First Contact
Information Exchange
West Street Centre has an ethical and legal obligation to protect the privacy and confidentiality of clients in the gathering and sharing of information. Under the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Act, WSC documents information provided by clients and stores it securely and will not share it with another organisation without written permission.
There are limits to confidentiality related to the protection of children and young people. WSC workers are mandated to report any current risk of significant harm to the NSW Department of Communities and Justice. If the need to report arises, we discuss the concerns with parents/carers and offer support through the process.
Similarly, if a client of the service discloses serious harm to self or others, WCS workers have a duty of care to ensure information is exchanged in a timely way with services necessary to protect and provide support to the client concerned.
Intake
There are 2 main ways to access the West Street Centre services:
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Self-referral by phone (adults, parents/carers and young people)
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Professionals by phone – can refer clients with their full consent and involvement.
Voice Mail Service: As we are a busy, small team our phone is sometimes unattended. A message with contact details will be responded to in a timely way within business hours.
Initial Counselling Session (ICS)
Adults – are welcome to bring a support person to this meeting to discuss their needs, hopes and preferences for a counselling or support group experience.
Children under 12 years – parent/carers of children will be invited to explore reasons for referral to the service, including any statutory or support service involvement.
Young people (12–18) – will be consulted about their preference for parent/carer involvement.
