Privacy Policy
Your privacy matters to us.
At Connect.Ed, we respect your privacy and are committed to handling your personal information carefully, respectfully and responsibly.
This Privacy policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose and protect personal information when you visit our website, contact us, book a chat, submit an enquiry or work with us as a student, RTO, school, university, pathway partner or other organisation.
By using our website or providing personal information to us, you agree to the way we handle personal information as described in this Privacy policy.
1. Who we are
Connect.Ed helps students explore practical study pathways and supports government funded RTOs, schools, universities and pathway partners with student engagement, readiness and referral support.
In this Privacy policy, “Connect.Ed”, “we”, “us” or “our” means:
2. What personal information we collect
The personal information we collect depends on how you interact with us.
We may collect:
Contact information
This may include your name, email address, phone number, organisation, role or other contact details.
Student enquiry information
If you are a student or prospective student, we may collect information about your study interests, career goals, course preferences, location, availability, eligibility, readiness, previous study, work background and what kind of support you are looking for.
RTO and partner enquiry information
If you contact us on behalf of an RTO, school, university, pathway partner or other organisation, we may collect information about your organisation, courses, delivery model, intake needs, student pathway opportunities, locations, timing and partnership interests.
Booking and communication information
We may collect information you provide when you book a chat, submit a form, email us, call us, speak with our team or communicate with us through any other channel.
Website and technical information
When you use our website, we may collect basic information about how the website is used. This may include pages visited, forms submitted, general location, device type, browser type, IP address and other website usage information.
3. Sensitive information
Sometimes we may collect information that is more sensitive in nature.
This may include information about eligibility, study history, support needs, personal circumstances or other details relevant to a study pathway or referral.
We will only collect sensitive information where it is reasonably necessary for our services and where you have provided it to us, consented to us collecting it or where we are otherwise allowed to collect it by law.
Please do not provide sensitive information to us unless it is needed for your enquiry or we have asked you to provide it.
4. How we collect personal information
We may collect personal information when you:
submit a form on our website
book a chat with us
contact us by phone, email or online
speak with a member of our team
make a student enquiry
make an RTO or partner enquiry
are referred to us by a school, university, pathway partner or other organisation
are referred to an RTO or course provider through us
interact with our website, online forms or booking tools
otherwise provide information to us
Where possible, we collect personal information directly from you.
In some cases, we may receive personal information from a third party, such as a school, university, pathway partner, RTO, referral partner or parent or guardian.
5. Why we collect personal information
We collect personal information so we can provide our services, respond to enquiries and support student pathway conversations.
We may use your personal information to:
respond to your enquiry
book, confirm or manage a chat
understand what support you are looking for
help students explore study pathway options
help students understand course expectations and next steps
check student interest, goals, timing, eligibility and readiness
support student referrals to an RTO or course provider where appropriate
communicate with RTOs, schools, universities and pathway partners
manage relationships with education and pathway partners
improve our website, communication and services
send relevant updates or follow up information
keep business and administration records
meet legal, regulatory or compliance obligations
We do not sell your personal information.
6. Student referrals
If you are a student and you choose to move forward with a study pathway, we may share relevant information with an RTO, course provider or pathway partner so they can contact you about the next step.
This may include your name, contact details, course interest, location, eligibility information, readiness details and other information relevant to the referral.
We will only do this where you have asked us to, agreed to be referred or where it is reasonably expected as part of the support we are providing.
7. Working with RTOs and pathway partners
If you are an RTO, school, university, pathway partner or other organisation, we may use the information you provide to understand your needs, explore partnership opportunities, support student pathways, coordinate referrals and communicate with you about our services.
We may also use information about your courses, intake windows, delivery model or student pathway needs to help guide student conversations and referrals.
8. When we disclose personal information
We may disclose personal information where it is needed to provide our services, respond to an enquiry or support a student pathway.
This may include disclosure to:
RTOs or course providers
schools, universities or pathway partners
student support or referral partners
technology providers that help us run our website, forms, bookings, email or business systems
professional advisers, such as accountants, lawyers or consultants
regulatory bodies, government agencies or law enforcement where required by law
other parties where you have consented or where disclosure is otherwise permitted by law
We only disclose personal information where it is relevant to the purpose for which it was collected or where we are legally allowed or required to do so.
9. Overseas disclosure
Some of the systems and service providers we use may store or process information outside Australia.
This may include website hosting, email, booking, CRM, analytics or cloud-based business tools.
Where we use these services, personal information may be stored or accessed in countries outside Australia. We take reasonable steps to work with reputable providers and to protect the information we hold.
10. Website cookies and analytics
Our website may use cookies, analytics tools and similar technologies to help us understand how people use the site and to improve the website experience.
Cookies are small files stored on your device. They may help the website work properly, remember preferences, understand site traffic or improve performance.
You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings. If you disable cookies, some parts of the website may not work as expected.
11. Marketing communications
We may use your contact details to send relevant updates, information or follow ups about our services, student pathways or partnership opportunities.
You can opt out of marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe option where available or by contacting us directly.
We will still be able to contact you about active enquiries, bookings, referrals, services or administrative matters.
12. How we protect personal information
We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
This may include:
using secure systems where possible
limiting access to personal information
using passwords and access controls
keeping business records in controlled systems
reviewing how information is collected and handled
working with reputable technology providers
deleting or de-identifying information when it is no longer needed
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. However, we take privacy and data protection seriously and aim to handle personal information with care.
13. How long we keep personal information
We keep personal information for as long as it is reasonably needed for the purpose it was collected.
This may include keeping information to:
respond to enquiries
manage bookings and conversations
support student referrals
maintain business and partnership records
meet legal, regulatory, tax, insurance or reporting obligations
resolve disputes or respond to complaints
When personal information is no longer needed, we will take reasonable steps to delete, de-identify or securely archive it.
14. Accessing or correcting your personal information
You can contact us to request access to the personal information we hold about you.
You can also ask us to correct personal information if you believe it is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date or misleading.
We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. In some situations, we may not be able to provide access to certain information, but we will explain why if this applies.
15. Students under 18
If you are under 18, we encourage you to involve a parent, guardian or trusted adult when making decisions about study pathways.
If we collect personal information from a person under 18, we may ask for parent or guardian involvement where appropriate, especially where a referral, booking or pathway conversation requires additional support or consent.
16. Third-party websites
Our website may contain links to third-party websites, booking platforms, forms or other services.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content or security of third-party websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit.
17. Data breaches
If we become aware of a data breach involving personal information, we will take reasonable steps to assess and respond to the incident.
Where required by law, we will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme, covered organisations must notify affected individuals and the OAIC about an eligible data breach.
18. Making a privacy complaint
If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it.
Please include your name, contact details and a short description of your concern.
We will review your complaint and respond within a reasonable timeframe.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
19. Changes to this Privacy policy
We may update this Privacy policy from time to time.
The latest version will be available on our website. The date at the top of this page shows when the policy was last updated.
20. Contact us
If you have any questions about this Privacy policy or how we handle personal information, please contact us.