Our services are offered in the utmost confidence.

Confidentiality notice for UTS Counselling Service

The UTS Counselling Service provides counselling services in the utmost confidence. The legal basis of this confidentiality is available below:

  1. In becoming a client of the UTS Counselling Service in the Student Services Unit, personal and health information will be collected from you to allow us to provide you (the client) with counselling, case management, other services and ongoing support while you are a client. Information may also be collected from other medical practitioners or parties with your consent.
  2. The UTS Counselling Service works as a multidisciplinary team in order to provide the best quality services for you. Clients may consult more than one staff member from the Counselling Service, depending on need and availability. Client records are accessible to staff within the Counselling Service and to approved administrative staff, including the unit's director, where needed to support continuity of care, enable clinical supervision, review service delivery and complete administrative tasks.
  3. Client information may be discussed confidentially within the Student Services Unit under supervision and review arrangements in which trained clinicians provide supervision. Information held will also be used to plan and review service delivery.
  4. Currently, the Counselling Service and Financial Assistance Service are using the same appointment system. This allows the two services to book students into each other's appointment system to facilitate referral. Appointment notes are held separately and are not shared.
  5. Client information will not be disclosed beyond the above requirements unless:
    1. You have provided consent for information to be shared or disclosed (or consent has been received from a person with legal authority to act on your behalf)
    2. The disclosure is considered necessary to lessen or prevent a serious and imminent risk to life or health of yourself or another person, or a threat to public health or public safety. Where a risk may not be imminent, but there is a threat that may endanger staff or students, information may be disclosed to those responsible for campus safety and wellbeing
    3. We are required by law to disclosure the information (for example, mandatory reporting of a serious crime)
    4. It is disclosed in the course of external supervision or external professional training, and the clinician:
      1. conceals your identity and the identities of any associated parties involved, or
      2. obtains your consent, and gives prior notice to the recipients of the information that they are required to preserve your privacy, and obtains an undertaking from the recipients of the information that they will preserve for your privacy.
  6. You can request access to information held about you by contacting the UTS Counselling Services
  7. Use of AI: To improve service delivery, UTS Counselling Service uses AI-powered transcription software to assist counsellors with notetaking during sessions. The software does not record or store video or audio from the sessions. UTS Counselling Service uses Microsoft transcription software, and all transcription data is securely stored. This information is accessible only to Counselling Staff and is protected under strict privacy and confidentiality guidelines. Counselling Staff delete this data once the note has been finalised (mostly within 48 hours after a session is concluded). Counselling Staff will check with you at the start of each session to obtain your consent. You can choose to agree or decline the use of transcription software on each occasion. 

If you have any questions regarding privacy and UTS Counselling Services, contact the Head of Counselling on phone: (02) 9514 1177 or email: Student.Services@uts.edu.au.

These requirements comply with our obligations under the NSW Health Records and Information Privacy Act (2002) and the Australian Psychological Society ethical guidelines (2007).