Privacy Policy
1. Introduction
Tutor Me Australia (“we”, “us” or “our”) provides tutoring and education services, including support for school, IELTS and university studies, both online and at our campuses in Australia.
We are committed to protecting your privacy and managing personal information in an open and transparent way in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose and store personal information about:
prospective, current and former students;
parents and guardians;
website visitors and subscribers; and
other individuals who interact with us (together, you).
By using our website, enrolling in our programs, or otherwise providing us with personal information, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
2. What is “personal information”?
“Personal information” is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information is true or not and whether it is recorded in a material form or not.
Examples include your name, contact details, and information about your child’s schooling and learning needs.
3. The personal information we collect
The types of personal information we collect will depend on how you interact with us, but may include:
Parents/guardians and adult students
name;
postal address and/or residential address;
email address;
telephone number(s);
relationship to the student;
payment and billing information (e.g. transaction details, payment method; note: card details may be stored by a secure third-party payment gateway rather than by us);
communications and enquiries you send us (e.g. through contact forms, email or phone).
Students (including children and young people)
name;
date of birth and/or age;
school, year level or education level;
academic subjects studied and tutoring goals (e.g. literacy, numeracy, exam preparation, IELTS);
details of learning needs, learning gaps, strengths and challenges;
information about any relevant learning difficulties or disabilities (e.g. dyslexia, ADHD, reading comprehension issues), where this is reasonably necessary for us to tailor our tutoring;
records of attendance at tutoring sessions and progress notes;
results or feedback from assessments, practice tests and homework provided through our programs.
Website and online activity data
IP address;
device and browser information;
pages viewed, blog posts read and links clicked;
dates, times and duration of visits;
referring websites or search terms;
information collected via cookies and similar technologies (see section 7).
We generally do not collect sensitive information (such as health information) unless it is reasonably necessary for our functions and you (or your parent/guardian, where applicable) have provided it to us or consented to us collecting it.
4. How we collect personal information
We may collect personal information in a number of ways, including:
Directly from you when you:
complete an enrolment or contact form (online or in person);
book or attend tutoring sessions (including holiday programs, master classes and exam preparation);
contact us by phone, email, social media or through our website;
participate in remote/online learning sessions;
subscribe to our mailing list or blog updates.
From parents/guardians about their children, for the purpose of enrolment, assessment and tutoring.
Automatically when you use our website, via cookies, analytics tools and similar technologies (see section 7).
From third parties, where permitted by law, such as:
education agents, schools or referral partners;
service providers who assist us in running our programs and website.
Where you provide us with personal information about another person (for example, a child, another parent or an emergency contact), you must ensure that you have their authority to do so and that they are aware of this Privacy Policy.
5. Why we collect, use and disclose personal information
We collect, use and disclose personal information for purposes including:
Tutoring and education services
assessing a student’s needs, learning gaps and goals;
designing and delivering tutoring programs (e.g. English Plus, Maths Plus, exam mastery, coding, homework support);
providing face-to-face and online tutoring sessions and holiday programs;
monitoring academic progress and adjusting programs as needed;
communicating with parents, guardians and students about progress, homework and upcoming sessions.
Administration and operations
processing enrolments and managing student records;
managing bookings, time slots and campus capacity;
processing payments and issuing invoices and receipts;
maintaining and improving our website, online platforms and remote learning tools;
managing our relationships with students, families, staff and tutors.
Marketing and communications
sending newsletters, blog updates, resources, promotions, information about new programs and campus updates (e.g. changes to operations, remote learning arrangements);
running surveys, promotions or events connected with our tutoring services.
You can opt out of direct marketing at any time (see section 6).
Legal and compliance
responding to enquiries, complaints or claims;
complying with our legal and regulatory obligations;
protecting the safety and wellbeing of students, staff and visitors;
preventing or investigating suspected fraud or unlawful activity.
If we do not collect your personal information, we may not be able to provide you or your child with our tutoring services or respond to your enquiries.
6. Direct marketing
We may use your contact details to send you emails or other communications about:
our tutoring services and programs;
blog posts and education resources;
campus operations and remote learning updates;
special offers, events and holiday programs.
You can opt out of receiving direct marketing at any time by:
clicking the “unsubscribe” link in an email; or
contacting us using the details in section 14.
We do not sell your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.
7. Cookies, analytics and online tracking
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to help us:
make the website work properly;
remember your preferences;
understand how visitors use our site and which content (such as articles and resources) is most useful;
improve our services and marketing.
We may also use third-party analytics and advertising tools (for example, services similar to Google Analytics or social media pixels) to collect aggregated, de-identified information about website usage.
You can usually set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being used. If you disable or refuse cookies, some parts of our website may not function properly.
8. Disclosure of personal information
We may disclose personal information to:
Our staff and tutors, where they need the information to deliver or support tutoring services.
Service providers who help us operate our business and website, such as:
IT and cloud hosting providers;
online learning platforms and education technology tools;
email and marketing platforms;
payment processors and accounting systems;
website analytics and support providers.
Schools, education providers or scholarship bodies, where you have asked us to provide reports or references or where this is reasonably necessary for the student’s learning and you have consented.
Professional advisers, such as lawyers, accountants or insurers, where necessary for them to provide services to us.
Regulators, law enforcement or other government authorities, where required or authorised by law, or to protect the safety of an individual or the public.
Some of the third-party service providers we use may store or process personal information outside Australia (for example, in the United States, European Union or other regions). Where this occurs, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the overseas recipient does not breach the APPs in relation to your personal information, or that another exception applies.
9. Storage and security of personal information
We may store personal information in:
electronic records on our systems and those of our service providers; and
limited hard-copy student or enrolment files.
We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps may include:
password-protected systems and restricted access on a need-to-know basis;
secure storage for hard-copy files;
staff and tutor obligations to maintain confidentiality;
regular review of our IT security measures.
We retain personal information for as long as it is needed for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or as otherwise required by law. When information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to destroy it or de-identify it.
10. Access to and correction of personal information
You have the right to request:
access to the personal information we hold about you; and
correction of that information if you believe it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading.
To make a request, please contact us using the details in section 14. We may ask you to verify your identity before we provide access or make corrections.
In some cases, we may refuse access or correction where the law permits or requires us to do so. If that happens, we will tell you why and how you can complain.
For students under 18, we will usually work through the parent or guardian, subject to the best interests of the student and any applicable legal requirements.
11. Children’s and students’ privacy
We understand that much of the personal information we handle relates to children and young people.
We generally collect information about students from their parents or guardians or with parental/guardian consent.
We use this information only as reasonably necessary to provide tutoring and support to the student, to communicate with their family, and to operate our business.
Where appropriate, we may speak directly with older students about how their information is used, in a way they can understand.
If you are a parent or guardian and believe we have collected personal information about your child without your consent, please contact us so we can investigate and, if appropriate, delete or de-identify it.
12. Links to other websites
Our website and blog contain links to other websites, including education resources, articles and external tutoring or school information.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third-party sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any website you visit.
13. Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, our services or the law.
The most current version will always be available on our website and will show the “Last updated” date at the top. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.
14. Contact us and privacy complaints
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or if you wish to request access to or correction of your personal information.
Complaints
If you have a privacy complaint, please contact us in writing with details of your concern. We will:
acknowledge your complaint;
investigate the circumstances; and
respond to you within a reasonable period.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):
Website: oaic.gov.au
Phone: 1300 363 992