Parentline's Confidentiality Policy


Confidentiality Matters

It is Parentline's intention to ensure that you can discuss your individual situation in complete privacy. We believe that confidentiality provides a safe place for you to look at often difficult situations in your life and discuss feelings, opinions, options, or potential courses of action and consequences. We believe that by you taking the time to discuss your life situation in a safe setting, it can lead to calmer, more informed and rational responses to those situations and an increased sense of well-being and support.

Keeping Confidence

Every effort is taken by Parentline to ensure that your affairs are treated with absolute confidentiality. We want you to feel safe while talking to us so we don’t share anything you say, or any of your personal or contact details, with any other person or organisation. There are a few exceptional circumstances to this which are listed below.

Telephone Helpline Callers

As it is you who initiates contact with Parentline through the Helpline, you remain in control of any information you give to us. We don’t know your contact details and you do not even have to give us your name. (Some callers prefer to make up a first name, others don't mind giving their real name).

Our service is designed so that we can’t see your phone number when you contact us and when we make outgoing calls it will appear as “Private Number”. Neither your number, nor ours will appear as caller ID or on itemised phone bills.

The only way we’ll know your contact details is if you give them to us. Often callers will leave their name and a contact number on our voicemail for us to call back. When we do make the requested call back, we will do so with absolute discretion. We will not disclose the nature of the call to anyone but the original caller. Contact numbers are not kept on record after a call back has been made.

We do share some information anonymously within Parentline, as we work as a team.

We do record statistical information about calls which assists us in providing a better service and to identify training needs. This information can include the time of call, the gender of parent and child, and a general categorisation of topics discussed. Names and numbers are not recorded.

Exceptions to Confidentiality

There are a few exceptional circumstances by which Parentline may be obliged to contact statutory services and break confidentiality. The circumstances are listed below. Also please note that Parentline provides their services in line with the Children's First Act.

  • The only times Parentline will break confidentiality are if:
  • You request us directly to pass on information about yourself to someone else.
  • You inform us about a person or persons who are in danger.
  • We receive a court order requiring us to share information.
  • We receive a call about acts of terrorism or bomb warnings.
  • The safety of our volunteers or service is threatened.

(The above assumes we have been given identifiable information).

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any clarification on this policy.

May 2019

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