Sim DhaliwalSim DhaliwalSpeech Pathologist & Teacher
Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 12 October 2026

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Simarjeet Dhaliwal ("I", "me", "my" or "the Practice") collects, uses, stores, discloses and protects personal information.

I respect the privacy of my clients and website visitors and am committed to handling personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), where applicable.

This Privacy Policy applies to personal information collected through this website and to personal information collected and held in connection with the provision of my speech pathology services.

2. About the Practice

Practitioner: Simarjeet Dhaliwal

ABN: 41 503 195 029

Business address: 27 Lincoln Ave, Colonel Light Gardens, SA 5041

Email: simthespeechie@gmail.com

Phone: 0430 130 150

I am responsible for managing the personal information I hold and for responding to privacy enquiries, requests and complaints.

3. What personal information do I collect?

The type of personal information I collect depends on how you interact with me.

Website visitors and enquiries

Through this website, I may collect:

  • your name;
  • your email address;
  • your telephone number; and
  • any other information you choose to provide when submitting an enquiry or contact form.

Clients

If you become a client, I may collect additional information that is reasonably necessary to provide speech pathology services.

This may include:

  • personal and contact details;
  • referral information;
  • information about communication, speech, language, literacy, feeding or other areas relevant to the provision of services;
  • health information;
  • assessment results;
  • clinical observations;
  • therapy goals and plans;
  • session notes;
  • reports and correspondence; and
  • information provided by parents, guardians, carers, teachers, other health professionals or other relevant people involved in a client's care, where appropriate.

Health information is sensitive information under the Privacy Act and is handled with particular care.

4. How do I collect personal information?

I may collect personal information:

  • when you submit an enquiry through my website;
  • when you contact me by email or telephone;
  • when you provide information directly to me;
  • when you complete a referral or client information form;
  • during speech pathology assessments and sessions;
  • from parents, guardians, carers or other authorised representatives;
  • from other professionals or organisations involved in a client's care, where appropriate and authorised; and
  • from other sources where collection is permitted by law.

Where practicable, I collect personal information directly from the individual to whom it relates.

5. Why do I collect personal information?

I collect, hold and use personal information for purposes including:

  • responding to enquiries;
  • communicating with prospective and current clients;
  • determining whether my services are appropriate for a prospective client;
  • providing speech pathology assessment and therapy services;
  • preparing and maintaining clinical records;
  • developing and reviewing therapy goals and plans;
  • communicating with parents, carers, teachers, other health professionals and other relevant people involved in a client's care, where appropriate and authorised;
  • preparing reports and other professional documentation;
  • issuing invoices and managing payments;
  • meeting legal, professional, regulatory and record-keeping obligations;
  • managing and administering my business; and
  • protecting the security and integrity of my systems and information.

I do not use personal information for direct marketing or advertising purposes.

6. Health information

As a speech pathology provider, I may collect and hold health information where it is reasonably necessary to provide speech pathology services.

Health information may include information about a client's speech, language, communication, development, learning, health, functioning, assessment results, therapy needs and progress.

I will generally collect health information with the consent of the individual or their parent, guardian or other authorised representative, where appropriate.

I will only collect, use or disclose health information in accordance with applicable privacy law and for purposes reasonably connected with the provision of services or otherwise permitted or required by law.

7. Use and disclosure of personal information

I will generally use personal information for the purpose for which it was collected, or for a related purpose that you would reasonably expect.

I will not sell, rent or trade your personal information.

Where appropriate and authorised, I may disclose information to people or organisations involved in providing or supporting a client's care. This may include parents, guardians, carers, teachers, schools, medical practitioners, other allied health professionals or other relevant service providers.

I may also use or disclose personal information where:

  • you have provided consent;
  • disclosure is required or authorised by law;
  • disclosure is reasonably necessary to meet a legal or professional obligation;
  • disclosure is reasonably necessary to protect someone's health or safety; or
  • another exception permitted by the Privacy Act applies.

I will take reasonable steps to limit the information disclosed to information that is relevant and necessary for the purpose.

8. Website enquiries

If you submit an enquiry through my website, the information you provide will be used to respond to your enquiry and, where relevant, determine whether my services are suitable for your needs.

If you do not become a client, I will generally delete information relating to your enquiry once it has been dealt with and the information is no longer reasonably required, subject to any legal or other obligations that may apply.

If you become a client, relevant information from your enquiry may become part of your client record and may be retained in accordance with the requirements applicable to clinical records.

9. Clinical records

I maintain clinical records for clients receiving speech pathology services.

Clinical records may include personal information, health information, referral information, assessment results, clinical observations, session notes, reports, correspondence and other information relevant to the provision of services.

I use CorePlus to manage and retain client clinical records.

CorePlus states that client data is stored using secure Australian cloud infrastructure and protected by security measures including encryption and access controls.

I take reasonable steps to protect the information held in my clinical records against misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

Clinical records will be retained for the period required by applicable legislation, professional standards and record-keeping obligations.

10. Invoices and payments

I issue invoices to clients following sessions or as otherwise agreed.

Payments are made by bank transfer.

I do not collect or store credit card or debit card details through this website.

Information associated with invoices and payments may be retained as necessary to meet accounting, taxation, legal and business record-keeping requirements.

11. Artificial intelligence and automated note-taking

I may use Lyrebird Health, an AI-supported clinical note-taking service, to assist with the documentation of speech pathology sessions.

When Lyrebird is used, audio from a consultation may be processed to generate a transcript and assist in preparing clinical notes.

Lyrebird states that Australian customer data is processed and stored in Australia, that consultation audio is processed in real time and is not retained after transcription, and that customer data is not used to train or fine-tune its AI models.

AI-generated information is reviewed by me before it is incorporated into a client's clinical record. AI is used as a documentation aid and does not make clinical decisions or determine assessment or treatment.

Before using AI-supported note-taking, I will inform the client, or the client's parent, guardian or other authorised representative where appropriate, and obtain the consent required under applicable privacy law.

A client or authorised representative may decline the use of AI-supported note-taking. Where consent is not provided, I will use an alternative method of documenting the session.

12. Telehealth and Zoom transcription

I use Zoom to provide speech pathology services by telehealth.

During telehealth consultations, I may use Zoom's meeting transcription function to convert session audio into written text to assist with clinical documentation.

The transcript may contain personal information and health information discussed during the consultation.

Zoom provides settings that allow meeting hosts to manage transcript access and retention. I take reasonable steps to configure these settings to minimise unnecessary retention of and access to client information.

Zoom states that customer audio, video, chat and similar customer content is not used to train Zoom's or third-party AI models.

Some Zoom services and account or operational information may be processed or stored outside Australia. Accordingly, use of Zoom may involve the overseas processing or storage of personal information.

I will not use additional Zoom AI features for clinical purposes unless appropriate privacy and consent considerations have been addressed.

The client's clinical record is maintained in CorePlus. Zoom transcription is used as a tool to assist with clinical documentation and is not a substitute for the clinical record.

13. Website hosting, email and other third-party providers

This website is hosted by Vercel. The website's files and content are stored in a source code repository provided by GitHub, and the content is managed using TinaCMS, a content management system that allows the website's text and images to be updated. Enquiries submitted through the contact form on this website are delivered to me by email using Web3Forms, a form delivery service. These providers may process or store information associated with the operation of this website outside Australia, including in the United States.

I use Gmail/Google Workspace for email communication with clients, parents, carers, other health professionals and other relevant people involved in the provision of services.

Email correspondence may contain personal information and, where relevant, health information. I take reasonable steps to protect information communicated by email and to limit access to authorised users.

I may also use third-party technology providers to assist with the operation of my practice, including:

  • website hosting and related services;
  • email and communication services;
  • clinical record management;
  • AI-supported clinical documentation;
  • telehealth services; and
  • accounting or administrative services.

Third-party providers may process or store personal information on my behalf.

I take reasonable steps to select and use providers that have appropriate privacy and security measures for the information they handle.

14. Overseas disclosure and storage

Some third-party providers used by my practice may process or store personal information outside Australia. These providers may include technology and communications providers such as Google, Zoom, Vercel, GitHub, TinaCMS, Web3Forms and other service providers used by my practice.

Where personal information is disclosed to an overseas recipient, I will take reasonable steps to comply with my obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including the Australian Privacy Principles relating to overseas disclosures.

The location in which information is processed or stored may vary depending on the provider, the service being used and the configuration of the relevant account.

Information may therefore be subject to the privacy laws and requirements of countries outside Australia.

15. Cookies and website technologies

This website may use cookies and similar technologies.

Cookies are small files or pieces of information stored in your web browser when you visit a website. They may be used to support basic website functionality, security and technical operations.

This website uses Google Analytics, a service provided by Google, to understand how visitors find and use the website, such as which pages are viewed. Google Analytics uses cookies and similar technologies, and the information it collects may be processed outside Australia. I do not use third-party advertising or behavioural marketing services.

Where cookies are used by the website or its hosting provider for essential functionality, these may operate without being used for advertising purposes.

You can manage or disable cookies through your web browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the operation of some websites.

If I introduce additional non-essential cookies, analytics or tracking technologies in the future, this Privacy Policy will be updated as appropriate.

16. Information security

I take reasonable steps to protect personal information from:

  • misuse;
  • interference;
  • loss;
  • unauthorised access;
  • unauthorised modification; and
  • unauthorised disclosure.

These measures may include appropriate passwords, access controls, encryption and security features provided by the technology systems I use.

No method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure. While I take reasonable steps to protect personal information, I cannot guarantee the absolute security of information transmitted electronically.

17. Retention and destruction of personal information

I retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or for as long as required by law, professional standards or applicable record-keeping requirements.

Information relating to a website enquiry that does not result in a client relationship will generally be deleted once the enquiry has been dealt with and the information is no longer required.

Client clinical records will be retained in accordance with applicable legal, professional and record-keeping requirements and will not necessarily be deleted when speech pathology services end.

When personal information is no longer required and there is no legal or professional requirement to retain it, I will take reasonable steps to securely delete or destroy it.

18. Access to personal information

You may request access to personal information I hold about you.

Requests for access can be made by contacting me using the details provided below.

I will respond to access requests in accordance with my obligations under applicable privacy law.

In some circumstances, I may be unable to provide access to particular information where an exception under the Privacy Act applies. If this occurs, I will provide an explanation where I am permitted to do so.

19. Correction of personal information

I take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information I hold is accurate, complete and up to date.

If you believe that information I hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date or misleading, you may contact me and request that it be corrected.

I will consider and respond to your request in accordance with applicable privacy law.

20. Requests for deletion

You may contact me to request deletion of personal information where appropriate.

I will consider requests for deletion in accordance with applicable privacy, legal and professional record-keeping requirements.

I may be required to retain certain information for a specified period and therefore may not always be able to delete information immediately or in its entirety.

21. Data breaches

I take reasonable steps to protect personal information from unauthorised access, disclosure or loss.

If I become aware of a data breach involving personal information, I will assess and respond to the breach in accordance with my obligations under applicable