies and analytics tools, such as IP address, browser type, pages visited and referring URLs
• Payment and billing information processed through secure third-party payment systems
4. How We Collect Personal Information
We generally collect personal information directly from clients, their parents or guardians, or authorised representatives. This may occur:
• During initial intake and throughout the course of assessment or treatment
• Through our website contact forms, online booking systems or email enquiries
• Via telehealth platforms during video or telephone consultations
• Through referral letters from GPs, paediatricians, schools or other professionals
• From other health service providers with your consent or as permitted by law
Where it is unreasonable or impracticable to collect information directly from you, we may collect it from third parties such as referring practitioners, schools or other health professionals involved in your child’s care. We will notify you of any such collection as soon as practicable.
5. Purpose of Collection, Use and Disclosure
We collect, hold, use and disclose personal and health information for the following purposes:
• To provide psychological assessment, diagnosis and intervention services
• To prepare psychological reports, including cognitive, educational, autism and ADHD assessment reports
• To communicate with referring professionals, schools and other treating practitioners with your consent
• To process Medicare rebates, private health insurance claims and manage billing
• To schedule and manage appointments, including telehealth sessions
• To comply with our legal and professional obligations, including mandatory reporting requirements
• To respond to your enquiries submitted through our website or other communication channels
• To improve our services, website functionality and client experience
We will not use or disclose your personal information for a purpose other than that for which it was collected, unless you have consented, or an exception under the Privacy Act 1988 or Health Records Act 2001 applies.
6. Disclosure of Personal Information
We may disclose your personal or health information in the following circumstances:
• To referring GPs, paediatricians or other treating health professionals as part of coordinated care
• To schools or educational institutions, with your written consent, for the purpose of supporting your child’s educational needs
• To Medicare Australia or private health insurers for the purpose of processing rebates and claims
• To our professional supervisors or peer consultants, in a de-identified format where possible, for the purpose of ensuring quality of care
• Where required or authorised by law, including mandatory reporting obligations under the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic) where there is a reasonable belief that a child is at risk of significant harm
• Where necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual or to public safety
We do not sell, rent or trade personal information to third parties. We do not disclose personal information to overseas recipients unless you provide explicit consent or it is required by law.
7. Consent and Children’s Privacy
As our practice primarily provides services to children and adolescents, we take particular care in relation to consent and the handling of minors’ information.
Consent for the collection and use of a child’s personal and health information is generally provided by the child’s parent or legal guardian. Where a child is assessed as having sufficient maturity and understanding (often referred to as “Gillick competence”), they may provide or withdraw consent on their own behalf. n circumstances involving separated or divorced parents, we follow the requirements of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) in relation to parental responsibility and access to information.
Both parents with parental responsibility generally have the right to be informed about their child’s health services, unless a court order provides otherwise.
8. Storage and Security of Personal Information
We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Our security measures include:
• Storing electronic client records in a secure, password-protected practice management system with encryption and regular backups
• Maintaining physical records (where applicable) in locked filing cabinets within a secured office
• Restricting access to personal information to authorised personnel only
• Using secure, encrypted platforms for telehealth sessions
• Ensuring our website uses SSL/TLS encryption to protect data transmitted through online forms
• Regularly reviewing and updating our security practices
9. Retention and Destruction of Records
In accordance with the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and the Psychology Board of Australia’s guidelines, we retain client records for the following minimum periods:
• For clients who were adults (18 years or over) at the time of the last consultation: a minimum of 7 years from the date of the last entry
• For clients who were children or adolescents at the time of the last consultation: until the client reaches 25 years of age, or for 7 years after the last entry, whichever is the longer period
After the applicable retention period has expired, personal information will be securely destroyed or permanently de-identified. Electronic records are securely deleted, and paper records are shredded or otherwise securely disposed of.
10. Website, Cookies and Analytics
Our website may use cookies and third-party analytics tools (such as Google Analytics) to collect non-personally identifiable information about how visitors use our site. This information helps us improve the website and the user experience.
Cookies are small text files placed on your device by our website. You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect some website functionality, such as online booking.
Our website may contain links to external websites operated by third parties. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites and encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.
Information collected through our online booking and enquiry forms is transmitted securely and stored within our practice management system.
11. Telehealth Services
When providing telehealth services, we use secure, encrypted video conferencing platforms that comply with Australian privacy requirements. The following additional considerations apply to telehealth:
• We recommend that clients use a private, quiet space for telehealth sessions to protect their own confidentiality
• Telehealth sessions are not recorded unless explicit written consent has been obtained from the parent or guardian (and, where appropriate, the client)
• Session metadata (date, time and duration) is recorded as part of the clinical record
• In the event of a technology failure during a telehealth session, we will contact you by an alternative means to reschedule
12. Notifiable Data Breaches
In accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme under Part IIIC of the Privacy Act 1988, we have procedures in place to detect, assess and respond to data breaches. If a data breach is likely to result in serious harm to any individual whose personal information is involved, we will notify the affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as soon as practicable.
13. Accessing and Correcting Your Information
You have the right to request access to the personal and health information we hold about you or your child. You also have the right to request correction of any information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading.
To request access or correction, please contact us in writing using the details provided at the end of this policy. We will respond to your request within 30 days. In some circumstances, we may refuse access or correction in accordance with the exceptions set out in the Privacy Act 1988 or the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic). If we refuse a request, we will provide you with written reasons for the refusal and information about how to make a complaint.
Please note that a reasonable fee may apply for providing access to records, particularly where the request involves substantial preparation or retrieval effort.
14. Complaints
If you believe that we have breached your privacy or mishandled your personal information, you are entitled to make a complaint. We ask that you first contact us directly so we can attempt to resolve the matter. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with:
• Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC): www.oaic.gov.au or phone 1300 363 992
• Health Complaints Commissioner (Victoria): www.hcc.vic.gov.au or phone 1300 582 113
• Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA): www.ahpra.gov.au or phone 1300 419 495
15. Mandatory Reporting
As a registered psychologist, Rebecca Jane Hamilton is a mandatory reporter under the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic). This means that if, during the course of practising, there is a reasonable belief that a child is in need of protection due to physical injury, sexual abuse, emotional or psychological harm, or neglect, a report must be made to the relevant child protection authority. This obligation overrides the duty of confidentiality.
16. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legislative requirements or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons. The current version will always be available on our website and at our practice. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
17. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to access or correct your personal information, or would like to make a complaint, please contact us: Practice: Marenwood Child and Adolescent Psychology Practitioner: Rebecca Jane Hamilton
Address: 165 Dorset Rd, Croydon, VIC 3136
ABN: 82 654 365 157
We will endeavour to respond to all privacy-related enquiries within a reasonable timeframe.
This policy was last reviewed on 1 April 2026.