DHM Mental Health Care
Privacy & Confidentiality Policy
Debbie Mole — Clinical Nurse Specialist
ABN: 78 637 529 381 | AHPRA: NMW0001102450
Version 1.0 — April 2026
This policy is governed by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012, the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and the Health Records Act 2001. Deb Mole practises in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Code of Conduct for Nurses and Registered Nurse Standards for Practice.
Privacy & Confidentiality Policy
1. Our Commitment
DHM Mental Health Care (operated by Debbie Mole, ABN 78 637 529 381) is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of all clients, carers and their families. We recognise that the information you share with us is sensitive and personal, and we treat it with the highest standards of care, discretion and professionalism.
This policy explains how we collect, use, store and disclose your personal and health information, and outlines your rights in relation to that information. By engaging with DHM Mental Health Care, you consent to the collection and use of your information as described in this policy.
2. Legislation
This policy is governed by the following legislation and professional standards:
- Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)
- Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012
- Australian Privacy Principles (APPs)
- Health Records Act 2001
- Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia — Code of Conduct for Nurses
- Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia — Registered Nurse Standards for Practice
- NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission — applicable standards for NDIS-funded services
3. What Information We Collect
We only collect personal and health information that is necessary for the safe and effective provision of services. This may include:
- Full name, date of birth, contact details and address
- Medical history, current diagnoses and medications
- Mental health history and current presentation
- Family and relationship history where relevant to your care
- NDIS plan details and funding information (for NDIS-funded clients)
- Financial information relevant to billing and payment
- Information provided by referrers, support coordinators or other treating practitioners with your consent
We collect information directly from you wherever possible. Where information is collected from a third party (such as a referrer or support coordinator), we will inform you of this unless doing so would be unreasonable or impractical in the circumstances.
4. How We Collect Information
Information is collected through:
- Initial intake forms and assessment processes
- Direct conversation during sessions
- Written correspondence including email and messaging
- Referral documentation from other practitioners or services
- NDIS planning documents and support coordinator communications
Initial assessment does not proceed until informed consent has been provided. Where a client is unable to provide consent due to disability or medical condition, consent is obtained from their legally authorised representative.
5. How We Use Your Information
Your personal and health information is used to:
- Provide, coordinate and evaluate your care and support
- Develop and implement behaviour support plans (where applicable)
- Communicate with other treating practitioners involved in your care, with your consent
- Process billing and payments
- Meet our legal, regulatory and professional obligations
- Write NDIS reports and funding-related documentation
We will not use your information for any purpose other than those described above without your explicit consent, except where required by law.
6. Disclosure of Information
Your information will only be disclosed to third parties in the following circumstances:
- With your explicit written consent — for example, to other treating practitioners, specialists or support services involved in your care
- Where required by law — including mandatory reporting obligations under child protection legislation, or orders of a court or tribunal
- Where there is a serious and imminent threat to the life, health or safety of you or another person, and it is unreasonable or impractical to obtain your consent
- To the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission or other regulatory bodies as required
- To Pamdon Consulting, for the purposes of delivering Specialist Positive Behaviour Support services (NDIS-funded clients only, with your consent)
We will never sell, rent or trade your personal information to any third party for marketing or commercial purposes.
7. Telehealth & Digital Communications
DHM Mental Health Care delivers services via telehealth platforms including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime and telephone. While we take reasonable steps to ensure the security of these platforms, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of information transmitted electronically.
By consenting to telehealth services, you acknowledge and accept the inherent privacy limitations of electronic communication. We recommend that you access telehealth sessions from a private location to protect your own confidentiality.
We do not store recordings of sessions without your explicit written consent.
8. Storage & Security of Information
DHM Mental Health Care takes all reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Our security measures include:
- Electronic records are protected by password, encryption, virus protection software and firewalls
- Hard copy files are kept in locked storage when not in use and are not left unattended
- Working notes not required for permanent retention are securely shredded
- Closed hard copy files are scanned to the electronic file and the hard copy is securely destroyed
- Access to client records is limited to Debbie Mole and authorised persons directly involved in your care
Clinical records are retained for a minimum of 7 years from the date of last service, or until a child client reaches the age of 25 years, in accordance with applicable legislation and professional standards.
9. Limits of Confidentiality
While we are committed to maintaining confidentiality, there are specific legal and ethical circumstances in which we are required or permitted to disclose information without your consent:
- Mandatory reporting — if we have reasonable grounds to believe a child or young person is at risk of harm, we are required by law to report this to the relevant authority
- Duty of care — if we believe there is a serious and imminent risk to your life or the life of another person
- Legal requirements — if we receive a subpoena, court order or other legal directive requiring disclosure
- Regulatory obligations — if required to report to AHPRA, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission or another regulatory body
Where possible and appropriate, we will discuss these obligations with you before making any disclosure.
10. Your Rights
Under the Australian Privacy Principles, you have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you — requests should be made in writing and we will respond within 30 days
- Request correction of information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete or misleading
- Request that we delete your information, subject to our legal record-keeping obligations
- Withdraw consent for the collection or use of your information at any time — noting that this may affect our ability to provide services
- Make a complaint about how your information has been handled
To exercise any of these rights, please contact Debbie Mole directly using the contact details below.
11. Privacy Breaches
In the event of a privacy breach involving your personal information, DHM Mental Health Care will:
- Take immediate steps to contain the breach
- Assess the risk of harm to affected individuals
- Notify affected individuals where required under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme
- Report to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) where the breach is likely to result in serious harm
- Report to the Department of Health and Human Services within 1 business day where required by applicable legislation
We maintain an internal register of privacy breaches and review our security measures regularly.
12. Complaints
If you have a concern about the way your personal information has been collected, used or disclosed, we encourage you to contact us in the first instance:
Debbie Mole — DHM Mental Health Care
📞 0432 729 283
If your concern is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may lodge a complaint with:
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) — www.oaic.gov.au | 1300 363 992
- NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (for NDIS-related concerns) — www.ndiscommission.gov.au | 1800 035 544
- AHPRA — www.ahpra.gov.au (for concerns relating to professional conduct)
13. Third Party Services — Pamdon Consulting
For clients receiving Specialist Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) services, DHM Mental Health Care operates in partnership with Pamdon Consulting, a registered NDIS provider. In these circumstances, relevant client information may be shared with Pamdon Consulting for the purposes of delivering NDIS-compliant PBS services, reporting and plan management.
This sharing of information occurs only with your explicit consent and in accordance with NDIS Privacy Guidelines and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
14. Website & Digital Privacy
The DHM Mental Health Care website (dhmmentalhealthcare.com) may collect non-identifying information through analytics tools including Google Analytics. This information is used to improve the website and understand how visitors interact with our content. It does not identify individual users.
Our website may use cookies to improve your browsing experience. You may disable cookies through your browser settings, though this may affect the functionality of some parts of the website.
We do not collect personal information through our website unless you voluntarily provide it through a contact form or direct communication.
15. Policy Review
This policy is reviewed annually or whenever there is a material change in legislation, professional standards or our business practices. The current version of this policy is available on our website and will be provided to clients on request.
Current version: 1.0
Date of effect: April 2026
Next scheduled review: April 2027
DHM Mental Health Care | Debbie Mole — Clinical Nurse Specialist | ABN: 78 637 529 381 | AHPRA: NMW0001102450
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