Privacy statement

This privacy statement describes how Curtin Singapore handles personal information in its possession or control. Curtin Singapore’s privacy statement remains under constant review, and it is therefore your responsibility to monitor this statement for changes which may be implemented from time to time.

At Curtin Singapore, the privacy of students, staff and other people who Curtin Singapore deals with is taken very seriously. Much of the information which Curtin Singapore collects in connection with its normal functions and activities is “personal information”, and this information is handled in accordance with relevant privacy standards as Curtin Singapore is committed to ensuring the confidentiality and security of all data and information kept, including electronic data, course assessment materials and results. Curtin Singapore complies with Singapore Government’s legislative and regulatory requirements, relevant international standards and requirements of Curtin University and Navitas Pty Ltd relating to data security and confidentiality.

Curtin’s level of compliance

Curtin Singapore complies with Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (PDPA) and the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth) when handling students’ personal information obtained for the purposes of chapters 3 or 4 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (Commonwealth). In limited circumstances, Curtin Singapore may also be required to handle certain personal information in accordance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. In addition, in accordance with the Curtin University’s Values and Signature Behaviours, members of Curtin Singapore (as the offshore campus of Curtin University) community are responsible for respecting an individual’s right to privacy.  Staff and students, as members of Curtin Singapore community, are therefore required to respect each individual’s right to privacy.

Types of personal information collected

The types of personal information which Curtin Singapore handles may include, but is not limited to: names, residential addresses, student or staff ID numbers, student or staff photographs or recorded moving images, email addresses, date of birth, bank details, government identifiers and signatures.

Information may be collected about staff, students or other people who Curtin Singapore deals with in on and off-campus activities. This may include data, photographs or moving images associated with remote access, distributed learning or involvement in any extra-curricular educational, sporting or secondment activity which is directly or indirectly associated with Curtin Singapore.

To the extent that Curtin Singapore inadvertently captures images of third parties who are not involved with a relevant Curtin Singapore activity and which Curtin Singapore would not otherwise have been authorized to collect, it will as soon as practicable delete or de-identify such information unless Curtin Singapore has a legitimate reason to retain the information.

Purpose of collection of personal information

The personal information you provide or which is otherwise collected about you will only be used by Curtin Singapore officers in a manner consistent with the original purposes of collection or as otherwise permitted by Singapore’s PDPA and Australian Privacy Principles.

The purpose of collecting information is not only to keep a record of students, staff and other people who Curtin Singapore deals with, but also to ensure they have the full benefit of the complete range of services offered by Curtin Singapore.

Use and disclosure of personal information to other parties

Personal information in the form of recorded moving images derived from classroom activity will be used to advance the objectives of Curtin Singapore’s learning programs.

More generally, information collected from students, staff and other people who Curtin Singapore deals with will be used primarily to communicate with those individuals in relation to any issue relevant to their involvement with Curtin Singapore.

This may extend but is not limited to communications involving surveys, the availability of courses, alumni activity, newsletters and related marketing or promotional activity, and soliciting donations. Surveys and other research activity may be carried out for the benefit of Curtin Singapore or in connection with a government initiative.

Communications of this nature may be initiated direct by Curtin Singapore or by a third party engaged to act by or on behalf of Curtin Singapore. This in turn may require Curtin Singapore to supply personal information, such as contact details, to a third-party research organisation which in turn might engage contractors to analyse the data or to solicit further information from the individual.

Information may be disclosed to third parties in limited circumstances expressly permitted by Singapore’s PDPA and Australian Privacy Principles. This may include, for example, disclosure to Singapore Government Agencies as well as the State and Australian Government agencies, where required or authorised by law.

Personal information may also be disclosed to third parties in some instances where this is necessary for Curtin Singapore to carry out its normal functions and activities. Accordingly, for example, personal information may be incidentally handled by IT contractors (including outsourcing providers) or other external service providers engaged by Curtin Singapore.

Curtin Singapore may also disclose the personal information of its students to external organisations including but not limited to professional bodies, hospitals and schools in order to enable those students to undertake a practical experience/clinical component of their course. Where personal information is to be provided to contractors or other external organisations, Curtin Singapore will take all reasonable steps to ensure the recipient (and any contractor engaged by the recipient) handles the information in a manner consistent with Singapore’s PDPA and Australian Privacy Principles.

In the case of personal information in the form of moving images collected as part of Curtin Singapore’s distributing learning programs, such information may be shared with students, staff and other people Curtin Singapore deals with who are involved in other learning activities at the same campus, or at other locations (Learning Locations) that may be overseas.

Personal information may be transmitted to overseas Learning Locations as part of Curtin Singapore’s learning programs, and may be stored overseas or in the “cloud” environment. This means that the data may in some circumstances not be regulated by the Privacy Act and it may be located in a jurisdiction which has less stringent privacy laws than Singapore and Australia. This will only be permitted where the transfer of data complies with Singapore’s PDPA and Australian Privacy Principles and with the relevant constraints contained in Singapore’s PDPA and Australian Privacy Principles relating to overseas data transfers. If there are other situations in which Curtin Singapore wishes to use your personal information, it will seek your express consent.

Singapore’s PDPA and Australian Privacy Principles contain certain exemptions which may impact upon Curtin Singapore’s privacy obligations. This exemption does not, however, permit Curtin Singapore to use personal information contained in employee records for purposes not connected with the employment relationship. Employee records remain confidential.

Correction of personal information

All staff, students and other people Curtin Singapore deals with have the right to access their personal information held by Curtin Singapore and also to seek correction of such information if it is inaccurate, misleading, out of date or not complete.

Use of cookies

Curtin Singapore uses digital cookies to remember your preferences and collect online traffic data and browsing characteristics, which is analysed using Google Analytics and other analytics tools.

Opting out of future communications

If you are not a Curtin Singapore staff member or student, and are receiving communications from Curtin Singapore, we will ensure that you can easily opt out of these communications at any time. This functionality is provided as a matter of course on all of our social network sites – refer to the privacy statements of each site. If you wish to opt-out of an electronic direct mail from Curtin Singapore, an ‘unsubscribe’ function is provided or you may email the relevant administrator direct requesting your details be removed.

Data breach reporting

Curtin Singapore will comply in circumstances where it is required to do so under Singapore’s PDPA, Higher Education Support Act 2003 (Cth) and also under s26WB and s26WE of the Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act 2017 (Cth). All other data breaches will be assessed for voluntary reporting.

Complaints

Staff, students and other people Curtin Singapore deals with may make a complaint about a breach of privacy directly to Curtin Singapore or through Curtin University’s Integrity and Standards Unit (ISU) Complaints Portal. Please see the ISU Complaints Portal webpage for more details.

Enquiries

If you have any queries about privacy at Curtin Singapore, please contact the following: