Privacy and Data Collection Notice

About this Statement

The Department is committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information. This online Privacy Statement governs the collection, storage, use, access and disposal of data including all personal information obtained on the Department's websites. Please take some time to read through this statement and understand our position on privacy.

This Privacy Statement will be updated from time to time so please visit this page regularly.

This Privacy Statement does not apply to linked websites that are not the Department's sites. When you link to another site we recommend you read the privacy statement of that site.

The Department has an Information Privacy Policy and handles personal information in accordance with the Victorian Privacy laws - the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Victoria) and Health Records Act 2001 (Victoria).

Collection of information

Any personal information submitted by you to the Department, the website host, and other third parties engaged by the Department is subject to, and handled in accordance with, the Department’s Privacy Policy (see: Information Privacy Policy). You agree by continuing to access the Department’s websites, that you have read the Privacy Policy, understood its contents, and consented to its requirements.

When you visit and browse the Department’s websites, the website host and other third parties engaged by the Department may collect personal information for the following reasons:

  1. to personalise and customise your experience with the website including, but not limited to, seeking your comment and input to the design and content of the website
  2. to communicate with you
  3. to conduct relevant research
  4. for statistical analysis relating to the website
  5. for maintenance of the website and
  6. otherwise as required or authorised by law.

Two types of information are collected via websites by the Department, the website host and other third parties engaged by the Department:

  • visitor logs and statistics and
  • information provided by users through online forms, registration, databases and feedback.

Whenever personal information is collected online through databases and forms, for example, a privacy notice informing you how your personal information will be collected, used, disclosed and protected will be available.

Visitor logs and statistics

The Department's sites gather statistics on users’ online experience. Information collected includes:

  • visitor server addresses and domains (including the IP address of your computer)
  • the times and dates the site was visited
  • the pages visitors accessed and files downloaded and
  • visitors’ browsers and operating systems.

Logged information is not disclosed outside of Department staff or those under contract to conduct maintenance to web server components. The Department makes no attempt to identify individuals from these records unless it is necessary to the investigation of a breach of law.

User information

Some Department sites require users to provide personal information when they engage in online activities such as participating in discussion groups, registering online for education activities or completing online forms. Personal information collected may include a user’s first and last name, postal address, email address, employer, job title and department, telephone and fax numbers. The Department will inform you how your personal information will be handled at the point of collection.

Internet risks

Any personal information collected is used for the purpose of providing access to online services and monitoring such access. All Department staff have a legal duty to protect the privacy of your personal information and ensure it is used only for the purpose to which you have agreed. The Department does not make available to third parties (other than to Department staff or those under contract to conduct maintenance to or host web server components) any of your personal information which is stored on this website — unless you are a student enrolled at a Victorian Government school. If you are a student enrolled at a Victorian Government school, then the Department may provide any parent, guardian or other person with responsibilities in relation to you with access to your personal information which is stored on this website. Personal information is handled in accordance with Victorian privacy legislation and is stored and disposed of in accordance with the Department's Record Keeping Policy.

There are inherent risks associated with the transmission of personal information via the internet as it is not a secure medium. Do not provide any secure personal information online such as a password or credit card number, or information that you wish to keep confidential.

The Department has made every effort to implement security policies, rules and measures to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, improper use, alteration and destruction.

The Department does not guarantee secure transmission of data transmitted via its websites. If you have any concerns about providing the personal information asked for on a Departmental website, please call the Digital Services team on 03 9637 2579 and we can make arrangements to suit you.

For more information, see:

Use of authenticated DET websites

The Department’s secure websites, which require a username and password for access verification, gather information on a user’s online experiences through the use of a visitor’s username. Please keep your access codes secure and do not share them.

Cookies and web scripts

This website uses cookies, which are small text files that are generated by our servers and stored on your computer. They allow the Department to recognise you when you return to certain sites, and to register user preferences.

A cookie is sent from our server and automatically placed on your computer without notification. Personal preferences or information may be stored in the cookie, which is then sent back to the server on completion of the session. Cookies may be turned off within your browser however, this may make some sites unusable.

Pages on this site may be coded with scripts from Google Analytics. This is transparent to the user, as the software makes use of an invisible image at the bottom of the web page. This software stores a cookie in your browser, which contains a unique identifier, and sends information to Google Analytics. This enables Google Analytics to track the number of unique visitors to this site. In no way does this unique identifier identify a user personally.

For more information, see:

Comments about this Statement

The Department welcomes your comments regarding this Privacy Statement. If you believe that this website or any departmental division or employee has not adhered to this Statement please contact the Department by email, fax, or mail.

Contact

Department of Education and Training
Digital Services, Communications Division
 Level 2, 2 Treasury Place, East Melbourne VIC 3002

Email:  online.comms.unit@edumail.vic.gov.au

For more information, see:

Data Collection

The Education and Training Reform Act 2006 provides, among other things, for vocational education and training, technical and further education, adult community and further education, and other post-compulsory education and training in Victoria.

The Victorian Department of Education and Training’s Structured Workplace Learning Statewide Portal (SWL Statewide Portal) is designed to connect all school students with its Structured Workplace Learning (SWL) program. This program promotes students’ development of skills and knowledge in relation to work, and operates across the Government, Catholic and Independent school sectors. The portal is intended to support the co-ordination of student work placements with host employers.

The State Government, through the Department of Education and Training (the Department), has engaged Activ8 Technologies Pty Ltd (Activ8) to provide it with a range of services related to the SWL Statewide Portal system.

In addition, the Department has entered into funding agreements with the 31 Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLENs) to source appropriate SWL opportunities with host employers for students using the SWL Statewide Portal. In 2020 and 2021 the LLEN is funded to source SWL opportunities and a range of school-employer engagement activities.

SWL Statewide Portal Privacy Framework

The Department is bound by the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic.) (PDPA). This means that all of the Department’s employees and contractors, including program managers and administrators as well as teachers, and its contracted service providers, must handle personal information responsibly and in accordance with the PDPA.

Activ8 and LLENs, together with their own subcontractors, are bound by contracts to protect the privacy and security of personal information when providing their services on behalf of the Victorian Government, in accordance with the PDPA.

No ‘sensitive information’ as defined in the PDPA, or ‘health information’ as defined in the Health Records Act 2001, is collected via the SWL Statewide Portal.

The SWL Statewide Public Portal is not password protected. However, the SWL Statewide Portals accessible to authorised users in relation to their role in the SWL program require username and password for access. The Department and its contractors will not disclose personal information available via the SWL Statewide Portals except as required, permitted or authorised by law. Staff in Catholic and Independent schools are also bound by agreements to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of personal information obtained in relation to the SWL Statewide program which now includes a range of school-employer engagement activities.

Information collected

Information is collected about users and/or other identifiable individuals in relation to the SWL program and school-employer engagement activities when, (depending which part of the SWL Statewide Portal users have access to):

  • Students express interest in a specific work placement opportunity to their teachers by email, via the SWL Statewide Public Portal
  • LLENs enter information into designated fields about host employers and their staff in relation to work placement and school-employer engagement opportunities, via the LLENs Portal
  • LLENs enter information into designated fields about school staff/teachers involved in the SWL program and school-employer engagement activities, via the LLENs Portal
  • School teachers enter information into designated fields about students seeking work placement and school-employer engagement opportunities, via the School Portal
  • Department portal administrators enter information into designated fields about LLEN personnel who use this system, via the Department’s Administration Portal
  • Activ8 SWL Statewide Portal administrators enter information into designated fields about Department portal administrators.

If any of the designated fields are not filled, other participants in the SWL and school-employer engagement program may have insufficient information to perform their functions in the SWL and school-employer engagement program.

Collection of information from third parties

Large numbers of participants are involved in the SWL and school-employer engagement program and the SWL Statewide Portal that facilitates it. Wherever possible, the Department and its contractors collect personal information directly from the relevant individuals, for example from students via the SWL Statewide Public Portal. Where personal information is collected about an individual from another person (for example when a LLEN collects information from a host employer about another employee) the person collecting the information must take reasonable steps to ensure that the individual is aware of the following matters set out in Information Privacy Principle 1.3:

  • the identity of the organisation collecting the information and how to contact it
  • the fact that he or she may access that information
  • the purposes for which the information is or was collected
  • the names (or types) of organisations or individuals to whom the information is usually disclosed
  • any law requiring the collection
  • the main consequences (if any) for the individual if all or part of the information is not provided.

Depending on circumstances, reasonable steps may include posting of notices, information sessions or handouts for staff.

For more detail about the Department’s online collection of information please see the full  Information Privacy Policy.

Access and Correction

Users of the SWL Portal may request access to, and correction of, information the Department and its contractors holds about them. The Department will take reasonable action to assist users to seek access. If access is denied for any reason, the Department will provide the requestor with reasons in accordance with law. Note that access to documents is also provided for by the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

If any user believes that the information the Department holds about them requires correction, they should contact the Department immediately, and the Department will take reasonable steps to amend the information. Any request for the correction of personal information should be in writing to the Department’s privacy officer on  privacy@edumail.vic.gov.au.

Data quality and security

The Department and its contractors will take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information held is accurate, complete and up-to-date. Teachers in Catholic and Independent schools who enter information into the system are also bound by this obligation, by agreement with the Department. In many cases the Department must rely on individuals to provide accurate and current information in the first instance, and to inform us when circumstances or details may change.

The Department and its contractors are bound by the range of data security provisions set out in the PDPA. This means they have taken measures aimed at protecting against the misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure of personal information. They also take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify personal information if it is no longer needed for any purpose, including for compliance with the Public Records Act 1979.

Contact us

Privacy officer
Department of Education and Training
2 Treasury Place
East Melbourne Victoria 3002
Telephone: +61 3 96373141
 Email:  privacy@edumail.vic.gov.au

Digital Services, Communications Division
Department of Education and Training
2 Treasury Place
East Melbourne Victoria 3002
 Email:  online.comms.unit@edumail.vic.gov.au

SWL program manager
Department of Education and Training
2 Treasury Place
Melbourne Victoria 3002
 Email:  swl.statewide.portal@edumail.vic.gov.au


Version: Privacy and Data Collection Statement 20160315