Confidentiality and privacy statement 

Confidentiality 

Any information you share with Switchboard Victoria via CHARLEE will be treated as confidential unless there are serious concerns for the safety of you or someone else, in which case we will need to engage support to help keep you or another safe. We will make all attempts to work with you in this process. Notes will be made of your conversation and stored in our Suicide Prevention secure management system.

Privacy 

This privacy statement applies to anyone whose personal information we collect while we are in contact with you.  

Where you provide us with personal information (that is, information about you or another person where you or that other person is identifiable) or where you have given another person consent to provide us with personal information, this information will be handled carefully and will be collected, used, stored and disclosed in a manner consistent with the Privacy Act 1988. 

We are committed to protecting your privacy. You may choose to contact us via CHARLEE anonymously or by using a pseudonym (that is, a fake name). However, it may not always be possible to provide you with safe and comprehensive quality support anonymously or through using a pseudonym. Please remember that all information given is securely stored and you have the right to have access to your information upon request. 

We keep personal information only for as long as it is required in order to firstly provide you with support as agreed by you and secondly to comply with our legal obligations.