Privacy policy

Policy Statement

1. This statement outlines how MSS uses and manages personal information provided to or collected by us. This policy complies with the Australian Privacy Principles and the Commonwealth Privacy Act.
2. This Policy details the procedural rules and information relating to access to records to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of those records is maintained by MSS
3. MSS may, from time to time, review and update this policy to take account of new laws and technology, or changes to our operations and practices and to ensure it remains appropriate to the changing environment.

Information Collected About You

4. The type of information MSS collects and holds about individuals includes, but is not limited to, personal information, including sensitive information about: course participants, trainees, job applicants, workers, contractors and other people who come into contact with MSS.
5. In the case of MSS providing you with accredited training, we are legislatively required, before service delivery, to collect specific personal information records from all participants including, but not restricted to: name, date of birth, address(es), country of birth, racial or ethnic origin, language and gender.
6. In certain circumstances MSS may be required to collect government-related identifiers such as your Unique Student Identifier or Drivers Licence Number. We will not use or disclose this information unless we are authorised by law.

Information Provided

7. MSS will generally collect personal information by way of forms filled out, face-to-face meetings, interviews, or telephone calls.
8. In general, MSS will only collect personal information from the individual concerned, however on occasion personal information about you may be collected from other sources (e.g. Employer or another Registered Training Organisation) when: • you consent to us collecting the information, or • it is unreasonable or impracticable to collect the information from you
9. In some circumstances MSS may legally be provided with personal information about an individual from a third party, for example a report provided by a medical professional or an organisation.

Use of Personal Information

11. MSS will use personal information we collect about you for the primary purpose of providing you with training, or other products and services requested by you, and for such other secondary purposes that are related to us doing that and reasonably expected, or to which you have consented.
12. The purposes for which MSS uses personal information include: • day-to-day administration • looking after course participant’s training, social and medical well-being • to satisfy MSS legal obligations and allow MSS to discharge its duty of care • where MSS is required to collect the information on behalf of the government (e.g. when providing Nationally Recognised Training or for taxation reporting purposes)
13. Where lawful and practicable, you may use MSS’s services anonymously. However, in certain cases where MSS requests personal information from you, if the information requested is not obtained, MSS may not be able to provide its full range of services to you (e.g. accredited training).
14. In relation to personal information of job applicants, MSS’s primary purpose of collection is to assess and if deemed suitable to engage the applicant. The purposes for which MSS uses personal information of job applicants and contractors include: • assessing suitability of an individual for a position or contract and in administering the individual's employment contract, as the case may be • for insurance purposes • to satisfy MSS legal obligations, for example, in relation to industrial or taxation legislation

Direct Marketing

15. MSS may use your personal information to provide you with copies of our marketing material unless you have expressly requested we do not send you marketing materials. If you would prefer we did not send you marketing materials, please let us know by clicking the unsibscribe button in emails or SMS, or by phone, email or post.

Disclosing Personal Information

16. MSS may disclose personal information, including sensitive information, held about you to: • government departments, where required by law • anybody with statutory authority to access your personal information • medical practitioners, in the case of a medical emergency; or to fulfil our duty of care to the community and individuals • anyone you authorise MSS to disclose information to
17. In the case of MSS providing you with accredited training, we are legislatively required to disclose your personal information to the government. We are required to collect personal information records for all students, and for all competency enrolments and outcomes achieved. We must report these records to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).
18. MSS will not use personal information about individuals or organisations within its marketing materials or activities without prior written approval from that individual or organisation..
19. MSS will not send personal information about you outside Australia without obtaining your consent,

Sensitive Information

20. In referring to 'sensitive information', MSS means information relating to your: • health or medical condition • racial or ethnic origin • trade union or other professional or trade association membership • criminal record, that is also personal information
21. Sensitive information will only be collected with your consent and, only when, the collection is also reasonably necessary for one or more of MSS’s functions or activities.
22. Sensitive information will be used and disclosed only for the purpose for which you provided it to us or a directly related secondary purpose, unless you agree otherwise, or where the use or disclosure of the sensitive information is allowed by law.

Storage & Security of Personal Information

23. MSS management, workers and contractors are required to respect the confidentiality of your personal information and the privacy of individuals.
24. MSS has in place mechanisms to store and protect the personal information MSS holds about you from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These include: • locked storage of paper-based records • secure computer facilities • secure access rights to computerised records, and • MSS staff training on privacy and the protection of personal information
25. The Australian Privacy Principles require MSS not to store personal information longer than necessary.
26. In the case of MSS providing accredited training to you, we are required to securely store your personal information including sensitive information for a period of thirty (30) years.
27. For other individuals, we may be legally required to maintain some of your records for a significant period of time. However once we believe information is no longer needed we may remove any identifying details or destroy the records entirely.
28. All documents containing personal information must be destroyed in a secure and confidential manner.

Updating Personal Information

29. MSS endeavours to ensure that the personal information it holds about individuals is accurate, complete and, where practicable, current.
30. A person may seek to update their personal information held by MSS by contacting MSS at any time by phone, email or post.

Access to Records with Personal/Sensitive Information

31. Under the Commonwealth Privacy Act, an individual has the right to obtain access to any personal information which MSS holds about them and to advise MSS of any perceived inaccuracy.

Access to Records Procedural Rules

32. No individuals may have access to individual’s records other than: • the individual about whom information is held • those for whom access is necessary for them to undertake their role within MSS and only to information pertinent to that role • those acting under a statutory authority
33. Individuals may request access to their records at any time. The request may be verbal or in writing.
34. Where access is not available immediately, MSS will make an appointment for the individual to access their records at the earliest opportunity, and within thirty days.
35. Only the GM has the authority to approve requests for access to files.
36. Individuals may not have unsupervised access to their files. The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for verifying the identity of the individual before providing access to the record and ensuring all individuals are supervised when viewing their record. The date and time the individual accessed their record will be recorded in their record.
37. Individuals have the right to access a partial or complete copy of their records. MSS will provide a photocopy or an electronic copy of the record to the individual upon request but reserve the right to charge a reasonable per page fee to cover labour and/or printing costs where the Chief Executive Officer determines this is warranted. Details of any copies made and verified as true and accurate by MSS will be recorded in the individual’s record.

Breaches of Policy

38. Unfortunately, we cannot and do not guarantee that unauthorised access to your personal information will not occur. Accordingly, where consistent with applicable legislation, any personal information you provide to MSS will be at your own risk (even if we are negligent).
39. If you suspect, or become aware of, a breach of security in relation to your personal information, please contact us immediately. You can also make a privacy related complaint in accordance with our complaints policy by contacting the General Manager using the details provided below.
40. All suspected infringements of privacy will be thoroughly investigated. Disciplinary action will be taken in cases where investigations or suspected infringements of privacy are proven.

Contact Us

41. For further information, or to make a privacy related complaint, please contact our CEO:

Email Us: Contact Us Call Us: 1300 886 477