Privacy Policy

Policy Statement

Youth Inc. takes its obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) very seriously. The School collects, holds, uses and discloses types of personal information, and will manage and use personal information collected from any person in a manner compliant with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).  People may access their personal information in some circumstances, and correct it if necessary.  It is also possible to lodge a complaint if a person believes that their information has been wrongly collected or inappropriately handled. A person may request that the School provide them with a copy of this privacy policy in a different form using the contact details set out below and such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances will be taken to ensure this occurs. The School will review and update this privacy policy to take account of new laws and technology, changes to operations and practices and to make sure it remains appropriate to the changing school environment.

Purpose

This Privacy Policy and Procedure outlines how Youth Inc. manages and uses personal information as required by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act). It outlines why information is held, how it is used and how it is protected. It also outlines how personal information can be accessed and corrected, and how complaints can be made.

Collection of Information

The School collects and holds personal information (including sensitive information) about: 

  • All students and their parents/guardians, including applicants and those on the waiting list
  • job applicants
  • staff members
  • contractors and workers from partner agencies
  • volunteers and individuals who are involved with activities associated with the school
  • other people who come into contact with us.

The kinds of personal information the School where applicable may collect and hold include: 

  • names and contact details
  • date of birth
  • gender identification
  • banking details
  • identification information or records, including photographs
  • current and previous employment information
  • Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority (ACARA) data (academic results)
  • a description of characteristics or behaviours
  • and other information reasonably necessary for or directly related to one more of our functions or activities. 

Sensitive information

Some personal information that is collected and held is sensitive information. The kinds of sensitive information that is collected and held includes: 

  • details relating to individuals’ health and medical history, 
  • race or ethnic origin, 
  • religion and nationality
  • details of any screening checks of applying students, staff and volunteers.

Specific information in relation to handling of screening check information

The School’s policy is to gather screening check information before offering anyone a position in the School as a staff member or as a volunteer, and as part of the application process for students. The School understands that the screening check information that is collected from individuals is highly sensitive.  

Because of this the following specific safeguards are in place to handle this information:

  • All Screening Check information is stored separate from other information about that Individual. 
  • A Screening Check Folder is kept showing each application for a position and the details provided by them or about them.  This folder also contains the date that this information needs to be resubmitted and reviewed for each individual.  
  • This Screening Check Folder is stored digitally, with highly restricted access. Only those directly involved in assessing a person’s suitability for a role will be given access to the criminal history information, or Screening Check Folder.

Once a determination has been made about the individual’s suitability to work or volunteer in the role for which they have applied, or the prospective student’s application has been processed, a copy of the actual screening check (Ie Police Check, Working with Children Check) will be retained, and will be securely stored.

How the School collects personal information

The School will generally collect personal information by way of: 

  • forms completed and submitted to us
  • other documents submitted to us such as resumes and tender documents
  • correspondence with us (including e-mail correspondence)
  • face-to-face meetings and interviews
  • telephone calls. 
  • on some occasions information will be collected about parents/guardians from their child and vice versa.

Personal information may also be collected from third parties when reasonably necessary. This may include, but is not limited to collecting personal information about:

  • parents/guardians and students from third parties such as medical professionals or other schools
  • students, employees, prospective employees, contractors or volunteers from police agencies, agencies who complete police checks on our behalf, previous employers and referees. 

How personal information is held

Personal information (including sensitive information) is held on the School’s premises, with some information being held in paper form and some information in electronic form. The School is committed to respecting the confidentiality of such information and the privacy of individuals.

There are steps in place to protect the information held from misuse, interference and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure by use of various methods, including locked storage of paper records and password protected access rights to computerised records.

How personal information is used

General

The School collects, uses and discloses the kinds of information mentioned above for the primary purposes as detailed below, for such other secondary purposes that may be related to the primary purposes; and other purposes for which consent has been obtained.

If a student is under 18 years of age, the School will respect every parent’s/guardian’s right to make decisions concerning their child’s education. Generally, any requests for consent and notices in relation to the personal information of a student under the age of 18 will be referred to the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s). In these situations, consent given by parent(s)/guardian(s) will be treated as consent given on behalf of the student, and notice to parents will act as notice given to the student. 

If a student is over 18 years of age, then they will be communicated with directly and exclusively.

Purposes for collecting personal information

Personal information collected is used for the following primary purposes:

  • to provide schooling and educational services to students
  • to look after students’ educational, social and medical well-being
  • to provide students with a safe learning environment
  • to allow the School to fulfil their duty of care and to satisfy their legal obligations, for example, in relation to child protection legislation (Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017) and to obtain all required insurance(s) in relation to all persons who may be on or about the premises from time to time
  • to draw upon the expertise of particular members of the school community to assist with operations and functions
  • for promotion and marketing of the School
  • to assist with pre-enrolment matters, school transfers and to keep parents/guardians informed about matters related to their child’s schooling through reports, correspondence, newsletters, magazines and other publications
  • to assess and (if successful) to engage job applicants or contractors and to assist with administering the individual’s employment or contract
  • to enable groups to work together and to keep such groups informed about matters concerning them.

Sensitive information

Sensitive information collected is used for the following primary purposes

  • to provide schooling and educational services to students
  • to look after students’ educational, social and medical well-being
  • to provide students with a safe learning environment
  • to satisfy our legal obligations and our duty of care. 

Sensitive information will be used and disclosed only for these purposes unless consent is obtained from the relevant individual, or unless required or permitted by law.

Who the School discloses personal information to

Disclosure Generally

The School may disclose personal information regarding a student to the following kinds of entities for the relevant purposes mentioned above: 

  • anyone that the School has consent to disclose the relevant information to, as per Information Sharing Guidelines.

Information Sharing Guidelines

Please refer to the link for more information:

https://www.dpc.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/45396/Information-Sharing-Guidelines.pdf 

How and individual may obtain access to personal information

Access generally

An individual may obtain access to any personal information (including sensitive information) which the School holds about them by contacting the School using the contact details set out below. When a request is received for such information held by the School, it will endeavour to provide an individual with such personal information as soon as reasonably practicable.

Access by students

The School may, in the absolute discretion of the Principal, grant a student access to personal information (including sensitive information) held by the School about them or allow a student to give or withhold consent to the use of their personal information, independently of their parents if they are under 18. This would normally be done only when the student has reached 18 years of age or if the maturity of the student and/or the student’s personal circumstances so warrants.

How an individual may seek variations and corrects to personal information

The School endeavours to ensure that the personal information (including sensitive information, credit information and credit eligibility information) held is accurate, complete and up to date. An individual may request that the School updates or corrects such information held by contacting the School using the contact details set out below. If required personal information held will be corrected or updated as soon as reasonably practicable after receiving such a request.

How to make a complaint about a breach of privacy rights by the School

If an individual is of the view that the School has breached the APPs, the Privacy Act, or any related privacy code in dealing with their personal information they may make a complaint by writing to the School using the contact details below. Once a complaint has been received, the School will take all steps that it considers reasonably necessary to remedy any actual breach which has arisen as soon as reasonably practicable. Complaints may also be made directly to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by visiting the following website and following the steps: http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints 

Anonymity and Pseudonyms

An individual has the option of not identifying themselves or using a pseudonym when dealing with the School in relation to privacy matters unless the School is required by law or a court/tribunal to deal with individuals who have identified themselves or it is impractical for the School to deal with an individual who has not identified themselves in the circumstances. No student will be able to apply to the School using a pseudonym, but can negotiate with the Principal to use a pseudonym for daily interactions. This will be at the discretion of the Principal, dependant on individual circumstances.