ECMS is committed to safeguarding your information. We adhere to Australian Privacy Principles as outlined in The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), ensuring the security and integrity of personal data. Additionally, we comply with the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) for health information and the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) for services on behalf of the Victorian Government.
Privacy Policy
What is personal information?
Personal information is defined as information recorded in any form which identifies an individual, or from which the identity of an individual is reasonably ascertainable. This includes paper and electronic records, photographs, video recordings, and similar encompassing both facts and opinion.
ECMS will only collect essential information for which we have a purpose of that will assist us in one of our functions and/or obligations.
What personal information does ECMS collect?
We collect personal information in relation to:
- Children who attend (or apply to attend) one of our centres and their parents/guardians and their emergency contacts;
- Committee members;
- Job applicants, employees (permanent and casual), contractors, volunteers, and students; and
- Individuals who visit our website, social media sites, or contact us.
We collect various types of personal information, including:
- Contact and identification details like name, address, phone number, email, and date of birth during enrolment.
- Emergency contact and next of kin information.
- Financial details such as payment information and parental occupations.
- Health information about children, including immunisation records, medical issues, and relevant reports.
- Government-issued identifiers like Health Care Card numbers and Customer Reference Numbers.
- Information on court orders, legal processes, visa statuses, and ethnic backgrounds.
- Photographs, videos of children, and details of incidents, complaints, and abuse reports.
- Details of committee members, job applicants, employees, volunteers, and contractors.
- Banking details, tax file numbers, police checks, and working with children checks.
- Contact information of suppliers, service providers, and other parties ECMS deals with.
- Data collected from our websites, including user interactions, technical data like IP address, devices used, browser type, language, and operating system.
If you do not provide us with the necessary personal information, we may not be able to enrol your child at our services or provide you with the required assistance.
Cookies
We use cookies on our websites. A cookie is a small text file the website may place on your device to store information. We may use persistent cookies (which remain on your computer even after you close your browser) to store information that may speed up your use of our websites for any of your future visits to the website. We may also use session cookies (which no longer remain after you end your browsing session) to help manage the display and presentation of information on the website. You may refuse to use cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser. However, please note that if you do this, you may not be able to use the full functionality of the website.
How we collect personal information
We will collect most personal information directly from you when you interact with us.
For information relating to children and their parents/guardians, this primarily comes from the completion of forms by parents/guardians and other information which is provided directly to team members at our services.
Collection of personal information from third parties
Personal information relating to children enrolled at our services is collected on their behalf from parents/guardians and other relevant third parties.
Occasionally, we may receive personal information about an individual from a third party, such as when someone is named as the emergency contact of a child.
Disclosure of personal information
We may on occasion be required to disclose some personal information held about an individual to:
- Government departments or agencies as part of our legal and/or funding obligations;
- Local Government in relation to enrolment details for planning purposes;
- Preschools within the central enrolment scheme managed by ECMS for the allocation of places;
- External service providers so that they may perform services to us, including IT service providers and the operators of platforms that enable us to communicate with parents/guardians;
- Organisations providing services related to staff entitlements and employment;
- Parent Committees to enable them to contact users of their service;
- Insurance providers in relation to specific claims;
- Law enforcement agencies;
- Health organisations and/or family in circumstances where the person requires urgent medical assistance and is incapable of giving permission;
- Any other party to which we are required to disclose information pursuant to law, including ECMS’ legal obligations under; the Child Information Sharing Scheme established under the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005 (Vic); the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme established under the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic); Mandatory Child Protection Reporting requirements under the Child, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic) and the Reportable Conduct Scheme established under the Commission for Children and Young People Act 2012 (Vic).
Anyone to whom an individual authorises us to disclose information.
Please note that, pursuant to our legal obligations, we may display some personal information (including health information) in readily accessible locations at our services, including details of certain medical conditions affecting children enrolled at the service (such as anaphylaxis or asthma), so that all team members working at that service are aware of these conditions.
We may disclose your personal information to recipients which are located outside Australia, including to organisations that provide services to us which are based outside of, or otherwise store personal information outside of, Australia. Those recipients may be located in various countries, including New Zealand and the USA.
Treatment of sensitive information
Some of the information we collect (including all health information) is sensitive information. We will only collect this information with your consent (which may be express or implied) or where we are otherwise permitted to do so by law.
Sensitive information will only be used and/or disclosed for the purposes for which it was collected, or a directly related secondary purpose unless the individual says otherwise.
Management and security of information
To protect personal information from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure, ECMS staff will take all reasonable steps to ensure that, in relation to personal information:
- Access will be limited only to ECMS staff who require this information to do their jobs
- Documentation or similar will not be left in areas that allow for unauthorised access
- The physical storage of all private or sensitive materials will be in a secure cabinet or area where access is limited
- Any computerised records containing personal information must have password access or information will be stored on USBs in a secure area.
- There is always security in transmission, for example:
- Emails will only be sent to a person authorised to receive the material;
- Faxes will only be sent to a secure fax line; and
Any personal information transmitted by telephone will be limited to persons authorised to receive that information.
Quality of information
ECMS will always endeavour to ensure that the personal information we hold is accurate, complete, up to date, and relevant to our functions or activities.
Access to information and updating personal information
Individuals have the right to ask for access to, or correction of, personal information we hold about them without providing a reason for doing so. We may not provide access in response to certain requests where we are not permitted or not required to provide that access.
If you wish to make a request to access and/or correct personal information, please contact us as follows:
- If the request relates to information relating to a child or a parent/guardian, parents/guardians should firstly contact the Educator/Nominated Supervisor at the relevant service; and
- For all other requests, please email [email protected] or contact ECMS head office on 8481 1100.
Any requests for access or to update personal information should nominate the type of access required and specify, where possible, what information is sought. We may ask you to provide a visible form of identification as part of a request.
Requests will be acknowledged and responded to within a reasonable period. However please note that there could be a delay in responding if the information is stored in hard copy at an ECMS centre and the service is closed for any period.
ECMS reserves the right to charge for information provided, to cover the costs involved in providing the information.
Anonymity
Wherever it is lawful and practicable, individuals will have the option of not identifying themselves when engaging with our services.
Disposal of information
ECMS will not store personal information longer than is required.
We will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify personal information once we no longer require it for the purposes for which it was collected or for any secondary purpose permitted by law. Please note that we may be required to retain certain types of personal information for longer periods to enable us to comply with our legal obligations.
Complaints
If you have a complaint about how we have handled any privacy issue, including your request for access or correction of your personal information, you should contact us. Our contact details are set out below.
We will consider your complaint and determine whether it requires further investigation. We will notify you of the outcome of any internal investigations.
If you remain unsatisfied with how we have handled a privacy issue, you may approach an independent advisor or contact any of the external resources identified below for guidance on alternative courses of action which may be available.
Contact details
For information on the Privacy Policy or to make a privacy-related complaint, please contact the Head of Risk and Compliance at ECMS Support Services on 8481 1100.
ECMS acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live, learn, work and play. Aboriginal people have a long tradition of teaching and learning through sharing their connections with country, community, language and culture. We recognise their continuing connection to the country, and we pay respects to elders past and present.