Terms and Conditions

Assessment Services

Privacy Protection

SPELD Victoria Inc. (SPELD Victoria) values the privacy of every individual and is committed to protecting all personal and health information we collect. SPELD Victoria acts in accordance with the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and the Information Privacy Act 2000 (Vic). These laws set out what we must do when we collect, use, handle and destroy personal and health information when we provide a health service.

Gathering and disclosure of personal information

As part of providing a diagnostic assessment service SPELD Victoria needs to collect and record personal information about you (parent/legal guardian) and your child that is relevant to your situation, such as names, contact information, medical/developmental history and other relevant information as part of providing psychological services. This collection of personal information is a necessary part of the psychological assessment that is conducted and is collected in line with the following principles.

Consent

Consent is required before any assessment can be conducted. For parents, the consent form is to demonstrate that you have signatory rights to the child and agree for your child to complete the assessment. The information provided through the selected Assessment Request form together with the reports from other professionals and school will help your or your child’s psychologist to have relevant background information; to be aware of presenting difficulties; to conduct the assessment; and complete the psychological report.

By providing consent you agree that data from the intake form and assessments may be used for evaluation and research purposes and de-identified data may be used for publication. All information will be kept confidential, and any reports generated will not identify the parent, child or family in any way.

Two electronic copies of the report will be produced. The psychologist will retain one copy, in accordance with the ethics and code of conduct of The Australian Psychological Society and one copy will be held in secure storage at SPELD Victoria.

Disclosure of personal information

Personal information gathered as part of this service will remain confidential except when:

1. it is subpoenaed by a court or disclosure is otherwise required or authorised by law; or
2. failure to disclose the information would place you, your child or another person at serious risk to life, health or safety;
3. your prior approval has been given to provide a written report to another professional or agency.

Record Keeping

Relevant information and assessment materials will be stored in secure storage. Two electronic copies of the diagnostic assessment report will be produced. The psychologist will retain one copy, in accordance with the ethics and code of conduct of The Australian Psychological Society and one copy will be held in secure storage at SPELD Victoria.

Accessing personal and health information

You can access and correct personal and health information held by SPELD Victoria about you and your child under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth).

Research and Advocacy

Subject to your consent, SPELD Victoria may use the information collected on the intake form and assessments for treatment evaluation, research purposes, and advocacy. In the research and advocacy context, data will be de-identified and may be used for publication. All information will be kept confidential, and any publications generated will not identify the parent, the child or the family in any way. SPELD Victoria complies with the Australian Code for Responsible Conduct of Research (2018) and National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007, Updated 2018), the Health

Records Act 2001 (Vic) and the Information Privacy Act 2000 (Vic).

Booking an Appointment

SPELD Victoria has a three step process for making an Assessment appointment.

All requests for assessment bookings are done online.  Refer to our website Assessment Request tab for details.

SPELD Victoria reserves the right to change the process.

The three step process begins with the submission of relevant information; and documents including:

• Reports from other professionals: Eg: Psychologist, Speech Pathologist, GP / Paediatrician etc (if any)
• Cognitive report (if any)
• Most recent School Report & NAPLAN report (for Child Assessment)
• Court order documentation (for Child Assessment if any)

Any additional information provided after the assessment appointment has concluded can compromise the validity of the testing and can only be reviewed at additional cost.

Once this information is received, a Holding Fee of $50 will need to be paid via Credit or Debit card.  This enables the Client to select a date and time for a Phone Meeting with a SPELD Victoria Advice and Support team member, who will help confirm with the Client the most appropriate assessment type to be booked in. (The Holding Fee will be deducted from the total Assessment Fee).

Once the assessment type is agreed, the next available appointment date will be offered.  The Deposit Fee for the appropriate assessment type will then need to be paid.  The appointment date will only be confirmed once the Deposit Fee has been received.

If at this time the Client decides not to proceed to make a booking, the $50 Holding Fee will be reimbursed in line with SPELD Victoria’s Refund Policy.

If you/your family member has NDIS support, and NDIS has agreed to pay for the assessment – please notify our Advice & Support team member at the Phone Meeting.  You will need to provide the NDIS number, Plan Manager name and their email address.  An invoice will then be generated and sent to NDIS directly.

Provision of a face-to-face service

When appropriate, the psychological assessment or consultation service will be provided face-to-face at the SPELD Victoria premises.

Provision of a telehealth service

When appropriate, the psychological assessment or consultation service will be conducted by telephone or videoconferencing. SPELD Victoria will not be responsible for any costs incurred by you to access telehealth services from your premises. The privacy of any form of communication via the internet is potentially vulnerable and limited by the security of the technology used. SPELD Victoria uses Zoom for Healthcare which is compliant with the Australian standards for online security and encryption. The quality of a telehealth consultation may be impacted by an unstable network connection and other limitations.

Recordings

SPELD Victoria psychologists will not make a recording of the assessment session for purposes other than delivering the service. We ask you to agree not to make recordings of assessment sessions and not to use materials from sessions for purposes other than the assessment.

Reports

Assessment reports will be available within 3-4 weeks of the assessment appointment. No report will be sent out until the final payment for service has been received.

Two electronic copies of the report will be produced. The psychologist will retain one copy, in accordance with the ethics and code of conduct of The Australian Psychological Society. SPELD Victoria holds a copy of reports in line with the Health Records Act 2001.

Rescheduling an Assessment Appointment

Assessment appointments may need to be rescheduled due to changes in availability by both parties.

Request made by you to reschedule

Requests for SPELD Victoria to reschedule an Assessment appointment need to be made in writing to hello@speldvic.org.au at least seven days prior to the appointment.

In circumstances, where there is less than seven days’ notice, requests to reschedule need to be made via phone contact to SPELD Victoria office.   In these circumstances, SPELD Victoria reserves the right to charge a $300 rescheduling fee to cover the cost incurred for an appointment not proceeding as scheduled.

SPELD Victoria makes every attempt to reschedule the Assessment Appointment to the next available. SPELD Victoria will not be liable where there is a significant time lag between the original appointment date and the rescheduled appointment.

Request made by SPELD Victoria to reschedule

Under exceptional circumstances, SPELD Victoria may request that an Assessment Appointment be rescheduled due to changes beyond our control. SPELD Victoria will contact you via email and/or phone to advise you of the need to reschedule, and make the necessary arrangements to rebook the Assessment Appointment to a time that is suitable to both parties. We will not be liable for any costs incurred by you due to the appointment having to be rescheduled.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel your assessment appointment with less than 14 days’ notice you will forfeit your Deposit Fee.

Donations

Donations are made online via the website using debit/credit card. Tax receipts are provided for all donations and as a registered Public Benevolent Institution all donations over $2 are tax deductable.

Annual Tax Statements will be provided for monthly donations.

Upon special request by you, SPELD Victoria may agree to accept bequest and donations via direct credit.

Donations are non-refundable.

If a donation has been made in error, SPELD Victoria will consider requests for a donation refund made within 3 days of the donation date.  Refunds are at the discretion of the CEO or delegate.

To request a refund please email: info@speldvic.org.au and provide details of the nature of the error and attach the SPELD Victoria receipt. If the receipt is not available, please provide the donation date, amount, name of the donor, receipt number, and a copy of your online donation transaction receipt.

Approved refunds will be returned using the original method of payment, and SPELD Victoria reserves the right to pass on any refund transaction fees to the donor.

Errors by Us:  Should an error be made by SPELD Victoria or its financial institution(s), a full refund will be made immediately upon notification and verification of the error and all costs will be borne by SPELD Victoria.

Monthly Donations:  When you make a commitment to make monthly donations, SPELD Victoria will debit your nominated account for the amount you specify on the same date each month.

Your obligations: It is your responsibility to ensure that there are sufficient funds available in your account. Check your account statement to verify that the amounts debited from your account are correct. In the event that insufficient funds are available in your account, SPELD Victoria reserves the right to pass on any transaction fees associated with the transfer failure.

Changes and Cancellations:  If you wish to alter of cancel a debit payment you must notify us by emailing info@speldvic.org at least 10 days before the next donation day.

Events

Registering and paying for a workshop or event

All registrations will be completed via SPELD Victoria’s website. Payment is required to confirm a registration.

Upon registration and payment, you will receive an email confirming your registration for the event or workshop. This email will include the event /workshop location, time, and a tax receipt.

If you registered online and have not received confirmation or acknowledgement, please contact us via email events@speldvic.org.au or phone 03 9480 4422.

Multiple registrations

You may register for more than one person for the same event or workshop on the one registration form. To do so, record the name and email address of each participant in the ‘attendee information’ section of the registration form.

(Please note that the number of participants that can be registered using this form varies depending on the maximum capacity of each event).

Alternative payment method

Payment by invoice is possible if you are a business or sole trader with an ABN. However, registration will not be confirmed until full payment is cleared. Further, payment must be received by the registration close date. Please contact events@speldvic.org.au or 03 9480 4422 to make this arrangement.

Cancellations and transfers

Sometimes, circumstances beyond anyone’s control result in either having to defer or cancel an event, or you being unable to attend. The following outlines how SPELD Victoria will respond in a range of situations.

1. You cancel your attendance at an event

• All Cancellations must be given in writing.
• SPELD Victoria in general has a no refund policy for events and Professional Learning courses.
• Where written notice to cancel your attendance is received 14 or more days prior to the event start date, you will be offered an opportunity to defer to another similar event or you can nominate an alternative attendee.
• For Professional Learning courses where course materials have been posted out in advance (for example Sounds-Write; Talk for Writing), you will be waitlisted to attend the next course; or you can nominate an alternative attendee.
• If you nominate an alternative attendee an additional $20 administration fee will be due (applies to professional development events only).
• Refunds may be approved in exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the CEO or Delegate. Where this is approved, refunds will be returned using the original method of payment within 10 working days. SPELD Victoria reserves the right to pass on any refund transaction fees to the registrant.

2. You don’t attend an event

• Non-attendance of registered participants on the day will incur the full registration fee.
• No PD certificates will be provided.
• Handouts will be sent electronically upon request.

3. SPELD Victoria cancels or defers an event

• SPELD Victoria reserves the right to cancel or defer an event if minimum numbers (as determined by SPELD Victoria) are not met, or the presenter is unable to attend.
• In these instances, you will be offered an opportunity to transfer the event fee to a rescheduled event; another event of the same value, or a full refund.
• Any refunds will be returned using the original method of payment within 10 working days.
• SPELD Victoria will not be liable for any other associated costs such as accommodation, flight or travel costs incurred by participants.
• SPELD Victoria will endeavour to advise you as soon as possible if a workshop is cancelled or deferred.

Copyright

SPELD Victoria workshops, presentations and its intellectual property (IP) are the property of SPELD Victoria Inc and the Presenter, and are subject to copyright law. This means no part of the presentation, video or written presentation can be recorded, copied, edited, reproduced, transmitted, distributed or shared with others who did not register to attend; shared online; or on any social media platforms. This can only be done with the prior written permission of SPELD Victoria Inc and the Presenter. Such requests should be emailed to events@speldvic.org.au

Anyone found to be in breach of copyright will be subject to legal action.

We of course encourage you to spread awareness of Specific Learning Disorders, and generally, what you have learnt from our presentations to assist others.

Sounds-Write course materials are the copyright of Sounds-Write Ltd, UK and are subject to their Terms and Conditions. The SPELD Victoria trainer is licensed by Sounds-Write Ltd to deliver this course and is not employed by Sounds-Write Ltd. Training others with the materials and methods contained in this course is limited only to Sounds-Write licensed trainers. No part of the online training course, including both written and video material may be shared, copied or downloaded on any format or device. You must not share the course contents with others. Full details on the Sounds-Write Terms and Conditions are outlined at course registration.

Professional Development certificates

All attending teachers and professional practitioners will receive Professional Development certificates at the end of a workshop. Time adjustments to certificates may be made for those attending only part of a course.

SPELD Victoria Privacy Policy

Information provided to SPELD Victoria for the purpose of registering for an event or workshop will be stored and managed in accordance with SPELD Victoria’s Privacy Policy.

Membership Terms and Conditions

The following outlines the Terms and Conditions in becoming a Member of SPELD Victoria.

(Full details are on the website. Refer to Rules of SPELD-Victoria Inc November 2021).

Application to become a Member

Your application to become a SPELD Victoria Member will become Active once the Membership fee is received, and you have received a receipt together with a Member Number. This will enable you to register for events at the Members’ rate.

Membership fees

Membership fees are payable in advance annually with rates for the different types of membership approved by the SPELD Victoria Committee. The following are the membership categories and associated annual membership fee.

Individuals

1. Under 15 years (Associates)  – $20
2. Over 15 years  – $50
3. Industry professionals –  $100
4. Organisations – $200 (Schools / other educational institutions; Sole traders, Business/Corporate entities with an ABN)
5. Honorary member – $ nil     (Appointment by Committee decision)

A tax receipt will be automatically generated upon payment.

Complementary 12-month memberships will be extended to those who undertake a Full diagnostic assessment.

Memberships are valid for 12 months from purchase (Anniversary Date).

Changing membership details

Only the named Member or person authorised in writing by the named Member may request a change in membership details.

Cancellation of membership

A Member may cancel their membership at any time by providing either verbal or written notification to SPELD Victoria, provided both the person making the request and the membership concerned can be positively verified.

Refund policy

Membership fees are non-refundable, either in full or prorated. However, if the Committee (or Delegate) rejects an application for Membership, SPELD Victoria will refund the accompanying membership fee to the applicant.

Security capabilities and policy for transmission of payment card details

All credit card transactions will be undertaken with best practice security compliant with the PCI DSS standards. Payments will be processed using a secure electronic payment gateway system.

Currency

Currency of transaction is in Australian dollars and is GST free.

Membership benefits

All SPELD Victoria Members (except Associate Members) are entitled to vote at the AGM held in quarter two of each financial year.

All Members will receive:

• Discounts on all parent and professional learning workshops and events
• Discounts on all purchases through our online shop;
• Quarterly E-News on all SLD matters and SPELD Victoria developments;
• Free viewing access to items held in our SLD Resource Hub
• Access to member only events and voting rights at the AGM (for those over 15 years of age)

Professional practitioner and school member (organisations) will also be able to access:

• Professional development certificates for attendance at workshops, seminars and events.

Renewal of membership

All memberships are due for renewal 12 months after purchase (Anniversary Date). Renewal reminder emails with a link will be sent to existing Members 30 days, 14 days prior to the Anniversary Date.

If Members have not renewed by 7 days after the Anniversary Date, their membership status will default to Expired. Membership voting rights, benefits and discounts will not be available whilst Membership status is Inactive.

Inactive Members can reactivate their Membership within 7 days after the Anniversary Date via the link sent in the renewal reminder emails. If you can’t find the renewal link, it can be regenerated from the website.

Alternatively, after 8 days you can register for membership again via the website.

Membership verification

All Members are issued with a unique Membership Number. If you are unable to remember your Membership Number, please go to the Forgot Member Number tab on our website; click the link, insert your name and email used at registration to retrieve your number. Your Member Number will be sent to your email. If you have changed your email address since registering, email us at: membership@speldvic.org.au  Details will be provided once the identification of the person is positively verified.

Personal information use and disclosure

SPELD Victoria complies with all relevant Commonwealth and State legislation governing its operations. For further details, please refer to the Privacy Policy available on the SPELD Victoria website.

SPELD Victoria Website

Ownership and access

This website is owned and operated by SPELD-Victoria-Inc (ABN 51 178 974 489) from a server located in Victoria, Australia.  Access to this Website is provided to anyone on the condition of their agreement, without modification, to the terms, conditions and notices contained here.

As a condition of your use of the SPELD Victoria Website, you warrant to SPELD Victoria that you will not use the SPELD Victoria Website for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms, conditions, and notices. You may not use this Website in any manner which could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the SPELD Victoria Website or interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of the SPELD Victoria Website.

The SPELD Victoria Website may contain links to other websites (“Linked Sites”). The Linked Sites are not under the control of SPELD Victoria and SPELD Victoria is not responsible for the contents, webcasting or any other form of transmission of any Linked Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Linked Site, or any changes or updates to a Linked Site. SPELD Victoria is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by SPELD Victoria of the site or any association with its operators.

SPELD Victoria reserves the right to change the terms, conditions, and notices under which the SPELD Victoria Website is offered.