Privacy & Confidentiality

PURPOSE

To advise clients of their rights in regards to the privacy and information held about them held by CMC - Training at Work.
To ensure that all records held about a clients are kept secure and confidential.

POLICY

CMC - Training at Work's privacy policy is guided by the National Principles for the Fair Handling of Personal Information - HERE, which are summarised as follows:

only collect information that is necessary;
be fair in the way we collect information;
tell you who we are and what we intend to do with information;
where practicable, we will collect private information directly;
if we collect information about you from somewhere else we will, wherever possible, make sure you know we have done this;
only use or disclose information in ways that are consistent with your expectations or are required in your best interest;
ensure that information is accurate when we collect or use it;
keep information about you secure;
be open with you about what kinds of personal information we hold and correct it if it is wrong;
limit our use of identifiers that government agencies have assigned to you;
if we can (and you want to) we will deal with you anonymously;
take steps to protect your privacy if we are required by contract to send personal information to another agency;
limit the collection of highly sensitive information about you; and
provide you with access to the personal information we hold about you so that you can assist with its accuracy.

What sort of information is held?

Stored information about students is collected on:

Student Sign up forms
Enrolment forms
Student Administration forms
Academic and Assessment Reports
Visit Reports
Class attendance rolls
For trainees and apprentices, from Australian Apprenticeship Centres

Stored information about employers is collected through:

Employers details forms
Student Sign up forms
Accounts information

Stored information about staff is collected through:

Staff Details forms
Resumes and applications
Qualification records
Taxation and superannuation forms
Staff appraisals

How is information stored?

Electronic Storage
CMC - Training at Work stores all client information on a database. Only authorised staff have access to the database.
As an RTO complying with the AQTF, CMC - Training at Work will maintain its electronic student results files for a period of 30 years. This will ensure qualifications and statements of attainment can be re printed if required within this time.

Paper-based Storage
Each client has a paper based file of all his or her records stored at CMC's office. Records are kept secure and only authorised staff have access to student files held at the office. Assessors will have a paper based version of student results and student visits that they have collected which are kept secure in their office or while traveling. The assessor returns this file to the office for archiving on completion or withdrawal of a student.

How is information used and who has access to your records?

Staff are only authorised to use the database for the purpose of in-putting data, checking data or producing reports about students from information collected on enrolment forms, academic reports and class attendances. Staff may not access the database or allow it to be used for any other purpose. Personal details will not be provided about clients to any third party other than details CMC - Training at Work is bound to provide due to the nature of its training contracts. This will include:

Employers of trainees under a training agreement will be provided with student progression and achievement results for the purpose of providing training and support in the workplace.
Government Departments whom we are contracted by funding agreements to provide student details for the purpose of State and National reporting on student outcomes. However student details are collected only to allow analysis by gender, age and geographic distribution. No data collected is published that could infringe upon the privacy of any individual undertaking training or further education program. Government Departments are also guided by the National Principles for the Fair Handling of Personal Information.
Australian Apprenticeship Centres (AAC) which are organisations that administer traineeships and apprenticeships. CMC - Training at Work is required to advise the AAC when a trainee or apprentice changes their personal details, changes training course and/or when they reach certain stages of their training. Information of this nature will only be provided to the specific AAC that the employer chooses at the time of sign up. Authorisation for this is provided by the employer and the trainee or apprentice on the training contract that is signed for the AAC.

How is accuracy maintained?

Clients are advised regularly to provide us with updated contact details. All students are provided with a paper based student achievement record at each visit. Clients can at any time request access to the records we hold about them. Students can also at any time request a copy of their results as a formal statement of attainment or a history of their training and assessments activities through a student events record.

Students should provide adequate notice of wishing to access records and a suitable time will be made available for this to occur. This will occur in the presence of an authorised staff member.

How are client's privacy rights protected?

CMC - Training at Work has a Privacy Officer. Our Privacy Officer can be contacted by phone on 1300364383 or by e-mail via the CMC - Training at Work office on info@trainingatwork.com.
Clients with concerns about how their information is used or stored are invited to contact our Privacy Officer. CMC - Training at Work will endeavour to address issues raised with in 5 working days. If a complaint is not able to be addressed satisfactorily, clients can lodge a grievance complaint that we will handle as per our grievance procedure. Alternatively clients can contact the Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner on 1300363 992 or by e-mail to privacy@privacy.gov.au.

In relation to the above, CMC - Training at Work will ensure the following: Privacy

All clients will be provided with information on the privacy policy and CMC - Training at Work's compliance with the same.
This policy will be detailed in the student handbook and located on the CMC - Training at Work website.
All email correspondence will have a disclaimer attached telling non-authorised parties to destroy information received incorrectly.
All discussions with students in the workplace will take place in an area free from other staff/parents and children (where accessible).
All staff will ensure that files transported in vehicles between assessments will be kept secure out of sight.

Written Consent

Written consent will be sought from students prior to any information (other than that required by contracts) being sent to a third party. The authority to provide contract information is provided on the student enrolment form.

Related and Associated Legislation

Vic Information PrivacyAct 2000
Commonwealth PrivacyAct 1988
Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act 1982