Privacy Policy

1. VIT (Victorian Institute of Technology) has adopted the Australian government’s National Privacy Principles as the basis for its policy on information collection, storage and access. This policy sets out our policy regarding the collection, use and disclosure of your personal data to us.
2. What information we collect and why we collect the information?
   • VIT collects personal information for the conduct of its business. That information may be obtained directly from staff and students, from corporate customers, or through a third party who we believe has informed you that your details may be provided to us. VIT will only store personal details if they are relevant to our business. We do not normally obtain or store information that is deemed by the Privacy Act to be sensitive information.
   • We store personal information predominantly to ensure that we can maintain contact with our staff, students, customers and suppliers. This contact may be verbal, electronic or written. The reason for the contact may be to inform, request assistance or to maintain a relationship.
3. How do we collect the information?
   • Where practical, VIT will only collect information directly from you. If we collect it from another source, we will do what is reasonably possible to inform you that we have collected the information.
4. How do we store personal information?
   • Your information is held either in paper-based records or in electronic form in computer databases. VIT takes proper precautions to ensure the security of that information.
   • If information is no longer needed, VIT will either delete it from our systems or de-identify it, so that it cannot be attributed personally, unless retention of the same is required to satisfy legal or regulatory requirements or to protect our interests or in accordance with our policies. If a credit card is used to pay fees, details of that credit card are only retained for the purpose of that particular transaction.
5. When do we use this information?
   • Information collected will only be used when necessary for the conduct of our business and our relationship with our staff, students, customers and suppliers. Information gathered by VIT in one instance may be used in another instance unless it is expressly denied.
   • We will use all reasonable efforts to safeguard the confidentiality of the personal information, and only authorised staff have access to your personal data and all authorised staff are required to abide by their contractual obligations to maintain the confidentiality and privacy of your personal data at all times.
6. To whom will we disclose your information?
   • We do not normally disclose your personal information to third parties. In the event that we may be required to share your personal data with any third party, we will notify you beforehand and obtain your consent. We do not disclose credit card details to anyone and we do not sell any personal data in our possession to anyone or any third party for any purpose. We will only disclose your personal data in circumstances that you have expressly or implicitly consented to, or deemed to have consented to; that have been specifically notified to you; are necessary for the operation of our business; or otherwise only in limited circumstances such as to government departments, statutory boards, regulatory or law enforcement agencies or in accordance with the applicable laws.
   • Your personal data may be disclosed to third parties as necessary to facilitate any of the above purposes and/or in the following ways: to third party consultants who may from time to time manage our database or systems; to third parties where we outsource any of our functions, including but not limited to development, marketing and campaigns; during an incidental sale of all or part of our business to prospective purchasers and their legal and accounting representatives; and as required by law.
   • For Students: There are some circumstances in which personal information about students may be shared between the VIT and the Australian Government and designated authorities and, if relevant, the Tuition Assurance Service and the ESOS Assurance Fund Manager. This information includes personal and contact details, course enrolment details and changes, and the circumstance of any suspected breach by the student of a student visa condition. Information about students will be treated as confidential, but may be made available to Commonwealth and State agencies, as required by regulations/law. The personal contact details of the students may also be shared with the Debt recovery agencies for recovery of dues the student owes to VIT in case of default of tuition fee payments. Students may access their personal information at any time by writing to the CEO of the VIT and by providing appropriate evidence of identity in accordance with our privacy policy.
     • VIT is required to inform the Department of Home Affairs about:
       • Changes to a student’s enrolment
       • Any breach by the student of a student visa condition including unsatisfactory course progress
7. How can you check the information we hold?
   • VIT takes all reasonable steps to ensure that information held is accurate and will put into effect any changes designed to improve accuracy that are requested. If staff wish to view information stored please contact the EDP office. VIT will allow personal information ONLY to be extracted and made available for viewing at a VIT office (Note: This will not include any passwords or security relevant information). VIT will not mail or e-mail personal information but will notify staff in a timely manner when it is available for viewing.
   • If you have any reasons to believe that any personal data which you have provided to us is inaccurate, incorrect, incomplete or not updated, you may write to us. We will, after using reasonable efforts to verify the authenticity of the request, promptly update our records accordingly.
8. What about our website?
   • If through a channel of contact you are forwarded to another site or organisation, VIT is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of that site or organisation. Any activity while at our web site may be monitored. More information on privacy legislation is available from the Federal Privacy Commissioner at www.privacy.gov.au.
9. Can I get more information about my personal information?
   • You can contact VIT at any of the following:
     • Email: [email protected]
     • Post: Address for Correspondence: VIT (Victorian Institute of Technology) Administration Office, Level 14, 123 Queen St, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia.
   • If you believe we have not complied with our obligations pursuant to the Act or have a complaint about the use or disclosure of your personal data please contact us.
   • If we are unable to resolve a complaint to your satisfaction you may wish to contact the Privacy Commissioner.
10. We may amend this Policy from time to time and will make available the updated policy on our website or via email. The effective date of the Policy is the “Issue Date” identified at the end of this policy. You are responsible for ensuring we have an up-to-date and deliverable email address and/or phone number for you and for periodically visiting our Policy to check for any changes

Privacy Policy Version: 19.1
Issue Date: 10 April 2019
Review Date: 01 July 2021
Managed By: Manager Student Administration
Authorised By: CEO