Terms and Conditions

Emergencies. Sessions are not an emergency service. If you or someone else is at immediate risk, please call emergency services (000 in Australia, 999 in the UK) or a crisis support line such as Lifeline (13 11 14) or Samaritans (116 123), or go to your nearest hospital emergency department.

Session times. Sessions run 50–60 minutes with you present. Your booking also covers 5–10 minutes for your psychologist to prepare beforehand and write notes before or after your session, so please allow between 50–60 minutes for your session time. We prioritise client needs each day, so occasionally your session may start late. We keep this to a minimum, but some delays are unavoidable.

Changing or cancelling a session. We are a small team, so please be advised that our reception operates part-time hours, and two business days' notice is required to give us time to change a session. We often have a waiting list for appointments, and this ensures cancelled sessions can be offered to someone else in time for them to attend. If you do not attend your appointment without notice, this counts as a cancellation and the full fee applies.

Cancellation fees:

  • Within two business days — full fee

  • More than two business days — full refund

Mobile pager. Please text our mobile pager number on +61 490 129 003 for any cancellations, or changes from in-person to telephone or online appointments. Use this number only for urgent (within two days) or important messages.

Email. As a small team with a lot of interest, we aim to respond to emails within two weeks. We receive over 200 emails each day, and our psychologists are often fully booked, so please be patient when it takes a while for them to respond to your enquiry.

Payment. Payment for your session is required at least two business days before your appointment, in order to confirm your booking. We reserve the right to offer your appointment time to our waiting list if payment is not received by this time. Payments are made online to:

  • BSB: 016495

  • Account: 335912626

  • Reference: your appointment date

Extended sessions. If the session goes over time, we reserve the right to charge for an additional hour. We will let you know during the appointment whether staying longer is possible, and whether it will be charged as another hour.

Use of AI tools. We may use an AI assistant, Lumo (provided by Proton, a Swiss privacy company), to help with administrative and writing tasks relating to your care, such as researching information, drafting correspondence, organising notes, and answering administrative enquiries. All AI-assisted work is reviewed by your psychologist. AI tools are never used to make a diagnosis or treatment plan. Lumo is end-to-end encrypted, does not log or retain your information, and does not use your information to train AI models.

Safety and conduct. If the psychologist believes you are intoxicated with drugs or alcohol, or becoming a risk to yourself or others during your session (including emotional abuse), they may decide to cancel your appointment. In this case, you agree to pay for the cancelled appointment at full charge, at any time, based on the psychologist's judgement of risk during the session. Do not book an appointment unless you agree.

Damage and injury. If you break an item or cause damage to the premises, you agree to pay for the damages to be fully repaired or replaced. If an injury occurs as a result of your actions during your appointment, you agree to pay the injured person's full costs of recovery (physical, financial, loss of income, and psychological) until they make a full recovery. However, this obligation arises only if we determine, acting reasonably and in our sole discretion, that the injury occurred and that it resulted from your actions. We will base this determination on what our staff personally observed during the session and on our contemporaneous records. Documents or reports produced after the event, by themselves, will not establish the injury or its cause for the purposes of this clause.

Confidentiality. Sessions are private and are not able to be recorded or reiterated without prior written consent from the psychologist. Your information is kept confidential, with the usual legal exceptions: where there is a serious risk of harm to you or others, where the law requires disclosure (for example, a subpoena or mandatory reporting obligations), or where we believe you or another person is at risk. Client notes may be discussed in professional supervision or consultation, with identifying details removed.

Privacy and records. Your personal and health information is stored securely and handled in accordance with Australian and UK privacy law. You may request access to your records with at least 28 days’ notice. Charges may apply if it takes our staff time, or costs (such as legal or postage costs), to provide you with a copy of your records.

Online and telephone sessions. For online or telephone appointments, find a private space where you can speak freely and safely. If technology fails, we will contact you to reschedule or continue by phone.

Complaints. If you have a concern about your care, please raise it directly with your psychologist first, as often they can adjust the session to suit your requirements. If this is not possible, then please send us an email to Janet@betterhealthpsychology.com  We take feedback seriously and will quickly endeavour to resolve the issue.

Children and young people. Appointments for clients under 18 require consent from a parent or legal guardian.

Overdue session payments. For sessions that are overdue for payment, a surcharge applies to the total outstanding cost, unless a payment plan has been agreed, to cover the increased admin time for overdue accounts. The following additional charges apply:

  • Up to one calendar month overdue: 5% surcharge on the overdue amount

  • Two calendar months overdue: 8% surcharge on the overdue amount for those two months

  • After two calendar months: in addition to the monthly 8% surcharge, any additional fees, collection costs, or associated court costs incurred to recover the overdue amount will be added to your account.

Contact hours. As our service is available in Australia, the UK, and other countries, you may receive emails or messages outside of standard business hours in your country's time zone.

Agreement. If you have any questions, then contact us before you book a session. Booking an appointment indicates your agreement to these terms and conditions.