Practice Safety & Professional Boundaries Policy

1. Safety and Conduct Expectations

• Respectful Behaviour is Required: Abusive, threatening, coercive, or aggressive behaviour — including verbal abuse, intimidation, or manipulation — will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

• Immediate Termination Clause: In cases where client behaviour compromises the safety or wellbeing of the practitioner or others, sessions may be terminated immediately, and the professional relationship discontinued. This includes in-person and online communication.

• Emergency Procedures: If there is any indication of physical threat, stalking, harassment, or ongoing intimidation, appropriate steps may be taken including police notification, legal consultation, and protective actions.

 

2. Correspondence for Legal Matters

• No Reports or Letters for Legal Use: This practice does not provide letters, reports, or assessments for use in legal matters, including but not limited to:

• Family court or parenting arrangements

• Intervention Order matters

• Workers’ compensation (WorkCover)

• Custody or access disputes

• Statements of Attendance Only: Upon request, clients may receive a basic statement confirming session attendance. No clinical opinions, diagnoses, or behavioural comments will be included in this documentation.

Please note that requests for letters of support for whatever reasons need to be considered against the stringent ethical and legal parameters which govern the practice of psychology. Requests may not be granted in light of these requirements to protect staff obligations.

 

3. Dual Parental Consent (for Children & Adolescents) & Mature Minors

• Consent from Both Parents or Legal Guardians is Required: In cases involving minors (under 18) where parents are separated or divorced, written consent from both parents or guardians is required before assessment or therapy can commence.

• This applies to:

• Intake and assessment sessions

• Ongoing therapy

• Communication about the child’s progress or needs

• This policy ensures transparency, child safety, and alignment with legal and ethical standards.

• If one parent cannot be contacted or is unwilling to consent, no sessions will proceed until legal documentation is provided authorizing sole decision-making authority. 

• Where Family Orders are in place, they must be provided before treatment to the child can commence.

• Children over 14 years of age will likely be considered mature minors and will be asked to sign a separate informed consent form ensuring they fully understand the terms of service provision. They will retain right of consent for the release of content, privacy and for access to their file.

 

4. Communication Boundaries

• Contact Outside Sessions: All non-emergency contact should occur during business hours via email or SMS. This practice does not run a phone service. Messages will be received through system software, are not immediately read but only read on office work days and will be returned within a reasonable timeframe. 

• No Emergency or Crisis Service: This practice does not provide 24/7 support. In case of emergency, please contact emergency services or a crisis helpline.

 

5. Illness

• Please do not attend the PsycheLife clinic if symptoms of illness are present, or a family member or close contact has COVID-19. 

• If cancellation is within 24 hours but you can provide evidence of transmissible or sudden medical illness, we will waiver the cancellation fee.  

• We request that you let us know as soon as possible if you have tested positive to an illness and have recently attended the clinic.

• If a staff member is unwell, the clinic will close. Counselling and therapy sessions will be moved to telehealth if feasible. Management will inform all clients who have recent contact with the staff member.

 

6. Hygiene & Environmental Measures
PsycheLife adheres to health safety measures, which include:

• At times, masks might be worn and hand sanitiser is always available.

• All staff on site are vaccinated as per government requirements for health professionals.

• Each room has air conditioning and a window which can be opened to enhance airflow.

• High touch surfaces such as the reception desk, door handles and consulting rooms are cleaned after use.

• Payment and signature are only processed online. Clients are encouraged to bring their own pen, although spares will be available.

​

7. Professional Fees

• The standard fees for consultations and other professional services, including assessments and pro-rated services such as telephone conversations that last longer than 15 minutes, are outlined at https://www.psychelife.org/fees. 

• You are responsible for paying at the time of your session unless prior arrangements have been made. 

• Payment must be made by HICAPS or credit/debit card. Card details are required to be stored on file in the case of late cancellations and to ensure payment can be recouped, if required. 

• Invoices can be provided to third parties for payment, such as NDIS plan managers. 

• Please ask your clinician any questions you have about fees or payment.

 

8. Missed / Late Cancelled Appointments

• A reminder message will be sent two days before your appointment. This is a courtesy reminder only. You can reschedule or cancel by replying to this message.

• If for any reason you did not receive a reminder message and missed your appointment you will still need to pay the late missed appointment fee. 

• Appointments missed or rescheduled without 24 hours notice will incur the full cost of the session which you must pay prior to your next scheduled appointment. 

• It is important to note that Third Party funders (such as NDIS) do not pay late cancellation or missed appointment fees. These are your responsibility even if your treatment is normally funded by a Third Party. 

• We would also prefer that you contact us to reschedule rather than cancel within 24 hours to avoid the fee.

• We are committed to taking care of everyone's health and would prefer you stay home if unwell, so please reschedule your appointment if you are unwell to avoid the cancellation cost. 

• If you are late for an appointment your session may be less than 50 minutes in duration. Please note that you will need to pay the full amount in these circumstances, however your insurance rebate (if any) may be reduced. 

• If two appointments are missed without contacting us, we will allocate your place to someone on the waiting list.

 

9. Frequency of Appointments 

• The number and frequency of appointments will be discussed with you by your practitioner. This will be based on their professional opinion once they have had an opportunity to understand your treatment needs and goals.

• In many circumstances it can be difficult to predict a person's response to treatment and the number of sessions they may require. 

 

Confidentiality, Privacy and Record Management

10. Privacy

PsycheLife values the privacy of every individual and is committed to protecting all personal and health information collected. In Victoria, the laws that set privacy requirements are Health Records Act 2001 and the Information Privacy Act 2000. These describe how we collect, use, handle and destroy personal and health information when we provide a health service. According to the Health Records Act: 

• Personal information is “information or an opinion (including information or an opinion which is on a database), whether true or not, and whether recorded in material form or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably ascertained from the information or opinion”. 

• Health information is information or an opinion about: The physical, mental or psychological health of an individual; the disability of an individual; an individual’s expressed wishes about the provision of services to him or her; and, personal information that is collected whilst

providing a health service.

 

PsycheLife collects personal and health information when it is necessary to provide services by: 

• Providing direct support or intervention to individuals or groups to address barriers to learning and engagement; undertaking various assessments (e.g. cognitive, speech and language, psychosocial) to identify additional needs; and planning for individual needs. 

• Examples of information that may be collected are: You or your child’s name, address, contact details; medical information; other material required to conduct tests; test results, school reports and school information; physical, mental, psychological or other health information about you or your child; details about you or your child’s disability; express wishes about the future provision of health services, from you or your child; health services that have been or are to be provided; genetic information about you or your child which is or could be predictive of the health of you or your child; any information necessary for the provision of required services; personal or health information about people other than you or your child. 

• We will create and keep a Health Record for you which will record all relevant information relating to the treatment provided to you. 

• We may also collect and store health information about you from third parties such as your doctor.

• There may also be occasions where we collect information about you or your child from other organisations such as health professionals or other government agencies.

• When a client is between the ages of 14-16 years, a parent can request access to their confidential health records, but the young person as the client, would still be asked whether or not they consent. They have a right to not consent to its provision, or provide partial access. the records will not be provided if the young person does not consent.

 

11. Health Record Management

Health information will be stored in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988, in hard or electronic formats. 

• The PsycheLife Psychologist may discuss personal or health information in relation to you or your child with other employees of PsycheLife to provide wellbeing services, and to discharge duty of care. 

• This information may be used by staff at PsycheLife to provide intervention and make adjustments. 

• The types of people who may be involved in discussions are other PsycheLife clinicians, and administration staff. 

• If health information is disclosed, these people are required to comply with the Health Records Act and the Information Privacy Act (Privacy Act 1988).

• You can access and correct personal and health information held by PsycheLife under the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Please contact PsycheLife to discuss this. 

• Accuracy of personal and health information If your circumstances change, you move home, change telephone numbers or other information you have provided to us becomes out of date, please tell us.

 

12. Limits to Confidentiality

Your treatment with PsycheLife is confidential and private. This means we will not disclose the information you provide to us to third parties unless you consent for us to do so. It is important to note that there are limits to confidentiality in exceptional circumstances including;

• When there is a risk of harm to you or others, such as suicide ideation, self injury or under the Child Safe legislation in which case this may be shared with government and community-based agencies or doctors; 

• If we are responding to a subpoena or warrant; 

• Where permission to disclose is provided, such as teachers or other medical staff. Your practitioner will discuss this with you during your first appointment and answer any questions you might have.

• In situations where a doctor has provided a Mental Health Care Plan, we are also required to provide a periodic progress reports the doctor which will outline the essential information relevant to your treatment.

 

Service provision and Limitations

13. Telehealth Services

The service to you or your child may be provided by telehealth through telephone or videoconferencing. 

• You are responsible for the provision of the technology and privacy conditions so you or your child can safely access telehealth services, including: The location when services occur is previously provided and confirmed every session; the service only occurs if the details of two adult emergency contacts have been provided; access to appropriate technology, for example: Smartphone, laptop, iPad, computer, with a camera, microphone and headphones (no loudspeaker), and a reliable internet; a quiet, private space, such as a well-lit room, free from distractions; recording of the session is prohibited; recording may occur by the practitioner for training purposes or to ensure the quality of service provision, but must be separately agreed in writing by both practitioner and yourself. 

• Telehealth services will not be provided if client privacy cannot be assured.

• The privacy of any form of communication via the internet is potentially vulnerable and limited by the security of the technology and network used. To support the security of your personal information this practice uses PowerDiary and Google Meet.

• A telehealth consultation may be subject to limitations such as an unstable network connection affecting the quality of the psychology session. 

• There may be some services for which telehealth is not appropriate or effective. Your practitioner will consider and discuss with you the appropriateness of ongoing telehealth.

 

14. Limitation to Services

• PsycheLife only provides services in working hours at pre-arranged appointment times. 

• You will receive a confrimation sms two days before the service.  

• If treatment needs are identified that are outside of the scope of your clinician, PsycheLife will endeavour to assist you identify alternative suitable providers.

 

15. Emergency Situations

PsycheLife is not an emergency service. We are not able to respond to urgent or emergency matters and our communication channels (Phone, SMS, Fax, Email) are not monitored outside of standard business hours.

 

For URGENT concerns relating the mental health or other emergencies please contact the appropriate emergency services:

Police, Fire, Ambulance (Emergency): 000

- Eastern Health Psychiatric Triage Service (1300 721 927) - Crisis assessment and treatment teams, psychiatric assessment and recovery care service

- eHeadspace (1800 367 968/headspace.org.au/eheadspace) – Provides mental health wellbeing support, information and services to young people via telephone, web chat or email;

- Lifeline (13 11 14) – Provides anyone experiencing a crisis with access to 24-hour crisis support.

- BeyondBlue (1300 22 4636/ beyondblue.org.au) – Provides mental and health wellbeing support via telephone, web chat, email or online forums.

 

in a situation where a client is deemed at immediate risk of harm, emergency services will be notified and it will be requested that they remain with the clinician until their arrival. 

Informed Consent

⸻

 

Acknowledgement

 

By commencing services, clients (or the parents/guardians of minor clients) acknowledge and agree to these terms as part of the therapeutic agreement. These policies are subject to change with notice, and are designed to protect both the therapeutic relationship and the safety of all involved. 

You may withdraw consent at anytime in the future however please note that some components are irrevocable; for example, we are legally require to keep a copy of your health record even if you withdraw consent and cease treatment.

 

⸻

•