Privacy Policy

Our commitment to your privacy

At Walkerston Early Learning Centre we know that families trust us with some of the most personal information there is: details about your child, your family and your circumstances. We take that trust seriously. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we keep it safe, and how you can access or correct it.

We are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). We also follow the record keeping requirements of the Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations, and the Family Assistance Law that governs the Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

This policy applies to Walkerston Early Learning Centre, located at 22 Creek Street, Walkerston QLD 4740, and to our website walkerstonearlylearning.com.au. In this policy, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Walkerston Early Learning Centre.

What personal information we collect

We only collect the information we need to provide safe, high quality education and care and to meet our legal obligations. Depending on how you interact with us, this may include:

  • Child details: name, date of birth, gender, address, cultural background, language spoken at home, and developmental and learning information.
  • Parent and guardian details: names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, workplace details and relationship to the child.
  • Authorised nominees and emergency contacts: names, contact details and relationship to the child.
  • Health and wellbeing information: immunisation records, medical conditions, allergies, medication, dietary requirements, medical management plans and doctor details.
  • Legal and custody information: court orders, parenting plans or parenting orders relevant to your child’s care.
  • Child Care Subsidy information: Customer Reference Numbers (CRNs) and enrolment and attendance details shared with the Australian Government.
  • Billing information: fee account details and payment records.
  • Records created while your child is in our care: attendance, observations and learning documentation, photos and videos, and incident, injury, trauma and illness records.
  • Enquiry and tour information: details you provide when you contact us, book a tour or join our waitlist.
  • Job applicant and staff information: details provided when you apply to work with us, including qualifications, references and Working with Children (Blue Card) checks.

Some of this information, such as health information, is considered sensitive information under the Privacy Act. We only collect sensitive information with your consent or where we are required or permitted to by law.

How we collect your information

Wherever possible, we collect personal information directly from you. This usually happens when you:

  • Contact us by phone, email, in person or through the contact form on our website.
  • Book a tour or join our waitlist through our online booking form.
  • Complete enrolment forms and provide supporting documents.
  • Talk with our educators and team day to day, or share information through our family communication app.
  • Follow or message us on social media.
  • Apply for a job with us.

Sometimes we may receive information from third parties, such as the Australian Government in relation to your CCS entitlement, health professionals or support agencies you have asked us to work with, or referees for job applicants.

Why we collect and use your information

We use personal information to:

  • Provide safe, nurturing education and care that meets the needs of your child.
  • Plan, document and share your child’s learning and development with you.
  • Manage enrolments, waitlists, tours, attendance and room transitions.
  • Respond to medical needs, incidents and emergencies.
  • Process Child Care Subsidy claims and manage fees and billing.
  • Keep you informed about your child’s day, centre news, events and important updates.
  • Meet our obligations under the Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations, the Family Assistance Law, child protection legislation and other laws.
  • Recruit, employ and manage our team.
  • Improve our services, our website and how we communicate with families.

If you choose not to provide certain information, we may not be able to enrol your child or provide the full range of our services.

Photos, videos and your child’s learning journey

Capturing moments is a big part of how we share your child’s learning with you. We take photos and videos of children as part of our everyday program and use them to document learning and development, which we share with you through our family communication app, Storypark.

We will always ask for your consent before using an image of your child on our website, social media or in any promotional material. You can change your consent preferences at any time by speaking with our team.

Who we share your information with

We do not sell or rent your personal information. We only share it where it is needed to care for your child, run our centre or meet our legal obligations. This may include:

  • Australian Government agencies, such as the Department of Education and Services Australia, for Child Care Subsidy purposes.
  • The Queensland Department of Education (our state Regulatory Authority) and other authorities where required by law.
  • Medical and emergency services where necessary to protect your child’s health and safety.
  • Child protection authorities where we are required to report concerns.
  • Trusted service providers who help us operate, such as our childcare management, billing, waitlist and family communication platforms (including Storypark and MyWaitlist), IT and website providers, and professional advisers. These providers may only use your information to deliver services to us.
  • Schools or other services, only with your consent, for example to support your child’s transition to school.

Storing information overseas

Some of the service providers we use may store data on servers located outside Australia, including in New Zealand, the United States and other countries. Where this happens, we take reasonable steps to make sure those providers handle your information in a way that is consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles.

Our website, cookies and analytics

When you visit our website, we and our service providers may collect information about your visit using cookies and similar technologies. This helps us understand how families use our site and how to improve it. This information is generally not used to identify you personally.

Our website uses:

  • Google Analytics, to understand how visitors find and use our website.
  • Google Ads and the Meta (Facebook and Instagram) Pixel, to measure the effectiveness of our advertising and to show relevant information about our centre to people who have visited our website.
  • Microsoft Clarity, to understand how visitors interact with our pages so we can make them easier to use.

You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings. You can also opt out of personalised advertising through your Google and Meta ad settings, or install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. Our website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites.

How we keep your information safe

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, change or disclosure. These steps include:

  • Storing paper records securely in locked areas of the centre.
  • Using password-protected, access-controlled software for digital records.
  • Limiting access to information to team members who need it to do their job.
  • Training our team in their privacy and confidentiality responsibilities.

We keep records for as long as required by the Education and Care Services National Regulations and other laws. For example, records of any incident, injury, trauma or illness involving a child are kept until the child turns 25. Most other enrolment and attendance records are kept for at least three years after a child’s last attendance. When information is no longer needed, we destroy or de-identify it securely.

Data breaches

If we become aware of a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm to anyone whose information we hold, we will act quickly to contain it and will notify affected people and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) in line with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

Accessing and correcting your information

You have the right to ask for access to the personal information we hold about you and your child, and to ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date or incomplete. Simply speak with our Centre Director or contact us using the details below.

We will respond to your request within a reasonable time, usually within 30 days. In some circumstances, such as where a court order is in place or where access would affect another person’s privacy or safety, we may not be able to provide access. If so, we will explain why in writing.

Please let us know straight away if any of your family’s details change, especially contact details, authorised nominees, medical information and custody arrangements.

Questions and complaints

If you have a question about this policy, or a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please talk to us first. Contact our Centre Director and we will work with you to resolve it as quickly as possible.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) on 1300 363 992 or visit oaic.gov.au.

Changes to this policy

We review this Privacy Policy regularly and may update it from time to time. The current version will always be available on our website and at the centre. A copy of our full Privacy and Confidentiality Policy is available on request.

Contact us

Centre: Walkerston Early Learning Centre

Address: 22 Creek Street, Walkerston QLD 4740

Phone: 07 4806 3610

Email:admin@walkerstondaycare.com.au

Website: walkerstonearlylearning.com.au