British Columbia therapy clinic regulations for private pediatric clinics

British Columbia therapy clinic regulations at a glance

This summary covers British Columbia only, and each cell links to the page it came from. The sections below give the detail, the exceptions and the points where two official sources word a rule differently. Where an official page did not address a question, this page says “not found on the official pages we read”, which is not the same as saying no rule exists.

Health privacy: PIPA, records access and breach reporting

PIPA applies to private-sector organizations. The Commissioner’s office (OIPC) gives “healthcare providers running their own practices” as an example [BC-1]. PIPA has no custodian or trustee role. The organization is responsible for personal information under its control, including information that is not in its custody (s. 4(2)), and it must designate one or more individuals responsible for compliance and make each position title and contact point public (s. 4(3) and (5)) [BC-2]. A clinic that works under contract for a public body should check whether the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act applies to that work instead [BC-1].

PIPA also requires an organization to develop and follow privacy policies and a complaints process (s. 5) and to make reasonable security arrangements (s. 34). It must keep personal information it used to make a decision about an individual for at least one year, and destroy documents once their purpose and any legal or business need have ended (s. 35) [BC-2]. An access request is answered within 30 days (s. 29), with an extension of up to 30 more days in listed cases (s. 31). The CHCPBC Records standard sets 30 business days for giving a patient access to a copy of the record (s. 5.1) [BC-3]. The two periods are worded differently, so both pages are linked for a side-by-side read.

PIPA contains no breach-notification provision. The Commissioner’s breach page says the Commissioner continues to call on government to amend PIPA to require organizations to report breaches to the OIPC and to affected individuals. In the meantime: “we strongly recommend that breaches be reported to our office as a best practice.” [BC-4] The OIPC quick reference for small and medium-sized businesses lists four steps: containment, risk assessment, notification and reporting, and prevention [BC-5]. For licensees, the CHCPBC Privacy and Confidentiality standard requires prompt containment and a breach report made in a manner that complies with privacy legislation (s. 7) [BC-6].

On federal law, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada lists British Columbia’s PIPA as substantially similar to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). An organization subject to PIPA is generally exempt from PIPEDA for collection, use or disclosure within the province, while PIPEDA still applies to information that crosses provincial or national borders [BC-7] [BC-8].

Professional regulators: one college, one rulebook since 1 April 2026

CHCPBC was created on 28 June 2024 by the amalgamation of the former colleges for occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists and speech and hearing health professionals, among others [BC-9]. It now regulates nine professions, including speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy and psychology. On 1 April 2026 the HPOA replaced the Health Professions Act, and new CHCPBC bylaws and a harmonized set of Ethics and Practice Standards took effect the same day [BC-10] [BC-11]. The legacy college standards were retired on that date but still apply to complaints about events before it [BC-11].

The HPOA created an independent oversight office, an independent discipline process and a public registry of disciplinary actions, and added a legal duty to report discrimination. The Ministry’s page says no health occupations are designated under the HPOA yet, and every profession designated under the old Act stays designated [BC-12]. Under the HPOA, an individual who contravenes the section on unauthorized use of titles (s. 30) or on false or misleading information (s. 34) commits an offence liable to a fine of up to $25,000, up to six months in jail, or both (ss. 514(1) and 518(1)(a)) [BC-13].

A practice standard lists what a licensee must do, and several of them touch daily clinic operations: Records (retention and access), Consent, Supervision, Marketing, Advertising and Promotion, and Professional Performance and Responsibility. The Professional Performance standard sets the billing rules for licensees, such as charging clear and reasonable fees and not mischaracterizing services on an invoice or receipt [BC-14]. We did not find a CHCPBC rule on block fees, prepaid packages, cancellation fees or a prescribed receipt layout on the official pages we read.

CHCPBC record retention: 16 years, and to about age 35 for a child

The CHCPBC Records standard says a licensee must keep a complete record, or make sure a system keeps it, for at least 16 years from the date of the last encounter with the patient, or 16 years from the date the patient reaches the age of majority, whichever is later (s. 6.1) [BC-3]. The age of majority in British Columbia is 19. CHCPBC’s practice advisors put the result for a child plainly: for minors, records must be kept until the patient turns 35 (16 years after the patient turns 19) [BC-15].

The standard adds several related duties. Records are disposed of securely after the retention period (s. 6.2). A licensee needs a succession plan in case they stop practising, move or become incapable of practising (s. 7.2). Custody of records can pass to another regulated professional, a health organization or a records management service (s. 7.3), with advance written notice to current patients where possible (s. 7.4). A licensee who relocates records tells CHCPBC the new location within 30 business days (s. 7.6) [BC-3]. Where a third-party storage service holds records, it must meet the privacy, security, access and retention requirements (s. 9.1) [BC-3].

The record must show the licensee’s identity and designation, consent, assessments and interventions, outcomes, communications, and the date and type of service, the amount charged, and the method and date of payment (s. 1.1). Each record needs a unique identifier, entries made at the time or promptly afterwards, and either dated amendments or an audit trail (ss. 1.3 and 2) [BC-3]. A clinic therefore needs a date of birth and the date of the last encounter to work out when a child’s file may be destroyed.

PIPA is the general privacy law and sets only a one-year minimum for information used to make a decision about a person (s. 35). For CHCPBC licensees the professional 16-year rule is the longer period [BC-2] [BC-3]. Other provinces set very different periods; the retention comparison page lines them up.

Working with children: reporting, consent and criminal record checks

Reporting is a duty for everyone. A person who has reason to believe a child needs protection must promptly report it to a director or a person a director designates (Child, Family and Community Service Act, s. 14(1)). The duty applies even when the information is confidential or privileged, except solicitor-client privilege (s. 14(2)). No damages action lies against a person for reporting unless they knowingly reported false information (s. 14(5)), and failing to report is an offence with a fine of up to $10,000, up to six months in jail, or both (ss. 14(3) and (6)) [BC-16]. A child here is a person under 19. The Ministry page gives Provincial Centralized Screening as 1-800-663-9122 at any time, says to call 9-1-1 or local police first if a child is in immediate danger, and says you do not need to be certain to report [BC-17].

On consent, the Infants Act lets a minor consent to health care when the provider has explained the nature, consequences, benefits and risks, is satisfied the minor understands them, and has made reasonable efforts to decide the care is in the minor’s best interests (s. 17); in that case parental consent is not needed [BC-18]. The CHCPBC Consent standard follows the same approach: a minor is capable when their development lets them fully appreciate the nature and consequences of the decision, the licensee seeks the minor’s consent when the minor is capable, and otherwise the parent or legal guardian consents (ss. 6.1 to 6.3) [BC-19]. For separated families, the Family Law Act generally makes each parent a guardian after separation unless an agreement or order says otherwise, but a parent who never resided with the child is a guardian only in the circumstances listed in s. 39(3). Parental responsibilities belong to guardians (s. 40(1)) and include consent to health-related treatments, subject to Infants Act s. 17, and requesting health information from third parties (s. 41(f) and (j)) [BC-20]. The pages we read do not set out a guardian’s access to a child’s clinic record; ask the OIPC or counsel.

No statute we read requires every private clinic to run criminal record checks. The Criminal Records Review Act (CRRA) applies to listed “employers”, and the Ministry’s list includes organizations or people who receive annual provincial funding and governing bodies under the Health Professions Act or the Social Workers Act, with CHCPBC among the governing bodies it names [BC-21]. A covered employer needs a check or verification on hire (ss. 8 and 9), a recheck at least every five years (s. 10), and action on a finding of risk (s. 11). “Employee” includes an independent contractor who has an agreement with the employer (s. 1) [BC-22]. A covered employer registers an organization account with the Criminal Records Review Program and screens applicants online [BC-23]. If the CRRA does not apply, an applicant can get a check through local police or the RCMP [BC-21]. Whether a purely private fee-for-service clinic is a covered employer is not answered on the pages we read; confirm with the Program.

Regulators and funders add their own checks. CHCPBC licensees submit a Criminal Record Check Authorization when renewing if their last one was submitted more than four years before (Bylaw 6.49(a)(iii)) [BC-24]. Professionals listed on the Registry of Autism Service Providers (RASP) must complete a check every five years, and the Province says a provider that misses the deadline is removed from the registry, which stops payments [BC-25].

Running the clinic as a business and employer

Business structure. BC Registries handles name requests, registering a business or incorporating, and filing documents and updating records [BC-26]. Health profession corporation permits are open only to full licensees in optometry and physical therapy, and the corporations page names no other profession as eligible [BC-27]. CHCPBC approves health profession corporation names, and permits expire every 31 March [BC-27]. The page does not say whether a lay owner may employ licensees; ask CHCPBC Practice Support or counsel.

Insurance. A CHCPBC licensee must hold professional liability protection or insurance of at least $2,000,000 per claim or occurrence and, if cover lapses, must stop providing health services and notify the Registrar within seven days (Bylaws 9.12 and 9.13) [BC-24].

Workers’ compensation. WorkSafeBC says all employers must have coverage unless exempt, and an employer is a person or firm that hires workers or unregistered subcontractors [BC-28]. In an incorporated company, shareholders, directors and officers who are actively involved are generally workers [BC-29]. A contractor is the clinic’s worker if they do not operate as an independent business, for example when they work regular hours on an ongoing basis; a contractor with multiple clients is an example of an independent business. WorkSafeBC advises getting a clearance letter before and after hiring a contractor, because the clinic can be liable for premiums if a registered contractor does not pay [BC-30].

Employment standards and safety. The Employment Standards Act covers employees and not independent contractors, and calling someone a contractor does not decide the question; the Ministry’s guide asks “whose business is it?” and lists control, own clients, profit or loss, integration and an ongoing relationship [BC-31] [BC-32]. Standard hours are eight a day and 40 a week, and the minimum wage is $18.25 an hour from 1 June 2026 [BC-31]. On safety, WorkSafeBC requires a joint committee at 20 or more workers and a worker health and safety representative at more than 9 but fewer than 20 workers [BC-33], and sets out employer duties on bullying and harassment [BC-34].

Accessibility. The Accessible British Columbia Act applies to prescribed public-sector organizations, and the Province says over 750 are named in the regulation; we found no duty for private businesses on that page [BC-35]. We found no provincial health-facility licence for private therapy clinics on the official pages we read.

BC autism funding ending 31 March 2027, and what replaces it

The Province’s Children and Youth with Support Needs page says the Autism Funding Program (AFP) ends on 31 March 2027. All approved services must be delivered by that date, Direct Payment families file the Accountant Confirmation Form and supporting documents by 31 May 2027, and the final deadline to submit invoices and reimbursement requests for eligible services and purchases made on or before 31 March 2027 is 30 September 2027 [BC-36]. One sentence on the same page says Autism Funding will end on 1 April 2027, so re-check the page near the date [BC-36]. Our reading of the two rules together: the six-month invoice rule still applies, so an invoice for a service in March 2027 should not wait for the September deadline [BC-37].

The replacement is the BC Children and Youth Disability Benefit for children and youth aged 0 to 19. Families already receiving support move in phases: some Autism Funding families began moving in July 2026, full implementation for all current families begins in April 2027, and new families apply directly after 1 April 2027. A separate Disability Supplement is planned to start with payments in July 2027 [BC-36] [BC-38]. Under the invoice pathway a family completes a Request for Services form, the Ministry issues an authorization, and the provider invoices the Disability Benefit Program directly. The payments page says the invoice pathway is the only supported payment option at this time [BC-39].

Provider rules differ between the two programs. For the AFP, a parent and provider complete a Request to Pay each funding period; the approval issues a billing number that goes on every invoice and changes each period, and services should not start before it arrives. Invoices are monthly, within six months of the service date, and cannot include future-dated services or missed appointments. The invoice must show the provider’s name, address and phone, the payee if different, the billing number, an invoice number of at least four characters, the child’s first and last name, the date, type, amount and rate of service, and the total. Authorized invoices are paid within 30 business days of receipt [BC-37]. For the Disability Benefit, the operational policy says services must be delivered by a person at least 19 years old, invoices are accepted no more than once a month per provider, future-dated services and invoices for missed or cancelled appointments are not payable, invoices older than six months are not paid, and the Ministry will endeavour to pay within 30 business days [BC-40].

The RASP is a list of professionals with the education and experience to offer early intervention to children under six: behaviour consultants (categories A and B), speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists and physical therapists. Families using under-6 Autism Funding must choose RASP providers [BC-37]. The Province says RASP providers operate independently, that listing is not an endorsement, and that the parent or guardian who signs the funding agreement is responsible for hiring them [BC-41]. The February 2026 FAQ says the RASP continues through March 2027 and that families can keep paying private providers [BC-42].

ICBC direct billing is separate. ICBC’s Physiotherapy Program Guide, effective 27 September 2026, says ICBC does not pay for no-show appointments or late cancellations and that a firm in the Recovery Network must show commercial general liability insurance of at least $2,000,000, WorkSafeBC registration unless it is a sole proprietor with no employees or unregistered subcontractors, and a valid business licence [BC-43]. ICBC’s invoicing page says Recovery Network members submit invoices through its Health Care Provider Portal and other providers use a manual process [BC-44].

TherapyCRM’s funding tracking is built around the Ontario Autism Program; it does not support British Columbia’s Autism Funding Program, the BC Children and Youth Disability Benefit or the Registry of Autism Service Providers.

British Columbia dates to watch

Every date below is absolute and links to the official page that states it. Re-read the page in the week before a date arrives, because dates and wording on government pages change.

British Columbia official sources directory

These pages are the ones a clinic owner is least likely to find from the main government or college sites. Each line says what the page holds. The CHCPBC links were all working on 2026-10-08; its redesigned site launches on 19 October 2026.

How TherapyCRM fits

TherapyCRM is practice management software with a clinical record, for English-language clinics in Canada outside Quebec. It stores a date of birth on active client records and records appointment dates, which a clinic needs when it works out how long to keep a child’s file. It also has an audit log of activity on practice records that staff with the audit-log permission can review. These facts do not decide which rule applies to a clinic, and nothing in the software replaces advice from your regulators, the OIPC or counsel. TherapyCRM holds no privacy or security certification.

TherapyCRM’s funding tracking is built around the Ontario Autism Program; it does not support British Columbia’s Autism Funding Program, the BC Children and Youth Disability Benefit or the Registry of Autism Service Providers. If you want to see a practice workflow with fictional data, you can request a demo.

Frequently asked questions