Support Service privacy collection statement
The Beyond Blue Support Service connects people with trained counsellors who provide brief counselling, information and referrals for mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.
The Support Service can be accessed via telephone, and via webchat and email using the Beyond Blue website.
The Support Service is provided by Australian Unity Limited.
Australian Unity and Beyond Blue are committed to ensuring that your personal information is protected in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and other applicable laws in relation to the handling of that information.
You can obtain the latest versions of our respective privacy policies, which contain more information about our privacy practices, by clicking the links below:
In this Privacy Collection Statement, references to Beyond Blue are references to Beyond Blue Limited ACN 093 865 840. References to Australian Unity are references to Australian UnityLimited ABN 23 087 648 888
Why we collect personal information
Australian Unity and Beyond Blue collect your personal information (including sensitive information such as health information) for the primary purpose of providing the Support Service.
What personal information we collect
Personal information collected may include information such as:
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your name
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your date of birth
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your contact details (including telephone number, address and/or email address)
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information about your health and medical history
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records of the Support Service’s interactions with you
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audio recordings of telephone conversations, and
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telecommunications data and information on website usage.
If you wish, you may use the Support Service anonymously or by using a pseudonym (that is, a fake name), or otherwise not provide personal information. However, that may limit the type or quality of the services that Australian Unity can provide to you.
How we collect your personal information
In most cases, Australian Unity collects personal information from you when you use the Support Service, use the Beyond Blue website, provide feedback or make a complaint.
Australian Unity may also collect information about you from other sources, including personal information and telecommunications data, even if you don’tidentify yourself.
How we use your personal information
Your personal information is used by Australian Unity & Beyond Blue to manage the Support Service and the care provided to you, to manage complaints and comply with laws, and for other purposes detailed in its privacy policy.
For example, your personal information may be used to:
- identify you and determine the appropriate way for the Support Service to interact with you, and otherwise manage the relationship with you
- identify and provide counselling, information and referral services to you
- manage complaints and legal issues
- interact with regulators and governmental agencies
- meet our legal obligations, including to report risks of harm to you and other people, and
- develop and improve the Support Service generally.
How we use de-identified information
Your personal information may also be de-identified, aggregated, and used by Australian Unity and Beyond Blue for the purposes of analysing, developing and reporting on community services. This includes analysing, modelling and monitoring community trends to better advocate for community issues.
De-identified information may also be used in academic articles, in presentations and shared with research partners.
De-identified feedback you provide to Australian Unity may also be used for marketing purposes.
Who your personal information is disclosed to
Australian Unity may need to disclose your personal information to other persons or organisations that can help you, such as healthcare providers or other referral parties. Australian Unity will ask for your permission before sharing your personal information with those persons or organisations.
In addition, personal information may be disclosed to third parties that provide services relating to the purposes for which the information is collected or able to be used, or otherwise where you would reasonably expect disclosure to third parties.
For example, Australian Unity may disclose your personal information to its:
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service providers and contractors, including service providers that host website servers, other IT service providers and analytical service providers, and
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professional advisers (such as accountants, auditors and lawyers).
Australian Unity may also disclose your personal information:
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to Beyond Blue in order to manage the administration of the Support Service
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to Australian Unity Limited or any of its other subsidiaries in order to manage the administration of the Support Service or to meet Australian Unity’s legal and contractual obligations
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if you have consented to the disclosure, or your consent can reasonably be inferred from the circumstances
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to relevant authorities where there is a child or young person at risk of harm (including physical harm, sexual, emotional or psychological abuse, or neglect)
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to relevant authorities where there is a serious risk of harm to you or another adult person or a serious threat to public health, welfare or safety, and
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if it is required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court or tribunal order.
The circumstances in which Australian Unity may disclose your personal information to recipients located overseas are set out in its privacy policy.
Sharing personal information about another person
If you want to share a story about another person and it involves their personal information (or if they will be reasonably identifiable from the information you want to share), please get their consent first and let them know about this Privacy Collection Statement and Australian Unity’s and Beyond Blue’s respective privacy policies.
More information about our privacy practices
Australian Unity’s and Beyond Blue’s respective privacy policies contain more information about our privacy practices, including:
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how you may access and correct the personal information held about you, and
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how to complain about a suspected breach of your privacy or about how your personal information has been handled.
You can obtain the latest versions of our respective privacy policies by visiting the websites below:
How to contact us
Beyond Blue Email: privacy@beyondblue.org.au
Australian Unity Post: Group Privacy OfficerAustralian Unity Limited Level 15, 271 Spring Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Beyond Blue Post: Attention: The Privacy Officer, Beyond Blue
Suite 501, 278 Flinders Lane
Melbourne VIC 3000
This Support Service Privacy Collection Statement was last updated in February 2022 and may change from time to time. Please consult this statement regularly for any changes.
Product Information for the Support Service
Name of service provider: Australian Unity, contracted provider for Beyond Blue
Date of last service update: March 2024
Date this form was completed: 10/05/2024
Is this service for me?
This service offers support for all people in Australia experiencing psychological distress and/or symptoms of anxiety and depression. The service is free, available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week and offers single session brief counselling with a focus on distress reduction and is delivered over the phone, via webchat or email.
The service is delivered by trained and qualified counsellors and mental health coaches who receive ongoing supervision and training.
The service can be accessed by calling 1300 224 636 or via the Beyond Blue website or webchat and can be accessed anonymously.
The service user chooses how and when they engage with the support service, this means they can include carer, family or support person to work with them to use the service when and if they deem it necessary.
Will I benefit if I use this service?
The service’s Model of Care is based on best practice and the latest available evidence regarding brief intervention in supporting people to reduce psychological distress.
Although not endorsed by a government or professional body, Beyond Blue reports to Federal, State and Territory government in line with their funding commitments.
Could this service do me harm?
There have been no adverse events that have been reported following use of the service.
There is a complaints process that can be accessed with any concerns or complaints regarding the service here.
Should I trust this service?
The support service is funded entirely by donations from the public. Beyond Blue is a registered charity and maintains its obligations with Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC).
Is the service easy to use? Will I keep using it?
Community codesign and constant community feedback provides insights to continually improve the accessibility of the service and ease of use. The service offers inclusive supports such as translation and national relay services.
Most contacts to the service are expected to last around 20 minutes with the aim for users to see results, in the form of distress reduction within that session.
Lived experience has been used to develop the service and continues to be involved in service improvement activities.
Based on feedback taken to measure the Net Promoter Score (NPS), most users would recommend the support service to others.
Your interaction may stay solely with the support service, however, should more specialised support be required, the Support Service may refer you to other health services such as your local mental health triage, emergency services or more localised support depending on your needs.
Who will have access to my personal data?
The service may collect the following information: Preferred name, mobile number, age, postcode, if you are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background and gender identity.
Beyond Blue holds non identifiable data, however demographics are collected and stored by service provider Remedy who holds private and sensitive information. The data is owned by Beyond Blue with Australian Unity collecting it on Beyond Blue’s behalf. Australian Unity stores personal Information and sensitive Information in Australia.
Information is only shared when consented by the consumer and for referral purposes. Information may also be shared where there is a duty of care or clinical need, such as escalating to third parties or emergency services, or if there is a legal request and/or subpoena.
A service user may share transcripts by downloading a copy of the webchat transcript or requesting a copy of the phone call transcript.
All data stored at Beyond Blue is deidentified. Australian Unity will not store unsolicited personal or sensitive information that is not required, however, often are unable to delete such information, particularly where it forms part of correspondence, phone records or other interactions not needed to be retained. Deletion in such circumstances is generally not reasonable or practicable.
If personal information is no longer needed for a business purpose and the legal retention period for keeping this information has passed, Australian Unity will either destroy or de-identify this information.
Australian Unity and Beyond Blue are committed to ensuring that personal information is protected in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and other applicable laws in relation to the handling of that information.
The latest versions of respective privacy policies, which contain more information about privacy practices can be found below:
Support Service privacy collection statement - Beyond Blue
Data Usage
(Webchat) - text only based sessions use a relatively small amount of data, i.e. (a few kilobytes (KB) of data per message).
Who can I contact with questions or concerns about this service?
How can I contact the service provider? Online through feedback via our contact us page here
Where can I go if I have concerns about this service? Directly to Beyond Blue.
For privacy/security issues contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints/
For complaints against a health service contact your state or territory health complaints organisation https://www.ahpra.gov.au/notifications/further-information/health-complaints- organisations.aspx
For complaints against an individual registered health professional contact the Australian Health Practitioners Regulatory Authority (AHPRA) https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Notifications/Raise-a-concern.aspx
For complaints about misleading claims contact Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/complaints-problems/make-a- consumer-complaint
This document is based on the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care’s Product Information Template for digital mental health services. You can find more information on the NSQDMH Standards at: www.safetyandquality.gov.au/dmhs
Product Information for New Access
Name of service provider: New Access
Date of last service update: March 2024
Date this form was completed: 11/04/2024
Is this service for me?
This service offers help with supporting people who may be feeling stressed or overwhelmed about the day-to-day challenges such as issues with work, family, relationships, or financial worries. It is an early intervention service for people with mild to moderate symptoms of depression and /or anxiety.
NewAccess is intended for anyone aged 12 years and over or 16 years or older in some regions. However, a person may not be eligible if they are already seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist, or they are dealing with severe or complex mental health issues.
NewAccess is based on the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) program from the United Kingdom, now called Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression program. NewAccess is an evidence based, guided self-help program in which people are supported by trained and clinically supervised mental health coaches who deliver low-intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (LiCBT).
New Access is delivered by trained and clinically supervised mental health coaches. Coaches have a range of backgrounds and represent various demographics. They are recruited for compassionate and effective communication skills and their ability to work within the parameters of a highly prescribed governance and clinical safety framework. Many have lived experience of depression or anxiety. Coaches are specifically trained to deliver LiCBT and receive ongoing clinical supervision from clinicians.
This service is delivered face to face, over the phone or through video chat. It is available Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Although the service cannot be accessed anonymously, it is a confidential service and free of charge. To access the service there is no referral needed from a general practitioner, the service can be self-referred to, via the Beyond Blue website. Carers and support people can help through this self-referral process and treatment process with your consent.
Will I benefit if I use this service?
The service model reproduces the key features of the reputable Talking Therapies program and aligns with the evidence-based guidelines produced by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for depression and anxiety. The evidence base draws on the principles of LiCBT, a form of CBT and is designed to meet the needs of people who present with symptoms associated with high prevalence conditions, such as mild to moderate depression and/or anxiety. It has been independently evaluated three times since 2010.
The service is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Treasury and Primary Health Networks (PHNs), national commissioning organisations, funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health. It has been also funded by the Victorian government for statewide service coverage.
Could this service do me harm?
The service is designed for early intervention and for mild to moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression; there is no evidence for the use of the service in severe mental health. The service is not intended for acute or severe symptoms associated with depression and or anxiety.
The service is an exclusively low intensity service. This means that when a client requires higher intensity services, they are referred to an appropriate service.
Should I trust this service?
Beyond Blue owns the intellectual property rights of the Service. Since August 2013, Beyond Blue has retained exclusive ownership of the NewAccess name (trademarked – No. 1769023) and materials, including Intellectual Property Rights. Beyond Blue provides a Deed of Licence to service providers for delivery of the NewAccess. When funders or commissioners such as PHNs request Beyond Blue to deliver NewAccess they acquire an exclusive royalty free licence and a comprehensive program package from Beyond Blue for the duration of the funding/license period. The program package comprises of four areas of support from Beyond Blue – quality assurance, program management, risk management and marketing and engagement.
The Service is not designed to make money but rather to provide free accessible support to the service to prevent the onset of more severe mental health conditions.
Is the service easy to use? Will I keep using it?
Since its inception, the NewAccess delivery model has been independently evaluated on several occasions. Those reviews have demonstrated that NewAccess is aligned with the Talking Therapies program, low intensity CBT and NICE Guidelines evidence-bases.
Users are entitled to a maximum of eight one-on-one coaching sessions consisting of an initial assessment and five sessions over seven weeks, followed by further contact sessions at one and six months.
The time to get results from the service is dependent on the individual’s needs and reason for accessing the service, however some users experience improvement and/or recovery from their symptoms after 1 or 2 sessions.
People with lived experience in mental health have assisted in the development of the program since its inception. The coach workforces who deliver treatment are employed on their lived experience or experience with their community. Other users consistently provide positive feedback in relation to their experience and positive outcomes from using the service.
The service operates within the mental health stepped-care framework and is integrated into the health care system. People can be stepped up if they require more intensive treatment and support or stepped down from more intensive services. The coach, in consultation with the clinical supervisor, may review the options to “step up” a person to a more appropriate or higher intensity service at any time, from enquiry to completion.
Who will have access to my personal data?
The NewAccess service utilises a web-based client case management system that provides real-time information on client outcomes, clinical supervision, coach/client contact activity levels and treatment plans.
Data collected at intake includes:
- Referral data (date/source/reason for referral)
- Client detail (full name, DOB, gender, address, phone number, contact permissions)
- Alternate contact person (name, number)
- Client preferences (coach / language / interpreter required / face to face or phone preference)
- Appointment detail (date / time / location / coach / text appointment reminder)
- Administration detail of appointment
Data captured by coaches and supervisors:
- Client demographic details
- Outcome measures, recovery rates, risk alerts and client treatment trends
- Client details including use of medications, possible diagnosis, other services the client is accessing and information regarding their symptoms
- Client management capacity incorporating note recording against appointments, telephone calls and other client interactions
- Client treatment plans
- Calendar functionality for client appointment booking at a Coach and location level
- Management of coaching episodes
- Documentation upload and letter creation
- Comprehensive reporting for performance management and evaluation purposes
The data collected through this service is owned by the NewAccess Service Provider.
With the exception of NewAccess staff, information will only be shared with people the participant specifically nominates. In the event that the coach feels there is a risk to the client or others then there is a duty of care to share information with appropriate services.
The NewAccess program is supported through the use of a purpose-built client case management system used by coaches, supervisors and service managers. Data is captured via this electronic database (client case management system) and is password and username protected with access enabled to NewAccess staff only.
Information and results can be shared with a program participant at their request, they would be required to request this information from the Service Provider. The Service does not use personal devices to receive or forward personal information.
People using the service can request access to data collected and stored during the course of the service. Beyond Blue has a data sharing and privacy policy that is used to protect personal information.
Data Usage
There are no data requirements to use this service.
Who can I contact with questions or concerns about this service?
How can I contact the service provider? The service is delivered through a range of services and PHNs that can be contacted directly. Beyond Blue can be contacted directly via their website https://www.beyondblue.org.au/about-us/contact-us
Where can I go if I have concerns about this service? Directly to Beyond Blue.
For privacy/security issues contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints/
For complaints against a health service contact your state or territory health complaints organisation https://www.ahpra.gov.au/notifications/further-information/health-complaints- organisations.aspx
For complaints against an individual registered health professional contact the Australian Health Practitioners Regulatory Authority (AHPRA) https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Notifications/Raise-a-concern.aspx
For complaints about misleading claims contact Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/complaints-problems/make-a- consumer-complaint
This document is based on the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care’s Product Information Template for digital mental health services. You can find more information on the NSQDMH Standards at: www.safetyandquality.gov.au/dmhs
