 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
Privacy Statement ERC Privacy Policy and Procedures This information is written for ERC staff and Board of Directors and those interested in how we manage personal information. In any collection and handling information by the ERC, the objects of the Victorian Information Privacy Act (2000) will be kept in mind. They are to: 1. balance the public interest in the free flow of information with the public interest in protecting the privacy of personal information in the public sector 2. promote the awareness of responsible personal information handling practices in the public sector 3. promote the responsible and transparent handling of personal information handling in the public sector. NOTE:The Principles of the Act and the ERC Privacy Policy apply equally to ERC staff and contractors as they do to project and research participants. Collection and Anonymity As required by the Information Privacy Principles of the Information Privacy Act, the ERC will avoid the collection of personal information which is not necessary for us to collect in the performance of our functions or activities.* In many situations it is not necessary to get people's personal information. Individuals can be dealt with anonymously. Consequently, ERC staff will, where practicable, give individuals the option of not identifying themselves. What information does ERC collect? The ERC collects information for the purposes of improving knowledge in relation to equity and diversity in post-compulsory education and training and to increase opportunities for individuals to access and participate successfully in postcompulsory education and training. Therefore we may collect information about students undertaking courses provided by vocational education and training institutions, or about the institutions themselves. Is any of the information personal information? Yes. From time to time, ERC may collect information about an individual or an opinion of an individual whose identity can reasonably be ascertained from the information or opinion. Is any of the information sensitive information? From time-to-time, ERC may collect information about an individual's racial or ethnic origin or their membership of a professional trade or association. Any other "sensitive information", such as sexual preference or political affiliation is most unlikely to be collected. In such cases. ERC staff will seek the consent of individuals where practicable, where we are collecting what might be sensitive information as a necessary part of our research and statistics compilation and it is connected with government-funded educational services (See Use and Disclosure). Is any of the information health information? From time to time ERC may collect information relating to an individual's disability. How does ERC collect this information? ERC may collect information by survey, interview (telephone or face-to-face) or via a secondary source, such as Office of Training and Tertiary Education data. Such information will be collected lawfully and fairly and without being intrusive, that is, actions which, for example, breach the law of trespass or equal opportunity or human rights laws will not occur. Why does ERC collect this information? ERC collects information to support its mission to promote equity and inclusiveness in education, training and employment. Does the information need to be collected in order to fulfill ERC's functions? From time-to-time, personal or sensitive information will need to be collected to enable us to complete research projects or programs, to advise OTTE or other relevant bodies and to advocate for certain groups (see * above) What steps will ERC take to ensure individuals are informed? When ERC staff collect personal information, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that any individual whose information is collected is aware of:  ERC's identity and how to contact ERC;ERC staff will outline ERC's organisation, purpose, the work ERC undertakes and all contact details. Their right to request access to their personal information;ERC staff, where practicable and necessary, will ensure individuals are aware of our policy regarding personal information collection and our research (See Use and Disclosure). The purposes for which the information is collected.ERC staff will always explain the purpose of our research to individuals and the reason we are contacting them. The organisations to whom ERC usually discloses information.ERC conducts research for other organisations to whom research results are communicated. ERC staff will ensure individuals are informed of such arrangements (See Use and Disclosure). From time-to-time ERC collects personal information from a source other than the subject of the personal information, such as the data collections of organisations that we undertake projects for and give advice to eg. the Victorian Office of Training and Tertiary Education (OTTE). OTTE is a Victorian government agency required to comply with the Information Privacy Act. Consequently, the privacy protection travels with the information. Use and Disclosure How does ERC usually use the information? ERC uses the information to undertake research and other projects, to advise relevant institutions regarding groups who are disadvantaged in education, training and employment and to advocate on their behalf. ERC undertakes this work to promote equity and inclusiveness in education, training and employment. Is the information disclosed to anyone outside ERC? Yes but rarely in a form in which an individual's identity is apparent. ERC research is generally undertaken for a particular organisation and will at times be for their eyes only. Other times, our research is generally available on request. The collection of information is always to satisfy the primary purpose of ERC's activities or is directly related to it and any individual whose personal information has been collected could reasonably expect the information to be used in this way. In any case, where practicable, ERC will seek the consent of individuals to use collected information. Where such consent is sought and refused, ERC staff will take steps to ensure the identity of that individual is not apparent and cannot be easily ascertained, that is, we will not disclose personal information of an individual where consent is sought and refused. Data quality and security ERC will ensure that the personal information we collect is accurate, complete, upto- date and secure ie. the information will not be open to misuse, unauthorised ERC staff will ensure that personal or sensitive information is not stored on our computer system and that written records are destroyed when no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected. Openness In order to ensure openness about how we manage other people's information, ERC has a privacy information sheet and this privacy policy and procedures to which all ERC staff, including staff on short term contracts, are informed about and which is an integral part of staff induction. The ERC policy and procedures is published on the ERC website. All staff have their own copy to refer to and a briefing and discussion on privacy policy is scheduled into staff meeting agendas whenever necessary. Access and correction ERC staff will let people see what information we hold about them and allow them to correct it if necessary unless the satisfaction of their request will have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of other individuals or if their request is frivolous or vexatious (and see Use and Disclosure and Date Quality and Security). Unique identifiers It is unlikely that ERC share identifiers with any other organisation or carries out any data matching using unique identifiers. Nevertheless, ERC staff will minimise the creation and sharing of ID numbers that could be used to match our information about people with information about them from other sources. Data flows In the unlikely event that any personal information travels to others, ERC will ensure that that the privacy protection travels with it. In the unlikely event that personal information is to be transferred, ERC staff will seek the individual's consent. Personal information will only be transferred without consent if it is not practicable to gain that consent and it will be to the benefit of the individual and the individual is likely to consent. Please contact ERC if you wish for clarification of any of the above or if you have any concerns regarding ERC privacy policy or procedures or their application. Equity Research Centre 106/134 Cambridge St. Collingwood 3066. Tel: 9417-5355 Fax: 9417-5941 e-mail admin@equityresearch.org.au |
|
|
 |
|||
website designed by web solutions |
|||
