Section 1.6          Privacy and confidentiality

All workers who interact or work face-to-face with clients are ethically obliged to keep all information about a client confidential except if the client tells you they have committed a serious crime, or if the client is a child and is being abused or is at risk of abuse, or if you are concerned that the client might harm themselves or someone else.  Also, if a child is under the age of 16, and especially, under the age of 14, parents legally have the right to know what happens in counselling.

It is always good practice to tell clients at the beginning of your contact with them that whatever they tell you is confidential except in the above circumstances.  This means that if you do have to act to keep them safe, it is not a shock to them.

Confidentiality means keeping private or secret what someone tells you.  Clients need to feel confident that what they disclose in counselling remains confidential.  There is, however, no such thing as absolute confidentiality in our industry.  We are required to keep notes of our interactions with clients and often to keep statistics about who we see and what issues are addressed.

Confidentiality also extends to things like names and addresses of clients or residents, phone numbers and addresses of staff and volunteers, names and personal details of people who donate money or time, details of funding agreements and information about strategic planning.

All too often, agencies only pay ‘lip’ service to confidentiality.  Staff talk about clients in public places or where they can be overheard, files are kept open on desks, filing cabinets are left unlocked, communication books are kept in full view of people coming into an office, and so on.  It is essential that all information and documents that are confidential are kept secure.

Upholding security involves keeping information and documents in a place that can’t be easily accessed by non-authorised people.  Filing cabinets that are locked, rooms that are locked, passwords on computers and drawers that are locked are examples of secure spaces.  Talking about clients in a private and soundproof place are other ways of respecting security and confidentiality.

There are few exceptions to the general rule of confidentiality, and they all have legal bases

1.6.1   Gathering and maintaining confidential information

If you need to ask for personal information from a client you need to give them information about:

• why you need the information, for example to contact them if something goes wrong;
• how you are recording the information;
• who you can give the information to, eg. the police, other agencies, a doctor; and
• how the information is kept safe, and how they can see the information on request by asking the service manager.

All records must be protected against unauthorised access and must not be shared with any person except those for whom the information has been gathered.  Information can only be shared with the client’s written permission or unless legislation allows, for example by a police request.

Unless there is a legally required reason to break confidentiality, don’t do it.

1.6.2   Client’s rights to confidentiality

Remember that all clients, whether they have a drug and alcohol issue, a mental illness or a physical or intellectual disability have rights, and their confidentiality must be respected.  This includes ‘difficult’ clients.  Unless it involves a disclosure of something that leads you to believe they are at risk of harm, don’t share their information with others.  Respect their right to privacy as you would that of a carer or co-worker.

All people respond better when their wishes are taken into account.  Workers can demonstrate their respect for the rights of clients to be meaningfully involved in decisions about their lives on a daily basis.

You as a worker can:

• request, where a choice is available, rather than ordering; and
• discuss changes with clients in a manner open to their input.