1. About this privacy policy
This policy explains how personal information is collected, used, stored and disclosed through the public website, initial enquiries, counselling administration and counselling services.
Counselling may involve health information, which is sensitive information under Australian privacy law. Vive Counselling handles personal information in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles.
2. Personal information we may collect
The information depends on how you interact with the practice. It may include:
- Contact and enquiry details, such as your name, email address, state, time zone, availability and the messages you send.
- Health and counselling information that you provide in an enquiry, during counselling or in related correspondence.
- Service and administrative records, such as appointments, consent records, correspondence, invoices and counselling notes.
- Website-use information, such as a pseudonymous visitor ID, visit and page-view IDs, routes viewed, landing page, referral address and limited advertising-attribution codes.
- Technical information, such as browser user-agent, device category, whether traffic appears to be automated, and information such as your IP address received by hosting and analytics providers.
3. How we collect and use personal information
Most personal information comes directly from you: through the website enquiry form, by email, during appointments or through other contact with the practice. Information may also come from someone you have authorised to contact Vive Counselling, or be collected where authorised or required by law. The website automatically records limited visit information for analytics.
Vive Counselling may use personal information to:
- respond to enquiries and arrange an initial consult or counselling session;
- consider availability and whether the service appears suitable for the enquiry;
- provide counselling and keep the records needed to administer the service;
- communicate about appointments, invoices and other practical matters;
- meet legal, professional, insurance and record-keeping obligations;
- protect the website, identify automated traffic and investigate technical problems; and
- understand how the website is used and improve its content and user experience.
4. Enquiries, client records and online counselling
Form submissions pass through Vercel, the website host, and Resend, the email delivery provider, before reaching Vive Counselling's Australian Zoho Mail inbox. Email and online forms cannot be guaranteed to be completely secure.
If you become a client, Vive Counselling creates and maintains your main client record in Zanda. This may include contact and demographic details, appointments, consent forms, clinical notes, files, correspondence and billing records. Contact Vive Counselling, rather than Zanda, if you want to access or correct your client record.
Online counselling uses the Zoom-powered telehealth service integrated with Zanda. Zanda holds the appointment and client link information, while Zoom processes the connection and live audio and video needed to run the session. Vive Counselling does not record telehealth sessions.
The confidentiality arrangements and their limits are explained as part of informed consent before counselling begins. Personal information may be used or disclosed with your consent, where authorised or required by law, or where Australian privacy law permits disclosure to address a serious threat to life, health or safety.
5. Website analytics and browser storage
Vive Counselling keeps its own website visit records to understand visits, page use and enquiry outcomes. A random visitor ID is stored in your browser's local storage, and the current visit is kept in session storage. A new visit starts after 30 minutes of inactivity or when you arrive from a new external or tagged link. The visitor ID changes after 12 months, and Vive's stored visit records are deleted after 12 months.
The website may also use Google Analytics to record public page views and actions. Microsoft Clarity may record interactions to help identify website usability problems. Google and Microsoft may use cookies or similar technologies and process technical information under their own privacy terms.
You can remove or block cookies and clear local or session storage through your browser settings. Doing so may reset the identifiers used to distinguish visits. You can read more in the Google Privacy Policy and the Microsoft Privacy Statement.
6. Who we share information with
Personal information is shared only where needed to operate the practice, provide the service, meet professional or legal obligations, or where you have consented. The main providers are:
- Zanda for client records, practice administration and telehealth links. Zanda stores and backs up Australian account data in Australian AWS data centres and uses Zoom to provide its integrated telehealth feature.
- Zoom for the live video service used through Zanda.
- Zoho Mail for email correspondence and the practice inbox. Vive Counselling uses an Australian Zoho account, so Zoho stores its service data in its Australian data centre.
- Vercel for website hosting and server functions, Resend for delivery of website enquiries, and Neon for Vive's website analytics database.
- Google for Google Analytics and Microsoft for Clarity on public website pages.
Zanda stores and backs up Australian account data in Australian AWS data centres. Limited, authorised support access may occur from Zanda staff in the United Kingdom or United States, and some Zanda features use overseas providers. Zoom's telehealth processing can occur in selected regions including Australia, Europe and the United States.
Zoho Mail service data is stored in Australia. Website enquiry messages also pass through Resend, which stores customer data in the United States. Website hosting, database and analytics providers may process data in the United States and other countries in which they operate. Provider locations can change.
Where personal information may be processed overseas, Vive Counselling takes reasonable steps to use providers with appropriate privacy and security safeguards.
Information may also be disclosed when you authorise it, when disclosure is authorised or required by law, or when another permitted privacy exception applies.
7. How we protect and retain information
Vive Counselling takes reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification and disclosure. This includes restricting access and using service providers with security controls. No internet, email or electronic storage system can be guaranteed completely secure.
Zanda's practice-management and electronic health record system is independently certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2022. The certification covers the platform and the supporting engineering, infrastructure, data handling, security, migration, support and people processes. Zanda states that Australian account data is encrypted at rest and in transit, with access controls, activity logging, encrypted backups and tested recovery procedures. You can review Zanda's security information and current ISO/IEC 27001 certificate.
First-party website visit data is retained for 12 months. Zanda does not automatically delete archived client records; Vive Counselling manages their retention. Enquiry correspondence, administrative information and counselling records are kept only for as long as they are needed for the purpose for which they were collected and to meet applicable legal, professional, insurance and record-keeping requirements. This can mean some records cannot be deleted immediately after a request.
Suspected data breaches are assessed and managed. Vive Counselling will notify affected people and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner when the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme requires it.
8. Access, correction and complaints
You can ask to access personal information Vive Counselling holds about you, or ask for inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading information to be corrected. Email joel@vivecounselling.com.au. Identity may need to be verified before information is released, and any legal exception will be explained.
To make a privacy complaint, use the same email address, put “Privacy complaint” in the subject line and explain what happened. Vive Counselling will consider the complaint and aims to respond within 30 days. If you are not satisfied, or no response is received within 30 days, you can lodge a privacy complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
9. Contact and policy changes
Email joel@vivecounselling.com.au or use the Contact page. This policy may be updated when the practice, providers or privacy obligations change. The current version will always show its last updated date at the top of this page.