Safe Zone Support

 

Our professional counsellors understand military culture and can offer you care without needing to know:

• who you are, or
• when or where you served

You decide how much or how little personal information you share, and your calls are not recorded.

When you call

You are able to interact with us anonymously. We will not ask for your name or any other personal information unless required to by law. Your name and contact details will not be recorded unless you provide them to us.

The counsellor will create an electronic record of the call. This record will contain minimal details of your contact, including:

• the date and time of the call
• duration and brief details of the outcome (e.g. if you were provided with counselling and referred to other support services, or if a security incident arose and what action was taken).

We will not divert or transfer your call to the Open Arms or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs enquiry lines unless it is by your request.

Our IT systems display caller ID. We will be able to see the number you are calling from unless it is a hidden or a private number. It will not be recorded on file.

If we do receive any personal information about you, we will only disclose that information when it is:

• authorised by the Privacy Act 1988, and
• to protect you or others

For example, we may provide your phone number to emergency services if we think there is a risk of harm to you or another person.

Legal disclosure

As above, we may disclose your personal information and details of the call if:

• you have consented to the disclosure of your personal information
• you would reasonably expect, or have been told, that information of that kind is usually passed to those individuals, bodies or agencies, and
  • the disclosure is otherwise required or authorised by law 
  • we reasonably believe the disclosure is reasonably necessary for an enforcement-related activity
  • we reasonably believe the disclosure will prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to somebody's life, health or safety (including your own) or serious threat to public health, property or public safety

Privacy

Safe Zone Support follows the DVA privacy policy and the broader Privacy Act 1988 and Australian Privacy Principles.

Security and record-keeping

Access to Safe Zone Support records is controlled. Only authorised staff and those with a business need to know, will have access to these records.

Safe Zone Support records are stored separately from DVA records.

Other welfare and support services

Safe Zone is hosted by Open Arms - Veterans & Families Counselling but is a separate service.

Open Arms has a range of self-help tools that can help build resilience during stressful times.

For information on other welfare and support services that may be available to you, please visit DVA welfare support services.