Privacy policy

About this policy

The Child’s Mind is a trading name of Children’s Neuropsychology Services Pty Ltd (ABN 30 628 496 828). We provide clinical neuropsychology assessments for children and young people, led by Dr Chelvi Ganesalingam, Clinical Neuropsychologist, at Level 1, 51 Palmerston Road, Hornsby NSW 2077. In this policy, “we” and “us” mean Children’s Neuropsychology Services Pty Ltd trading as The Child’s Mind.

A neuropsychological assessment involves detailed and sensitive information about how a child learns, thinks, behaves and feels. This policy explains what we collect, why we collect it, how we protect it, and who may see it. It applies to this website, to enquiries, and to every stage of our service, from the first contact to the final report.

The laws and professional standards we follow

We handle information in line with the following:

• the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, which treat health information as sensitive information (OAIC guide to health privacy)
• the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW) and its Health Privacy Principles (Information and Privacy Commission NSW)
• the Psychology Board of Australia Code of Conduct, which requires informed consent for how client information is recorded, stored, used and shared, and written consent before information is disclosed (Psychology Board of Australia)
• the ethical standards of the Australian Psychological Society, including confidentiality and test security

What we collect during a neuropsychological assessment

Depending on your child’s needs, our records may include:

• Contact and identifying details: names and contact details of parents and carers; the child’s name, date of birth, school and year level
• Background history: pregnancy, birth and developmental history, medical history and medications, family history relevant to learning or development, and school and social history
• Referral and previous reports: referral letters and reports from GPs, paediatricians, hospitals, schools, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and other professionals
• Questionnaires and rating scales completed by parents, carers, teachers and, where appropriate, the child
• Clinical interview notes and our observations of the child’s behaviour, communication and engagement
• Test data: the child’s responses and scores on cognitive, learning, attention, memory, language and other standardised tests
• Our reports: written findings, diagnostic impressions, recommendations, and letters to schools or other professionals
• Billing details and our correspondence with you

How we collect it

We collect most information directly from parents and carers and from the child during the assessment. With your consent, we also request information from referrers, schools and other professionals who know your child. We tell you before we contact anyone on your behalf.

This website has no user accounts. If you use the enquiry form, or phone or email us, we collect only the details you choose to give. Messages sent through the enquiry form are emailed to us and are not stored on the website’s server.

Why we collect it

• to understand your child’s strengths and difficulties, and to answer the questions that led you to us, such as ADHD, autism, learning, intellectual or emotional and behavioural concerns
• to decide which assessments suit your child and to interpret the results in context
• to write a report with clear, practical recommendations for home, school and the community
• to give you and your child feedback on the findings
• to communicate with other professionals involved in your child’s care, when you agree
• to manage appointments and billing
• to keep accurate clinical records, as the law and professional standards require

Consent, and involving your child

We seek informed consent from a parent or carer with legal authority for the child before we begin, and we explain the limits of confidentiality. Where parents live apart, we may ask to see the parenting arrangements or court orders, and we may need agreement from both parents.

We explain the assessment to children in language that suits their age, and we respect their views. For older children and young people, we consider their own privacy when deciding how much to share with parents, within the limits of the law.

Reports and who receives them

Reports are written for you. We send them to other people, such as your child’s school, GP, paediatrician, therapists or a funding body, only with your consent, and we agree with you beforehand who will receive which report. We can write separate letters for schools that include only what is needed, so that sensitive family or health details stay private. A report you share yourself is no longer under our control.

You are free to decide whether to share a report at all. Please let us know if you would like a summary instead of the full report for a particular reader.

Test materials and raw test data

Standardised tests are protected by copyright and test security obligations, and the questions and scoring rules must stay confidential so the tests remain valid. For this reason, we do not usually release test questions, test forms or raw test protocols to non-psychologists. We explain the results in the report and in feedback. If you or another psychologist want to see the underlying test data, ask us. Where we can, we provide it to another suitably qualified professional, and we consider any request in line with professional and legal requirements.

When we may share information without consent

We do not disclose personal or health information without your consent, except where the law allows or requires it. For example:

• where there is a serious risk to a person’s safety
• where child protection laws require us to make a report
• where a court order, subpoena or other legal requirement applies
• where another lawful basis applies under privacy law

Service providers and technology

We use secure providers for services such as email, document storage, accounting and practice records. These providers may handle information on our behalf. Some may store or process information outside Australia. Where this happens, we take reasonable steps to make sure the information stays protected. We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for marketing.

If any part of a service is delivered by video, we use a platform suited to health consultations and ask you to take part from a private space.

Teaching, supervision and research

Dr Chelvi supervises psychologists and teaches at university level. We discuss a case in supervision, teaching or peer consultation only with your written consent, or when every detail that could identify your child has been removed.

This website

This website is informational. It does not use advertising or tracking cookies, and we do not run analytics that identify individual visitors. Some features use third-party services, including Google Fonts and an embedded Google map on the Contact page. These services may receive technical information, such as your IP address, when the page loads. Our web host may also keep standard server logs.

The enquiry form asks for your name, email address, and optionally a phone number and your child’s first name and age. Please do not put detailed health information in it. To protect the form from spam, we use hidden checks and limits on how often it can be used, and we may use a bot-check service from Cloudflare (Turnstile), which receives technical information such as your IP address.

The website links to other organisations, such as those on our Resources page. We do not control their sites and they have their own privacy policies.

Email and phone

Email is not a fully secure way to send sensitive information. Please avoid putting detailed health information in an email to us. If you need to send documents, such as previous reports or school records, call us first so we can agree on the safest way to send them. We may send reports in a password-protected form or by another secure method.

Keeping information secure

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These include limiting who can see records, using password protection and secure storage for both electronic and paper records, and training anyone who handles information.

If a data breach occurs that is likely to cause serious harm, we will act quickly to contain it and notify affected people and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, as required under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

How long we keep records

We keep clinical records, including reports and test data, for as long as the law and professional guidance require. Records about children are kept for longer than records about adults, because a young person may need them later. When records are no longer needed, we destroy them securely or remove identifying details.

Access and correction

You can ask to see the information we hold about you or your child, and ask us to correct anything inaccurate or out of date. We will respond within the time required by law. In limited circumstances, such as where access could seriously threaten someone’s safety or affect another person’s privacy, we may need to limit access. If so, we will explain why. For test materials, see the section above.

Anonymity

You can make a general enquiry without giving your name. For an assessment, we need to know who the child is, so we cannot offer an anonymous service.

Contact us about privacy

To ask about this policy, or to request access to or correction of information, contact us:

Phone: +61 491 191 286
Email: info@thechildsmind.com.au
Address: Level 1, 51 Palmerston Road, Hornsby NSW 2077

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page. Last updated: October 2026.