Privacy Policy

PRIVACY AND THE LAW

IHDS privacy policy and practices conforms to the requirements of the law under:
•    The Information Privacy Act 2000 (Victoria)
•    The Health Records Act 2001(Victoria)
•    The Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth)
•    The Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006
The rights of clients to see any information we hold about them and their case is also protected by law under The Freedom of Information Act 1982 and the Health Records Act 2001(Victoria), which regulate the right of the community to access information held about them.

CLIENT FILES

Client files are made up of:
•    A Client Intake form, showing personal details such as name, address, date of birth, ethnicity, and when the person arrived in Australia.
•    An individual support or care plan, showing:
•    details of the person’s request for assistance; 
•    what the client and their support worker have agreed to do;   
•    who is responsible for completing the activities. 
•    A summary of all the conversations and contacts the client has with their support worker, and with anyone else they speak to about the client’s case. 
•    What the client’s support worker has done for them.
•    Whether the support worker was successful in achieving what the client wanted by IHDS standards.  
•    A handover of the client’s file from one support worker to another support worker, for example, the support worker’s absence on leave or through sickness. 
•    Any documents lodged by the client with IHDS.
•    Names and contact details of other service providers involved with the client.

RELEASE OF INFORMATION

•   We only give out information about our clients to others if the client agrees to it or if the law requires us to. Our support workers will assist clients to decide whether to give out information or not.  Clients have the right to refuse to give permission for information to be given out.
•    Clients can sign an ‘Authority to Release of Information’ form (and keep a copy of it), so that they know exactly to whom their support worker will be talking.
From time to time, IHDS might want to use some information about clients for research or systemic activity.  When this happens, we contact the client concerned and ask for their consent.

RECORD PRESERVATION

IHDS keeps clients’ records for five years from the time when the file is closed.  All files are kept securely in locked storage.

When clients leave our service, they will have a final meeting with their support worker to review the work that has been done. 

During this review the client will be presented with an option to have their personal documents, such as Centrelink statements or other financial statements, letters from government departments, copies of passports or other personal documents, removed from their file.  

Case notes and the documents that are central to the client’s case cannot be removed from the file as they are the record of the work that has been done. 

We will also keep any correspondence addressed to IHDS.  
If clients have any questions regarding their file or about any of their personal information that IHDS has gathered, they should not hesitate to speak to their support worker.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION
We have access to clients’ files, and we also have a policy of restricting access to those staff members who need to see and use it. 
Clients also have the right of access to their file and, through their support worker, they can ask to have it corrected if necessary.