Privacy Policy Philosophy

The College collects personal information, including sensitive information, about students, staff and parents or guardians before and during the course of an individual’s enrolment/employment at the College. The primary purpose of collecting this information is to enable the College to provide schooling for its students and for the College to satisfy legal obligations, particularly the duty of care. The enrolment of a student and the employment of an individual is contingent upon the receipt of such information. Guidelines Commonwealth privacy legislation (Privacy Act 1988, the Privacy Amendment [Enhancing Privacy Protection] Act 2012) regulates the way private sector organisations deal with personal information about individuals. The purpose of the new provisions is to ensure that organisations that hold information about people handle that information responsibly.

 

Students / Parents

Health information about pupils is sensitive information within the terms of the National Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act. We ask parents/guardians to provide medical reports about pupils from time to time.

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The School from time to time discloses personal and sensitive information to others for administrative and educational purposes. This includes to other schools, government departments, Catholic Education Office, Catholic Education Commission, the local Diocese and Parish and other Dioceses, medical practitioners and people providing services to the College, including specialist visiting teachers, sports coaches, volunteers and counsellors.

 

Personal information collected from pupils is regularly disclosed to their parents or guardians. On occasions, information such as academic and sporting achievements, student activities and other news is published in College newsletters, print media and on our website.

 

Parents may seek access to personal information collected about them and their daughter by contacting the College. Students may also seek access to personal information about them. However, there will be occasions when access is denied. Such occasions would include where access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of others, where access may result in a breach of the College’s duty of care to the student, or where pupils have provided information in confidence.

 

The College from time to time engages in fundraising and marketing activities. Information received from parents/guardians may be used to make an appeal to them. On occasion photos of school facilities and students may be used in newsletters, magazines, the College’s website or in newspapers advertising the College and various school events. However we will not disclose personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes without the consent of those concerned.

 

If parents/guardians provide the College with the personal information of others, such as doctors or emergency contacts, we encourage parents/guardians to inform them that they are disclosing that information to the College and why, that they can access that information if they wish, and that the College does not usually disclose the information to third parties.

 

Employees

In relation to personal information of job applicants, staff members and contractors, the College’s primary purpose of collection is to assess and (if successful) to engage the applicant, staff member or contractor, as the case may be.

The purposes for which the College uses personal information of job applicants, staff members and contractors include:

• in administering the individual’s employment or contract, as the case may be; o for insurance purposes;

• seeking funds and marketing for the College;

• to satisfy the College’s legal obligations, for example, in relation to child protection legislation.

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The College also obtains personal information about volunteers who assist the College in its functions or conduct associated activities, to enable the College and the volunteers to work together.

Parents, staff, contractors and other members of the wider College community may from time to time receive fundraising information. School publications, like newsletters and magazines, which include personal information, may be used for marketing purposes.

 

In referring to ‘sensitive information’, the College means: information relating to a person’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion, trade union or other professional or trade association membership, sexual preferences or criminal record, that is also personal information; and health information about an individual.

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Sensitive information will be used and disclosed only for the purpose for which it was provided or a directly related secondary purpose, unless the individual agrees otherwise, or the use or disclosure of the sensitive information is allowed by law.

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The College’s staff are required to respect the confidentiality of all personal information and the privacy of individuals. The College has in place steps to protect the personal information the College holds from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure by use of various methods including locked storage of paper records and pass worded access rights to computerised records.

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Under the Commonwealth Privacy Act, an individual has the right to obtain access to any personal information which the College holds about them and to advise the College of any perceived inaccuracy. There are some exceptions to this right set out in the Act.

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