Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Purpose

The Sunshine Coast Grammar School is bound by the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Commonwealth Privacy Act. This statement outlines the privacy policy of the school and describes how the school uses and manages personal information provided to or collected by it. Sunshine Coast Grammar School may, from time to time, review and update this Privacy Policy to take account of new laws and technology, changes to Sunshine Coast Grammar School’s operations and practices and to make sure it remains appropriate to the changing school environment.

 

Scope

The policy applies to School Council members, employers, employees, volunteers, parents/guardians and students, contractors, and people visiting the school site; and describes the type of information the school collects, how the information is handled, how and to whom the information is disclosed, and how the information may be accessed.

References

Exception in Relation to Employee Records:

Under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act), the Australian Privacy Principles do not apply to an employee record held by the employing entity. As a result, this Privacy Policy does not apply to Sunshine Coast Grammar School’s treatment of an employee record, where the treatment is directly related to a current or former employment relationship between Sunshine Coast Grammar School and employee.

What kinds of personal information does the School collect and how does the School collect it?

The type of information Sunshine Coast Grammar School collects and holds includes (but is not limited to) personal information, including health and other sensitive information, about:

Personal Information you provide:

Sunshine Coast Grammar School will generally collect personal information held about an individual by way of forms filled out by parents or students, face-to-face meetings and interviews, emails and telephone calls. On occasions people other than parents and students provide personal information (refer to the next section, Personal information provided by other people).

Personal Information provided by other people:

In some circumstances Sunshine Coast Grammar School may be provided with personal information about an individual from a third party, for example a report provided by a medical professional or a reference from another school.

How will the School use the personal information you provide?

Sunshine Coast Grammar School will use personal information it collects from you for the primary purpose of collection, and for such other secondary purposes that are related to the primary purpose of collection and reasonably expected by you, or to which you have consented.

Students and Parents

In relation to personal information of students and parents, Sunshine Coast Grammar School’s primary purpose of collection is to enable Sunshine Coast Grammar School to provide schooling to students enrolled at the school, exercise its duty of care, and perform necessary associated administrative activities, which will enable students to take part in all the activities of the school. This includes satisfying the needs of parents, the needs of the students and the needs of Sunshine Coast Grammar School throughout the whole period the student is enrolled at the School.

The purposes for which Sunshine Coast Grammar School uses personal information of students and parents include:

In some cases where Sunshine Coast Grammar School requests personal information about a student or parent, if the information requested is not provided, Sunshine Coast Grammar School may not be able to enrol or continue the enrolment of the student or permit the student to take part in a particular activity.

On occasions, information such as academic and sporting achievements, student activities and similar news is published in School newsletters and magazines, on our intranet and on our website. This may include photographs and videos of student activities such as sporting events, school camps and school excursions. The School will obtain permissions annually from the student’s parent or guardian (and from the student if appropriate) if we would like to include such photographs or videos, or other identifying material, in our promotional material or otherwise make this material available to the public such as on the internet.

Job Applicants, Staff Members and Contractors

In relation to personal information of job applicants, staff members and contractors, Sunshine Coast Grammar School’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 Sunshine Coast Grammar School uses personal information of job applicants, staff members and contractors include:

Volunteers

The School also obtains personal information about volunteers who assist Sunshine Coast Grammar School in its functions or conduct associated activities, such as support groups, Parents and Friends Association and Alumni Associations, to enable Sunshine Coast Grammar School and the volunteers to work together.

Marketing and Fundraising

Sunshine Coast Grammar School treats marketing and seeking donations for the future growth and development of the school as an important part of ensuring that Sunshine Coast Grammar School continues to provide a quality learning environment in which both students and staff thrive. Personal information held by Sunshine Coast Grammar School may be disclosed to organisations that assist in the school’s fundraising, for example, the Sunshine Coast Grammar School’s Foundation or Alumni Association.

Who might the School disclose Personal Information to and store your information with?

Sunshine Coast Grammar School may disclose personal information, including sensitive information, held about an individual for educational, legal, administrative, marketing and support purposes. This may include to:

Sending and Storing Information Overseas

Sunshine Coast Grammar School may disclose personal information about an individual to overseas recipients, for instance, to facilitate a school exchange. However, Sunshine Coast Grammar School will not send personal information about an individual outside Australia without:

Sunshine Coast Grammar School may use online or ‘cloud’ service providers to store personal information and to provide services to Sunshine Coast Grammar School that involve the use of personal information, such as services relating to email, instant messaging and education and assessment applications. Some limited personal information may also be provided to these service providers to enable them to authenticate users that access their services. This personal information may be stored in the ‘cloud’ which means that it may reside on a cloud service provider’s server which may be situated outside Australia.

Access and Correction of Personal Information

Under the Privacy Act, an individual has the right to seek and obtain access to any personal information which Sunshine Coast Grammar School holds about them and to advise Sunshine Coast Grammar School of any perceived inaccuracy. There are some exceptions to this right set out in the Act. Students will generally be able to access and update their personal information through their parents, but older students may seek access and correction themselves.

To make a request to access or to update any personal information Sunshine Coast Grammar School holds about you or your child, please contact the School Principal in writing (principal@scgs.qld.edu.au). Sunshine Coast Grammar School may require you to verify your identity and specify what information you require. Sunshine Coast Grammar School may charge a fee to cover the cost of verifying your application and locating, retrieving, reviewing and copying any material requested. If the information sought is extensive, Sunshine Coast Grammar School will advise the likely cost in advance. If we cannot provide you with access to that information, we will provide you with written notice explaining the reasons for refusal.

The School will take reasonable steps to ensure that any personal information is accurate, up to date, complete, relevant and not misleading.

Sensitive Information

In referring to ‘sensitive information’, Sunshine Coast Grammar School means: information relating to a person’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion, trade union or other professional or trade association membership, philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation or practices or criminal record, that is also personal information; health information and biometric information about an individual.

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

Consent and Rights of Access to the Personal Information of Students

Sunshine Coast Grammar School respects every parent’s right to make decisions concerning their child’s education. Generally, Sunshine Coast Grammar School will refer any requests for consent and notices in relation to the personal information of a student to the student’s parents. Sunshine Coast Grammar School will treat consent given by parents as consent given on behalf of the student, and notice to parents will act as notice given to the student.

As mentioned above, parents may seek access to personal information held by Sunshine Coast Grammar School about them or their child by contacting the School Principal. However, there will be occasions when access is denied. Such occasions would include where release of the information would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of others, or where the release may result in a breach of the Sunshine Coast Grammar School’s duty of care to a student.

The School may, at its discretion, on the request of a student grant that student access to information held by Sunshine Coast Grammar School about them, or allow a student to give or withhold consent to the use of their personal information, independently of their parents. This would normally be done only when the maturity of the student and/or the student’s personal circumstances warrant it.

Enquiries and Complaints

If you would like further information about the way Sunshine Coast Grammar School manages the personal information it holds, or wish to make a complaint about Sunshine Coast Grammar School’s breach of the Australian Privacy Principles please complete our Complaints Form . Sunshine Coast Grammar School will investigate any complaint and will notify you of the making of a decision in relation to your complaint as soon as is practicable after it has been made.

Management and Security of Personal Information

Sunshine Coast Grammar School’s staff are required to respect the confidentiality of students’ and parents’ personal information and the privacy of individuals. Sunshine Coast Grammar School has in place steps to protect the personal information it holds from misuse, interference and loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure by use of various methods including locked storage of paper records and password access rights to computerised records.

Data Breaches

It will be deemed that an ‘eligible data breach’ has occurred if:

Serious harm may include serious physical, psychological, emotional, economic and financial harm, as well as serious harm to reputation.

What must the school do in the event of an ‘eligible data breach’?

If Sunshine Coast Grammar School suspects that an eligible data breach has occurred, it will carry out a reasonable and expedient assessment/investigation within 30 days.

If such an assessment/investigation indicates there are reasonable grounds to believe an eligible data breach has occurred, then Sunshine Coast Grammar School will be required to lodge a statement to the Privacy Commissioner (Commissioner). Where practical to do so, the school entity will also notify the affected individuals. If it is not practicable to notify the affected individuals, Sunshine Coast Grammar School will publish a copy of the statement on its website, or publicise it in another manner.

Exception to notification obligation

An exception to the requirement to notify will exist if there is a data breach and immediate remedial action is taken, and as a result of that action:

APPENDIX 1

Standard Collection Notice

—  other schools and teachers at those schools;

—  government departments (including for policy and funding purposes);

— people providing educational, support and health services to the School, including specialist visiting teachers, coaches, volunteers, and counsellors;

—  providers of learning and assessment tools;

— assessment and educational authorities, including the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) and NAPLAN Test Administration Authorities (who will disclose it to the entity that manages the online platform for NAPLAN);

—  people providing administrative and financial services to the School;

—  anyone you authorise the School to disclose information to; and

— anyone to whom the School is required or authorised by law, including child protection laws, to disclose the information.

The School will obtain permissions annually from the student’s parent or guardian (and from the student if appropriate) if we would like to include such photographs or videos, or other identifying material, in our promotional material or otherwise make this material available to the public such as on the internet.

APPENDIX 2

Alumni Association Collection Notice

APPENDIX 3

Employment Collection Notice

(07) 5445 4444.

APPENDIX 4

Contractor/Volunteer Collection Notice