Terms of Use
Please read and accept the following important terms and conditions to access and use Abound:
1. About these terms
These terms apply when you use counselling through an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) arranged by your employer, ministry, school or another participating organisation (the Organisation). They explain how to access the EAP, how Abound handles your information and what may be shared with the Organisation.
2. Who can use the EAP
You may use Abound’s EAP if you are an employee or other person eligible under the Organisation’s EAP agreement. Immediate family members may use the EAP only where the agreement includes them.
EAP users under 18 may access counselling only after Abound receives consent from a parent or legal guardian. Abound will confirm eligibility and consent using only the information needed.
Access the EAP through the invitation, link, phone or other instructions provided by your Organisation. Counselling is generally online. In-person support may be arranged by agreement if available. You can ask Abound to help find a suitable counsellor, subject to service and counsellor availability.
3. What the EAP provides
The EAP offers short-term, practical counselling for concerns affecting your wellbeing, relationships or work. It is voluntary; you choose whether to participate and what to discuss. Before sessions begin, your counsellor will explain their approach, obtain your informed consent and discuss any additional professional terms.
The EAP is not an emergency, crisis response or 24-hour counselling service. It does not replace emergency help, ongoing therapy, medical care, diagnosis, legal advice or workplace investigation. Your counsellor may recommend another service if it better meets your needs. Abound cannot guarantee a particular counselling outcome.
4. Sessions, charges and cancellations
Your Organisation sets your session limit, which is shown in your Abound dashboard. Unused sessions do not roll over unless your dashboard or the Organisation’s agreement says otherwise.
Additional sessions may be considered after review by Abound’s Clinical Manager and approval by your Organisation. Abound will not share your name or counselling details as part of the approval process.
Cancel through Abound’s platform. Cancellations made within 24 hours of the scheduled session start time count as one used session.
5. Confidentiality and information sharing
Your counselling is confidential. Abound does not give the Organisation your notes, what you discussed, why you sought support or other identifiable clinical information. Except in the limited circumstances in section 7, Abound does not tell the Organisation whether you created an account, booked a session or attended.
Information Abound collects and uses
To administer the EAP, Abound may collect your name, work or personal email, Organisation and eligibility details, account and booking information, appointment status, a brief topic or service category for administration and coordination, communications with Abound, and information you share with your counsellor.
For users under 18, Abound may also collect a parent or guardian’s name, contact details and consent record. Health, counselling and wellbeing information is sensitive. Abound will seek consent before collecting sensitive information where required and collect only what is reasonably needed for service delivery, safety, clinical care, administration, quality and legal obligations.
Abound uses this information to confirm EAP eligibility, arrange counselling, communicate with you, support clinical oversight and continuity of care, manage safety concerns and complaints, maintain records, improve service quality and meet legal obligations. If you do not provide information needed to arrange or provide support, Abound may be unable to assist.
What may be shared with the Organisation
Abound may share de-identified, aggregated EAP information, such as overall usage and broad service themes and trends, where it can be reported without reasonably identifying anyone. Reports may be prepared by site or Organisation as agreed in the EAP service arrangement.
Routine reports will not identify you as an EAP user or state whether you registered, booked or attended. They will not include your counsellor’s notes, what you discussed, your individual presenting issue or clinical details, or a recommendation identifiable to you.
Abound will combine, generalise or suppress small-number results where reporting could identify someone. The Organisation’s reporting arrangement will specify the minimum reporting threshold.
Who may access your information within Abound
Your counsellor can access information needed for your care and their professional obligations. Abound’s Clinical Manager may access relevant clinical information only for clinical oversight, safety, continuity of care, complaint or incident response, or professional or legal obligations.
Administrative and support staff do not routinely access counselling notes. Abound may use secure technology and service providers to operate the EAP, with appropriate privacy and security controls.
6. Counselling records and privacy rights
Your counsellor maintains clinical records as required by professional and legal obligations. Abound handles personal information under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), applicable state or territory health privacy laws and its Privacy Policy. The Policy explains how to request access or correction, how information is retained and secured, and how to make a privacy complaint. A parent or guardian does not automatically receive a young person’s information because they consented to EAP access.
To request access to or correction of your personal information, or raise a privacy concern, contact support@abound.org.au. Access may be limited where the law permits or requires, including to protect another person’s privacy or safety. If unresolved, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
7. Limits to confidentiality and safety
Counsellors may also have reporting duties under the laws of the relevant state or territory, including child protection and other mandatory reporting requirements.
Where a serious and immediate safety risk arises, Abound may, where lawful, contact the Organisation’s nominated contact with only the information reasonably needed for an immediate response or emergency services. Where practicable and safe, Abound will discuss the disclosure with you first. Routine EAP reporting will not include your counselling notes or an incident report.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call Triple Zero (000). For crisis support in Australia, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. The EAP is not an emergency service.
8. Your responsibilities
Provide accurate information needed to confirm eligibility and arrange support; keep your login details secure; use the service respectfully; and do not record or distribute sessions without the express consent of the counsellor and other participants.
Abound may restrict or suspend access to protect people, the service or its systems, or to comply with law. Where practicable, Abound will explain why and what is needed to restore access.
9. Service changes and ending access
Your access depends on the Organisation’s EAP agreement. If it ends or you become ineligible, Abound may stop arranging new sessions after any notice required by law or the agreement. We will explain any options available. Ending EAP access does not remove your legal rights or affect records Abound or your counsellor must retain.
Abound may update these terms when the EAP or legal requirements change. We will notify you of material changes through the EAP platform, email or another reasonable channel, and make the current version and effective date available.
10. Complaints and feedback
For concerns about access, administration, privacy or the service, contact support@abound.org.au. You may also raise counselling concerns with your counsellor or Abound’s Clinical Manager. Abound will handle complaints respectfully and confidentially, share only what is needed to respond, and explain review or escalation options. A complaint will not affect your employment or EAP eligibility.
11. Australian Consumer Law and governing law
Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies a right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded, including rights under the Australian Consumer Law. Subject to those rights, these terms are governed by the laws of the Australian Capital Territory and applicable Australian law.
12. Contact
For help using your EAP or questions about these terms, contact support@abound.org.au. For privacy requests or complaints, mark your message “Privacy”.
Date: October 2026
Review Date: June 2027
