Privacy and Confidentiality
Privacy is a fundamental right, and protecting the personal information of the children, families and staff in our care is both a legal obligation and a matter of simple respect. Billy-beet Montessori complies with the Privacy Act 1988, the Australian Privacy Principles and the Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations in the way we collect, use, store and dispose of personal information. This page summarises our full Privacy and Confidentiality Policy, which you are welcome to read in full at any of our centres.
What we collect, and why
We collect personal information so we can care for your child safely, meet our legal obligations and administer your enrolment, including the Child Care Subsidy. For enrolled children this can include their name, date of birth, address, health and immunisation records, dietary requirements, developmental records, emergency contacts and people authorised to collect them, custody arrangements or parenting orders where they apply, and CCS details. For parents and guardians it can include your contact details, Centrelink Customer Reference Number and payment details. We also hold the employment, qualification and screening records of our own staff.
Information is generally collected through our standard enrolment and employment forms, and sometimes through email, phone calls, surveys or the software we use to administer the Child Care Subsidy and our educational program.
How we protect it
- Paper records are kept in locked, secure storage at the centre, and service records do not leave the service.
- Computers holding personal information are password protected, run security software and are backed up regularly. Each staff member uses their own unique login.
- Access to personal and sensitive information is restricted to the people who need it to do their jobs.
- Families can only access the files and records of their own children.
- We comply with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme: any notifiable breach is recorded, reported and acted on.
- Our practices are checked through a privacy audit every twelve months, and this policy is reviewed at least annually.
Photos, videos and digital devices
Images and videos of children are only taken on devices supplied and registered by the service, never on personal phones or devices. They are stored securely with password protection, accessed only by approved staff and never transferred to personal devices. We ask for your written authorisation before photographs or videos of your child are taken, used or published, and you can withdraw that consent in writing at any time. We also ask families not to share images obtained from the service, or photos taken at centre events that include other children, on social media or anywhere else.
When information is disclosed
We only disclose personal or sensitive information to the extent necessary for your child’s education, care or medical treatment, to you as the parent, to the regulatory authority or an authorised officer, to child protection agencies where our child safety obligations require it, to third-party providers you have consented to (such as our CCS software), or as otherwise required or authorised by law. Anything beyond that requires the written consent of the person who provided the information, and that consent can be withdrawn at any time.
Our centres also operate CCTV under a formal policy that covers who can access footage, how it is reviewed and how privacy is protected. You can read more on our child safety page, and you are welcome to read the CCTV policy at your tour.
Questions, access and complaints
You can ask at any time to see the information we hold about your child, or ask us to correct it. If you have a concern about how personal information has been handled, please raise it with your Centre Manager or contact us at family@billybeet.com.au, and we will follow our Dealing with Complaints Policy. If you feel your concern has not been resolved, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.