Ex-UTS professor Dianne Jolley fights police seizure of psychologist notes
A former Sydney university dean, accused of launching fake threats against herself, is fighting a court order for her confidential psychologist’s notes to be turned over to investigators.
Police & Courts
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A former Sydney university dean, accused of instigating a fake harassment campaign against herself, is fighting to keep police from reading her psychologist’s notes with her lawyer saying there’s been a troubling shift in police investigations.
University of Technology’s ex-dean of science Dianne Jolley is fighting charges she sent herself threatening letters, which sparked a police investigation and $150,000 security bill footed by the university to protect her.
Jolley caused an uproar among some elements of her university’s student body when she cancelled a controversial traditional Chinese medicine program.
The professor ultimately told police she received threatening letters at her home related to the cancelled program and had items of clothing snatched from her property.
But police arrested her last November, alleging she was behind the threats.
One month later investigators ordered Jolley’s psychologist, who the dean had seen in the weeks before her arrest, to turn over her “counselling notes”, court documents seen by The Daily Telegraph reveal.
Jolley was charged in January with further offences and spent a few days in lock up until she was released. She resigned from her position in March and is fighting all charges.
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Her lawyer, Aaron Kernaghan, said he was challenging the decision of the Local Court magistrate, made in July, that there was no harm in police having her psychologist’s notes.
“Our position is that there is harm in letting police have these notes,” he said on Friday.
“In this state we still treat the confidentiality of confessions to a priest as being worth more than conversations with a psychologist.”
“The purpose of this appeal is to protect the privacy anyone has, including Professor Jolley, when seeing their psychologist.”
The NSW Supreme Court, on October 9, will be asked to rule on whether confidential information can be given to police prosecutors and whether the magistrate properly considered the harm caused by turning over the notes.
Mr Kernaghan said police used to “respect the privacy” between patient and health care provider but were now ordering psychologists and psychiatrists to turn over their confidential notes more often.
He said it was “a gap in the law” that the NSW Supreme Court would need to rule on.