The Information Privacy Act 2000 covers the collection and use of personal information. Personal information is information that identifies a person. A photograph, video or digital image of a student is personal information about that student. In general student images are used to:
- record student participation at CSC and in events
- celebrate student effort and achievement
- promote CSC and events held by the college
Images of students are integral to the Yearbook and newsletters. In addition, parents expect to be allowed to photograph and record student performances or be provided with a recording of the event. Photographs of students also appear regularly in local newspapers. These uses are a vital part of the College environment and privacy law will not dramatically change these activities.
CSC uses photographs of students for student identification cards. These cards are in the custody of the student, so no personal information is disclosed.
Usually once a year a photographer takes individual, class and team photographs and made available for sale to parents and for use within CSC. Before photo day parents receive notice of when photographs will be taken and they are afforded the opportunity to opt out of this. Class and team photographs are included in the CSC Yearbook.
Traditionally the circulation of these materials has been limited to the local community. However, changes in modes of recording and delivery, such as having the Yearbook available on CD or on our website, means that access to student images has increased and, when on a website, can become global.
At CSC we celebrate the efforts of our students by mentioning their participation in CSC events and their achievements in our newsletter. Occasionally photographs of students are included. We also use photographs of students in the Yearbook along with examples of their work. On our website there are images of students, but we only ever use group photographs and we identify a student only by their first name, class or year level. If an individual photograph and full name is required, we will only publish this on the website with the consent of the parents and student.
We allow parents to record performances as this creates a memento that can be shared with other family members. Video or audio recording is permitted at CSC under a copyright license paid by DET on behalf of all government schools (AMCOS / APRA / ARIA license). We invite local press to CSC events and they are expected to follow CSC policy on the publication of photographs of students.
When a story is about an individual achievement we will always seek your consent before passing information or photographs to the press for publication. Unless a story features an individual child, only group photos are published and students’ identified by first name and year level only.
If you have any concerns about how photographs of your student may be used by CSC please let us know by contacting us at Castlemaine Secondary College, Blakeley Road, Castlemaine Vic 3450.
T. 03. 5479 1111
F. 03. 5479 1120