Policy Statement

Charter Australia takes the privacy of students and staff very seriously and complies with all legislative requirements. These include the Privacy Act 1988, Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012 and Australian Privacy Principles (2014).

Definitions

Personal information: information or an opinion about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable from the information or opinion. The information or opinion does not have to be true or recorded in a material form.

Scope

This Privacy Policy applies to the collection, storage, use and disclosure of personal information by Charter Australia.  It also sets out information about how Charter Australia may give access to personal information.

Collection

Students

When enrolling into a course of study, Charter Australia will collect personal information such as name, address, contact details, date of birth, citizenship, educational history and prior academic results, work history (if required as a basis of admission), emergency contact details, and credit card details. Additional information may be collected during a course of study and dealings with Charter Australia.

Charter Australia may collect other personal information which may identify racial or ethnic origins (including proficiency in languages other than English), information about health or disability (where this is relevant to accommodating specific needs) and membership of professional or industry associations (where required as a basis of admission or for credit transfer/recognition of prior learning).

Charter Australia may collect government related identifiers, such as a tax file number, passport number, student concession number and Unique Student Identifier (USI), which may be necessary to verify a person’s identity, to confirm eligibility for enrolment or to administer entitlement to financial assistance.

Charter Australia may collect personal information because it is required to do so by laws that require Charter Australia to report to Commonwealth, State and Territory government agencies for planning, evaluative, administrative and funding purposes.

Communications with Charter Australia may be monitored (including emails, telephone) for security and dispute resolution purposes, where it is lawful to do so.

Employees, contractors and staff

When making an enquiry about or applying for a position with Charter Australia, the following information may be collected: name, home address, educational and work history and contact details (including telephone, fax and personal email address).

Information may be collected from third parties such as referees. When providing contact details of referees, consent is being given to Charter Australia to collect personal information from the named referees.

When Charter Australia is proposing to offer an employment position, additional personal information may be collected, such as date of birth, tax file number, emergency contact details, ABN (if relevant), bank account, superannuation information, visa, passport and licence details (if relevant), qualification information, awards, publications, copies of transcripts and details relating to working with children and police checks. For unsuccessful candidates, résumés may be maintained on file for future opportunities, only when a candidate has provided permission to do so.

During employment with Charter Australia other personal information may be collected, including records of work performance, medical certificates, nationality, membership of a professional or industry association, trade union membership, overseas health cover and information concerning any disputes relating to employment.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to employee records held by Charter Australia relating to an employee or former employee of Charter Australia.

Visitors to Charter Australia websites

Charter Australia uses cookies and measurement tools on our websites, as do third parties such as analytics, advertising or advertisement serving partners who may monitor unidentifiable statistics relating to website access and usage. Charter Australia uses and discloses the unidentifiable information collected through the use of cookies and measurement tools in accordance with this Privacy Policy. This includes using the information to report statistics, analyse trends, diagnose problems and improve the quality of Charter Australia’s products and services.

Charter Australia may combine our cookies and information (collected through the cookies and measurement tools) on the Charter Australia websites with other information (including information collected by third parties using their own cookies and measurement tools) to provide better or more relevant services and information.

If an individual does not want information collected through the use of cookies and/or measurement tools, they may be able to delete or reject cookies and/or some of the measurement software features through their browser or the settings section of their mobile or tablet device. Disabling these features may cause some of the functions on the Charter Australia websites to work less effectively.

Charter Australia provides links to external websites, as well as to third party websites that allow interaction and sharing of content including social media buttons such as Facebook share, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+. These linked sites, applications and widgets are not under Charter Australia’s control and Charter Australia does not accept responsibility for the conduct of companies linked to Charter Australia websites, or their collection of information through these third party applications or widgets. Before disclosing information on any other website, or using these applications or widgets users are advised to examine the terms and conditions of using that website and the relevant third party’s data collection practices and privacy policy.

The Internet is not always a secure method of transmitting information. While Charter Australia takes reasonable steps to ensure all information it receives is maintained securely, Charter Australia cannot ensure that communications conducted via the Internet will be secure.

Purpose of collecting and holding personal information

Charter Australia collects and holds personal information for the purpose of providing educational products and services and requests information to manage and administer those products and services.

When Charter Australia collects personal information about individuals who are not students, Charter Australia generally does so for the purposes for which the information was provided. All appropriate personal information will be held by Charter Australia to satisfy record-keeping obligations.

Anonymity

Charter Australia will provide individuals with the option of remaining anonymous or using a pseudonym in their dealings with Charter Australia where it is lawful and practicable (for example, when making an enquiry). Generally is it not practicable or lawful for Charter Australia to deal with individuals anonymously or pseudonymously on an ongoing basis (for example, if the individual wishes to enrol in a course of study).

Security of Information

Charter Australia maintains personal information in paper-based and electronic records and systems. Personal information may be collected in paper-based documents and converted to electronic form for storage (with the paper-based document either being archived or securely destroyed).

Archived records are stored at an external storage facility in Australia and information held in electronic form is generally held on servers controlled by Charter Australia in Australia.

Charter Australia uses physical security, password protection and other measures to ensure that all personal information is protected from misuse, interference and loss; and from unauthorised access, modification and disclosure.

Use and disclosure of personal information

Charter Australia uses and discloses personal information for the purposes disclosed at the time of collection, or otherwise as set out in this Policy. Personal information will not be used or disclosed for any other purposes, unless consent has been given or Charter Australia is authorised or required to do so by law.

Personal information will generally only be used or disclosed as follows:

• To provide the products, services or information requested from Charter Australia (including enrolment, assessment and issuing certificates of completion and testamurs).
• To register and administer events, promotions or competitions.
• To verify personal information details upon request from third parties, such as completion of courses, a request from a potential employer verifying a qualification and further enrolment into another institution.
• To assist us to make Charter websites, services and products more informative to you.
• For direct marketing of products or services and to keep you informed of new developments we believe may be of interest to you. If we contact you in this way without obtaining your prior consent, we will provide you with the opportunity to decline any further marketing communications.
• To comply with Charter Australia’s legal and regulatory obligations, including disclosure and reporting to Commonwealth, State and Territory government agencies for planning, evaluative, administrative and funding purposes. This may include:
  • disclosure and reporting to Commonwealth and State government agencies (including State Training Authorities) for the purpose of administrating entitlements to financial assistance under Commonwealth and State government programs for supporting students, such as VET FEE-HELP
  • disclosure to government agencies responsible for administrating and regulating education and training providers in Australia, such Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), or Tuition Assurance Scheme (TAS).
• To provide information to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research Ltd (NCVER) – see the ‘Privacy Notice for Students’ section below for more information.
• To assist Charter Australia to make its sites, service and products more accessible and valuable to students.
• To perform various administrative or management functions including administering billing and debt recovery; training of staff and contractors and managing their work performance and career progression, quality assurance and evaluation; maintenance and testing of information technology systems; obtaining advice from consultants and professional advisers; management of legal liabilities and claims (including liaising with legal representatives and insurers).

Charter has a legal obligation to disclose your personal information if it is required by law to do so. Information provided by International students to Charter may be made available to Commonwealth and State agencies and the Fund Manager of ESOS Assurance funds, pursuant to obligations under the ESOS Legislative Framework.

You can access your personal information held by Charter by contacting the Administration on (02) 9955 5881. We will provide you with access unless we are legally authorised to refuse your request. We reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee for providing such information. If you wish to change or remove any personal information, which is incomplete, inaccurate, or out of date, please contact the Administration team.

Privacy Notice for Students

Under the Data Provision Requirements 2012, Charter Australia is required to collect personal information about you and to disclose that personal information to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research Ltd (NCVER).

Your personal information (including the personal information contained on this enrolment form), may be used or disclosed by Charter Australia for statistical, administrative, regulatory and research purposes. Charter Australia may disclose your personal information for these purposes to:

• Commonwealth and State or Territory government departments and authorised agencies; and
• NCVER.

Personal information that has been disclosed to NCVER may be used or disclosed by NCVER for the following purposes:

• populating authenticated VET transcripts;
• facilitating statistics and research relating to education, including surveys and data linkage;
• pre-populating RTO student enrolment forms;
• understanding how the VET market operates, for policy, workforce planning and consumer information; and
• administering VET, including program administration, regulation, monitoring and evaluation.

You may receive a student survey which may be administered by a government department or NCVER employee, agent or third party contractor or other authorised agencies. Please note you may opt out of the survey at the time of being contacted.

NCVER will collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the National VET Data Policy and all NCVER policies and protocols (including those published on NCVER‘s website at www.ncver.edu.au).

For more information about NCVER‘s Privacy Policy go to https://www.ncver.edu.au/privacy.

Use of Photos, Audio and Video

Charter Australia may take photos, audio and video in and around the college to use for learning or marketing purposes. Your image, voice or video may appear on Charter Australia’s website, social media channels, or college publications.

If you do not give permission for your photo, voice or video to be published on Charter Australia’s website, social media channels or college publications, you must submit the Photo Opt-Out Form. It is then your responsibility to notify personnel that you have submitted the Photo Opt-Out Form.

If you agree for your image, voice or video to appear on Charter Australia’s website, social media channels, or college publications, then you do not need to do anything.

Please note that photos, audio and video taken in public spaces and/or at public events do not require authorisation for publication.

Direct Marketing

Charter Australia uses and discloses the personal information it collects for direct marketing purposes. Individuals may contact Charter Australia to request not to receive direct marketing communications. Direct marketing may include providing individuals with information regarding products, services and new developments. If an individual does not wish to receive marketing material, please note Charter Australia will still contact them in relation to the ongoing relationship. For example, Charter Australia will still send individuals invoices and information that are relevant to their course of study.

Disclosure of information to overseas recipients

Charter Australia does not typically or routinely disclose personal information to overseas recipients. Unless consent has been given, or an exception under the Australian Privacy Principles applies, Charter Australia will only disclose personal information to overseas recipients where reasonable steps have been taken to ensure the overseas recipient does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles in relation to your personal information. In circumstances where information is disclosed to overseas recipients, those recipients are likely to be located in countries in the regions in which Charter Australia operates.

Access and Correction of Personal Information

For simple enquiries regarding personal information (such as confirming current contact details or confirming results) please contact the relevant Student Support Officer.

To request access to personal information, please contact Charter Australia’s Student Support Officer at support@charter.edu.au. In limited circumstances, access to personal information may be declined in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles.

Charter Australia endeavours to keep all personal information accurate, up-to-date and complete; however, if information held by Charter Australia is considered to be inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading, a request can be made for a correction of the information. Please contact Charter Australia’s Student Support Officer at support@charter.edu.au. After receiving such a request, Charter Australia will take reasonable steps to correct the information.

A request to remove or delete personal information may not be possible to comply with where the personal information must be retained by Charter Australia for a period specified by applicable legislative and regulatory requirements.

Charter Australia may refuse a request to access, correct or delete personal information in certain circumstances. In such instances, Charter Australia will provide a reason for the decision.

Enquiries and Complaints

All privacy enquiries and complaints should be directed in writing to the Student Support Officer using the Request for Access to Personal Information form. Charter Australia will respond to a complaint within a reasonable period of time. The contact details for Charter Australia are:

Student Support Officer

Charter Australia

Level 3, 53 Walker Street

North Sydney NSW 3060

support@charter.edu.au 

If Charter Australia’s response to a complaint is unsatisfactory or it is believed that Charter Australia may have breached the Australian Privacy Principles or the Privacy Act, a complaint can be made to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner can be contacted by telephone on 1300 363 992. Full contact details for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner can be found online at www.oaic.gov.au.