Privacy policy
If you wish to access ESA’s general Privacy Policy go to https://www.esa.edu.au/other/privacy
EDUCATION SERVICES AUSTRALIA LIMITED ONLINE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT PLATFORM (ASSESSMENT PLATFORM)
Purpose of this Privacy Policy
The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to explain how Education Services Australia Limited (ESA), in its role of managing and overseeing the Assessment Platform, safeguards your privacy by complying with its obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act. The Privacy Act regulates the collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information and access to, and correction of that information.
Information about the Privacy Act can be found on the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner's website https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/the-privacy-act/.
In addition to its obligations under the Privacy Act, as a result of managing and overseeing the Assessment Platform for various stakeholders including Australian states and territories, ESA may be required to comply with state and territory privacy law.
The Assessment Platform and collection of student information
The Online National Assessment Platform (Assessment Platform) supports the delivery of the National Assessment Program (NAP). NAP includes the National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN).
Education Services Australia has been engaged by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training to supply the information technology systems to deliver assessments online and the technical services for the operation of the Assessment Platform.
Test Administration Authorities (comprising either an education department or test authority in each state or territory of Australia) are the administrators of the tests in their jurisdiction. Test Administration Authorities include:
ACT - ACT Education Directorate: https://www.education.act.gov.au/
NSW - NSW Education Standards Authority: https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/
QLD - Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority: https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/
VIC - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority: https://vcaa.vic.edu.au/
TAS - Tasmanian Government Department of Education: http://www.education.tas.gov.au/
SA - Government of South Australia – Department of Education: https://www.education.sa.gov.au/
WA - School Curriculum and Standards Authority: http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/
NT - Northern Territory Department of Education: https://education.nt.gov.au/
Test Administration Authorities are responsible for the collection of student data to be used during NAP (including NAPLAN) assessment events. This includes managing the student registration process (for example aggregating student registration data from schools, loading into the Assessment Platform and conducting validation checks).
The government and non-government sectors are responsible for developing and providing collection privacy notices that schools use at the point of student enrolment. Privacy notices are provided to parents informing them about collection, use and disclosure of information.
In the Assessment Platform student data from each school is kept segregated and will only be visible to and controlled by a relevant, school, sector (government, catholic or independent) or Test Administration Authority.
Contact Information for ESA
As ESA has not directly collected your personal information, you should contact your school or relevant Test Administration Authority if you have any questions, comments, concerns or complaints about the handling of your personal information in the context of the Assessment Platform.
If you have any questions, comments, concerns or complaints about ESA’s privacy policy for the Assessment Platform or practices, please contact ESA by:
telephone:
(within Australia) 03 9207 9600
(outside Australia) +61 3 9207 9600
post:
Post Office Box 177, Carlton South, Victoria, Australia 3053; or
email: privacy@esa.edu.au.
ESA will do its best to address and resolve any issues you raise. If you are not satisfied with ESA’s response you may take your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints ).
What is Personal Information?
'Personal Information' is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable whether or not the information or opinion is true or not and whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.
Handling of Personal information
Collection
Your school collects your personal information from you, your parent or guardian at the time you enrol. ESA receives your personal information when your relevant Test Administration Authority uploads your personal information to the Assessment Platform.
As part of MySchool reporting requirements, schools provide updated information about their Principals to the Australian Schools List. The Australian Schools List is maintained by the Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority (ACARA). The Assessment Platform receives information about each school Principal (such as name and email address) from the Australian Schools List. This information is required to allow ESA to confirm the identity of Principals. Such confirmation ensures that ESA can fulfil privacy and security requirements with respect to identifying and registering the correct person in the role of Principal. Once identified and registered, a Principal is given access to the Assessment Platform and permission to administer the online assessments.
ACARA's privacy policy can be found at ACARA’s website http://www.acara.edu.au/privacy.html/.
Storage
The personal information that ESA stores on the Assessment Platform may include your school, diocese, test administrative authority or jurisdiction identifier number, your name, date of birth, gender, home address, email address, demographic information about you and your family (for example country of birth, indigenous status, language background, parents’ education and occupation), information about your student status (that is, participation or otherwise in tests and any adjustments required for example to take account of a disability) and test scores.
ESA only receives personal information from a relevant school, Test Administration Authority or the Australian Schools List for the primary purpose of fulfilling ESA’s role in supporting the operation of the Assessment Platform.
Log Information (browsing)
When you use the Assessment Platform it may make a record of your visit and log information such as your IP address, your domain name, the time and date you used the Assessment Platform, what you accessed or viewed, your location, browser type and language, the type of device used, and one or more cookies that may uniquely identify your browser.
ESA may use cookies, which are text files placed on your computer, to help analyse how users use the Assessment Platform. The information generated by a cookie about your use of the Assessment Platform (including your IP address) may be collected for analytical purposes.
Use or disclosure of your Personal Information
ESA will not disclose your personal information to any third party other than in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
ESA will only use your personal information for the stated purpose for which it has been collected or for a secondary purpose as described below.
Please note that individual teachers may access reports generated by the Assessment Platform about their students’ results and their students’ progress.
Use or disclosure for a secondary purpose
If ESA holds personal information that was collected for a particular purpose (primary purpose), ESA will not use or disclose it for another purpose (secondary purpose) unless:
you consent to that secondary use or disclosure;
you would reasonably expect that ESA would use or disclose this information for the secondary purpose;
it is required or authorised by Australian law;
a permitted general situation exists (eg to lessen or prevent a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual, or to public health or safety); or
it is reasonably necessary for enforcement related activities conducted by, or on behalf of, an enforcement body.
Access to personal information
As ESA has not directly collected your personal information, you should contact your school or relevant Test Administration Authority (or in the case of a Principal, ACARA) to find out what personal information is held by ESA.
Access, Correction and Deletion
As ESA has not directly collected your personal information, you should contact your school or relevant Test Administration Authority (or in the case of a principal, ACARA) to request access to your personal information held by ESA, or to request that your school or relevant Test Administration Authority (or in the case of a Principal, ACARA) change or delete your personal information.
Security of personal information
ESA protects personal information that it holds against misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure by utilising up-to-date electronic and physical security controls in accordance with security policies and compliance requirements.
When personal information is no longer required, ESA takes reasonable steps to de-identify, securely destroy or delete such personal information.
The design of the Assessment Platform has given priority to the protection of personal information. The Assessment Platform adheres to the Australian Government’s Information Security Plan. In addition, Standard Operating Procedures will be used to identify processes required for the safe handling of data between schools, Test Administration Authorities and the Assessment Platform.
Please note that if you use a link to a non-Education Services Australia Limited web page, a different privacy and security statement is likely to apply.
Integrity of personal information
As ESA has not directly collected your personal information, you should contact your school or relevant Test Administration Authority (or in the case of a Principal, ACARA) to change your personal information if you consider that it may not be accurate, up-to-date, complete or relevant.
Anonymity or Pseudonymity
Where it is not impracticable or unlawful, you may interact with ESA without identifying yourself or using a pseudonym.
Location of Personal Information
Personal information collected by ESA is stored in Australia and is not transferred overseas.
Changes to this Privacy Statement
ESA may make changes to this Privacy Statement from time to time to take account of new laws and technology or changes to ESA’s operation and practices. ESA recommends that you regularly check this Privacy Statement. You may obtain a paper copy of this Privacy Statement by contacting ESA via the contact details provided above.
Date of last update or review: August 2021
