Privacy Policy

Privacy and Confidentiality Policy

Effective date: 29 July 2026
Last updated: 29 July 2026

1. My commitment to your privacy

I, Karen Marie Eckford, am committed to treating your personal information with care, respect and confidentiality.

This policy explains how I collect, use, store, protect and disclose personal information when you:

Visit my website
Contact me
Join my mailing list
Purchase a book, course, meditation or digital resource
Book or participate in a session, program, workshop or gathering
Provide a testimonial or feedback
Communicate with me in connection with my professional services

My services are spiritual, personal-development and educational services. They are not a replacement for medical, psychological, psychiatric, legal or other appropriately qualified professional care.

This policy should be read before providing personal or sensitive information. Reading this policy does not, by itself, constitute consent to recording, transcription or AI-assisted processing. Separate consent will be requested where required.

2. Information I may collect

Depending on how you interact with me, I may collect:

Your name
Your email address
Your telephone number
Your billing or postal address
Your booking and appointment details
Information about products or services you purchase
Payment and transaction information
Messages, enquiries and correspondence
Newsletter subscription preferences
Feedback and testimonials
Information you voluntarily share during a session or program
Session notes
Audio or video recordings, where you have consented
Transcripts, summaries or personalised reports, where applicable
Technical website information, such as your device, browser, approximate location, IP address and website activity

During a session, you may choose to share information about your personal history, family, relationships, spiritual experiences, emotional wellbeing, physical health, mental health, disability, trauma or other sensitive matters.

I will only collect information that is reasonably needed to provide my services, manage my business, meet my legal responsibilities or respond to your request.

You are not required to share anything you do not wish to discuss.

3. How I collect information

I generally collect information directly from you when you:

Complete a website or booking form
Contact me by email, telephone, social media or another communication service
Subscribe to my newsletter
Purchase something through my website
Book or attend a session
Participate in a course, workshop or gathering
Complete a consent or feedback form
Voluntarily provide information during a professional conversation

Some technical or transaction information may also be collected through Wix, payment providers, Zoom, email providers, analytics services or other services used to operate my business.

4. Why I collect and use information

I may collect and use your information to:

Respond to enquiries
Manage bookings and appointments
Provide sessions, programs, courses, meditations and resources
Personalise your session or written material
Process and record payments
Deliver digital purchases
Send service-related information
Maintain appropriate client and business records
Provide follow-up material you have requested
Improve my services and resources
Send newsletters or promotional information where you have subscribed
Maintain the security and operation of my website
Meet accounting, insurance, legal and regulatory obligations
Respond to a serious safety concern where permitted by law
Manage complaints, disputes or legal claims

I will not use sensitive information for an unrelated purpose without obtaining further consent, unless its use is required or authorised by law.

5. Confidentiality

Information shared during a professional session or program will be treated as private and confidential.

I will not share your identity, personal story, session experiences, recordings, transcripts or reports with friends, other clients, podcast audiences, social media followers or members of the public without your clear permission.

Confidentiality is not absolute. Information may be disclosed where:

You have provided clear consent
Disclosure is required or authorised by law
A valid court order or other lawful requirement applies
I reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to someone’s life, health or safety and the disclosure is permitted by law
Information must be shared with a service provider that helps me deliver or administer the service
Confidential professional, legal, accounting or insurance advice is required

When information is shared with a service provider or professional adviser, I will limit it to what is reasonably necessary.

Where possible, identifying information will be removed before a matter is discussed for professional guidance.

6. Session recordings

A session will only be recorded with your clear consent.

Before recording, I will explain:

What will be recorded
Why the recording is being made
Whether a transcript will be created
How the recording or transcript will be used
Whether an external transcription or AI-assisted service will be involved
How the material will be stored
The expected retention period
Who may have access

Consent to recording will normally be obtained in writing and reconfirmed at the beginning of the session.

You may decline recording without losing your ability to receive a session. You may also ask for the recording to stop at any time.

Permission to record a session does not give permission to publish, teach from, market with or publicly share the recording or transcript.

Any public, promotional, educational or publishing use requires separate and specific written consent.

7. Transcripts, summaries and personalised reports

Where you have agreed, a recording may be transcribed or used to help prepare:

A cleaned transcript
Session notes
A session summary
Reflection material
A personalised report
Follow-up guidance

A transcript may contain errors. I will review AI-assisted or automatically generated material before providing it to you, but you should tell me if you notice an important error or misrepresentation.

Recordings and working transcripts are not intended to remain as permanent files. Unless a different period is explained and agreed, I will generally delete the original recording and temporary working transcript within 90 days after the relevant written material has been completed and delivered.

Essential client records, consent records and final documents may be kept for longer where reasonably required for professional, legal, insurance, taxation or recordkeeping purposes.

8. Use of AI-assisted tools

I may use AI-assisted or digital tools to help with tasks such as:

Transcribing an agreed recording
Correcting spelling and formatting
Organising session material
Preparing a first draft of a summary or report
Identifying repeated themes within information you have provided
Improving the clarity and presentation of written material

I will only use identifiable or sensitive client information with an AI-assisted service where:

The use has been explained to you
The proposed purpose has been identified
Your separate consent has been obtained
The use is reasonably necessary for the agreed service
Reasonable steps have been taken to minimise the information involved

Where practical, names and directly identifying details will be removed or replaced before information is processed.

AI-generated material will not be accepted automatically as fact. I remain responsible for reviewing, editing and deciding what is included in any document provided to you.

AI is not used to diagnose you, make medical or psychological decisions about you, or replace my personal review of your material.

You may decline AI-assisted processing. Declining will not prevent you from receiving a session, although it may mean that certain transcript or report options need to be prepared differently or may not be available in the same form.

AI service providers operate under their own privacy terms and may process information outside Australia. Where AI-assisted processing is proposed, I will take reasonable steps to use appropriate services, account settings and privacy controls. However, no external online service can be described as entirely risk-free.

9. Testimonials and client stories

I will not publish your testimonial, photograph, recording, session excerpt, personal story or identifying information without your permission.

If you provide a testimonial, I will confirm:

The wording you have approved
Whether your full name, first name, initials or no name may be used
Whether a photograph may be used
Where the testimonial may appear

You may withdraw permission for future use by contacting me. I will remove the material from platforms under my control within a reasonable period. Withdrawal may not remove copies that were previously printed, downloaded, shared or stored by other people.

De-identified client stories will not be used publicly where the person could reasonably recognise themselves unless permission has been obtained.

10. Marketing communications

I will only send newsletters or promotional emails where you have subscribed, requested information or where communication is otherwise permitted by law.

You can unsubscribe at any time by:

Using the unsubscribe link in an email
Contacting me directly at [insert privacy email address]

Unsubscribing from marketing does not prevent me from sending necessary information about an existing booking, purchase or service.

11. Payments

Payments made through my website or another payment service are processed by the relevant payment provider.

I do not intentionally collect or store your complete credit or debit card number. Payment providers may collect and process payment details under their own terms and privacy policies.

I may retain transaction records that are reasonably required for accounting, taxation, refunds, disputes and legal obligations.

12. Website information, cookies and analytics

My website is hosted through Wix. Wix and connected website services may automatically collect technical information and place cookies or similar technologies on your device.

This information may be used to:

Keep the website functioning
Remember preferences
Maintain website security
Process bookings and purchases
Understand website use
Measure advertising or marketing performance
Improve the website experience

You can manage cookies through the website cookie settings, where available, or through your browser. Disabling some cookies may affect how the website operates

13. Service providers

I may use trusted external services to operate my website and deliver my services, including:

Wix for website hosting, forms, bookings, email functions and online purchases
Zoom or another agreed video-conferencing service
Payment-processing services
Email and newsletter services
Cloud storage and document services
Transcription services
AI-assisted services, such as OpenAI or ChatGPT, where separately agreed
Website security, analytics and technical support services
Accountants, insurers, lawyers or other professional advisers

These providers may receive or process limited information where reasonably necessary to perform their services.

Each provider has its own privacy, security and data-handling practices. I will take reasonable steps to select appropriate providers and limit the information shared with them.

I do not sell client information or mailing lists.

14. Overseas processing and storage

Some of the services I use operate internationally. As a result, personal information may be transferred to, stored in or processed outside Australia.

Depending on the service involved, overseas processing may occur in countries including:

The United States
Ireland
Israel
South Korea
Taiwan
The United Kingdom
Other countries in which the provider or its approved service providers operate

Privacy protections in another country may differ from those in Australia.

By providing information through my website or agreeing to the use of a particular external service, you acknowledge that overseas processing may occur. Where separate consent is legally or ethically appropriate, it will be requested before sensitive information is provided to that service.

15. Storage and security

I take reasonable steps to protect personal and sensitive information against:

Loss
Misuse
Unauthorised access
Unauthorised disclosure
Interference
Alteration

These steps may include:

Password-protected accounts and devices
Access controls
Secure website and service-provider systems
Limiting access to information
Removing identifying details where practical
Securely deleting information that is no longer required
Reviewing the information retained
Keeping software and accounts reasonably protected

No electronic transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If you believe your information has been accessed or disclosed improperly, please contact me promptly.

If a data breach occurs, I will assess it and take appropriate action, including notifying affected individuals and the relevant authority where required by law.

16. How long information is retained

I retain information only for as long as it is reasonably needed for the purpose for which it was collected or as required by law.

Different information may have different retention periods:

Temporary recordings and working transcripts are generally deleted within 90 days after the relevant material has been completed and delivered.
Booking, payment and business records may be retained for the period required by taxation, insurance and other laws.
Consent forms and essential session records may be kept to document the professional service provided.
Newsletter information is retained until you unsubscribe or request removal, subject to any record needed to honour your request.
Health information will be retained for any minimum period required under applicable NSW law.

Where NSW health-record retention requirements apply, adult health information may need to be retained for at least seven years after the last occasion on which a health service was provided. Different periods may apply to information collected while a person was under 18.

When information is no longer needed and no legal obligation requires its retention, I will take reasonable steps to delete, destroy or de-identify it securely.

17. Accessing or correcting your information

You may contact me to ask:

What personal information I hold about you
For access to your information
For inaccurate or incomplete information to be corrected
For information to be deleted where it is no longer required
To withdraw consent for a future use
A question about how your information has been handled

I may need to confirm your identity before providing access or making a change.

Access or deletion may sometimes be limited where I am legally required to retain information or where another lawful exception applies. If I cannot complete your request, I will explain the reason where I am permitted to do so.

18. Professional roles and relationship boundaries

To protect clarity, consent and confidentiality, I aim to keep the roles of client, friend, colleague, peer and practice partner clearly separated.

If a personal conversation begins to move into a professional service, I may pause and clarify which role applies before continuing.

A professional service should have clear arrangements concerning:

The purpose of the service
Fees and payment
Appointment times
Recording and transcription
Confidentiality
Follow-up contact
Any material to be provided
The limits of the service

Any gift, discount, practice arrangement or exception to my usual service will be made clear and, where appropriate, recorded in writing. I do not enter professional arrangements that depend upon secrecy or hidden obligations.

Friendship, personal familiarity or peer support does not automatically create a client relationship. A client relationship does not automatically create a personal friendship, partnership or unlimited access outside the agreed service.

19. Complaints and privacy concerns

If you have a question or concern about your privacy, please contact me first so I have an opportunity to understand and address it.

I will acknowledge your concern and aim to respond within a reasonable period.

If you are not satisfied with the response, you may be entitled to contact:

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
The Information and Privacy Commission NSW

Further information is available through their official websites.

20. Changes to this policy

I may update this policy when my services, technology, legal responsibilities or information-handling practices change.

The current version will be published on this website with its effective date and last updated date.

Where a significant change affects information already collected or a consent you have provided, I will take reasonable steps to notify you or obtain further consent where appropriate.