Privacy Policy

A legal disclaimer

Practice: Innerlight Counselling Practitioner: Annette Armstrong, Bachelor of Counselling, Emotion, Body & Belief Code Practitioner. Address: Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Email: innerlightcounselling.au@gmail.com Phone: 0418 299 060

1. Our Commitment to Your Privacy

Innerlight Counselling offers professional counselling services alongside energy healing modalities, including Emotion Code, Body Code, and Belief Code practitioner services. We are committed to protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal and health information across all services we provide. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose, and protect your information in accordance with applicable Australian legislation, including:

Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs)
Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW), or your relevant state/territory equivalent
Mandatory reporting obligations under relevant child protection and family violence legislation
Australian Counselling Association (ACA) and/or Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) Codes of Ethics

By engaging our services, you consent to the collection and use of your personal information as described in this policy. We encourage you to read this policy carefully and raise any questions with your practitioner.

2. Our Services

Innerlight Counselling provides the following services, which may be offered individually or integrated within a single session according to your needs and goals:

Counselling: Professional talk-based support for mental health, emotional wellbeing, relationships, grief, trauma, anxiety, and life challenges.
Emotion Code: An energy healing technique designed to identify and release trapped emotional energies that may be contributing to physical or emotional distress.
Body Code: A comprehensive energy healing system that works to identify and address underlying imbalances across multiple areas including the physical body, emotions, nutrition, and energetic systems.
Belief Code: An energy healing modality focused on identifying and releasing limiting beliefs and negative thought systems held in the subconscious mind.

These modalities are complementary in nature and are not a substitute for medical diagnosis, treatment, or advice. You are encouraged to continue any existing medical or mental health treatment alongside our services.

3. Information We Collect

3.1 Personal Information

We may collect the following types of personal information:

Full name, date of birth, and contact details (address, phone number, email)
Emergency contact details
Medicare, private health insurance, or NDIS details (where applicable)
Referral information, including GP referral details under a Mental Health Care Plan
Payment and billing information

3.2 Health and Sensitive Information

As a counselling and energy healing practice, we collect sensitive health information, including:

Presenting concerns, mental health history, and psychological assessments
Session notes, treatment goals, and progress records across all modalities
Information relevant to Emotion Code, Body Code, and Belief Code sessions, including identified trapped emotions, energetic imbalances, and limiting beliefs
Medication history and relevant medical information
Information about family members or significant relationships, where relevant to treatment
Information disclosed during sessions, including details of past trauma, abuse, or risk factors

We collect this information only to the extent necessary to provide safe and effective services. All sensitive information is handled with the highest level of care and discretion, regardless of the modality involved.

4. How We Collect Your Information

We collect your information through:

Client intake and registration forms (paper or electronic)
Direct communication during sessions (in-person, phone, or telehealth)
Written correspondence, including email and SMS
Referral documents from GPs, psychiatrists, or other health professionals
Proxy or distance healing intake forms (where Emotion Code, Body Code, or Belief Code sessions are conducted remotely)
Third-party platforms used for appointment bookings or telehealth (e.g., Zoom)

We will only collect information directly from you unless it is unreasonable or impracticable to do so, or you have given consent for us to collect it from a third party.

5. How We Use Your Information

Your personal and health information is used solely for the purposes for which it was collected, including:

Providing counselling, psychological support, and energy healing services (Emotion Code, Body Code, and Belief Code)
Developing and reviewing your treatment or healing plan across all modalities
Communicating with you regarding appointments, follow-ups, and service-related matters
Processing payments and managing practice administration
Complying with legal, ethical, and professional obligations
Seeking clinical supervision or peer consultation (using de-identified information only, unless otherwise agreed)
Responding to emergencies or situations involving risk to life

We will not use your information for any other purpose without your prior written consent, except where required or authorised by law.

6. Confidentiality and Disclosure

6.1 General Confidentiality

Everything you share with your practitioner — whether in a counselling session, an energy healing session, or a combined session — is treated as strictly confidential. We do not disclose your personal or health information to third parties without your written consent, except in the circumstances described below.

6.2 Exceptions to Confidentiality

Confidentiality may be lawfully breached in the following limited circumstances:

Risk to life: If there is a serious and imminent risk of harm to you or another person, we may be required to contact emergency services or a nominated contact.
Child protection: We have mandatory reporting obligations under Australian child protection legislation. If we have reasonable grounds to suspect a child is at risk of harm or abuse, we are legally required to report this to the relevant authority.
Court orders and subpoenas: We may be required to disclose your records if compelled by a valid court order or subpoena.
Coronial inquiries: Your records may be accessed as part of a coronial investigation.
Regulatory and professional bodies: In rare circumstances involving professional misconduct investigations, information may be disclosed to a relevant professional body.

Where possible, we will inform you before disclosing your information in the above circumstances, unless doing so would increase the risk of harm.

7. Record Keeping and Storage

7.1 Retention of Records

In accordance with Australian professional and legal standards, we retain client records for a minimum of:

7 years for adult clients from the date of last contact
Until the client's 25th birthday (or 7 years after last contact, whichever is later) for clients who were minors at the time of service

Records from all modalities — including counselling session notes and Emotion Code, Body Code, and Belief Code session records — are retained and protected under the same standard. After the applicable retention period, records are securely destroyed in a manner that protects your privacy (e.g., cross-cut shredding of physical documents, certified digital deletion).

7.2 Security of Records

We take all reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. Our security measures include:

Physical security: Paper records are stored in locked filing cabinets in a secure location with restricted access.
Digital security: Electronic records are stored in password-protected, encrypted systems using reputable practice management software compliant with Australian privacy standards.
Access controls: Only your treating practitioner and authorised administrative staff have access to your records.
Telehealth security: Video sessions are conducted via encrypted, healthcare-grade platforms.
Device security: All devices used to access client records are password-protected and use up-to-date security software.

In the event of a data breach likely to result in serious harm to you, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme.

8. Accessing and Correcting Your Information

You have the right to request access to your personal and health information held by us, including records from counselling and energy healing sessions. To make a request:

Submit a written request to your practitioner via email or in writing
We will respond within 30 days
In most cases, access will be granted at no charge, though reasonable administrative fees may apply for extensive requests

If you believe any of your information is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, or misleading, you may request a correction. We will take reasonable steps to correct the information or, if we disagree, attach a notation of the requested correction.

There are limited circumstances in which we may refuse access (e.g., if disclosure could pose a serious threat to the health or safety of another person, or where access would be unlawful). We will explain any refusal in writing.

9. Third Party Disclosure and Shared Care

With your written consent, we may communicate with other health professionals involved in your care (e.g., your GP, psychiatrist, NDIS support coordinator) for the purpose of coordinating your treatment.

We may also use third-party service providers to assist in delivering our services, including:

Practice management and scheduling software (e.g., Calendly)
Telehealth platforms (e.g., Zoom)
Secure payment processors
Cloud storage providers that comply with Australian privacy standards

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party for marketing or commercial purposes.

10. Overseas Disclosure

Some third-party platforms we use may store or process data on servers located outside Australia (e.g., in the United States or Europe). This may include platforms associated with Emotion Code, Body Code, and Belief Code practitioner certification and resources. Before disclosing your information to an overseas recipient, we take reasonable steps to ensure they maintain privacy protections substantially similar to the Australian Privacy Principles. If you have concerns about overseas data storage, please discuss this with your practitioner prior to engaging services.

11. Telehealth and Remote Healing Sessions

Where counselling or energy healing services are delivered via telehealth (phone or video), or where Emotion Code, Body Code, or Belief Code sessions are conducted remotely (including proxy healing), the same standards of confidentiality and data security apply as for in-person sessions. We recommend that you:

Participate in sessions from a private, secure location
Use a secure and private internet connection (avoid public Wi-Fi where possible)
Ensure no unauthorised persons can overhear or observe the session

Sessions are never recorded by Innerlight Counselling without your explicit written consent. You are also asked not to record sessions without prior agreement.

12. Privacy of Minors

Where services are provided to clients under 18 years of age, consent for collection and use of personal information is generally provided by a parent or legal guardian. This applies to both counselling and energy healing sessions. However, we recognise the importance of a young person's right to privacy and will use professional judgement regarding what information is shared with parents/guardians, guided by:

The best interests and safety of the young person
The young person's capacity to consent and their expressed wishes
Applicable legislation in your state or territory

This will be discussed openly with both the young person and their parent/guardian at the commencement of services.

13. Complaints and Concerns

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us directly in the first instance:

Innerlight Counselling Email: innerlightcounselling.au@gmail.com Phone: 0418299 060

We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and aim to resolve it within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact:

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC): www.oaic.gov.au | 1300 363 992
Australian Counselling Association (ACA): www.theaca.net.au
PACFA: www.pacfa.org.au
Your relevant state or territory Health Complaints Commissioner

14. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our practices, or service delivery. The current version will always be available upon request or on our website. Material changes will be communicated to existing clients.

15. Your Consent

By engaging the services of Innerlight Counselling — whether for counselling, Emotion Code, Body Code, Belief Code, or a combination of these — you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and consent to the collection, use, storage, and (where applicable) disclosure of your personal and health information as described herein. If you do not consent to any aspect of this policy, please discuss this with your practitioner before commencing services.

Innerlight Counselling — Privacy Policy —2026.