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KindPath Collective Inc

Privacy and Dignity Policy

Version 1.0 | Effective: 29 August 2026 | Review: 29 August 2027 | Owner: Director

1. Purpose

To set the standard for treating participants with dignity in every interaction — physical privacy, information privacy, and being spoken to and about respectfully — separate from (and in addition to) the formal data-handling rules in the Information Management and Privacy Policy.

2. Scope

All KindPath staff, contractors, volunteers and family-member workers, in all support settings including a participant’s home.

3. Legislative and standards basis

  • NDIS Practice Standards, Module 1: Rights and Responsibilities — Privacy and dignity.
  • Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and Australian Privacy Principles.
  • NSW Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998; Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002.

4. Policy statement

Dignity is the baseline, not an aspiration. This includes: - Knocking and waiting before entering a participant’s room or private space, even in their own home where a worker is present regularly. - Never discussing a participant’s support needs, behaviour, or personal circumstances in front of other people without the participant’s consent — including other participants, neighbours, or the worker’s own family members who are not engaged to provide support. - Physical supports (personal care, if ever provided) conducted with the participant’s stated preferences on who is present and how it’s done. - Not photographing or recording a participant, their home, or their belongings without specific consent for a specific, stated purpose. - Referring to participants using the language they use for themselves (name, pronouns, terms for their disability where relevant).

5. Procedures

  1. At intake, the participant is asked directly what privacy means to them in their own home and support setting, and this is documented and followed.
  2. Any photo, video, or written case note involving identifiable participant information is treated as sensitive information under the Information Management and Privacy Policy — collected only for a stated purpose, with consent, and stored accordingly.
  3. Where a family member of a KindPath worker (for example, a spouse who is not the engaged worker) is present in a participant’s home, the participant is told in advance and asked whether that is acceptable, and the family member’s role — if any — is limited to what has been discussed and agreed (see also the Human Resource Management Policy on family-member workers).
  4. A dignity or privacy concern raised by a participant is treated with the same seriousness as any other complaint under the Feedback and Complaints Management Policy.

6. Roles and responsibilities

  • Director: ensures workers understand this policy applies especially strongly in home-based, family-adjacent support arrangements, where informal boundaries can blur without anyone intending it.
  • Workers: apply this standard by default, not only when reminded.

7. Related documents

Individual Values, Beliefs and Cultural Safety Policy · Information Management and Privacy Policy · Safe Environment Policy · Feedback and Complaints Management Policy

8. Review

Annually.