Citation

Allan A, Allan MM. Psychiatry Psychol. Law. 2016; 23(6): 826-841.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Law, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13218719.2016.1160745

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Psychologists need clients' information to provide a service to them and must do it within the parameters of the normative framework that regulates the collection and management (i.e., storing, accessing, amending, using, and disposing) of client information. Presiding officers' comments in the course of tribunal hearings and research findings, however, suggest that many psychologists do not fully understand this framework and/or its practical implications. In this article we aim to provide information to psychologists that will allow them to keep records in a ethico-legal defensible manner and to the optimal benefit of their clients and society. We do this by exploring the Australian normative framework, paying special attention to the relevant legal provisions, case law, ethical principles and standards, and the aims of record-keeping. We then use this normative framework to examine the practical aspects of the collection and management of client information.