About Your Privacy and This Privacy Policy

Your privacy is extremely important to us. We are constantly putting a great deal of thought, effort, tools, resources and procedures in place in order to protect and safeguard your privacy. This document is our “Privacy Policy” and it contains details on issues related to your privacy when using our services. It is intended to inform you of our policies, procedures and practices regarding the collection, use and disclosure of any information that you provide through the Platform. Virtual Psychologist is committed to protecting your privacy and complying with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and other relevant state laws in relation to the management of personal information. The Privacy Act is the principal piece of Australian legislation protecting the handling of personal information about individuals. This includes the collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information.

In using this service you;
(a) acknowledge and agree that we;
(i) may, in the course of providing our service, collect and store your Personal Information (as defined in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth),
(ii) will keep all of your information (including any Personal Information) confidential and will not disclose that information to any person, except where disclosure is required by law, or under a Duty to Protect and/or a Duty to Warn, and
(iii) may publish and provide to third parties information which relates to the use of our service by our customers and that such information will be aggregated and de-identified before being provided to such third parties for functions including research, and
(b) to the maximum extent permitted by law, release Virtual Psychologist Pty Ltd and its directors, employees, contractors and related bodies corporate, from any and all liability to you or any other person, now and in the future, for any loss, damage, cost or expense suffered or incurred by or such other person in relation to or in connection with your use of this service.

By using our service you are deemed to understand and accept this Privacy Policy and the Terms and Conditions.

The Privacy Policy is part of our Terms and Conditions which can be found on our website, referenced ‘Terms of Use’. The terms in the Privacy Policy (such as, but not limited to, “we”, “our”, “us”, “Platform”, “Counselor”, “Counselor Services” etc) have the same meaning as in our Terms and Conditions document. When you use our Platform you accept and agree to both the Terms and Conditions and to the Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to be bound to the Privacy Policy you should stop using the Platform immediately. By accessing and using our Platform you affirm that you have read the Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy and that you understand, agree and acknowledge all the terms contained in both of them.

Information Collection, Use, and Disclosure

To let us operate the Platform effectively and to let you use the Platform, including the Counselor Services, we may have to collect your personally identifiable information (such as, but not limited to, your name, phone number, age, gender and postcode), billing and payment information, profile information, log data (information such as your computer, Internet Protocol address (“IP”), pages that you visit and the amount of time spent on those pages, actions you take and other statistics), information related to the Counselor Services or your need for Counselor Services, and any information which is exchanged between you and your Counselor (collectively the “Information”). In some cases, some of the Information that you give to us is considered health related data. You may decide which Information, if any, you would like to share with us, but some functions of the Platform may not be available to you without providing us the necessary Information. By deciding to provide the Information you agree to our methods of collections and use, as well to other terms and provisions of this Privacy Policy.

Protecting this Information is a top priority for us. We will never sell or rent any Information you shared in the Platform. Other than in the limited ways detailed in this Privacy Policy, we will never use or disclose any Information unless you specifically and explicitly requested or approved us to do so.

Information may be used for the following purposes:

  • To create your account on our Platform and let you use the Platform.
  • To manage your account, provide you with customer support, and ensure you are receiving quality service.
  • To contact you or provide you with information, alerts and suggestions that are related to the service.
  • Billing-related purposes.
  • To reach out to you, either ourselves or using the appropriate authorities, if either we or a Counselor have a good reason to believe that you or any other person may be in danger or may be either the cause or the victim of a criminal act.
  • To match you with a Counselor.
  • To enable and facilitate the Counselor Services.
  • To supervise, administer and monitor the service.
  • To measure and improve the quality, the effectiveness and the delivery of our services.
  • Market the Platform and Counselor Services to you

Protection of personal information

We take steps that are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure that the personal information we collect, use and disclose is accurate, current, complete and relevant, and to ensure that personal information is protected from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification and disclosure. However, no data transmission over the Internet is totally secure. Although Virtual Psychologist strives to protect such information, Virtual Psychologist gives no warranty and cannot ensure the security of any information which you send online. Accordingly, any information which you transmit via the Internet is transmitted at your own risk.

Your personal information is only kept while it is required for the purpose for which it was collected, for a permitted secondary purpose or as required by law.

Sometimes we may store or use your information in an overseas country because a Virtual Psychologist system is located in or needs to process information overseas. We may need to give our software services provider access to personal information so that it can diagnose and resolve software issues.

Your email address will not be added to any mailing lists without your permission. Some other information you provide us will be included in statistical reporting, for example, information on gender and age. This will not contain personally identifying information.

We sometimes undertake and/or engage partners to conduct evaluation, research and reporting activities using information provided. The information disclosed to these partners for their evaluation, research and reporting purposes will be de-identified – this means the information provided will not include your name and will not identify you as an individual.

Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme

In the event of any unauthorised access or unauthorised disclosure or loss of your personal information that is likely to result in serious harm to you, we will investigate and notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Complaints about your privacy

If you believe your privacy has been breached or you have a complaint about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us in writing.  We will respond within a reasonable period (usually within 30 days).

PO Box 7224
Southport Park
Qld 4215
Australia

If you are not satisfied with our response, then you may lodge a formal complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Cookies and Web Beacons

Like many websites, we use “cookies” and “web beacons” to collect information. A “cookie” is a small data file that is transferred to your computer’s hard disk for record-keeping purposes. A “web beacon” is a tiny image, placed on a Web page or email that can report your visit or use. We use cookies and web beacons to enable the technical operation of the Platform, to administer your log-in to your account and to collect the Log Data. You can change your browser’s settings so it will stop accepting cookies or to prompt you before accepting a cookie. However, if you do not accept cookies you may not be able to use the Platform. The Platform may also include the use of cookies and web beacons of services owned or provided by third parties that are not covered by our Privacy Policy and we do not have access or control over these cookies and web beacons. We may also use third party cookies for the purposes of web analytics, attribution and error management.’

Social and General Information Tools

We use several publicly-available tools and information exchange resources, such as (but not limited to) a blog, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, an Instagram account, and others (collectively “Social and General Information Tools”). Any information you provide or share while using Social and General Information Tools may be read, accessed, collected by that site and users of that site according to their Privacy Policy.

Phishing

Online identity theft and account hacking, including the practice currently known as “phishing”, are of great concern. You should always be diligent when you are being asked for your account information and you must always make sure you do that in our secure system. We will never request your login information or your credit card information in any non-secure or unsolicited communication (email, phone or otherwise).

Links

The Platform may contain links to other websites, services or offers which are owned, operated or maintained by third parties. If you click on a third party link, you will be directed to that third website or service. The fact that we link to a website or service is not an endorsement, authorization or representation of our affiliation with that third party, nor is it an endorsement of their privacy or information security policies or practices. We do not have control over third party websites and services and we do not have control over their privacy policies and terms of use.

Security

While using any Internet-based service carries inherent security risks that cannot be 100% prevented, our systems, infrastructure, encryption technology, operation and processes are all designed, built and maintained with your security and privacy in mind. We apply industry standards and best practices to prevent any unauthorized access, use, and disclosure. We comply with or exceed all applicable federal laws, state laws, and regulations regarding data privacy.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service Apply.

Service Providers

We may employ third party companies and individuals to facilitate our Platform, to perform certain tasks which are related to the Platform, or to provide audit, legal, operational or other services for us. These tasks include, but not limited to, customer service, technical maintenance, monitoring, Text management and communication, database management, billing and payment processing, reporting and analytics. We will share with them only the minimum necessary information to perform their task for us and only after entering into appropriate confidentiality agreements.

Virtual Psychologist Counselors and other Health Professionals, associates and third-party providers are bound by the relevant professional Code of Ethics and confidentiality clauses within their respective contracts.

Children’s Privacy

We do not knowingly collect or solicit any information from anyone under the age of 12 or knowingly allow such persons to become our user. The Platform is not directed and not intended to be used by children under the age of 12. If you’re aware that we have collected Personal Information from a child under age 12 please let us know by contacting us and we will delete that information.

International Transfer

Your information may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction. Regardless of where your data is stored, it will be maintained securely as outlined in this policy. Your consent to our Terms and Conditions followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to such transfers.

Compliance with Laws and Law Enforcement

We cooperate with government and law enforcement officials to enforce and comply with the law. We may disclose information necessary or appropriate to protect the safety of the public or any person, to respond to claims and legal process (including but not limited to subpoenas), and to prevent or stop activity that may be illegal or dangerous. You should also be aware that Counselors may be obliged to disclose information to law enforcement or other authorities to conform to their professional and legal responsibilities. Specifically, and without limitation, you should be aware that the law requires mental health professionals to disclose information and/or take action in the following cases: (a) reported or suspected abuse of a child or vulnerable adult; (b) serious suicidal potential; (c) threatened harm to another person; (d) court-ordered presentation of treatment.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Notice

This section provides additional information about our Privacy Policy relevant to users from the European Union. It is necessary for us to use your personal information:

  • To perform our obligations in accordance with any contract that we may have with you.
  • It is in our legitimate interest or a third party’s legitimate interest to use personal information in such a way to ensure that we provide the Services in the best way that we can.
  • It is our legal obligation to use your personal information to comply with any legal obligations imposed upon us.

Virtual Psychologist is the Controller with respect to your Personal Data. You can contact our Data Protection Officer with questions, concerns or objections about this policy, or about your data by writing to:

Virtual Psychologist
Data Protection Officer
PO Box 7224
Southport Park
Qld 4215
Australia

Changes to the Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy statement at our sole discretion. The date of the last revision of this policy appears at the end of this page. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our Privacy Policy and practices.

Contacting us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our privacy-related practices, please contact us by clicking the “Contact” link on our website.

Date: October 2021