Privacy: Every client who is involved with Living Well Social Work has the right to Privacy. There are laws in Australia about privacy called the Privacy Act 1988. You can find more information here. Living Well Social Work follows these laws and works hard to ensure your privacy. Some of the things we do to ensure you privacy include:
- Only information that is needed for your service will be collected and recorded in your notes.
- No one, apart from you and the social worker, will have access to your notes, except a court in certain circumstances. If you are concerned about this please discuss it with your social worker.
- All records must be kept for seven years or for seven years after a child turns 18.
- The funding department (eg Medicare or NDIS etc) will have limited access to information for billing and reporting purposes where required.
- All records will be kept electronically on a platform specifically approved for health services records to provide the maximum security possible.
- All clients will be asked to sign a Consent to Data Collection for Living Well Social Work to keep records appropriately before services are undertaken.
- Clients will have access to their own records on request with reasonable notice being given and appropriate support strategies in place where appropriate.
If you have any questions or concerns about this you can contact me through the Contact Us page.
Confidentiality: All clients have the right to confidentiality. Information regarding the processes and content of services will not be shared without the consent of the client involved or their guardian. That means that you should be able to trust that what is said or done during appointments remains private between you and the social worker.
There are some times that the social worker will not be able to keep confidentiality. For example if
- the social worker thinks you are going to harm yourself or others a report will be made.
- the social worker thinks a child is being harmed a report will be made in line with mandatory reporting requirements in The Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 NSW
- a judge or magistrate says that notes written about you have to be shown to the court (subpoena)
- the NDIS or the doctor/person who referred you needs a report so that you can continue to see the social worker. Usually this can be discussed with you in advance so you know what the report might look like.
- very, very unusually there might be some other circumstance.
All clients will be asked to sign a Confidentiality Agreement acknowledging that they understand the limits of confidentiality. This is a great time to tell the social worker if you have any worries or concerns about confidentiality but you should bring it up at any time if you are worried about it.
If you have any questions or concerns about this you can contact me through the Contact Us page.
Complaints
If you are not happy with the service that you are receiving, then of course I would like you to talk to me or email/text meand let me know. If that is too difficult I am happy for you to have an advocate speak to me or write to me on your behalf. I am always keen to resolve all issues as quickly, ethically and transparently as possible. If you are still not happy then you have a number of ways to get help to sort out the problem.
- Accredited Social Workers are members of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). They are required to abide by the AASW Code of Ethics and the Practice Standards. If you have concerns that these standards are not being met you can complain to the AASW here
- If you believe that your privacy has been breached, please speak to me. If you are still not happy you may be able to make a complaint to the Australian Privacy Commissioner. You can go here for more information on how to make a complaint.
- If you believe you are being discriminated against due to your disability you can complain to the Australian Human Rights Commission here.
- If your concern is about billing and finances or the service agreement, you can complain to Fair Trading NSW here.
- If your service is being provided through the NDIS
- You can speak to your Local Area Coordinator (LAC) or Support Coordinator (if it is not us) and they may be able help you sort out the problem.
- You can contact the NDIS and they may be able to either mediate the complaint or assist with information and referral. Call 1800 800 110 or email feedback@ndis.gov.au or click here for the complaints page
- Registered NDIS Service Providers are required to meet the National Standards for Disability Services. You can read the Easy English version here. Youcan find the Standards in various languages here. If you are concerned that these standards are being breached, you can complain to the NSW Ombudsman here
- There are six Standards
- Service Access
- Individual Outcomes
- Participation and Inclusion
- Feedback and Complaints
- Service Management
- Rights
- There are six Standards
If you have any questions or concerns about this you can contact me through the Contact Us page.