Lawsense: School ICT Law 2023

Effectively Managing Data Collection, Access, Retention & Data Breaches. This is a live online event which will be recorded.

Registration and enquiries via the Lawsense website.

Agenda

12.00     LawSense Welcome

12.05     Chairpersons’ Introductions

Ally Eddy, Information Technology Manager, Santa Sabina College; President, MITIE Inc.

Rob Flavell, Head of Critical Thinking, ELTHAM College; President, VINE

12.15     Data Collection, Access, and Sharing: Understanding What You Should and Should Not Collect at Different Stages and Managing Consent, Access and Sharing

Privacy laws and potential reform

• Exploring changing regulator focus and potential impacts on schools
• Outlining key laws impacting data collection and management in schools – staff, parent, student and other data
• Exploring potential reforms

Data Collection at Different Stages

• Exploring best practice in obtaining informed consent for data collection and storage online
• Examining optimum data collection at application for enrolment stage versus enrolment:
  • • what data should you collect and store and what should you avoid?
    • exploring optimum approaches to collecting the data and consent through online application portals
• Managing collection of data from job applicants
• Managing collection of student and staff data:
  • biometric data
  • CCTV
• Understanding school responsibilities where data is collected by third parties as a result of school-related activities, including responsibilities regarding informed consent

Data Access and Sharing

• Examining the elements to consider in deciding what information different staff or departments within the school should be able to access
• Exploring optimum access and sharing within a school, including access to and sharing of:
  • medical information, including parent medical information
  • counselling records
  • parent financial information
  • school investigations and police information
• Understanding the limits of allowing access to information to marketing or community engagement staff
• Implementing policies to optimise compliance in sharing student information with parents including:
  • managing consent from mature minors
  • dealing with information sharing with separated parents
• Managing sharing with external experts and other schools

Gina Tresidder, Principal, Russell Kennedy Lawyers

1.15       Break

1.25       Data Storage, Retention and Destruction: Understanding Obligations and Assessing Data to Ensure You Meet Differing Requirements for Different Record Types

• Outlining laws applying to document storage and retention in schools
• Managing records in different formats – email, text, social media, paper
• Clarifying what types of documents need to be kept and for what period, including:
  • student email and laptop data
  • behaviour and discipline records
  • accident records
  • medical and mental health information
  • disability and support
  • investigations
  • job applications and other staff data
• Understanding your obligations to destroy or de-identify particular data
• Exploring measures to accurately classify or categories documents to assist compliance with document destruction and retention requirements

Antoine Pace, Partner, Gadens

Raisa Blanco, Senior Associate, Intellectual Property and Technology Group, Gadens

2.25       Break

2.35       Data Breaches and Incident Management: Navigating Rights, Obligations and Communications to Mitigate Legal Exposure and Reputation Risk

• Outlining key laws applying to data breaches in schools
• Reviewing what penalties and civil compensation action schools could be exposed to from data breaches
• Examining mandatory reporting of requirements for data breaches – when and how you must report and remediation
• Managing communications:
  • avoiding increased exposure to legal liability from your communications regarding the incident
  • exploring obligations and options to deal with incorrect allegations made by students, parents or the media
  • dealing with the school board or council – what are your obligations in providing information and to what extent should the board or council be involved in decision-making
• Learnings from recent incident case studies

Steven Troeth, Partner, Gadens

3.35       Break

3.45       Separated Parents – Understanding Rights and Obligations in Managing Information Access

• Outlining the role of the Family Court and the different Court orders that can be made or arrangements reached affecting children of separated parents
• Understanding AVO’s, including common orders that are made that can affect schools
• Inconsistency between Family Court and Domestic/Apprehended Violence Orders – which orders take precedence?

Which Parent Has the ‘Rights’

• Understanding parent rights and responsibilities where parents are newly separated and there are no court orders
• What is the legal effect of parenting plans versus court orders and how do these affect the school?
• Identifying and managing interim versus final orders

Blended Families and ‘Rights’

• Understanding the legal position of new partners, step-parents and grandparents

Providing Information to One Parent or the Other

• Examining key laws, agreements and orders that would dictate what information can be provided to a parent or withheld from a parent
• Understanding the role of the students wishes/consent:
  • when should student consent be sought in releasing information to parents
  • when do student wishes about parent information access override parent requests
  • understanding how student wishes should be documented where information is going to withheld from one parent or another
• Identifying what information can be shared with parties who are not parents
• Exploring the practical implications of requirements to limit information to a parent:
  • email restriction
  • login
  • parent teacher interviews
  • wellbeing issues

Nick Duggal, Partner, Moray & Agnew Lawyers

4.40       Chairpersons’ Conclusions

4.45       Event Close