Policies & Procedures

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APPOINTMENTS are a must as Ray has NO walk-in appointments available.  

Athletic Sports Massage Canberra is open: 

Monday and Tuesday from 8:00 A.M. until 7:00 P.M. in summer. 

Wednesday only 8:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M 

Thursday to Sunday 8:00 A.M. until 7:00 P.M. To ensure appointment availability, Ray suggests a regular series of appointments be scheduled to get the day and time you are after.

CANCELLATION POLICY: Please cancel your appointment 24 hours before or pay a $25 re-booking fee to reschedule.  You may call and leave a message to cancel or reschedule your appointment online booking or via text.  

Clients who fail to attend the scheduled appointment time will not be scheduled for future appointments unless they pay in advance. Pre-paid appointments and Gift Certificates will incur a $25 re-booking fee for cancellations with less than 24 hours' notice.  Gift certificates will be forfeited for no-shows. (Think before you book, have you got another appointment you have forgotten about?

LATENESS POLICY: We request that you arrive 5 minutes early for your appointment. If you arrive 5-10 min late for your appointment, the time left will be used to its best advantage and will NOT be extended as Ray has other bookings after yours to think about.  If you arrive 15 minutes or later without calling, you will be considered a NO SHOW and you will be charged and/or shall forfeit any gift certificate or pre-paid bookings. Athletic Sports Massage Canberra will try to contact the client if no answer, Ray will leave a text message and your scheduled time will be released for rebooking. The client can rebook a pre-paid appointment at a later date by paying a rebooking fee of $25. So think before booking.

SICKNESS POLICY: Athletic Sports Massage Canberra recognises that both massage therapists and clients are vulnerable to infections and therefore ask clients to cancel appointments when they are feeling unwell.  If you have any of the following contagious illnesses the massage sessions will be rescheduled: Diarrhoea, Vomiting, Fever, Chicken Pox, Measles, Mumps, Meningitis, hepatitis A, C, D, Conjunctivitis, Rubella, Head Lice, Impetigo, Influenza, Meningococcal Disease, Polio, Ringworm of the body, feet or scalp, Scabies, Thrush, Whooping cough, common cold and covid.

SANITATION AND HYGIENE: Our massage therapy policies on sanitation are that all equipment and linens that come in contact with the clients will be cleansed in an approved method.  

Before and after each massage, the massage therapist's hands and forearms will be washed with soapy water or a disinfecting solution. For any breaks in the skin, the massage therapist will be wearing a glove for protection or depending on the broken skin area he might refuse to massage that area due to infection control.

The client will come to the massage therapy appointment showered to remove body odour as it leaves a bad smile for other clients after you.  The client will inform the massage therapist of any breaks in the skin, and these areas will be avoided.

SCOPE OF PRACTICE: Sports & Remedial to deep tissue massage is intended to be a health-enhancing system that promotes body balance and efficient body function. Massage stimulates the natural restorative processes of the body and mechanically reduces muscle tension.  These methods may not be used to diagnose or treat any specific, preexisting condition without written permission from your physician.

If any situation may arise during the massage session and if the therapist feels you should be evaluated by another professional - it is our intent at In Athletic Sports Massage Canberra and under the massage therapy policies to refer you to your health care physician for a further investigation like a MIR or CT scan extra if we think there is an underlying problem that has not been picked up by a physiotherapist or GP as this has happened many times torn tendon and muscles and more problems.

Massage therapists do not work within the parameters of licensed medical professionals.  Therefore, a massage therapist does not diagnose or prescribe but can refer you back to your GP for further investigation as I said above.

Massage therapy is a maintenance system, and the benefits are cumulative.  It is best to receive a one-hour massage every 1- 4 weeks to reduce the physical stress that builds in the body. Occasional appointments provide temporary symptomatic relief, but the cumulative effects of remedial, sports and deep tissue massage are lost if massage therapy is not used regularly. 

RESPECT OF CLIENTS BOUNDARIES: In this partnership, the client must be honest and open with the massage therapist.  Feedback about the effectiveness part of our work and to give the best treatment within the massage session. Please feel free to share this information with us, as you become aware of it. 

Respect for the client’s boundaries is very important.  To maintain respect for each client and establish professional boundaries the following massage therapy policies apply:

The client may choose to leave on as much clothing as needed for comfort, but saying this if you have lots of clothes then we will not massage as Ray massages on the skin, not through clothes, the massage oil will get on clothes that are left on, but Ray tries his best not to get the oil on your clothes.

The clients will always be modestly draped.  Only the area being massaged with be undraped unless the adult asks not to be covered or doesn't want to wear underwear.  The clients will be kept informed of the area to be massaged.

Children, under the age of seventeen, will not be seen without a parent or guardian present in the therapy room unless parent or guardian consent is given. The therapy room door is never locked.

The client may stop the massage at any time and is free to leave.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND CONVERSATION: The discussion between the massage therapist and the client is confidential. The client may or may not choose to talk during the massage.

We are happy to listen to your conversation and share our professional expertise. 

We may be required to release records under a court order, or to your doctor if they wanted a report and it would cost $45:00 upfront before the report was sent to the GP. 

EXISTING AND NEW MEDICAL CONDITIONS: It is the responsibility of the client to keep the massage therapist informed of any medical treatment currently being taken, and to provide written permission from the physician, chiropractor, physical therapist, etc, that the massage may be continued.

The client must also keep the massage therapist informed of any changes in health conditions.

INFORMED CONSENT: The intake session provides time for the massage therapist to discuss each section of the massage therapy with you and what you are looking for in the massage.

Bookings & Payments: Payment is due at the time of booking to hold your space in the week. Bookings are required through our Athletic Sports Massage Canberra online booking or by text email or call.

You can book your massage sessions up to 14 days in advance and regular clients can book sessions each time they come or make several bookings to make sure they get the day and time they are after. 

Athletic Sports Massage Canberra will NOT accept any person coming without a pre-booked massage session.

Cancellation, Missed Classes & No Shows: As a courtesy to our staff, a day before notice when cancelling a session. It is your responsibility to cancel via our website or text if you booked through by text that you need to cancel. If you booked cancel then, then book and cancel time after time sorry but we will no longer take a booking from you!

STUDIO Etiquette: Athletic Sports Massage Canberra encourage clients to please switch phones to silent or vibrate.

Athletic Sports Massage Canberra is not responsible for broken or lost items that you leave on the floor.