Your privacy is part of the care

Metanoia Counselling is a private counselling practice in Doncaster, Victoria, operated by Megan Bodnar, a Registered Counsellor with the Australian Counselling Association (ACA). We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic).

Contact details: your name, email, phone number, and date of birth. Health information: the things you share in sessions, session notes, and any relevant history you choose to provide. Booking and payment details: appointment history and payment records. Card payments are processed by our payment provider; we do not store your card number. Website enquiries: information you submit through our contact form.

Only to provide you with counselling: to understand your situation, plan and deliver sessions, manage bookings and payments, and contact you about your appointments. We don't use your information for marketing without your explicit consent, and we never sell it.

Client records are kept in Splose, an Australian practice-management system with encrypted storage, accessible only by Megan. Paper notes, where used, are stored securely and digitised. Reasonable steps are taken to protect all information from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access.

What you share in counselling stays confidential. The exceptions are the standard legal and ethical ones, explained in your first session: where there is a serious risk of harm to you or another person; where records are subpoenaed by a court; or where the law otherwise requires disclosure. Where professional supervision is used to maintain the quality of care, your identity is not disclosed.

Online sessions are delivered through secure video platforms. Sessions are never recorded. You are responsible for choosing a private space at your end; we will always be in one at ours.

Our website may use basic analytics to understand how visitors use it; this data is aggregated and does not identify you. Bookings made online are handled by Splose under their privacy policy. Our site links to external services (such as social media); their privacy practices are their own.

Health records are retained as required by Victorian law: at least 7 years after your last contact, or for clients under 18, until they turn 25. After that, records are securely destroyed.

You may request access to the personal information we hold about you, and ask for corrections if it's inaccurate. Contact us using the details below; we'll respond within 30 days. In limited circumstances access may be declined (for example, where it would pose a serious threat to someone's health or safety), and if so we'll explain why in writing.