Privacy Policy

Sydney Counsellor

Last updated: 12 October 2026

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About this policy

Sydney Counsellor is a private counselling and psychotherapy practice operated by Christopher James Patel, PACFA Registered Clinical Counsellor & Psychotherapist, in Newtown, Sydney.

Your privacy and confidentiality are important to me. This policy explains how I collect, use, store and protect personal and health information when you contact Sydney Counsellor, use this website or attend counselling or psychotherapy.

Personal and health information is handled in accordance with applicable Australian privacy legislation, including the Privacy Act 1988, the Australian Privacy Principles and the NSW Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002.

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What information I may collect

When you make an enquiry or become a client, I may collect information such as your name, contact details, date of birth and other information you choose to provide.

As part of counselling or psychotherapy, I may also collect health and sensitive information relevant to providing therapy. This can include information discussed during sessions, relevant history, goals for therapy, risk or safety information, clinical notes and correspondence relating to your care.

Administrative information such as appointment history, invoices and payment records may also be retained.

When you use this website, some technical information such as your IP address, browser information and website activity may also be collected through the website platform and cookies.

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How information is collected

Most information is provided directly by you when you contact me, complete an enquiry or intake form, communicate by email or telephone, or participate in therapy.

Occasionally, information may be provided by another health professional or another person involved in your care. Where appropriate, this would normally occur with your knowledge or consent.

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Why I collect information

I collect information only where it is reasonably necessary to provide and manage my services. This may include responding to enquiries, assessing whether I may be able to help, arranging appointments, providing counselling and psychotherapy, maintaining appropriate clinical records, processing payments and meeting professional, ethical and legal obligations.

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Confidentiality and sharing information

Your counselling is private. Your clinical record is maintained by Sydney Counsellor and is not routinely shared with your GP, insurer or other health professionals.

If it would be helpful to communicate with another professional involved in your care, I would normally discuss this with you and obtain your consent first.

Information may sometimes need to be disclosed where this is required or authorised by law, or where there are serious concerns about safety.

As part of ethical professional practice, aspects of clinical work may also be discussed in professional supervision. Identifying information is kept to a minimum wherever possible, and professional supervision is itself confidential.

Sydney Counsellor does not routinely upload counselling or psychotherapy notes to My Health Record.

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How information is stored and protected

I take reasonable steps to protect personal and health information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access or disclosure.

Records may be held electronically using password-protected and access-controlled systems and, where applicable, in secure physical storage. Access to client records is limited to what is necessary for the operation of the practice.

For adult clients in NSW, health information is generally required to be retained for at least seven years from the last occasion on which a health service was provided. IPC NSW After applicable retention

periods, information may be securely destroyed where appropriate.

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Website and technology providers

The Sydney Counsellor website is hosted through Wix (Vista x Wix). Information submitted through website forms or generated through your use of the website may therefore be processed by Wix (Vista x Wix) and its service providers.

Wix (Vista x Wix) operates internationally and states that visitor information may be stored in data centres including the United States and Ireland and may be processed by Wix (Vista x Wix) companies and service providers in other countries. wix.com

Other reputable technology providers may also be used for functions such as email, administration, accounting, appointment management or secure record keeping. Reasonable care is taken when selecting services that handle personal information.

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Cookies and website analytics

This website may use cookies and similar technologies for website functionality, security and to understand how visitors use the site.

You can control or restrict cookies through your browser settings. Some parts of the website may function differently if cookies are disabled.

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Accessing or correcting your information

You may request access to personal or health information held about you, or ask for information to be corrected if you believe it is inaccurate or incomplete.

Requests can be made by contacting me at:

Christopher James Patel
Sydney Counsellor
Email: Chris@sydneycounsellor.org
Phone: 0426 956 179

There may be limited circumstances where access cannot be provided in full, including where restrictions apply under privacy or other laws.

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Privacy concerns or complaints

If you have a question or concern about how your information has been handled, please contact me first so that I can understand and respond to the issue.

If a privacy concern cannot be resolved, you may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) or the Information and Privacy Commission NSW (IPC).

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Changes to this policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes to the practice, technology used or applicable privacy requirements. The current version will be available on this website.