To improve the ability to register visitors at school sites, the NSW Department of Education (DoE) has partnered with Service NSW to develop a digital School Check-in tool for all NSW government schools.
The School Check-in tool is necessary to:
- support schools’ obligations around security, probity, record-keeping and compliance when visitors enter schools and
- digitise visitor sign-ins at NSW government schools.
The School Check-in tool will be available as:
- part of the Service NSW app
- a self-serve Service NSW web check-in
- a concierge-assisted School Check-in app.
This Privacy Collection Notice is to advise you of the personal information DoE and Service NSW will collect from you when you use the School Check-in tool.
School Check-in via the Service NSW app
The School Check-in tool enables you to ‘sign in’ to a NSW government school site.
In order to use the School Check-in tool via the Service NSW app, you will need to have a MyServiceNSW Account or register to use the tool as a ‘guest’ using the link provided on the Service NSW app.
School Web Check-in tool and concierge-assisted School Check-in app
In order to enable people who do not have the Service NSW app to ‘sign in’ to schools, DoE will provide a self-serve or concierge-assisted School Check-in tool (via web and app) to be completed when you arrive at a school site. These tools have been developed by Service NSW in partnership with DoE.
In order to use the School Web Check-in tool, you will need to access the Web Check-in tool from your own device, provide your information to the staff member at the school you are visiting or use the concierge device provided at the school.
Why we are collecting your personal information
DoE collects your personal information for the purpose of maintaining a log of all visitors to NSW government school sites to maintain and promote a safe and disciplined learning environment for students and staff. The visitor log also supports school obligations around security, probity, record-keeping and compliance.
The information may be used by DoE for the purposes of:
- understanding who was on a school site during a particular period of time
- responding to injuries or incidents on a school site
- exercising complaint handling and investigative functions
- contract management
- child protection
- complying with laws
- carrying out any of DoE's other functions.
By using the School Check-in system, DoE will create a record of your attendance at the NSW government school site. You are also able to check-out using your Service NSW app once you leave the school premises. You will automatically be checked out after 48 hours if you fail to do so.
Types of personal information collected
Service NSW collects your personal information through the School Check-in tool on behalf of DoE via the Service NSW app or Web Check-in tool. The information collected is shared with DoE and removed from Service NSW’s systems after 7 days.
The information collected by the School Check-in tool includes:
- details of the premises you are visiting
- who you are visiting
- time and date of your visit
- your name
- phone number
- visitor type – parent/carer, contractor, volunteer, parent volunteer, school staff, other
- company name (if applicable)
- job ID (if applicable)
- reason for visit (if applicable)
- if you will be working with children
- if you have completed a site safety induction
- the option to add a digital White Card credential to your check-in (if applicable).
If you access the School Check-in tool using your MyServiceNSW Account, your contact details (including your name and mobile phone number) will be pre-populated from your MyServiceNSW Account.
Adding credentials to your School check-in on the Service NSW app
Certain credentials, such as your White Card, can be linked to the Service NSW app on your device. If you choose to do so, the addition of a credential can form part of the check-in information Service NSW and DoE hold about you when you check in via the School Check-in tool using your MyServiceNSW Account. The School check-in tool confirmation page will display a green tick confirming that your credential has been linked to your check-in.
Linking your White Card to your School visitor check-in is optional. You can continue to use your physical White Card in place of the digital version if you want to.
Visit Digital trade licences and credentials – Privacy Collection Notice for more information about how personal information is handled when adding a White Card to your Service NSW app.
If you do not want to provide your personal information
If you do not provide your personal information using the School Check-in tool, then you will need to either:
- register your attendance at the school site using a paper-based method provided by the school, or
- if no such paper-based method is available, you will not be able to attend the NSW goverment school site and will be required to immediately leave the premises.
Retention and disclosure of personal information collected
All data collected by the School Check-in tool will be provided electronically by Service NSW to DoE. In the event of a systems outage, Service NSW will temporarily store all visitor information collected by the School Check-in tool until DoE has successfully received your record, after which your record will be deleted from the Service NSW database. Service NSW will only have access to your name, contact details and the date and time of entry for 7 days.
If you accessed the School Check-in tool using your MyServiceNSW Account, Service NSW will still permanently delete the additional information that was collected (that is, details of the premises attended, time and date of attendance) after 7 days however your contact details in your MyServiceNSW Account will not be changed or deleted.
DoE will retain the data for 7 years as a visitor log in accordance with the requirements of State Archives and Records General Retention and Disposal Authority GA28 16.24.5. After 7 years, the data including your personal information will be deleted by DoE, unless there is a legal requirement to maintain the data for a longer period.
Access and amendment
Once you register your attendance at a NSW government school using the School Check-in tool, you will only be able to ask for access or request to update or amend the details of your attendance upon request to DoE. If you use the Service NSW app to check in, the last check-in will be available on your device, it is not stored by Service NSW.
Concerns about the collection or handling of personal information should be raised with DoE. For further information about how DoE protects your privacy or to make a privacy complaint, refer to the Department of Education's privacy information and forms.
Additional information
Service NSW may collect anonymous user data, such as how you interact with the Service NSW app, to support improvements to our services and the Service NSW app.
Anonymous and de-identified statistical data (such as number of people checking-in, visitor types and proportion of those who added credentials) is analysed by Service NSW and may be disclosed to DoE to support the school visitor check-in experience. This will not contain personal information, because the information is de-identified and will be grouped together so no individual is identifiable.
Visit Service NSW Privacy for more information about how Service NSW handles your personal information. This includes how:
- you can access and seek correction of the information
- privacy enquiries or complaints can be made
- information is securely stored and
- you can contact Service NSW.