TalkWise Counselling & Psychotherapy
Last updated: September 2026

Your privacy matters, and in counselling it matters more than almost anywhere else. This policy explains what personal information TalkWise collects, why, how it is stored and protected, and the rights you have. It applies to everyone who contacts the practice, uses this website or attends sessions, in person or online.

TalkWise is bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. Sallyanne Keevers is also bound by the ethical codes of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) and the Australian Counselling Association (ACA).

In this policy, “we”, “us” and “TalkWise” refer to Sallyanne Keevers, sole trader (ABN 55 714 592 041), trading as TalkWise Counselling & Psychotherapy.

What information we collect

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

If you become a client, we also collect your date of birth, address, emergency contact details, GP details and any other health professionals or services involved in your care, and payment or funding details.

Because TalkWise provides counselling and psychotherapy, we also collect health information, which the law treats as sensitive information. This includes what brings you to counselling, your history and wellbeing, anything relevant you share about your physical or mental health, and the clinical notes kept of sessions. Notes may include information you share about other people in your life.

If your sessions are funded, we also collect the details needed to work with your funding body. This may include your NDIS participant number, plan details and plan manager or support coordinator contacts, or your claim details with Victims Assist Queensland or a redress scheme.

How we collect it

Most information comes directly from you: by phone, email, the website, online booking, intake and consent forms, and your sessions. With your consent, we may also receive information from referrers, such as your GP, NDIS plan manager, support coordinator or a funding body.

Young people

TalkWise works with young people under 18. Where a young person attends counselling, we usually collect information from both the young person and a parent or guardian, and a parent or guardian generally provides consent for counselling to begin.

Young people are entitled to privacy too. What a young person shares in counselling is treated as confidential, depending on their age and maturity, except where there is a risk to their safety or the safety of others, or where the law requires disclosure. How information will be shared with parents or guardians is discussed openly with everyone at the start of counselling.

Relationship counselling

If you attend counselling with a partner, family member or someone else in your life, information shared in joint sessions forms part of a shared record. Anything one person shares with the counsellor individually is kept strictly confidential and is not disclosed to the other person or people. If anyone who attended requests access to the shared record, information shared individually by another person will not be released.

Why we collect it

We collect and use your information to:

• provide counselling and psychotherapy that is safe, appropriate and suited to you
• manage appointments, invoices, receipts and practice communication
• process funding and claims with the NDIS, plan managers, Victims Assist Queensland, redress schemes or private health insurers, where applicable
• coordinate with your GP or other providers, where you have consented
• respond to a risk to your safety or the safety of others
• meet our legal, ethical and professional obligations, including record-keeping, funding body requirements and clinical supervision

Staying anonymous

You are welcome to ask general questions about our services without giving your name. To provide counselling safely, keep records and process payments or funding, we need to know who you are once sessions begin.

When your information is shared

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

• where we 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, this will be discussed with you first.

If your sessions are funded, some information must be shared with the funding body to meet its requirements, such as appointment attendance, progress reports or invoices. We will explain what is shared when funded sessions begin, and only share what is required.

Sallyanne participates in regular clinical supervision, which is a professional requirement. Supervision discussions are de-identified.

TalkWise uses a small number of trusted service providers to run the practice, including our practice management system, email provider and video platform. Our administrative assistant manages bookings, billing and client communication under a confidentiality agreement. Her access is limited to administrative information, and she cannot access clinical notes.

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

AI-assisted clinical documentation

With your consent, AI-assisted tools within our practice management system (Zanda) may be used to help with session note-taking. These tools support documentation only. They do not take part in counselling, analyse or label you, or make decisions about your care. Every clinical note is reviewed, edited and finalised by Sallyanne, who remains fully responsible for its content.

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

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. Clinical notes are kept electronically only. Occasionally, working materials from a session, such as a worksheet or activity we plan to return to, are kept in a locked filing drawer at the Stanthorpe office until they are no longer needed. They are then securely shredded or, where useful for future sessions, scanned to your electronic file and then shredded.

We take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, including secure password-protected systems, multi-factor authentication on our practice management system and restricted access. Devices used to access client records are password-protected and are never left at the office.

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

How long we keep your records

Clinical records are kept for a minimum of seven years after the last session. For clients who were under 18, records are kept until they turn 25, or for seven years after the last session, whichever is later. Records are then securely destroyed or permanently de-identified.

Overseas disclosure

Our core clinical records are stored in Australia. Some service providers we use may store or process limited information outside Australia, most likely in the United States. We take reasonable steps to use providers with strong privacy and security standards.

Website and cookies

This website uses only the cookies it needs to function. It does not use Google Analytics or advertising trackers. The Contact page includes an embedded Google Map, and when it loads, Google may set its own cookies and process data, possibly in the United States. You can disable cookies in your browser settings.

Please use the website contact form for general enquiries only. Sensitive details are best kept for your first appointment.

Accessing and correcting your information

You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to be corrected if you believe it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete or misleading.

Please make your request in writing to the contact details below. We 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 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 access or correction is refused, we 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, we 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 us first, in writing. We take every concern seriously and will respond within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our 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 contact the Office of the Health Ombudsman (Queensland) on 133 646 or at www.oho.qld.gov.au. NDIS participants can also contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission on 1800 035 544.

Professional registration

Sallyanne Keevers is 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. She is bound by the codes of ethics of both associations. You can check her registration, or raise a concern about her 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: clientcare@talkwise.com.au
Phone: 07 4548 9558
Postal address: Suite 5/29 Railway Street, Stanthorpe QLD 4380

Changes to this policy

We review this policy regularly and update it when our 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 us.