Privacy policy

This is a working draft prepared for review. It is not legal advice and will be reviewed by a qualified professional before this site launches.

The short version

This website is a brochure, not a database. It has no accounts, no cookies and no analytics, so browsing it tells us nothing about you. Its one interactive piece is the contact form, which sends your message straight to our inbox and stores nothing. When you book a session, you leave this site for our booking page, which is run by Cliniko, the Australian practice-management software we use to hold appointments, payments and client records. We don’t sell your information, we don’t advertise to you, and you can ask to see or correct anything we hold about you at any time.

Who we are

This policy covers Velora Counselling (practitioner: Adrianne Birchmore), ABN 53 528 122 795, a counselling practice based in Queensland providing sessions online across Australia. You can contact us about privacy at Veloracounselling@outlook.com.au.

Because we provide a health service, the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) apply to us in full. Health service providers don’t get the small-business exemption that applies to some other small organisations, regardless of turnover, and that’s how it should be.

What this website collects: almost nothing

These pages are served as static files. The site sets no cookies, runs no analytics and keeps no record of your visit. Our hosting provider handles the technical delivery of the pages (see “Where information is processed” below), but we do not receive, store or look at visitor data.

The contact form is the one exception. If you choose to use it, the name, email address and message you type are sent to us as an email and then exist only in our inbox. The website itself stores nothing, and the details are never used for marketing. The form is rate-limited to deter abuse, and delivery is handled by Resend, an email service (see overseas disclosure below). Emailing us directly works exactly the same way. Either way, we keep correspondence only as long as it’s needed to respond to you or, if you become a client, as part of your client record.

Bookings, payments and client records: Cliniko

When you press “Book a session”, you move to our booking page hosted by Cliniko, practice-management software used by thousands of Australian health practices. Cliniko is where your appointment details, contact information and client records are collected and stored, and its own privacy policy applies to what happens on that page. Payments made during booking are processed by Stripe within Cliniko. Your card details go directly to Stripe and are never seen or stored by us.

The fact that you have booked or attended a counselling session is information about your health. Under the Privacy Act, health information is “sensitive information” and receives the highest level of protection. We treat everything connected to your bookings that way, not just clinical notes. How session notes are kept, and the rare legal limits of confidentiality, are covered in the Counselling Agreement you receive before your first session.

Why we collect information at all

We use the information held in Cliniko only to:

• schedule, confirm, remind you about, and manage your appointments;
• take payment and issue receipts;
• respond when you contact us;
• keep records we are professionally and legally required to keep; and
• meet our obligations under Australian law.

We do not use your information for advertising, and we never sell or rent it to anyone.

Where information is processed (overseas disclosure)

Like most modern websites, ours relies on a small number of carefully chosen services. Some involve data passing through, or being stored on, servers outside Australia, which the Privacy Act treats as an overseas disclosure (APP 8). We take reasonable steps to ensure each provider protects information to a comparable standard:

• Website delivery (Cloudflare). This site is served through Cloudflare’s global content delivery network, so page requests pass through servers in the United States and other locations. Only routine technical data (such as your IP address) touches those servers, briefly, to deliver the pages.
• Bookings and records (Cliniko).Cliniko stores Australian practices’ data in Australia (encrypted, on Amazon Web Services), though some of its supporting services, such as backups and payment processing, involve providers in the United States. See Cliniko’s privacy policy and security overview.
• Payments (Stripe, within Cliniko). Stripe processes card payments and may do so in the United States. Stripe is independently certified to the highest payment-security standard (PCI DSS Level 1).
• Contact-form delivery (Resend). If you use the contact form, your name, email address and message pass through Resend’s email infrastructure, which operates in the United States, on their way to our inbox. Nothing else about your visit is sent there.

Access and correction

You can ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it, at any time. Just email Veloracounselling@outlook.com.au. We’ll respond within 30 days and won’t charge you for asking. In rare cases the Privacy Act allows or requires us to refuse access (for example, where it would pose a serious threat to someone’s safety); if that ever happens we’ll explain why in writing.

If something goes wrong

If a data breach occurs that is likely to cause you serious harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required by the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

If you’re concerned about how we’ve handled your information:

1. Tell us first. Email Veloracounselling@outlook.com.au with “Privacy complaint” in the subject line. We’ll acknowledge it promptly and aim to resolve it within 30 days.
2. Then the OAIC. If you’re not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner: oaic.gov.au, phone 1300 363 992, or GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001.

Concerns about the counselling service itself are covered on our complaints page.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we’ll update the date at the top and, for significant changes, let existing clients know by email. The current version will always live at this address.

Contact

Velora Counselling · ABN 53 528 122 795
Veloracounselling@outlook.com.au