BOOKING TERMS AND CONDITIONS
These Booking Terms and Conditions apply to bookings made with Astrid Harris t/as Altitude Clinical Psychology [ABN 46143609764] (“we, us, our”) for any individual therapy sessions, psychological assessments and similar services delivered via telehealth (“Psychology Services”/"Services"). These Terms together with any other terms and conditions and policies we publish or link to on our website and services form an agreement with us (“Agreement”). “You” could be any client or customer of ours making a booking or using our Services. If you do not agree, you cannot make a booking.
SERVICES WE PROVIDE
We will perform the Psychology Services with due care, skill, and diligence, in accordance with applicable telehealth guidelines, standards, and the Australian Psychological Society Code of Ethics. All services will be provided in compliance with the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law and Psychology Board of Australia registration standards. The Psychology Services will be performed personally by Astrid Harris, or by her Representatives where prior agreed, using secure and privacy-compliant telehealth platforms.
We agree to:
keep all your documents secure and confidential; and
comply with our privacy policy, details of which you can find on our website.
YOUR OBLIGATIONS
You must provide all information we request in order for us to perform the Psychology Services. For telehealth services, you must ensure you have adequate internet connection, appropriate device capabilities, and a private, secure environment for sessions. You must be physically located in Australia during the telehealth session, unless specifically agreed otherwise in writing. You must provide your current location and emergency contact details before each telehealth session. You represent and warrant that:
all information you provide is true, correct, current, and to the best of your knowledge;
you will respond promptly to any of our requests for further information and will notify us immediately if any information changes;
you will be on time for your consultation.
You acknowledge and agree that you will:
do your best to attend to any agreed actions;
communicate openly and honestly.
We may become aware during the performance of the Psychology Services that you may need additional services, and you agree to co-operate with us in this regard.
The length of your session will be reduced if you are late to your scheduled appointment. The standard rate will still be applied, as your psychologist has reserved this time for you.
We reserve the right to cancel the session and record it as a ‘Did Not Attend’ if you are more than 15 minutes late. In this instance, the full consultation fee still applies and will be automatically processed.
Altitude Clinical Psychology uses Stripe™ to automatically process fees for therapy sessions on the day of your appointment via your nominated credit/debit card. This means you do not need to arrange payment at the end of your appointment. When an automatic payment is processed you will receive an invoice via email.
Stripe™ merchant fees will be passed on to the client and included in regular invoices, which will be processed automatically as per the usual billing cycle.
For eligible clients with a valid Mental Health Treatment Plan, Medicare rebates will be automatically processed on your behalf following an appointment. You must inform us immediately of any changes to your Medicare eligibility or Mental Health Treatment Plan status. If you experience any problems with the Medicare rebate, it is your responsibility to follow up with Services Australia due to confidentiality limitations.
RELIANCE ON ADVICE
We are registered psychologists providing psychological services, not medical doctors, or emergency services. We do not provide crisis support or emergency mental health services. We strongly recommend that you seek independent medical advice in relation to any medical information we provide. For example, we do not provide any medical diagnosis or prescribe medication. Any medical information is not a substitute for professional advice, and any reliance on this information is made at your sole risk. Your participation in the Services is always voluntary. In case of emergency or crisis during a telehealth session, you agree to follow the crisis management protocol provided to you, including contacting emergency services if required.
Please note that Altitude Clinical Psychology is NOT a crisis service, and your clinician may not be contactable outside of their regular hours. In the event of immediate danger, please contact emergency services at 000. If you require crisis support, please refer to local crisis services such as Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511 or LifeLine on 13 11 14.
THE FEES YOU NEED TO PAY
You agree that you will pay us the Psychology Fee for the Psychology Services. We will invoice you for the Psychology Fee at the time of the consultation, or when otherwise agreed. You authorise us to deduct the Psychology Fee at the time of consultation from any credit card you provide to us. Interest will be charged on any unpaid invoices at the rate of 10% per annum calculated monthly. Any legal collection fees that are incurred will be charged to you.
Altitude Clinical Psychology does not bill any third parties directly for your consultation. If appointment costs are covered by a third-party payer, you will be required to pay us in full up front using a nominated debit/credit card. We will then supply you with a paid invoice, which you can use to organise reimbursement from your funding body.
Any additional correspondence (face-to-face, phone, email) with other professionals, agencies, and organisations (at the request of a client) or consultations with the psychologist outside of the organised appointment, will be charged at the standard hourly rate per unit of 15 minutes of correspondence/communication. This includes treatment summary reports, letters of support, and/or request for accommodations for workplaces or educational institutions. Fees for additional correspondence and services must be paid prior to the release of the materials.
CANCELLATIONS, RESCHEDULING AND REFUNDS
Any cancellations received within 48 hours of a scheduled appointment will incur a Cancellation Fee. Cancellations received between 24 and 48 hours prior to any scheduled appointment, will incur a 50% Cancellation Fee. Cancellations received within 24 hours of any scheduled appointment will incur the full fee (100%). Cancellation Fees will be automatically charged to the nominated credit/debit card. You may reschedule the Service with no penalty subject to our availability. Technical difficulties on your end preventing session attendance will be treated as a cancellation under these terms.
To the extent permitted by law, any other refunds for any cancellations of the Psychology Services are at our absolute discretion. No refunds will be given after a consultation has occurred regardless of whether you chose to implement our recommendations. We do not provide refunds for your change of mind, where you failed to provide us with adequate information or clearly explain your needs, or where you have failed to act on our advice.
THE AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER LAW
Our Services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under Australian Consumer Law. For major failures with a Service, you are entitled to:
cancel your Agreement with us and to a refund of the unused portion; or
to compensation for its reduced value.
You are also entitled to be compensated for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. If the failure does not amount to a major failure you are entitled to have problems with the Service rectified in a reasonable time and, if this is not done, to cancel this Agreement and obtain a refund for the unused portion.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
We own or have a license to use all Intellectual Property Rights in any Materials we may provide you throughout the performance of the Psychology Services. You must not use our Materials for any purpose other than for the purpose of this Agreement. Any Materials we provide must not be reproduced, altered, redistributed, or recorded without our prior written permission which will be given at our absolute discretion and will be the subject of license fees. Recording of telehealth sessions is strictly prohibited unless explicitly agreed in writing.
PUBLICITY
You must seek our prior written consent before any publication of information about our Psychology Services.
LIMITED LIABILITY AND INDEMNITY
To the extent permitted by law, our liability is limited, at our option to:
the replacement of the services or the supply of equivalent services; or
the payment of the cost of replacing the services or of acquiring equivalent services.
You agree and acknowledge that we are not liable for any Loss or Damage which may result from the Psychology Services. In any case, our liability to you will not exceed the amount actually paid by you to us for the most recent invoice we have sent you that has been paid.
You acknowledge, agree, and undertake to indemnify us and keep us at all times fully indemnified from and against any Claims whatsoever arising directly or indirectly as a result of any breach by you of this Agreement, any conduct by you in using our Psychology Services, and any third-party claims.
TERMINATION
We may either suspend the Psychology Services or terminate this Agreement where any threats are made.
We may also, at our option and without prejudice to any of our rights, immediately terminate this Agreement where you default on any of our invoices, breach this Agreement, or commit an act of bankruptcy. Upon termination, you must pay us all accrued Psychology Fees owing up to the date of termination.
FORCE MAJEURE
Where there is a Force Majeure Event, we will not be considered in breach of this Agreement, to the extent that our obligations are unable to be performed by such an event. We will not incur any liability to you for any Loss or Damage of any nature incurred or suffered in connection with any Force Majeure Event.
IF THERE IS A DISPUTE
If a dispute arises, you acknowledge and agree that confidentiality is paramount to our reputation. At no time will any communications or discussions be made public, including but not limited to any social media websites. Any public discussion or comments considered defamatory, negative, or otherwise damaging will be the subject of compensation in any mediation or litigation claim. In the event of any dispute that cannot be resolved, both parties agree to obtain an independent professional arbitrator/dispute resolution specialist to make a determination on the dispute and each party agrees to pay their own costs.
THE GOVERNING LAW AND OTHER MATTERS
This Agreement completely states the agreement of the parties as to its subject matter. It supersedes, and its terms govern all previous communications, representations, inducements, undertakings, agreements, and arrangements between the parties in respect of its subject matter. The failure by us to exercise any right or enforce any provision in these Terms does not waive the future operation of that right or provision. In the event that a provision in this Agreement is not enforceable, such provision shall be severed from this agreement to the extent permitted by law, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect. This Agreement is governed by the laws from time to time in force in the state of NSW Australia. Both parties agree to unconditionally submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of NSW for determining any dispute concerning this Agreement.
DEFINITIONS:
“Agreement” means these terms and conditions, and any Proposal we may provide you with.
“Booking” means any booking for a consultation made with us for our Services.
“Cancellation Fee” means the cancellation fee we charge you where you cancel with limited notice.
"Claim" means any claim under statute, tort, contract or negligence, any demand, awards, or costs.
“Client” means you, the client making the Booking.
“Consultation Fees” means the telehealth psychology fees as further advertised on our website.
“Information” is all information we require and may include any information you provide to us during the Services.
“Intellectual Property Rights” means all trademark, copyright, design rights, patents, trade secrets, confidential information, and all other intellectual property rights whether registered or unregistered.
“Loss or Damage” means any direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental loss or damage. It includes, but is not limited to any loss, personal injury, death, negligence, property damage, loss of enjoyment, virus or damage to your systems, data breaches, unauthorized access to telehealth sessions, technical failures affecting service delivery, or reliance on our Psychology Services.
“Materials” means any copy, data, information, documents, plans, downloadable products, records, images.
“Representatives” means any of our employees, independent contractors, agents, consultants, advisors, and other representatives.
“We, us, our” means Astrid Harris t/as Altitude Clinical Psychology [ABN 46143609764] and includes any of our employees, agents, partners, and contractors.