While you are studying at Atwea College, there are terms and policies that you’ll need to be aware of.
You can find these on the left-hand side menu. Please familiarise yourself with these, and contact our friendly team on [email protected].
For all policies relating to Alesco Secondary College, please see the High school at Alesco page.
Alesco Policies
CEO and Board Policies
People & Culture
RTO
To view the full policy and procedure, please click here:
To lodge an Appeal, please use below form:
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Complaints-Policy-and-Procedure
If you would like to make a complaint, please email [email protected]
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RTO Fee, Withdrawal and Refund Policy
In all Policies and Procedures “Atwea” should be taken to mean “Workers Educational Association – Hunter” and all its associated trading names unless otherwise specified.
PURPOSE
To inform and clarify Atwea College’s position regarding handling of personal and sensitive information it obtains about clients through its operations as a training provider.
SCOPE
This policy applies to all staff of Atwea College, whether permanent, contract or casual, and is set out to inform all students, both current, past and potential.
PRINCIPLES
Atwea College is committed to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of all students, current and prospective and therefore adhere to all legislative requirements as well as internal mechanisms to ensure this is upheld.
POLICY
Atwea College is compliant to the requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles, and Privacy Act 1988 (Cth.) (“The Act”) and its associated amendments and instruments.
Without limiting the requirements of the Act, the following underpinning commitments are made by Atwea College. The staff of Atwea College will:
- Maintain this policy to ensure it is up-to-date with legislation
- Provide this policy free-of-charge to any person who requests it
- Not collect personal or sensitive information from students unless it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, one or more of Atwea College’s functions as a training provider
- Ensure consent is obtained from students to collect and retain personal and sensitive information
Inform students of:
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- The purpose for which Atwea College is collecting the information
- The fact that we are required to collect particular information by law or Government contract
- The entities that Atwea College usually discloses personal information to
Not disclose any personal or sensitive information to a third-party unless:
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- Consent is obtained from the student to disclose the information
- Atwea College is required by law to disclose it
- Destroy information obtained from a third-party unless it is reasonable to expect Atwea College would have received that information directly, and only use that information if students have been informed of the receipt of the information
- Protect personal or sensitive information in a secure way including against loss, unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure
- Use personal information only for the purpose for which Atwea College collected it, unless students have consented for it to be used for another purpose, or Atwea College is required by law to use it
- Provide opportunity for students to ‘opt-out’ of any direct marketing instigated by Atwea College
- Ensure the accuracy and completeness of personal information obtained from students, including that records are up-to-date and not misleading
- Provide access to students to inspect personal information and associated procedure to do so (including any applicable fee)
- Not retain personal or sensitive information beyond the period of time it is required unless Atwea College is required to by law or under Government contract and the student has consented.
National VET Data Policy Privacy Notice
This notice should be read in conjunction with Atwea College’s Confidentiality and Privacy Policy and the student declaration in our Application For Enrolment form.
Why we collect your personal information
As a registered training organisation (RTO), we collect your personal information so we can process and manage your enrolment in a vocational education and training (VET) course with us. If you do not provide your personal information, we will not be able to enrol you.
How we use your personal information
We use your personal information to enable us to deliver VET courses to you, and otherwise, as needed, to comply with our obligations as an RTO.
How we disclose your personal information
We are required by law (under the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 (Cth) (NVETR Act)) to disclose the personal information we collect about you to the National VET Data Collection kept by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research Ltd (NCVER). The NCVER is responsible for collecting, managing, analysing and communicating research and statistics about the Australian VET sector.
We are also authorised by law (under the NVETR Act) to disclose your personal information to the relevant state or territory training authority.
Atwea College does not disclose your personal information to overseas recipients and it is unlikely that any Australian agencies, that we do disclose your personal information to, will disclose to overseas agencies.
How the NCVER and other bodies handle your personal information
The NCVER will collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information in accordance with the law, including the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the NVETR Act. Your personal information may be used and disclosed by NCVER for purposes that include populating authenticated VET transcripts; administration of VET; facilitation of statistics and research relating to education, including surveys and data linkage; and understanding the VET market.
The NCVER is authorised to disclose information to the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE), Commonwealth authorities, State and Territory authorities (other than registered training organisations) that deal with matters relating to VET and VET regulators for the purposes of those bodies, including to enable:
- administration of VET, including program administration, regulation, monitoring and evaluation
- facilitation of statistics and research relating to education, including surveys and data linkage
- understanding how the VET market operates, for policy, workforce planning and consumer information.
The NCVER may also disclose personal information to persons engaged by NCVER to conduct research on NCVER’s behalf.
The NCVER does not intend to disclose your personal information to any overseas recipients.
For more information about how the NCVER will handle your personal information please refer to the NCVER’s Privacy Policy at www.ncver.edu.au/privacy.
If you would like to seek access to or correct your information, in the first instance, please contact your RTO using the contact details listed below.
DESE is authorised by law, including the Privacy Act and the NVETR Act, to collect, use and disclose your personal information to fulfil specified functions and activities. For more information about how the DESE will handle your personal information, please refer to the DESE VET Privacy Notice at https://www.dese.gov.au/national-vet-data/vet-privacy-notice. If you cannot access this notice, we can provide you with a hardcopy on request. Further information about how state or territory authorities may handle your personal information is available within the student declaration on your Application For Enrolment form.
Surveys
You may receive a student survey which may be run by a government department or an NCVER employee, agent, third-party contractor or another authorised agency. Please note you may opt out of the survey at the time of being contacted.
Contact information
At any time, you may contact Atwea College to:
- request access to your personal information
- correct your personal information
- make a complaint about how your personal information has been handled
- ask a question about this Privacy Notice
Our contact details are:
Atwea College
PO Box 1791, Newcastle NSW 2300
Ph: (02) 4925 4200
Email: [email protected]
To access Atwea College’s Confidentiality and Privacy Policy, please click here for the Terms and Policies part of our website then read the ‘Confidentiality and Privacy Policy’ section.
Code of practice
This Code of Practice is drawn to the attention of all prospective students. Atwea College’s Policy and Procedures are available for inspection on request.
Atwea College will comply with the conditions of our registrations as a:
- Registered Training Organisation (RTO) under the regulation of the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA)
- Registered and accredited non-Government secondary school under the regulation of the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA)
Atwea College is a democratic, not-for-profit public company limited by guarantee and governed by a Board of Directors, membership of which is open to all students and members.
Atwea College does not discriminate against the admission of any person who seeks to enrol in our courses, providing they meet any required eligibility criteria
Recognising that access and equity in adult education involves the removal of obstacles to learning and the active encouragement of those who may wish to benefit more from education, Atwea College undertakes the following:
5.1 Assistance will be provided on request for people with disabilities through the provision of access for wheelchairs and otherwise within our capacity to assist.
5.2 Enrolments are made on a first come, first served basis determined by the payment of the appropriate advertised fee and meeting any applicable entry requirements.
5.3 Enrolment staff will assist prospective students in selecting appropriate courses on request, where possible, at the time of enrolment.
5.4 Some course fees are graded to take account of people entitled to concessions and seniors’ cardholders.
5.5 Courses are scheduled as far as possible, at times that take into account the needs of students in meeting their work, family and other commitments.
5.6 Course and program information is made available to the community by means of the widest possible distribution of brochures through libraries, newspaper and online.
6.1 Atwea College maintains high professional standards in the delivery of education and training which safeguards the interests and welfare of our students.
6.2 Atwea College strives to provide a learning environment and facilities that are conducive to the safety, comfort and needs of our students and tutors/trainers.
6.3 Courses are presented by appropriately qualified and experienced tutors/trainers.
6.4 Student feedback is welcomed, to help in maintaining and improving our standards of service. In addition to course evaluations and surveys, students are invited to talk to or write to their Training Coordinator or to the Training Service Manager about their feelings – good or bad.
7.1 Atwea College follows ethical marketing procedures and seeks to avoid ambiguity, inaccuracy and inconsistency in advertising its courses.
7.2 Atwea College only uses the NRT logo in marketing of Training Package qualifications and accredited courses that are approved by the relevant authority (eg ASQA), and are listed on Atwea College’s scope of registration.
8.1 Assessments – All vocational education and training (VET) courses delivered by Atwea College are assessed by competency-based assessment. Students will be assessed as competent or not yet competent in their ability to perform all of the operations/skills as set out in the units of competency requirements within the course. On successful completion of the course, an accredited certificate or Statement of Attainment will be issued.
8.2 Appeals against assessments – If a student is not happy with an assessment outcome, they have the right to appeal the decision. In the first instance, students should discuss the decision directly with their Trainer. Where the student remains unsatisfied, they can submit an Appeals Lodgment Form for review by the Training Services Manager, no later than seven (7) working days after the assessment decision has been made. A re-assessment fee comprising the Trainer’s fee, plus $50 administration fee, may be charged.
8.3 Recognition of Prior Learning – RPL can be obtained for units of competency within Training Package qualifications if students can provide evidence of skills, activities and aptitudes acquired through past experience that match the competencies to be achieved through the course. A fee applies for assessing prior learning.
8.4 Credit Transfer – Accredited qualifications issued by other Registered Training Organisations will be recognised, subject to a validity check.
9.1 In line with National Privacy Principles, confidentiality is maintained in respect of all student information and records where required.
9.2 Accredited courses and students records are maintained for thirty years. Non-accredited student records are maintained for 12 months.
10.1 Accredited certificates and Statements of Attainment are issued to students who are assessed as competent and are deemed to be debt free to the organisation. Certificate numbers are recorded on the appropriate register.
10.2 Certificates of Attendance for non-accredited courses are issued to those who have attended at least 80% of the course. Requests for replacement certificates will only be considered up to 12 months after the course completion date and only if the attendance requirement is met.
