Training Link Australia has a responsibility to collect, use and store personal and sensitive information on our students in compliance with the relevant laws and regulations:

1. As a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), we collect your personal information so that we can process and manage your enrolment in accordance with our obligations as an RTO.

2. Your information is collected through administrative tools such as the Enquiry Form on our website, the Enrolment Form, Recognition of Prior Learning Application Form, Credit Transfer Form, Complaint Form, Appeals Form, Payment Refund Form, surveys and questionnaires. Information is also collected through your completed assessment submissions.

3. The personal information collected about you will enable us to deliver the training program you have enrolled into.

4. We will retain personal information about you relating to your enrolment with us for a period up to 30-years. This includes your personal details and your training and assessment outcomes.

5. We will also retain records of your training activity and are required to do this in accordance with the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (NVETR) Act 2011.

6. Personal information about you along with information about your training and assessment activity is entered and retained within our secure computer network and software systems. The data is protected and backed up frequently to our secure server located in Australia, in accordance with relevant legislation.

7. Where personal information is collected in hard copy formats, the responses are entered into our software systems, the information reviewed and/or analysed (where required), and the hard copies are then destroyed.

8. Training Link Australia is required by law to make student information available to Government bodies and agencies such as the National Centre for Vocational Education and Research, the Australian Skills Quality Authority, or any relevant State or Territory Training or Funding Authority.

9. Under the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Provision Requirements) Instrument 2020, we are required to collect personal information about you and disclose that personal information to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). NCVER is responsible for collecting, managing, analysing and communicating research and statistics about the Australian VET sector.

10. NCVER will collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information in accordance with the law, including the Privacy Act 1988 and the NVETR Act 2011. This information may be used and disclosed by NCVER to the Australian Government department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE), Commonwealth authorities, State and Territory authorities (other than Registered Training Organisations) that deal with matters relating to VET and VET regulators for the purposes of those bodies, including to enable:

• Populating authenticated VET transcripts;
• Administering vocational education training, including program administration, regulation, monitoring and evaluation;
• Facilitation of statistics and research relating to education, including surveys and data linkage;
• Understanding the VET market, such as how the VET industry operates, for policy development purposes, workforce planning and consumer data.

11. NCVER may also disclose personal information to persons engaged by NCVER to conduct research on NCVER’s behalf and NCVER does not intend to disclose your personal information to any overseas recipients. You can refer to NCVER’s Privacy Policy here for more information on how NCVER handles your personal information.

12. You may receive a student survey which may be run by an Australian government department or an NCVER employee, agent, third-party contractor or another authorised agency. Please note, you have the right to opt-out of the survey at the time of being contacted.

13. You have the right to access information we retain that relates to you. You can do so by viewing the information on your online learning platform, or by completing a Student Information Release Form and we will action your request within 2 business days.

14. Where a third-party requests for personal information about you, we will seek written permission from you before disclosing any information. The only exception is where an employer or a job network provider has paid for your training and they have requested for your training activity information and outcomes, or where we require the services of an organisation for the purposes of our operations such as a Compliance Consultant and sharing your personal information is required, or where we are bound to by law such as with the national regulator – ASQA, and with NCVER.

15. At any time, you may contact us to correct any personal information we hold about you, this includes your legal name and your contact information.

16. Where we receive any unsolicited personal or sensitive information, it will be treated and managed according to the Australian Privacy Principles.

17. Training Link Australia uses Google Analytics and Cookies on our website which provides us with the ability to track and report website traffic, and the tools we would need to better understand our website visitors and users. This information would help us strategise and help inform our future operations. These cookies are stored on Google’s servers in the United States and may transfer this information on to third-parties, if required by law, or for information processing on its behalf.

18. It is important to note that no personal information is recorded and this data is only used for website management and improvement purposes. You can choose to disable cookies by changing your web browser’s settings and to opt-out of Google Analytics. It is important to note that by disabling the Google Analytics function may affect a user’s experience on our website.

19. If you have concerns about this Privacy Notice, or about how we are managing your personal and sensitive information, we encourage you to reach out to us.

20. Under the Privacy Act 1988, you have the right to make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) about the handling of your personal information by us.