headspace Work and Study Online Consent

For you to access headspace Work and Study Online you need to agree with terms and conditions, as set out below. We also need some information about you including:

  • your name (or an alias), and
  • other information including demographic, wellbeing and service use information.

You will be asked some questions about yourself and why you have chosen to use a headspace service. Each time a headspace Work and Study Online staff member works with or for you, they will record some information about the service they provide you. headspace needs to collect this information to provide quality care and to improve headspace services.

What does this mean?

We ask you questions and record your information to help us understand you better and provide you with the best services possible.

It is important that you understand what we do with this information.

How we use and share the information you provide

We use it to provide services: The information you provide and that headspace Work and Study Online records about you will be used to provide you with an appropriate service. All information is stored in a secure, encrypted web-based application only accessible by specific headspace staff. This includes headspace Work and Study Online staff as well as staff from other headspace online and phone services and headspace Career Mentoring services as these services share the same web-based application. This means that headspace staff now and in the future will be able to look at the information you and they provide.

What does this mean?

The details you share help headspace staff understand how to support you. They are stored securely and only accessible to authorised staff in headspace online services.

We use and share it for evaluating, reporting on, and planning our services: The information will be used by headspace to evaluate and report on how well headspace is providing services to young people. Please note that information is de-identified (will not include your name (or alias) and will not identify you as an individual. The information you provide will help headspace improve and plan services. headspace sometimes engages partners to conduct evaluation, research and reporting activities using information it provides. The information disclosed by headspace to these partners for their evaluation, research and reporting purposes will be de-identified.

What does this mean?

We use your information to check if we’re providing you with helpful services, and to improve our services.

Delivery of the Work & Study Program at headspace is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services. The Department of Social Services reviews and evaluates the Work & Study Program with the aim of improving services that are provided to young people.

We are required to provide the Department of Social Services with information about young people who use the Work & Study Program. This includes:

  • demographic information about you including the suburb/postcode you live in, where you were born, your date of birth and your gender (it does not include your name, street address or Medicare number);
  • the type of support you receive;
  • details about your work/study situation and outcomes; and
  • your level of satisfaction with the service.

We securely upload this information to an IT system hosted by the Department of Social Services. The Department of Social Services looks at the combined information about young people which has been uploaded to produce information for policy development, and funding of programs.

What does this mean?

We share some basic information about you (like your birth date, gender, and the types of support you received) with the Australian Government Department of Social Services to help them assess headspace services.

The Department of Social Services’ privacy policy is published on its website. This contains information about how you may access or correct the information that is stored by the Department of Social Services; complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles by the Department of Social Services; and how the Department of Social Services will deal with your complaint. 

What does this mean?

You can read the Department of Social Services’ privacy policy to understand how your information is handled and what to do if you want to access it, correct it, or make a complaint.

Protecting your privacy

headspace is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information in accordance with the law, including securely storing the information we collect from you. For more information on headspace’s privacy policy, including how to request access to your personal information, please see our website here.

What does this mean?

We protect your privacy and keep your information safe according to the law.

Duty of care and obligations

We have a duty of care to protect you and/or others. If we become concerned about the safety of you or anyone else, we will take steps to try to make sure you and/or others are safe. If necessary, we may need to pass on your contact information to authorities who can help protect you and/or others, such as a crisis service or the police. Where possible we will work with you openly letting you know if our concerns reach the point where we need to involve other services.  

We are obliged to try to protect you and/or others if we become aware that:  

  • you are being seriously hurt by someone else  

  • you are thinking of seriously harming yourself   

  • someone else is being, is likely to be, seriously hurt by you or another person.  

There are also some rare occasions when information you provide to staff has to be disclosed for legal reasons (for example, a subpoena or Court order). 

What does this mean?

If we’re worried about your safety or someone else’s safety, we may need to share some information with services that can help keep people safe. Where possible, we’ll talk with you about this first.

Additional research and evaluation

When you start with headspace Work and Study Online, we will ask whether you would like to receive invitations to participate in optional research and evaluation activities. If you opt-in to receiving invitations, they might be sent by headspace, by the Department of Social Services or by third parties contracted by the Department of Social Services.

Your Story

Your Story showcases young people’s experiences in headspace Work and Study Online. We will only share Your Story with your consent. Sharing Your Story helps tell people about the service and to provide updates to our funders on the service’s impact. headspace may feature Your Story for reporting to the service funders (presently the Department of Social Services) and in other ways, including reports to partners; funding proposals; program promotion; and presentations. This information may be published and publicly available (for example, on the headspace website). If you consent to Your Story being featured, your name will be changed, and we’ll include some key demographic and service information you have previously provided to headspace Work and Study Online, including the service you received; your age; whether you live in a metro/rural/regional location and your gender. Your Story may also include information such as your activity in the service; your reason for accessing the service; your accomplishments in the service; and the impact the service had on your wellbeing and mental health related to work/study. While your name will be changed, there may still be a small possibility that you could be identified from the other information in Your Story, however we aim to ensure that Your Story reflects input you have provided.  

headspace develops and produces Your Story, however it is important to understand that once Your Story is made public, headspace will no longer be able to control where or how it is used, how long it is displayed in public or is accessible on the web.

What does this mean?

If you agree, we may share a version of Your Story to show how the service helps young people. We’ll change your name and only include some general details about your experience.