Department for Education
Information Privacy Statement

The Department for Education is committed to respecting the confidentiality of information provided about children / students and parents, which includes information requested on enrolment forms.

This form has been designed to ensure compliance with the Education Regulations 2012 and to enable the department to:

• undertake administration and care responsibilities including maintaining emergency contact information
• communicate with you about matters in relation to your child, your child’s school and the education system
• provide first aid and plan for child / student health support requirements
• provide information required for school resource entitlements
• collect statistical and qualitative information to better understand student performance and undertake activities to improve the education system
• meet reporting requirements, including to other government authorities
• provide information to contractors engaged to assist in the completion of the Australian Early Development Census survey by teachers for Reception students (www.aedc.gov.au).

If organisations are contracted on behalf of the department to undertake tasks which require access to enrolment data, the contract(s) between the department and those organisations will include strict confidentiality and disposal provisions.

Some questions on this school enrolment form are included to collect information required under the Australian Education Regulations 2013. Although some items on the enrolment form are not mandatory to complete under the national regulations, provision of this information will be beneficial to your child’s school for planning and resourcing decisions.

The information provided in enrolment forms is stored securely in local school and department databases. Information from your enrolment form may be transferred electronically from one school to another as your child moves schools or locations between levels of education. Any such transferred information will be updated by information provided on the current enrolment form. Some student information will also be securely transferred to the NAPLAN Online Platform to enable online NAPLAN testing. While your child is enrolled in a departmental site other information will be gathered relating to your child’s education and wellbeing; for example records of learning progress (including NAPLAN testing), absences
from school, behaviour, health and social development reports, observations and assessments.

The management of these data is governed by Australian, State and department policies and relevant legislation (including the Australian Education Act 2013 (Cth), Education Act 1972 (SA), and State Records Act 1997 (SA)) to ensure that the information is used only for the purposes stated above and is secure, private and confidential.

The disclosure of personal information held by the South Australian government is regulated by the Information Privacy Principles (see www.dpc.sa.gov.au/documents/rendition/B17711). Unless authorised or required to do so by a law of the State or Commonwealth, or as permitted by the Information Privacy Principles or in accordance with the ISG (see below), the department will not otherwise disclose the information to others without your consent.

 

Information Sharing Statement

There will be occasions where sharing information with others outside the department will be important to your child’s educational progress, safety or wellbeing. It might also be necessary to share information to manage a risk of serious harm to others. In these circumstances the department follows the SA Government’s Information Sharing: Guidelines for Promoting Safety and Wellbeing (ISG) www.ombudsman.sa.gov.au.
Under the ISG your consent for the sharing of personal information about you or your child will be sought and respected in all situations unless:

• disclosure is authorised or required by law; or
• it is unsafe / impossible to gain consent or consent has been refused; and
• without information being shared, a person or persons will be at increased risk of serious harm.

In order to provide an appropriate education program your school may share information relating to your child’s personal needs with specialist department staff, including Student Support Services. This will enable the school to make any necessary teaching and learning adjustments for your child. The school may also use the information you provide when applying for specialist resources or services and/or funding to support your child’s education. Prior to any formal referral for additional support your consent will be sought.

The aim of information sharing under the ISG is to protect and promote the safety and wellbeing of children, young people and their families. This site works with parents / caregivers and other agencies / services to achieve that aim. Parents / caregivers are strongly encouraged to share all information relevant to their child’s capacity to enjoy and benefit from education:

• by using the ‘any other information’ section of this form; and/or
• by discussing with staff at the time of enrolment; and/or
• by discussing with staff at any time in the future.