Mental Health Online Terms and Conditions
This website and related services have been designed for persons resident in Australia only. If you are accessing this website from outside of Australia, you acknowledge and agree that:
(1) the information in this website is to be used for educational purposes only;
(2) as an educational resource, this website is not a medical service or device and is not registered with any overseas regulatory body or professional association.
The services available on the Mental Health Online website are not intended to replace traditional forms of face-to-face psychotherapy. The information is not intended to suggest or recommend a course of treatment or replace personal consultation with a qualified health care professional. If at any time you believe Mental Health Online services do not meet or address your needs or raises concerns about your overall health, you are advised to seek the services of a qualified health care professional.
The information and e-PASS assessment on the Mental Health Online Website is not intended as a substitute for professional clinical advice. Assessment, diagnosis and treatment of a clinical condition can only be provided by a qualified health professional.
Please read these terms and conditions ("terms and conditions", "terms of use") carefully before using the Mental Health Online website (“website”, "service") provided by Swinburne University of Technology ("Swinburne"), through the National eTherapy Centre (NeTC).
1. Acceptance of Terms of Use and Amendments
Each time you use this website, you certify you have read and reviewed this Agreement and agree to be bound by the site's Terms and Conditions. In addition, if you are using a particular service on or through this website, you are also subject to any rules or guidelines applicable to that service.
If you do not wish to be bound by the terms of this Agreement, you are advised to leave the website.
2. Privacy, Security and Confidentiality
We collect your personal information to provide Mental Health Online services. Personal information provided in the course of accessing Mental Health Online programs becomes a health record which is required to be retained for a minimum of 7 years.
Information the NeTC collects is used only for the purpose stipulated at the time that the information is collected. The NeTC is required by law not to reveal, disclose, sell, distribute, rent, license, share or pass on to any third parties, any personal information that you may have provided to us unless we have your express consent to do so. Exceptions include release of information in response to legal requirements such as a subpoena or concerns about the safety of user/client or others.
Any data used for the purposes of quality assurance, research or reporting will be deidentified group data and will not contain individually identifying information.
Before you continue using our website, we advise you to read our Privacy Policy regarding our user data collection, access and retention. The Victorian Health Commissioner website also provides information about service requirements for maintaining health records and how to register a complaint.
3. Services
3.1 Website Contents
The services on the Mental Health Online website are:
The services on the Mental Health Online website will not be appropriate if:
- you are in a crisis situation (see Head to Health crisis links)
- your personal safety is an issue (see Head to Health crisis links)
- you require specialist medical treatment; and/or
- in respect to the Self Help or Therapist Assist treatment programs, you do not have a mental health concern covered by our program options.
Further information regarding each of the services is provided in the About Our Programs section on the website. The information provided is to help you make informed decisions about the sections of the website you choose to access; you will be asked to agree to specific terms at the time these services are accessed.
3.2 Withdrawal
You may withdraw from participation in any of the services at any time and/or deactivate your user account at any time. Any personal information provided in the course of accessing Mental Health Online programs (ie: e-PASS, registration details) becomes a health record which is required to be retained for a minimum of 7 years before being deleted.
3.3 Limitation of Liability
Swinburne University of Technology is not liable for any damages that may occur to you as a result of your misuse of our website.
The NeTC accepts no liability for incorrect results provided by e-PASS. The e-PASS is as accurate and appropriate as possible given the limitations of the online service and the limitations of self-report. e-PASS is not intended to substitute for traditional best-practice clinical assessment by a mental health professional.
4. Modification or Discontinuance
NeTC exclusively reserves the right to and may at any time and without notice and any liability to you, modify or discontinue this website and its services.
5. Rights and Responsibilities
5.1 Age
The e-PASS, Self Help and Therapist Assisted Programs are designed for people over 18 years of age. Confirmation of age is required during registration for e-PASS, Self Help and Therapist Assisted Programs. By using this website, you warrant that you are at least 18 years of age, and you may legally adhere to this Agreement. Swinburne University of Technology assumes no responsibility for liabilities related to age misrepresentation.
Access to Mental Health Online Self-Help programs, the Online Psychological Assessment (e-PASS) and Therapist Assist program can only occur if you have registered a user account on the Mental Health Online website.
To create a user account, you will be asked to provide personal information. You are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of this information, and you are responsible for maintaining the safety and security of your identifying information including your password. You are also responsible for all activities that occur under your account or password.
If you think there are any possible issues regarding the security of your account on the website, inform us immediately so we may address them accordingly.
Mental Health Online will not use your registered email for marketing purposes. We may send information about new website features, program developments or research opportunities from time to time.
Mental Health Online and its services are provided free of charge. Users are responsible for costs associated with internet data and the device through which the service is accessed.
5.5 Your Use of e-Therapist Electronic Communications
You explicitly agree not to forward or copy email messages or other electronic communications from our eTherapists to other persons, except where you have agreed with your eTherapist and have their written consent. This includes posting to social media. You agree not to present the eTherapist’s advice out of context, pass on advice regarding your particular situation as treatment for others or copy and paste pieces of text without presenting full context.
If you have any questions or concerns about this information, or would like to provide feedback on any aspect of the service at any time, please see our Feedback and Complaints page.
6. Investigation by the NeTC
The NeTC may take steps, if necessary, to investigate any violation of these Terms of Use.
7. Suspension of services
If the National eTherapy Centre believes you have breached any of these terms, then your right to access these services and website may be immediately suspended. You agree to indemnify Swinburne University of Technology and its affiliates and hold Swinburne University of Technology harmless against legal claims and demands that may arise from your use or misuse of our services.
8. Copyright and Intellectual Property
Material contained on the Mental Health Online website is copyright ©Swinburne University of Technology (except where otherwise indicated) or is used with permission or under license. You may download, print and reproduce this information in an unaltered form for your own personal use. All other rights are reserved. Requests for further permission to use this material should be directed to: National eTherapy Centre, contactmho@swin.edu.au
9. Updates & Notifications
Drafting terms and conditions is not a one-time thing. You will need to review these regularly to make sure that you keep up with any changes. When we make material changes to the Terms and Conditions, we will post a link to the revised Terms on the homepage of our site. You can tell when the Terms and Conditions was last updated by looking at the date at the bottom of the Terms. Any changes to our Terms and Conditions will become effective upon posting of the revised Terms on the site.
Last Updated 13 December 2021