Terms & Conditions

Last updated: August 2026

These Terms & Conditions apply to your use of the North Star Child Therapy website and, where relevant, the use of our online booking and enquiry services.

Clinical services are also subject to North Star Child Therapy’s Informed Consent & Clinic Terms, Privacy Policy and Cancellation & Rescheduling Policy. These documents provide more detailed information about the therapeutic relationship and should be read together with these Terms & Conditions.

By using this website, submitting an enquiry or making an online booking, you agree to these Terms & Conditions to the extent that they apply to you.

Booking or commencing therapy also requires completion of the relevant consent process. Use of this website alone does not establish a therapist-client relationship.

If you are providing personal or health information about another person, including a child or young person, you should only do so where you are authorised to provide that information.

North Star Child Therapy provides counselling, psychotherapy and therapeutic services for children and young people aged 3 to 18, as well as counselling and support for parents and caregivers.

Services are provided by Elena Sansoni, Clinical Director, within her professional qualifications, training and scope of practice.

North Star Child Therapy provides an attachment-focused, child-centred, trauma-informed and neuroaffirming approach. The particular therapeutic approach recommended will depend on the individual needs, circumstances and goals of the client.

Therapeutic outcomes cannot be guaranteed. Recommendations about treatment are made following appropriate assessment and clinical consideration and may change as new information becomes available.

Information provided on this website is for general educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide individual mental-health advice, diagnosis, assessment or treatment and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice appropriate to your individual circumstances.

Submitting an enquiry, completing an online form or reading information on this website does not establish a therapeutic relationship with North Star Child Therapy.

North Star Child Therapy is not a crisis or emergency mental-health service, and website enquiries, emails, forms and other electronic communications are not monitored continuously.

If you or another person is in immediate danger or requires urgent medical or mental-health assistance, please contact an appropriate emergency or crisis service rather than waiting for a response from North Star Child Therapy.

Further crisis-support information is available on our website.

Certain appointment types may be booked directly through North Star Child Therapy’s online booking system. Other therapeutic services may be arranged following an initial intake and assessment.

For appointments available for online booking, full payment of the appointment fee is required at the time of booking. The appointment is confirmed once the required booking process and payment have been successfully completed.

Ongoing therapy appointments may be arranged directly by North Star Child Therapy rather than through the online booking system.

Appointment availability displayed online may change and does not guarantee that a particular ongoing appointment time will remain available.

Current appointment fees are displayed on our website and/or advised before booking or before the relevant service is provided. For appointments booked online, full payment is required at the time of booking. For ongoing appointments arranged directly with North Star Child Therapy, an invoice will be emailed prior to the appointment. Full payment is required two business days before the scheduled appointment. Appointments that remain unpaid after the payment deadline may be cancelled and the reserved appointment time released. Payment may be processed using the payment methods made available by North Star Child Therapy. North Star Child Therapy is a private-fee practice. Fees are payable privately by the client, parent or caregiver responsible for the appointment. North Star Child Therapy may review its fees from time to time. Any changes to fees will apply prospectively and will be communicated before they apply to future services.

North Star Child Therapy requires at least 24 hours’ notice to cancel or reschedule an appointment.

If at least 24 hours’ notice is provided, any payment already made may be refunded or transferred to a rescheduled appointment.

If an appointment is cancelled or rescheduled with less than 24 hours’ notice, the full session fee will apply.

If a client does not attend an appointment and has not provided notice, the full session fee will apply.

Where a late-cancelled or missed appointment has already been paid, the payment may be retained as the applicable cancellation or non-attendance fee. Where payment has not been made, the applicable session fee may be invoiced.

The 24-hour notice period is calculated from the scheduled start time of the appointment.

North Star Child Therapy understands that illness, emergencies and unexpected circumstances can occur. Late-cancellation and non-attendance fees may be waived, refunded or transferred at the discretion of North Star Child Therapy in cases of illness, emergency or other exceptional circumstances, or where alternative arrangements have been agreed with North Star Child Therapy.

If North Star Child Therapy needs to cancel or reschedule an appointment, no cancellation fee will apply. Any payment already made may be transferred to the new appointment or refunded in full.

Please refer to our Cancellation & Rescheduling Policy for further information.

Clients who arrive late may receive a shorter session so that later appointments are not affected.

Where the practitioner remains available for the booked appointment period, the usual appointment fee will still apply.

Therapeutic services for children and young people are provided following an appropriate informed-consent process.

Parents and caregivers must disclose any relevant parenting arrangements, court orders, guardianship arrangements or other circumstances that may affect authority to consent to treatment or the sharing of information.

North Star Child Therapy may request further information or documentation where necessary to clarify consent arrangements before commencing or continuing services.

Children and young people will be involved in decisions about their therapy in a manner appropriate to their age, maturity, capacity and circumstances.

A client who is 18 years of age is legally an adult and provides consent for their own treatment, except where another lawful arrangement applies.

Further information about consent is contained in our Informed Consent & Clinic Terms.

North Star Child Therapy collects and handles personal and health information in accordance with applicable privacy and health-records laws.

Information may be collected through the website, online booking system, clinical forms, questionnaires, communications and during the provision of therapeutic services.

North Star Child Therapy uses third-party service providers to support aspects of practice administration, bookings, payments and clinical assessment. Personal and health information is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable law.

Our Privacy Policy explains how information is collected, used, stored and disclosed, as well as how you can request access to or correction of information held about you.

Information disclosed during therapy is treated as confidential in accordance with applicable law, professional ethical obligations and North Star Child Therapy’s Privacy Policy and Informed Consent & Clinic Terms.

Confidentiality is not absolute. Information may be used or disclosed where the client or authorised person has consented, where disclosure is required or authorised by law, or in circumstances where disclosure is otherwise lawfully permitted in relation to safety or serious risk.

The limits of confidentiality are explained as part of the informed-consent process before therapy commences.

North Star Child Therapy is committed to providing services safely, ethically and within the practitioner’s professional competence and scope of practice.

Services are provided in accordance with applicable professional ethical obligations and the Victorian General Code of Conduct for General Health Service Providers.

A copy of the General Code of Conduct and information about how to make a complaint to the Victorian Health Complaints Commissioner are available through the Health Complaints Commissioner and should be easily accessible through this website.

North Star Child Therapy welcomes feedback and takes concerns or complaints seriously.

If you have a concern about the service you have received, you are encouraged to contact North Star Child Therapy so that the matter can be considered and, where possible, resolved promptly and fairly.

If you are not satisfied with the response, you may contact the Victorian Health Complaints Commissioner (HCC). The HCC provides a free, confidential and impartial complaints service in relation to health services and the handling of health information in Victoria.

Where applicable, clients may also have access to the complaints process of a relevant professional association.

Making a complaint will not result in adverse treatment or affect your right to access appropriate services.

Nothing in these Terms & Conditions, the Cancellation & Rescheduling Policy, the Informed Consent & Clinic Terms or any other North Star Child Therapy policy excludes, restricts or modifies any consumer guarantee, right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law or any other applicable law.

North Star Child Therapy takes reasonable care to ensure information published on this website is accurate and current. However, website content may change and we do not guarantee that the website will always be uninterrupted, error-free or available.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, North Star Child Therapy is not responsible for loss arising solely from reliance on general information published on this website where individual professional advice should reasonably have been sought.

Nothing in this section limits liability or rights that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded.

This website may contain links to external websites or use third-party systems for functions such as appointment booking, payment processing or questionnaires.

Links to external services are provided for convenience and do not necessarily constitute endorsement of all information or services provided by those organisations.

North Star Child Therapy is not responsible for the content or availability of independent third-party websites. Where third parties process personal or health information on behalf of the practice, their use is managed in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable privacy requirements.

Unless otherwise indicated, the text, graphics, logo, branding and original materials published on this website are owned by or licensed to North Star Child Therapy and are protected by applicable intellectual-property laws.

Website content may be viewed or downloaded for personal, non-commercial use.

You must not reproduce, republish, distribute, modify, sell or commercially exploit North Star Child Therapy content without prior written permission, except where permitted by law.

You must not use this website:

• for any unlawful or fraudulent purpose;
• in a way that interferes with the security, availability or operation of the website;
• to attempt to gain unauthorised access to systems, accounts or information;
• to transmit malicious software or harmful material; or
• in a manner that infringes another person’s rights.

North Star Child Therapy may update these Terms & Conditions to reflect changes to the practice, website, services or applicable requirements.

The current version and date of update will be published on this page.

Changes will apply prospectively. Where a material change affects an existing clinical arrangement, it will be communicated as appropriate rather than being applied retrospectively without notice.

These Terms & Conditions are governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia and applicable Commonwealth laws.

Nothing in this section limits any right a consumer may have to bring a claim or complaint in a jurisdiction or forum available to them under applicable law.

If any part of these Terms & Conditions is found to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, that provision will be treated as modified or removed to the minimum extent necessary. The remaining provisions will continue to apply.

If you have questions about these Terms & Conditions, a booking, payment or the services provided by North Star Child Therapy, please contact:

• North Star Child Therapy
• Email: support@northstarchildtherapy.com.au
• Phone: 0437 597 477
• Address: 35a Bluff Rd, Black Rock VIC 3193

North Star Child Therapy is committed to providing services that are safe, ethical, respectful and within the practitioner’s professional competence and scope of practice.

Services are provided in accordance with applicable Australian and Victorian laws, relevant professional and ethical standards, and the Victorian General Code of Conduct for General Health Service Providers.

If you have a concern or complaint about the services you have received, you are encouraged to contact North Star Child Therapy so that we can consider the matter and, where possible, resolve it promptly and fairly.

• North Star Child Therapy
• Email: support@northstarchildtherapy.com.au
• Phone: 0437 597 477

You may also make a complaint directly to the Victorian Health Complaints Commissioner (HCC). You do not need to raise your concern with North Star Child Therapy before contacting the HCC. The HCC provides a free, impartial and confidential complaints service in relation to health services and the handling of health information in Victoria.

Information about the General Code of Conduct for General Health Service Providers and how to make a complaint to the Health Complaints Commissioner is available through the HCC website.

Where applicable, you may also have the option of making a complaint through a relevant professional association.

Making a complaint will not result in discrimination or adverse treatment and will not affect your right to access appropriate services.