Terms and Conditions of Service

Appointment Timing

Appointments usually last 60 minutes and endeavour to begin and end on time.

Clients who are attending an in-person appointment are expected to arrive 10 minutes before their scheduled appointment time to assure they are not late and wait in the designated waiting area. Clients are also expected to abide by the rules of the separate establishment wherein the business is conducting the service.

Clients who are attending an online appointment are expected to test their internet connection prior to their appointment. The business is no responsibility to make up for any missed appointment time due to internet connectivity problems. Back up communication channels between clients and the service provider should be discussed prior to the first online appointment.

If a client is late, the appointment will still finish at the scheduled time. If the appointment begins late for another factor outside of the control of the business, the appointment will still finish at the scheduled time.

Appointment Structure

Prior to the initial appointment, an Intake Form, including this Consent Contract, will be sent to prospective clients. The intake form seeks to gain preliminary information about the prospective client’s concerns, history, and life context. Individuals will be considered clients when they book their first appointment and engage the business’ services.

The initial appointment seeks to establish further detail about the client’s concerns, their background, expectations and hopes as well as discuss preliminary ideas of personalised evidence-based treatment approaches. The number of appointments and regularity will be discussed at this point. An average of 10 appointments is advised for most clients.

Additional appointments utilise a range of approaches within the service provider’s scope of training and assessed to be potentially beneficial in accordance with the evidence-based literature and the client’s individual needs. The service provider will check-in with the client(s) to see how they are responding to the service and adjust services as needed.

A discussion prior to the termination or pause of services between the service provider and the client(s) is preferred and sought after to establish the safety of client(s) before exiting the care of the business. A specific concluding session to transition clients out of the service is preferrable.

Appointment Bookings

Booked appointments must be requested by the client, or their previously designated advocate, a minimum of 48 hours prior to the appointment time and confirmed by the business before being made.

Appointments can be requested via the online booking system Halaxy, via email, or verbally direct to the business.

We endeavour to confirm appointments via your designated preferred contact method. However, it remains your responsibility to be aware of the scheduled appointments.

Prospective Clients

Prospective clients are required to book a 15-minute phone call prior to their first appointment to have an opportunity to ask questions and determine the suitability of the service. Likewise, the business can deny providing a prospective client access to the service for any reason at the conclusion of this call and will seek to provide a more suitable referral if possible. However, no duty of care is accepted at this point of call.

Contact

Clients and prospective clients may contact the business through any means advertised during advertised work hours with the understanding that the business has the choice of when to respond. Most responses will be within 2 business days.

Email is the preferred contact method with the business and service provider.

The business and service provider are not a crisis support service that is available to give mental health support outside of scheduled appointment times. Individuals and clients are advised to call a 24/7 crisis support line suited to their needs.

Contact with the business should be generally confined to inquiries about appointments, general questions, sending documents or resources, any feedback you wish to express, and other administrative concerns.

Clients will be asked to designate their preferred contact method (text, phone call, or email) for reminders about upcoming appointments and other administrative related concerns.

Payment

Invoices will be due on the date of the scheduled appointment. Each appointment will have a separate invoice. Full payment of the service being purchased is required before its commencement. If no payment is made the service will not go ahead and the client(s) will be liable to a late-cancellation fee.

If an invoice remains unpaid 7 days past the due date the business may charge interest on the outstanding amount and reserves the right to use debt collection serves for failure to pay.

Any electronic processing fee applicable to client’s transactions is separate from the agreed upon service price between the business and client(s).

Price

The price of the service is determined by the service being purchased and is liable to change over time. If prices change, clients will be informed at least two weeks prior to its implementation and have an opportunity to discuss future options with the business.

Promo codes can only be used once and not in conjunction with any other promo code.

Low-cost sessions at a discounted rate are limited and solely for disadvantaged clients, as assessed by the business. They are only offered while it is financially viable for the business to continue them, as assessed by the business.

The business is not a psychology practice and does not offer bulk-billing, Medicare rebates, or private health insurance coverage.

Cancellations

A minimum of 48 hours’ notice is required if the client(s) wishes to cancel or reschedule their appointment. A late-cancellation fee totalling 75% of the appointment cost will be charged for cancellation within the 48-hour window. A non-attendance fee totalling 100% of the appointment cost will be charged if a client(s) does not attend without notice or is over 30 minutes late.

In situations of genuine hardship, please contact the business to discuss.

If a client(s) wishes to cancel due to illness within the 48-hour window, appointments can be moved online at no extra cost. Please contact the business as soon as possible if illness is a concern.

The business reserves the right to reschedule appointments at any time without compensation if it is deemed necessary due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances.

Confidentiality

a)     Confidentiality

All personal information obtained during service provision is kept confidential and secure, except when:

a.     It is subpoenaed by a court;

b.     Failure to disclose the information would place the client or another person at risk of harm;

c.     The client has consented to the sharing of specific information to a specific person, e.g. providing a written report to another professional or agency, or discussing the material with another professional.

d.     The service provider is seeking professional supervision with an accredited supervisor or within a peer-supervision group to improve the quality of the service and increase the safety of the client within the scope of practice.

b)    Storage of Information

Throughout the course of service provision, personal information is collected for service providers to reference and provide the service. All information provided by the client in written, verbal, or artistic means becomes part of a client’s clinical records, alongside the clinical notes written by the service provider.

Clinical records are stored electronically on the client’s file on Halaxy, a secure digital platform used by healthcare professionals. Emails and texts are the exception and are stored within the business’ email server, Zoho and the service provider’s phone respectively. Clients are advised to talk to the business if they would like the service provider to delete their emails or texts off these digital locations.

Physical documents are photocopied and stored within Halaxy. All other copies will be either deleted, destroyed, or given directly to the client.

All online appointments will be conducted through a secure platform that has terms and conditions that align to the overarching ethical codes of conduct the business is held by.

c)     Access to Client Information

Clients have the right to request access to their clinical record by contacting the business in writing. The business will then assess the request and discuss it further with the client to determine an outcome. Client safety and wellbeing is centred in the decision making. All personal information of adult clients is required to be stored for 7 years following the conclusion of service provision. Requests by clients to see access their clinical record in part or in full will be considered up until this point. Processing fees may apply.

Scope of Service

The business is not a psychology clinic or sexual health clinic and does not diagnose mental or sexual health disorders. Any clinical tools or assessments may be used to screening for the possibility of symptoms related to different diagnosable conditions or tracking symptom progression for more accurate service provision and does not claim to be a diagnosis. Clients seeking a clinical diagnosis can be referred on.

The service provider has the responsibility to possess registration with the Australian Counselling Association and/or the Psychotherapy and Counselling federation of Australia and/or the Society of Australian Sexologists. As per their membership with these professional bodies, the service provider must engage with regular clinical supervision, abide by their code of ethics, have received recognised post-graduate training, and regularly engage with professional development.

The service provider has a responsibility to outline their current scope of practice to clients and seek supervision when faced with matters outside of their scope of practice, clients may be referred on if it is deemed beneficial.

Amendments to the Contract Terms and Conditions

The business has the right to amend the terms and conditions of this contract where: it is necessary to comply with changes in the law for regulatory reasons, or errors and/or omissions are noted in need of correction if they are minor and do not materially affect the contract. All other amendments will necessitate clients to sign the newly amended contract unless service provision is no longer being undertaken between the parties.