Screening Unit privacy policy

The Department of Education takes your privacy seriously and will only collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and manage your information in accordance with the Department’s Records Management policy and procedures. 

The Screening Unit is further bound by strict requirements regarding the use and storage of personal information, including copies of identification documents used to verify your identity, as part of a formal Agreement with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission which are consistent with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles.

All our employees are trained in the importance of confidentiality and maintaining the privacy and security of your information. Access to your personal information is restricted to authorised persons who are employees who need it to provide services to you.

The Department expects employees to maintain high standards in the management of your information. In practice this means our employees:

• properly record actions and decisions to ensure transparency and accuracy;
• securely store records and confidential information; and
• comply with the relevant Department policies and procedures.

We only use official information for authorised purposes. We will:

• only disclose official information or documents as required by law or where proper authorisation is given; and
• not misuse official information or documents for personal or commercial gain for themselves and/or others.

Storage of personal information (and the disposal of information when no longer required) is managed in accordance with the Australian Government records management regime, including the Archives Act 1983, Records Authorities and General Disposal Authorities.

Electronic and paper records containing personal information are protected in accordance with Australian Government security policies. This ensures your personal information is held securely.

To help protect the privacy of data and personal information we collect and hold, we maintain physical, technical and administrative safeguards. We update and test our security technology on an ongoing basis.

The Department of Education Screening Unit has a formal Agreement in place with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) in relation to the accessing of Criminal History Information (CHI). The Screening Unit uses this CHI, also known as Disclosable Court Outcomes (DCOs), to make an assessment as to the suitability of an applicant who may be seeking employment or volunteer placement in a Department of Education school or other worksite. 

The Screening Unit collects information such as full legal name, all previous names, date and place of birth, address (current and previous 5 years), telephone number, Identification details (such as Passport number and Driver’s Licence number, if provided), and the reason or purpose for the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check, and/or the role/job the person will undertake. This information is electronically entered by the applicant directly into the Department’s Education Criminal Record Check (ECRC) system. 

The information contained within the ECRC will be retained for 100 days only. To enable the information to be uploaded to the ACIC, and for communication to be made with the applicant about their application for a criminal record clearance, personal information will be uploaded to the Department’s Criminal Record Information System (CRIS) when the applicant submits their informed consent via a signed Summary Sheet, along with copies of their four (4) items of identification. 

The CRIS system complies with the strict ICT environment safeguards stipulated by the ACIC. Additionally, both ECRC and CRIS have met stringent ICT penetration testing requirements and have been deemed safe from ICT vulnerabilities from external sources. 

Any CHI obtained from ACIC is restricted to Screening Unit employees, and, in cases of serious CHI, the Department’s Screening Committee. The Screening Committee’s role is to make decisions on a person’s overall suitability and whether a criminal record clearance will be granted.