Privacy Policy

Sallyanne Keevers Psychotherapy & Counselling
Last updated: September 2026

Your privacy matters, and in therapy it matters more than almost anywhere else. This policy explains what personal information I collect, why I collect it, how it is stored and protected, and the choices and rights you have. It applies to everyone who contacts my practice, uses this website, subscribes to my newsletter or attends sessions.

I am bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, and by the ethical codes of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) and the Australian Counselling Association (ACA).

In this policy, “I”, “me” and “my practice” refer to Sallyanne Keevers, sole trader (ABN 55 714 592 041), trading as Sallyanne Keevers Psychotherapy & Counselling.

What information I collect

The information I collect depends on how you interact with the practice.

If you enquire or book, I collect your name, email address, phone number and any details you choose to share in your message.

If you become a client, I also collect your date of birth, address, time zone, occupation (optional), emergency contact details, GP details and any other health professionals involved in your care, private health insurance details if you intend to claim, and your preferences about sharing information.

Because this is a psychotherapy practice, I also collect health information, which the law treats as sensitive information. This includes what brings you to therapy, your history and wellbeing, anything relevant you share about your physical or mental health, and the clinical notes I keep of our sessions. Clinical notes may include information you share about other people in your life.

If you visit my website or subscribe to my newsletter, I may collect your email address, your subscription preferences and basic, non-identifying website usage data (see “Website, cookies and newsletter” below).

I do not collect information about you from third parties without your consent, unless the law requires or permits it.

How I collect it

Most information comes directly from you: through the contact form, email, phone, online booking, the intake and consent forms in my secure client portal, and our sessions. Occasionally, with your consent, I may receive information from another health professional involved in your care.

Why I collect it

I collect and use your information to:

provide psychotherapy and counselling that is safe, appropriate and tailored to you
assess whether my practice is the right fit for your needs
manage appointments, invoices, receipts and practice communication
coordinate with your GP or other health professionals, where you have consented
respond to a risk to your safety or the safety of others
meet my legal, ethical and professional obligations, including record-keeping and clinical supervision
send you my newsletter, if you have chosen to subscribe

Staying anonymous

You are welcome to ask general questions about my services without giving your full name. Once we begin working together, I need to know who you are to provide safe care, meet my record-keeping obligations and issue receipts, so therapy cannot be provided anonymously.

When your information is shared

What you share in therapy is confidential. I only share your personal information with your consent, except in the limited circumstances the law requires or permits. These include:

where I reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to your life, health or safety, or that of another person
where disclosure is required by law, including a subpoena or court order
where it is otherwise required or authorised under Australian law

Wherever possible and safe to do so, I will discuss any such disclosure with you first.

I participate in regular clinical supervision, which is a professional requirement. Supervision discussions are de-identified, meaning your name and identifying details are not shared.

I also use a small number of trusted service providers to run the practice, such as my practice management system, email provider and video platform. They only access information as needed to provide their service, and are subject to confidentiality and security obligations. An administrative assistant supports the practice with scheduling and billing under a confidentiality agreement. She also receives website enquiries so she can help arrange appointments. Her access is limited to administrative information, and she cannot access clinical notes.

I will never sell, rent or trade your personal information.

AI-assisted clinical documentation

With your consent, I may use AI-assisted tools within my practice management system (Zanda) to help with session note-taking. These tools support documentation only. They do not take part in therapy, analyse or label you, or make decisions about your care. I review, edit and finalise every clinical note myself and remain fully responsible for its content.

No decisions that significantly affect your rights or interests, including decisions about your access to therapy, are made by a computer program. All decisions about your care are made by me.

How your information is stored and protected

Client records, intake forms, appointments and invoices are held in Zanda, an Australian practice management system. Zanda stores data for Australian accounts in Australia, encrypted in transit and at rest. Email is managed through Google Workspace, and online sessions are held through Zanda’s secure telehealth service, which is powered by Zoom.

I take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These include secure password-protected systems, multi-factor authentication on my practice management system, restricted access and holding sessions from a private space.

No electronic communication can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If you prefer that certain information is not sent by email, please let me know.

How long I keep your records

I keep clinical records for a minimum of seven years after our last session. After this time, records are securely destroyed or permanently de-identified.

Overseas clients and overseas disclosure

I work with clients in Australia and overseas. My core clinical records are stored in Australia. Some of the service providers I use to run the practice may store or process limited information outside Australia, most likely in the United States and the European Union. I take reasonable steps to use providers with strong privacy and security standards.

If you live outside Australia, your information is handled in line with Australian privacy law and this policy.

Website, cookies and newsletter

This website uses a small number of cookies that help it function, such as remembering basic settings. The newsletter sign-up forms are provided by MailerLite, which may set its own cookies when a form loads or is submitted. The website also loads fonts from Google Fonts, which means your browser connects to Google’s servers and shares your IP address with Google. I do not currently use Google Analytics or any advertising or tracking tools. You can disable cookies in your browser settings.

If you subscribe to my newsletter, your name and email address are held by my email marketing provider, MailerLite. Every newsletter includes an unsubscribe link, and you can opt out at any time. Subscribing to the newsletter does not make you a client, and your newsletter subscription is kept separate from any clinical records.

Please use the contact form or email for general enquiries only. Sensitive details are best kept for our first conversation.

Accessing and correcting your information

You have the right to request access to the personal information I hold about you, and to ask me to correct it if you believe it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete or misleading.

Please make your request in writing to the contact details below. I will respond within 30 days. There is no charge to make a request. If providing access involves significant time to prepare records, a reasonable fee may apply and will be confirmed with you in advance.

In limited circumstances the law allows access to be refused, for example where giving access would pose a serious threat to someone’s life, health or safety. If I refuse access or correction, I will explain why in writing and let you know how to complain.

If something goes wrong

If a data breach occurs that is likely to result in serious harm to you, I will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as required under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

Questions and complaints

If you have a question or concern about how your information has been handled, please contact me first, in writing. I take every concern seriously and will respond within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with my response, you can contact:

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
Phone: 1300 363 992
Website: www.oaic.gov.au

For concerns about the health service you received more broadly, you can also contact the Office of the Health Ombudsman (Queensland) on 133 646 or at www.oho.qld.gov.au.

Professional registration

I am a Clinical Member of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) and a Level 2 Member of the Australian Counselling Association (ACA), and a Registered Supervisor with both. I am bound by the codes of ethics of both associations. You can check my registration, or raise a concern about my professional conduct, with either association.

Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA)
Membership number: 29516
Phone: 03 9046 2270
Website: www.pacfa.org.au

Australian Counselling Association (ACA)
Membership number: 11529
Phone: 07 3356 4255
Website: www.theaca.net.au

Contact

Privacy contact: Sallyanne Keevers
Email: sallyanne@sallyannekeevers.com
Phone: +61 7 2103 3996
Postal address: Suite 5/29 Railway Street, Stanthorpe QLD 4380

Changes to this policy

I review this policy regularly and will update it when my practices change. The current version is always available on this website, with the date of the last update shown at the top. You can request a copy in another format by contacting me.