Privacy Policy

Cerenova Pty Ltd (“Cerenova”, “we”, “us”) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and the professional obligations that apply to registered psychologists. This policy explains how we collect, use, store and disclose personal information, including health information.

1. Who we are

Cerenova provides psychological services to adults across Australia by telehealth. Questions about this policy or your personal information can be sent to info@cerenova.com.au.

2. What we collect

We collect personal information that is reasonably necessary to provide our services, including your name, date of birth, contact details, Medicare and other funding details, emergency contact, GP and referrer details, and information you provide in enquiries, intake forms and sessions.

Because we are a health service, we also collect health information, including your referral and Mental Health Treatment Plan, assessment information, clinical notes, and correspondence with your referrer. Sensitive information is collected only with your consent and only where necessary for your care, or where otherwise required or permitted by law.

3. How we collect it

Information is collected directly from you when you make an enquiry through this website, book an appointment, complete intake and consent forms, and participate in sessions. It may also be provided by your GP or other referrer with your knowledge. Our website collects limited information automatically through cookies and analytics tools, described in section 8.

4. How we use it

We use personal and health information to provide psychological services to you; manage appointments, billing, Medicare and other claims; communicate with you and, with your consent, your referrer; meet our legal and professional obligations, including record-keeping and reporting to referrers under Medicare; and to improve our services and website.

5. Who we disclose it to

We disclose information only where necessary to provide your care or operate the practice, or where required or authorised by law. This includes your GP or referrer (as required under your Treatment Plan and with your consent); Medicare and funding bodies such as insurers or the NDIA where they are funding your care; and service providers who support the practice, principally Halaxy (practice management, bookings, billing and clinical records) and secure communication and storage providers. These providers are required to handle information securely and in accordance with Australian privacy law.

Psychologists may be required by law to disclose information without consent in limited circumstances, such as where there is a serious and imminent risk to your life or safety or that of another person, where disclosure is required by a court or legislation, or in relation to the safety of a child. Liam will explain these limits at your first session.

We do not sell personal information and we do not disclose health information to advertising or marketing platforms.

6. Storage and security

Clinical records are stored in Halaxy, a practice-management system used by Australian health practitioners, with data hosted in Australia. We take reasonable steps to protect information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, including access controls, encryption in transit, and secure devices. Psychologists are required to retain clinical records for at least seven years from the last contact (or until a client turns 25, if they were a minor), after which records are securely destroyed.

7. Access and correction

You may request access to the personal information we hold about you and ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date or incomplete. Requests should be made in writing to info@cerenova.com.au. We will respond within a reasonable period, and in some circumstances a psychologist may discuss with you how access is best provided.

8. Website, cookies and analytics

This website uses Google Tag Manager and analytics tools to understand how visitors use the site, for example which pages are viewed and whether booking buttons are used. These tools use cookies and collect technical information such as browser type and approximate location. They do not receive health information. Information you enter in the secure booking and intake process is handled by Halaxy, not by our analytics tools. You can disable cookies in your browser settings.

9. Overseas disclosure

We do not ordinarily disclose personal information overseas. Some technology providers may process limited technical data on servers outside Australia; where this occurs we take reasonable steps to ensure the information is handled in accordance with the APPs.

10. Complaints

If you believe we have breached your privacy, please contact us first at info@cerenova.com.au so we can investigate and respond. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au. Concerns about a psychologist’s conduct can also be raised with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra).

11. Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always available on this page.