Privacy Policy

Forward Steps Counselling & Psychotherapy (“Forward Steps”, “I”, “me”) is a counselling practice run by Chloe Hong, a Registered Counsellor with the Australian Counselling Association. I take your privacy seriously.

This policy explains how I collect, use, store and share your personal and health information. As a health service provider, I follow the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Health Privacy Principles in the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW).

Contact and enquiry details: your name, email, mobile number, how you prefer to be contacted, and what you tell me when you enquire, such as who the counselling is for, the kind of support you are looking for, your preferred session type and language, and how you plan to pay.

Counselling information: if you become a client, I keep records that may include your date of birth, emergency contact, relevant background and health information, and brief notes from our sessions.

Claim and payment details: for WorkCover or CTP clients, your claim number, insurer and case manager details and referral. For private health fund claims, the details needed to issue a receipt.

Mostly directly from you: through the enquiry form on this website, by email, text message or phone, and in sessions.

Sometimes from others with your consent, such as a GP or other referrer, an insurer or case manager for a WorkCover or CTP claim, or a parent or guardian for a young person.

To respond to your enquiry, arrange appointments, provide counselling, keep accurate records, process payments and claims, and meet my professional and legal obligations.

I do not use your information for marketing, and I never sell or rent it to anyone.

What you share in counselling is confidential. I only share your information:

• with your consent, for example with your GP, or with an insurer to approve and pay for WorkCover or CTP sessions
• where there is a serious risk to your life, health or safety, or to someone else’s
• where I am required or authorised by law, such as a subpoena or a child protection report
• in clinical supervision, which is a standard professional requirement. Information is de-identified wherever possible, and supervisors are bound by confidentiality.

The limits of confidentiality are explained at your first session, and you can ask about them at any time.

When you submit the enquiry form, your details are sent to me by email. The website does not use advertising or analytics tracking.

Like most websites, it uses a small number of cookies needed for the site to work, and it loads fonts from Google Fonts, which means your browser shares your IP address with Google. Links to Google Maps open on Google’s own site.

Please keep personal details brief in emails, text messages and the enquiry form. We can talk about anything sensitive in your first session.

I take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access, including password-protected devices and accounts and secure storage of any paper records.

Some of the services I use, such as email and website hosting, may store information on servers in Australia or overseas. I choose reputable providers and take reasonable steps to make sure your information is protected.

As required in NSW, health records are kept for at least 7 years after your last session, or for a young person, until they turn 25, whichever is later. After that, records are securely destroyed.

Enquiries from people who do not go on to become clients are deleted when they are no longer needed.

You can ask to see the information I hold about you, or to correct anything that is inaccurate. I will respond within 30 days. In rare cases, the law allows access to be limited, for example if it could pose a serious risk to someone’s safety. If so, I will explain why.

You are welcome to make a general enquiry without giving your full name. To provide counselling, process claims and keep proper records, I will need to know who you are.

If you have a question or concern about your privacy, please contact me first and I will do my best to resolve it:

Chloe Hong, Forward Steps Counselling & Psychotherapy
Email: chloe.hong@gmail.com
Phone or text: 0450 941 246
11/58 The Boulevarde, Strathfield NSW 2135

If you are not satisfied with my response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (oaic.gov.au, 1300 363 992) or the NSW Information and Privacy Commission (ipc.nsw.gov.au, 1800 472 679).

I may update this policy from time to time. The latest version is always on this page.

Last updated: November 2026