This page tells you about the Student Privacy Statement UNSW has in place to protect all students' privacy.

UNSW is committed to safeguarding the privacy of student information. We have implemented measures to comply with our obligations under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) ("the Act"). All staff are bound by the Act and by the UNSW Privacy Management Plan.

Note: The Student Privacy Statement was updated on 11 June 2019.

Collection of your personal information

The University collects your personal information directly from you during the application and enrolment process and throughout your time as a student. It may collect your personal information from other sources, but only with your consent or where required or authorised by law. 

Personal information collected by the University includes your name, home address, other contact details, date of birth, the photograph for your Student Card, program of study, fee payments, financial assistance and scholarships, information about your examinations, assessments and results, and information relating to any disciplinary or conduct matters. It also includes the unique personal identifier (your student number) that the University assigns to you.

Security and retention of your personal information

The University stores your personal information in systems owned and managed by the University, and in other systems under license or by agreement. Service providers of such systems are contractually bound by the University’s privacy and security requirements. Access to your personal information is limited to University employees and contractors who have a legitimate reason to access the information.

The University is required by law to retain records that may contain your personal information for certain periods of time depending on the type of record.

Use of your personal information

The personal information is only collected for purposes that are directly related to and reasonably necessary for the legitimate functions and activities of the University. You will be advised of any consequences of not providing personal information requested by the University. Your personal information will be used to administer your enrolment, to enable the delivery of your academic program and extra-curricular activities, to provide you with student services, and to support the University’s planning and quality improvement activities. This includes:

  • corresponding with you
  • informing you about University programs and events
  • facilitating and enabling programs relevant to your enrolment or candidature, such as cross institutional study, student exchanges, study abroad, student placements, and internships
  • enabling enrolment in courses provided by an alliance institution
  • facilitating and enabling access to scholarship programs for which you may be eligible
  • providing associated services such as security, parking, information technology and residential services
  • facilitating assistance where reasonably required for your safety and security
  • placing your name on the UNSW student electoral role to enable your participation in student elections
  • facilitating staff training, research and statistical analysis, and systems development and testing
  • conducting data analysis to develop and improve the University’s marketing, student services and student recruitment activities
  • upon graduation placing your name, degree and date of conferral on the publicly-accessible UNSW Graduate Register, and adding your personal information to the University’s Alumni database (to the extent required for the purposes outlined in the Alumni Privacy Statement).

The University will seek your consent prior to the use of your personal information for any other purpose, except where that other use is authorised or required by law. If you give your consent you may subsequently withdraw your consent in writing at any time.

Disclosure of your personal information

Your personal information will be disclosed by the University where necessary to support the uses outlined above. Where personal information is disclosed, it will be done only to the extent necessary to fulfil the purpose of such disclosure. Such disclosures may include to:

  • organisations such as professional bodies, hospitals or government agencies for you to undertake a practical experience, assessment or similar activity relevant to your degree program
  • other educational institutions for any cross-institutional study, student exchanges, study abroad, and alliance program enrolment undertaken by you
  • UNSW controlled entities (e.g. UNSW College) where you are, have been or will be engaged with that entity
  • Arc@UNSW Ltd as part of a UNSW student electoral roll for the purpose of student elections
  • Transport for NSW, for travel concessions offered to you
  • contracted service providers which the University uses to perform services on its behalf and who are bound by the University’s privacy and security requirements (some providers being located outside New South Wales and/or Australia for which, as a result, personal information collected by the University may be transferred outside of New South Wales and/or Australia).

The University may also disclose your personal information where authorised or required to do so by law, including:

  • to government departments such as the Australian Taxation Office, Department of Education and Training, Department of Human Services and Department of Home Affairs
  • to contracted service providers of government departments or agencies e.g. disclosure for the conduct of QILT student experience surveys conducted on behalf of the Department of Education and Training
  • to agencies and organisations involved in quality assurance and planning for higher education such as the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) and the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA)
  • where disclosure is authorised or required by subpoena, search warrant or other statutory instrument
  • to a law enforcement agency where such disclosure is necessary to investigate an offence where there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence may have been committed
  • where the University believes on reasonable grounds that the disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the life or health of you or another person.

The University will seek your consent prior to the disclosure of your personal information for any other purpose. If you give your consent you may subsequently withdraw your consent in writing at any time.

Students undertaking online assessments

Online assessment tasks and examinations may require monitoring of the computer equipment or digital devices used by the student.

Such monitoring will be conducted by the University, or by contracted service providers on behalf of the University. It may include one or more methods of session recording or live monitoring, involving the collection and storage of data such as: personal data, biometric data, images, video, audio, computer specifications, software components, computer processes and network communications.

Where such an assessment task or examination is being monitored by a University contracted service provider, the provider may need to directly collect from you, process and store data of the types specified above.

Your rights to your personal information

You may request access to and amendment (whether by way of corrections, deletions or amendments) of your personal information that is held by the University, subject to any legal rights and obligations imposed upon the University to retain such information e.g. retention obligations under the State Records Act.

As a student, you are able to view and update much of your personal and enrolment data in myUNSW. If you wish to access, amend or delete your personal information, where such option is not available via myUNSW, or withdraw consent for a specific use or disclosure of your personal information, you should contact:

The Nucleus: Student Hub

Web: https://nucleus.unsw.edu.au

Telephone: (02) 9385 8500 (International +61 2 9385 8500)

In Person: The Nucleus Student Hub, Level 2 (entry level), UNSW Library

Contacts

For more information on how the University manages personal information, all other privacy enquiries, and how to make a privacy complaint, contact the:

UNSW Privacy Officer

Web: www.legal.unsw.edu.au/compliance/privacyhome

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: (02) 9385 8369 (International +61 2 9385 8369)

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