Privacy and Personal Information

Privacy and Personal Information

The University collects, stores, and uses the personal information of many individuals, including students and prospective students, alumni, employees and job applicants, sub-contractors, and volunteers. The University also holds personal and health information of clients of the University Health Clinic.

The University upholds and respects the privacy of all individuals, and supports the aims of privacy legislation by balancing the right of individuals to control their personal information with the University’s need for information to deliver educational services and provide effective governance. Information about how we do this can be found in the Privacy Management Plan.

A privacy data breach is unauthorised access or disclosure of personal information or loss of personal information. To report a suspected data breach, complete a Privacy Data Breach Report Form and email the completed form to privacy@scu.edu.au. For more information see the Privacy Data Breach Response Process.

If you want to access or amend your personal information, or make an enquiry about the University’s handling of personal information, please contact the Privacy Officer by emailing privacy@scu.edu.au or calling 02 6620 3841.

If you believe that the University has breached your privacy, you can make an informal complaint by contacting the unit concerned. If your complaint cannot be resolved informally, you can apply for an ‘internal review’ of the conduct that you believe has breached your privacy. More information about internal reviews can be found in the Privacy Management Plan.

In addition to the Privacy Management Plan, information about managing privacy and personal information, including related forms, can be found below:

FAQs

Not really. Disclosure of medical information is sometimes quite a sensitive issue and students may choose to limit who they discuss their circumstances with. The available medical documentation may also include other sensitive personal information that is not relevant to the particular 'adjustment' (i.e. extension or additional exam time) being requested.

The University's Disability and Equity team and the Support Services team each have experience and skills in assessing medical documentation and conditions, may have a more detailed knowledge of the student's medical condition or disability(s) and have strict guidelines for making recommendations for academic adjustments. It is appropriate to rely on the knowledge and expertise of these specialist services in making decisions about whether to make academic adjustments.

If you would like to clarify some points with the person recommending the adjustment (i.e. Support Services or other party), ask for the student's written consent to contact the person concerned before making the final decision. It is likely that the person recommending the adjustment will require a copy of the consent, before they discuss this issue with you.

You may discuss a student's disruptive behaviour with other colleagues (who may or may not teach the particular student) for the purpose of formulating a course of action to deal with the student's behaviour. This may involve the disclosure of the student's identity and information in order to adequately address the situation. Such disclosure should be exercised with discretion and in a professional manner, directly related to the resolution of the disruptive situation, preferably also involving your Head of School, Director or member of the Executive.

It is also important to remember that a student's disruptive behaviour may be associated with a disability or mental illness. Whilst disability or illness does not excuse disruptive behaviour or make it acceptable, it may provide some understanding of potential causes and influence the strategies used to address the behaviour as well which support services it may be appropriate to involve. If you think that a student's disruptive or concerning behaviour may be caused by illness or a disability, you may wish to approach the Head of Counselling and Disability Support Services.

No. The University must not disclose a student's personal information (this includes things like course marks and attendance) to any person, without the prior consent of the student.

The best course is to explain to the person requesting the information that you could speak with them if you had the consent of the student (preferably provided in writing).

There are limited exceptions to this rule. Disclosure is permitted:

  • Where you believe, on reasonable grounds, that disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary to prevent or lessen a threat of death or injury to the student or someone else; or
  • If the University is required to disclose the information by law.

If you believe one of the above exceptions applies, you should consult the Privacy Officer on (02) 6620 3072 or by emailing privacy@scu.edu.au.

You must have the consent of the student or staff member concerned before you can disclose their personal information to any person (i.e. bank, debt collector). Written consent of the student or staff member is recommended before making this type of disclosure.

Yes. Where you consider there is a serious and imminent risk to the life or health of a student you should refer the matter to your Head of School, Director or member of the Executive. However, if you believe there is no time to do so, seek the immediate advice of the Head of the Counselling Services or SCU Security - or call the Police or Ambulance Service on 000 - to ensure that your concerns are acted upon quickly and appropriately.