HikmahWay Institute Privacy Policy

Issued 28^th May 2010

Privacy Policy

HikmahWay acknowledges and respects the privacy of individuals. We advise that much of the information that you may have provided, or may be asked to provide, to us is ‘personal information’ as defined by the Commonwealth Privacy Act. As a general rule, personal information is not released to other organisations, except in response to a legal requirement such as a subpoena, and information regarding an individual is not disclosed to a third party without the individual’s consent. This information is normally collected for the purposes of processing your application, registration or enquiry for an HikmahWay course. It may be used for keeping you informed of upcoming events and assisting us in improving and marketing our services to you. The provision of this information is voluntary but if information is not provided, HikmahWay may be unable to process your details for the purpose for which they were intended. You have a right of access to, and alteration of personal information concerning yourself in accordance with Government Legislation.

Cookies

HikmahWay web systems have extensive security features and may temporarily install small programs, called “cookies” on your computer. These cookies communicate to servers to authenticate access to our secure system and student portals. The cookies do not collect any information about you, or how you are using your computer and only serve to ensure that you have identified yourself with the correct username and password. When you close your browsers or log off our systems, the cookies are automatically removed from your system.

Your privacy is important

This statement outlines the Institute’s policy on how the Institute uses and manages personal information provided to or collected by it.

The Institute is bound by the National Privacy Principles contained in the Commonwealth Privacy Act. The Institute may, from time to time, review and update this Privacy Policy to take account of new laws and technology, changes to Institutes’ operations and practices and to make sure it remains appropriate to the current environment.ns

What kind of personal information does the Institute collect and how does the Institute collect it?

The type of information the Institute 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 Institute

Job applicants, staff members, volunteers and contractors; and

Other people who come into contact with the Institute.

Personal Information you provide: The Institute 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, and telephone calls. On occasions, people other than Parents and students provide personal information.

Personal Information provided by other people: In some circumstances the Institute 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/Institute.

Exception in relation to employee records: Under the privacy Act, the National Privacy Principles do not apply to an employee record. As a result, this Privacy Policy does not apply to the Institute’s treatment of an employee record, where the treatment is directly related to a current or former employment relationship between the Institute and employee.

How will the Institute use the personal information you provide?

The Institute 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, or to which you have consented.

Students and Parents: In relation to personal information of students and Parents, the Institute’s primary purpose of collection is to enable the Institute to provide schooling for the student. This includes satisfying both the needs of Parents and the needs of the student throughout the whole period the student is enrolled at the Institute.

The purposes for which the Institute uses personal information of students and Parents include:

- To keep Parents informed about matters related to their child’s schooling, through correspondence, newsletters and magazines

- Day to day administration

- Looking after students’ educational, social and medical well being;

- Seeking donations and marketing for the Institute

- To satisfy the Institute’s legal obligations and allow the Institute to discharge its duty of care.

In some cases, where the Institute requests personal information about a student or Parent, if the information requested is not obtained, the Institute may not be able to enrol or continue the enrolment of the student.

Job applicants, staff members and contractors: In relation to personal information of job applicants, staff members and contractors, the Institute’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 the Institute uses personal information of job applicants, staff members and contractors include:

In administering the individual’s employment or contract, as the case may be:

- For insurance purposes

- Seeking funds and marketing for the Institute

- To satisfy the Institute’s legal obligations, for example, in relation to child protection legislation.

Volunteers: The Institute also obtains personal information about volunteers who assist the Institute in its functions or conduct associated activities, such as (alumni associations), to enable the Institute and the volunteers to work together.

Marketing and fundraising: The Institute treats marketing and fundraising for the future growth and development of the Institute as an important part of ensuring that the Institute continues to be a quality learning environment in which both students and staff thrive. Personal information held by the Institute may be disclosed to an organisation that assists in the Institute’s fundraising, for example, the Institute’s Foundation or alumni organisation.

Parents, staff contractors and other members of the wider Institute community may from time to time receive fundraising information. Institute publications, like newsletters and magazines, which include personal information, may be used for marketing purposes.

Who might the Institute disclose personal information to?

The Institute may disclose personal information, including sensitive information, held about an individual to:

- Another school

- Government departments

- Medical practitioners

- People providing services to the Institute, including specialist visiting teachers and sports coaches

- Recipients of Institute publications, like newsletters and magazines

- Parents; and

- Anyone you authorise the Institute to disclose information to.

Sending information overseas: The Institute 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

- Otherwise complying with the National Privacy Principles.

How does the Institute treat sensitive information?

In referring to ‘sensitive information’, the Institute means: information relating to a person’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion, trade union or other professional or trade association membership, sexual preferences or criminal record, that is also personal information; and health 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 allowed by law.

Management and security of personal information

The Institute’s staff is required to respect the confidentiality of students’ and Parents’ personal information and the privacy of the individuals.

The Institute has in place steps to protect the personal information the Institute holds from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure by way of various methods including locked storage of paper records and password protected access rights to computerised records.

Updating personal information

The Institute endeavours to ensure that the personal information it holds is accurate, complete and up-to-date. A person may seek to update their personal information held by the Institute by contacting the Registrar of the Institute at any time.

The National Privacy Principles require the Institute not to store personal information longer than necessary. You have the right to check what personal information the Institute holds about you.

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

To make a request to access any information the Institute holds about you or your child, please contact the Administrator in writing.

The Institute may require you to verify your identity and specify what information you require. The Institute 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, the Institute will advise the likely cost in advance.

Consent and rights of access to the personal information of students The Institute respects every Parent’s right to make decisions concerning their child’s education.

Generally, the Institute will refer any requests for consent and notices in relation to the personal information of a student to the student’s Parents. The Institute 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.

Parents may seek access to personal information held by the Institute about them or their child by contacting the Administrator in writing. 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 Institute’s duty of care to the  student.

The Institute may, at its discretion, on the request of a student grant that student access to information held by the Institute 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 so warranted.

Enquiries

If you would like further information about the way the Institute manages the personal information it holds, please contact the Director of Institute.