Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy: Your Privacy is Important
This statement outlines Emanuel School’s policy on how Emanuel School uses and manages personal information provided to, and collected by, it.
Emanuel School is bound by the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the School is also bound by the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW) (Health Records Act), or equivalent legislation in other States/Territories (e.g. Victorian Health Records Act 2001) in relation to health records held by the Emanuel School.
Emanuel School may, from time to time, review and update this Privacy Policy to account for new laws and new technology, changes to the School’s operations and practices, and to make sure this Privacy Policy remains appropriate to the changing school environment.
What kind of personal information does the School collect and how does the school collect it?
The type of information the School collects and holds includes (but is not limited to) personal information, including sensitive information, about:
- students and parents and/or guardians (‘Parents’) before, during and after the course of a student’s enrolment at the School;
- job applicants, staff members, volunteers and contractors; and
- other people who come into contact with the School.
Personal Information you provide: Emanuel School will generally collect personal information held about an individual from information submitted 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.
Personal Information provided by other people: In some circumstances Emanuel 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.
Exception in relation to employee records: Under the Privacy Act and Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW), the Australian Privacy Principles and Health Privacy Principles do not apply to an employee record. As a result, this Privacy Policy does not apply to the School’s treatment of an employee record, where the treatment is directly related to a current or former employment relationship between Emanuel School and an employee.
How will the School use the personal information provided?
The type of information Emanuel School collects and holds includes (but is not limited to) personal information, including health, medical and other sensitive information, about:
- students and parents and/or carers (‘parents’) before, during and after the course of a student’s enrolment at the School;
- job applicants, staff members, volunteers and contractors; and
- other people who come into contact with the School.
Personal Information you provide: Emanuel School will generally collect personal information held about an individual from information submitted 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.
Personal Information provided by other people: In some circumstances Emanuel 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.
Exception in relation to employee records: Under the Privacy Act and Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW), the Australian Privacy Principles and Health Privacy Principles do not apply to an employee record. As a result, this Privacy Policy does not apply to the School’s treatment of an employee record, where the treatment is directly related to a current or former employment relationship between Emanuel School and an employee.
To whom might the School disclose personal information?
Emanuel School may disclose personal information, including sensitive information, held about an individual to:
- another school;
- government departments;
- medical practitioners;
- people providing services to the School, including specialist visiting teachers, counsellors and sports coaches;
- recipients of School publications, such as newsletters and magazines;
- parents;
- educational subscription and support services such as online teaching and learning sites;
- anyone you authorise Emanuel School to disclose information to; and
- anyone to whom we are required to disclose the information by law.
Sending and storing information overseas: Emanuel School may disclose personal information about an individual to overseas recipients, for instance, to facilitate a school exchange. However, Emanuel School will not send personal information about an individual outside Australia without:
- obtaining the consent of the individual (in some cases this consent will be implied); or
- complying with the Australian Privacy Principles or other applicable privacy legislation.
Emanuel School may also store personal information in the ‘cloud’ which may mean that it resides on servers which are situated outside Australia.
Sending information overseas:
The School will not send personal information about an individual outside Australia without:
- obtaining the consent of the individual (in some cases consent is implied);or
- otherwise complying with the National Privacy Principles.
How does the School treat sensitive information?
In referring to ‘sensitive information’, Emanuel 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 allowed by law. There will be times when sharing health information is required to ensure the welfare of individuals and obligations of duty of care are met.
Management and security of personal information
The School’s staff are required to respect the confidentiality of students’ and parents’ personal information and the privacy of individuals. Emanuel School has in place steps to protect the personal information Emanuel School holds from misuse, interference and loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure by use of various methods including locked storage of paper records, password access rights and differential access right to computerised records.
Access and correction of personal information
Under the Commonwealth Privacy Act and the Health Records Act, an individual has the right to obtain access to any personal information which Emanuel School holds about them and to advise Emanuel School of any perceived inaccuracy. Students will generally be able to access and update their personal information through their parents. To update any personal information Emanuel School holds about you or your child, please use your personal login to My Portal to confirm or request changes to our records.
To make a request to access any personal information Emanuel School holds about you or your child contact our Principal, in writing. Emanuel School may require you to verify your identity and specify what information you require. Emanuel 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, Emanuel 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.
Consent and rights of access to the personal information of students
Emanuel School respects every parent’s right to make decisions concerning their child’s education. Generally, Emanuel School will refer any requests for consent and notices in relation to the personal information of a student to the student’s parents. Emanuel 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 Emanuel School about them or their child by contacting the 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 School’s duty of care to the student. Emanuel School may, at its discretion, on the request of a student grant that student access to information held by Emanuel 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 Emanuel School manages the personal information it holds, or wish to complain about an alleged breach of the Australian Privacy Principles please contact the Principal. Emanuel School will investigate any complaint and will notify you in relation to your complaint as soon as is practicable after the complaint has been made.
Data breaches
Under the Privacy Act, there are mandatory notification obligations for data breaches that are likely to result in serious harm (eligible data breaches). The Privacy Officer must be notified as soon as a potential data breach is discovered. A data breach occurs where personal information about individuals is accessed by or disclosed to third parties who should not be in receipt of that information, or where information is lost in circumstances where that is likely to occur. This procedure, and Emanuel School’s external Privacy Policy, set out the circumstances in which personal information may be provided to third parties. If the transfer of information is not in accordance with these policies, Emanuel School must act immediately to determine whether the data breach is an eligible breach requiring action (including seeking legal advice where necessary).
Individuals must notify the Privacy Officer if they suspect a data breach. If there are reasonable grounds for this suspicion, Emanuel School must promptly carry out an assessment. Then, if the assessment shows there are reasonable grounds to believe that there has been an eligible data breach, Emanuel School must take any action which may remedy the data breach. If such action is unavailable or unsuccessful, Emanuel School must take the following steps:
- Notify each of the individuals to whom the relevant information related, or at least those who are at risk
- Prepare a statement for the Commissioner and the public about the eligible data breach
- Comply with any directions given by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Where there has been any reasonable suspicion or belief of a data breach, Emanuel School will review its privacy policy and information storing systems.
Security Policy
When purchasing from Emanuel School, financial details are passed through a secure server using the latest encryption technology as is the industry standard. If there are any questions regarding our security policy, please contact our customer support centre by email.
Online payments and Refund Policy
All online payments are processed in Australian dollars.
We do not normally give refunds if a parent simply change their mind or makes a wrong decision. A request for refund can be submitted to the accounts team for review. All refund requests must be made in writing and submitted by email.