Privacy Policy

Definition of Personal and Sensitive Information

Under the Privacy Act 1988 and the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012 (s6(1)), personal and sensitive information is defined as follows:

• Personal information – Information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable:
  • (a) whether the information or opinion is true or not;
  • (b) whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.
• Sensitive information – Information or opinion about an individual’s:
  • (a) racial or ethnic origin, or nationality
  • (b) indigenous status
  • (c) languages spoken
  • (d) political opinions or membership of a political association
  • (e) religious beliefs, affiliations, or philosophical beliefs
  • (f) membership of a professional or trade association, or a trade union
  • (g) sexual preferences or practices
  • (h) criminal record
  • (i) health such as one’s disability or long-term impairment status, and dietary requirements
  • (j) genetics (that is not otherwise health information)
  • (k) biometric (used for the purposes of automated biometric verification or biometric identification)
  • (l) biometric templates

General Principles

At Edna Training College, we are committed to:

• Collecting, using, and storing personal and sensitive information in compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements, including the Privacy Act 1988 and the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Provision Requirements) Instrument 2020.
• Collecting personal and sensitive information in accordance with the Australian Vocational Education and Training Management Standard (AVETMISS).
• Ensuring transparency by notifying individuals of data collection purposes at the point of enrolment or as soon as practicable.
• Protecting personal and sensitive information from misuse, interference, and unauthorised access through secure systems and processes.
• Retaining personal information for a period of 30-years, as required by law, and securely disposing of data when it is no longer necessary for business purposes.

Privacy Notice

Clause 7.2 of Part B in the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Provision Requirements) Instrument 2020 specifies that Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) must inform students about the purposes for which their personal information is collected, used, or disclosed. This includes making students aware of the Privacy Notice outlined in Schedule 1 of the National VET Data Policy.

Edna Training College provides a Privacy Notice on our website and in our Student Handbook. Edna Training College also provides a privacy notice at the start of the Enrolment Form so that students and clients are aware of the collection of their personal and sensitive information at the point of enrolment.

In our Privacy Notice, we outline the following information:

• Why we collect personal information;
• How we use the personal information collected;
• Who we are legally obliged to disclose the personal information collected to;
• How we disclose the personal information collected;
• How NCVER and other bodies handle the personal information collected;
• Surveys that students may receive from a government department, an NCVER employee, agent, third-party contractor or another authorised agency; and
• Who can be contacted to request access to the personal information we have collected, how to correct the personal information we retain, how to make a complaint about how the personal information collected has been handled, and to ask questions about the Privacy Notice.

Data Collection Methods

Edna Training College endeavours to notify individuals of the collection of their personal and sensitive information before, or at the time of collection, or as quickly as possible thereafter, such as at enrolment. Notifications are usually made in writing but may be verbal.

Edna Training College uses the following avenues to collect information:

• Student and client personal and sensitive information is collected directly from our students and clients using administrative tools such as enrolment forms, enrolment interview forms, recognition of prior learning application forms, credit transfer forms, complaint forms, appeal forms, payment refund forms, surveys and questionnaires. This information is entered into the Student Management System and the physical forms or documents are scanned into the learner’s folder and stored electronically with any hard copies destroyed responsibly.
• Student and client personal information such as personal contact information may also be collected at the enquiry stage directly from individuals.
• Edna Training College also collects information relating to our performance as an RTO and this information can be collected electronically or in hard copy formats. The responses are then collated, reviewed and analysed (where required), and any hard copies are then destroyed (if applicable).
• Staff personal and sensitive information is collected from individuals when they come in for an interview and upon commencement of their employment or contractual period with Edna Training College.

If Edna Training College should receive any unsolicited personal or sensitive information, it will be treated and managed according to the Australian Privacy Principles.

Management of Personal Information

Any personal and sensitive information collected is stored on servers in Australia. Edna Training College does not retain any personal and sensitive information collected on servers overseas. We take steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure of the information.

Edna Training College have systems and an internal network which is protected from unauthorised access and minimise the risk of unauthorised access. Data transferred over the internet through Edna Training College’s website, online learning platform, and the Student Management System is protected by a Secure Socket Level protocol (SSL). Access to our website, online learning platform and the Student Management System is protected through user log-on and password, and assignment of user access privileges.

All hard copy documents containing personal and sensitive information is to be scanned and saved in the respective folders, the information entered into the Student Management System or the relevant system or register, and the hard copy document shredded and disposed of securely. No personal and sensitive information should be left unsecured or in view of others who are not authorised access.

Edna Training College retains personal information for a period of 30-years when personal information is no longer necessary for our business operations. Where it is lawful to do so, Edna Training College will destroy the information by permanently deleting the relevant electronic files.

Individuals are advised to reach out to us should they have any concerns about the way we manage their personal and sensitive information, as well as about our Privacy Notice. They also have the right to make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) about the handling of their personal information by Edna Training College.

Direct Marketing

Edna Training College respects an individual’s right to not receive any marketing material. We provide an option within our communications for individuals to unsubscribe from receiving any marketing material from us.

We conduct our marketing communications and dissemination of service information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principle 7 – Direct Marketing, the Spam Act 2003, and the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.

It is important to note that it is not Edna Training College’s practice to make any unsolicited calls for the purpose of marketing our products and services.

Google Analytics and Cookies

Google Incorporated provides a web service known as Google Analytics which gives businesses the ability to track and report website traffic, and the tools a business would need to better understand your customers and strategise our future operations.

Cookies, which are packets of data that a computer receives, and then sends back without changing or altering it, are stored in a file located in the web browser. Cookies help our website track our visitors and their activity, and record log-in information.

These cookies are stored on Google’s servers in the United States where they are used to generate reports on website activity. Google may transfer this information to third-parties, if required by law, or for information processing on its behalf.

No personal information is recorded and is only used for website management and improvement purposes. It is possible to disable cookies by changing a web browser’s settings and to opt out of Google Analytics.