Schools and providers

Schools and other organisations that wish to offer the VPC must be authorised by the VCAA and registered as a foundation secondary provider with the VRQA. Enquiries about registration should be directed to the VRQA.

Single study provider registration

A school or organisation wishing to provide only a single VPC study must be authorised by the VCAA and registered as a foundation secondary provider with the VRQA. Enquiries about registration should be directed to the VRQA.

Allocation of a VASS identity

The VASS retains information for all students enrolled in the VPC. After registration and authorisation, the VCAA oversees the allocation of each provider’s identity in VASS and contacts the school or organisation to provide training, if required.

Schools should contact the VCAA Student Records and Results unit for advice about:

student transfers
students arriving from interstate or overseas at the commencement of the academic year
criteria for eligibility
enrolment procedures.

Schools providing the VPC

Schools providing the VPC can be viewed on VASS for contact details.

School/provider name changes and school closures

Schools that change their name must advise the VCAA Student Records and Results unit in writing and provide proof that the relevant registration body has endorsed the name change. Schools that no longer offer the VPC should notify the VCAA Student Records and Results unit in writing.

School/provider address, telephone and coordinator changes

Schools are responsible for using VASS to make sure their address, telephone number, fax number and details of their principal and coordinators are correct and confirmed. The VASS Operations Team must be contacted to change the school email address.

Registered training organisations

RTOs are responsible for delivering, assessing and certifying VET. An RTO may be a technical and further education (TAFE) institute, a group training company, an industry training organisation, enterprise, school or adult, community and further education (ACFE) provider.

School–RTO partnerships

A school may enter into a partnership with an RTO to deliver VET to VPC students. An agreement between a school and an RTO may enable a school to deliver units of competency of the VET qualification or a whole qualification. Schools may contract an RTO to deliver the whole qualification.

Both these options incur costs. Advice on eligibility for funding to cover these costs is available from the relevant sector authority – the Department of Education, Independent Schools Victoria or the Victorian Catholic Education Authority. Schools should confirm that the RTO they have entered into an agreement with has the scope of registration to deliver the VET programs offered.

Schools as RTOs

Schools may apply to the VRQA or Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) to become an RTO to deliver specified qualifications. A school recognised as an RTO is responsible for delivery, assessment, certification and quality assurance. The school is also responsible for providing enrolment and results data to the training sector. Schools as RTOs may contract other providers for delivering training and assessment, but the school remains responsible for quality assurance and validating assessments.

All RTOs must comply with either the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 or the VRQA Guidelines for VET Providers.

School/provider obligations to the VCAA

Principals of schools and other VPC providers are the formal authorities for many important procedural and managerial requirements in the VPC (including the provision of 50 hours of classroom instruction per unit). This section summarises these requirements, which are also repeated in relevant sections throughout this handbook.

Each year schools provide student enrolment details to the VCAA through their enrolments on VASS, which indicate to the VCAA the programs the schools will offer. The principal makes sure students have access to adequate facilities and resources to complete any VPC study the school is offering.

Communication from the VCAA to school staff

The VCAA uses email, Notices to Schools, the VCAA Bulletin (through direct teacher subscription) and its website to officially communicate with schools. Schools are responsible for making sure VCAA communications are forwarded to appropriate school staff, such as VPC coordinators and VASS administrators. Teachers and VASS administrators must be kept informed of VCAA administrative and assessment requirements, including official notification of changes to VPC procedures. Teachers must have access to copies of:

relevant accredited VPC curriculum designs
relevant companion documents to the curriculum designs, called VPC support materials
relevant VCE study designs and VCE Support materials
relevant VCE VET program booklets, extracts or summaries
current units of competency
VCE VET Scored Assessment Guides
the annual VCE Administrative Handbook and VPC Administrative Handbook
VCAA Bulletin
Notices to Schools.

Principal endorsement

The principal’s signature or signature of their delegate is required on some documents to certify that the information they contain is accurate and complete. These documents relate to:

amendments to results
credits
late entry of data on VASS.

Other documentation requiring principal or delegate verification includes:

forms for General Achievement Test (GAT) examination centres (if VPC students are required to undertake the GAT)
endorsed lists of VPC-eligible students at midyear.

VASS

VASS is the database where schools maintain student details, assessment information and school details. It is imperative that the accuracy, privacy and security of VASS data is maintained at all times.

All VPC providers are required to have access to VASS. The VCAA is notified of schools eligible to offer VPC by registering authorities. Schools can apply to the VASS Operations Team for a user ID and password.

The term ‘school’ refers to VPC providers and schools registering Year 10 students without programs as part of the Department of Education On Track survey.
The VCAA and schools are jointly responsible for protecting the privacy of student personal information held in VASS. School-based authorised users of VASS are responsible for the use and disclosure of student personal information when it is extracted from VASS, either in printed or electronic form. Schools should take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, loss or unauthorised access. Student personal information should not be provided to staff, students or any other person who does not have a legitimate reason to access that information.

Schools are responsible for respecting and protecting the confidentiality of students’ personal and academic details. VASS system security is designed so schools can view the details of students only if the school is their ‘home school’, or if they are being assessed in at least one unit by the school.

RTOs that are not senior secondary qualification providers or foundation secondary providers need to apply for read-only access to VASS. Once approved, they will be limited to only viewing the details of the students undertaking their training. RTOs should contact the VASS Operations Team to initiate access.

VASS users

There are several school-based VASS user types that allow each school to control and maintain the security of their student data. The VASS administrator has system control for their school and is responsible for setting up and managing other school-based users.

VASS administrators use their high-level access to administer the VPC, including any VET, for their school. This includes setting up the school’s program, enrolling students, entering results and producing reports. Schools may have one or more VASS administrators appointed at the principal’s discretion. However, the VCAA recommends that each school should have no more than 4 VASS administrators. Schools may have many VASS users; for example, every VPC teacher could be given VASS teacher (restricted) status to enter their own results.

Data security and VASS

VASS has a 3-layer security system. Users have a username, password and passcode to access the authentication grid.

Schools must contact the VASS Operations Team to set up new VASS administrators or modify existing VASS administrators. VASS administrators can set up other VASS users. All users should change their own password regularly. Other VASS user groups include Clerical (CL) and School Statistics and Results Group (SSRG).

VASS administrators should refer to the VASS New User’s Manual for comprehensive details on using VASS. If VASS administrators experience problems, including password and login issues, they should contact the VASS Operations Team at the VCAA.

Data entry on VASS

Enrolment and unit completion and results must be entered into VASS in accordance with the VCAA’s administrative requirements and critical deadlines. Penalties apply for late data entry.

The first enrolment deadline of each academic year is critical as the VCAA uses it to:

plan the GAT
identify schools for the VPC curriculum and assessment audit.

Home schools

The home school is the student’s main school. A student can have only one home school at a time, and each home school is responsible for ensuring its student program enrolments are correct. This is achieved by printing and checking the Student full details report from VASS.

For VPC enrolments, the home school is always the assessing school, however the RTO code must be entered against the enrolment if appropriate. The home school remains responsible for all enrolments and results data entry for VCE, VET and VPC, regardless of delivery arrangements.

Assessing schools

The assessing school is the school responsible for providing the assessment for one or more units and for fulfilling the requirements of the VPC curriculum and assessment audit. A student may have one or more assessing schools.

To ensure the security of student data, an assessing school that is not the home school must have a student number and home school code before a student’s details can be viewed for the first time. The assessing school may then enrol the student in units that it offers.

Timelines and summary of data requirements

Schools must adhere to published dates for entry of enrolments and results on VASS. Some dates are important for both school administration and the VCAA. Others are cut-off dates and the VASS system will not allow data entry after these dates. Due dates and warnings on the VASS home page prompt VASS users to meet scheduled dates. School administrators should also refer to the Important administrative dates 2025.

There are 4 types of data required from schools:

school programs – providers must identify the units comprising their school’s VPC program before enrolling students in their programs
student registrations – these can be entered at any time but must be completed before the end-of-academic-year results processing
student program enrolments – refer to the Important administrative dates 2025 for details. Changes to student enrolments after the due dates require VCAA approval. Late fees will be charged, except for late withdrawals approved on compassionate grounds
student result data – schools must provide data by several dates throughout the year.

The principal is responsible for making sure all data required by the VCAA is entered into VASS by the closing dates.

Teachers are responsible for making sure they set submission dates for any assessment task used to help determine satisfactory completion within an adequate timeframe to allow the assessment task to be completed and marked, so that entry of results can be maintained within VCAA timelines. Teachers should not be scheduling tasks after a VCAA submission date.

Extensions of time to enter enrolment or results data

If a school does not meet deadlines for entry of enrolment or results data due to unforeseen circumstances, they can seek permission from the VCAA Student Records and Results unit for an extension of access to VASS for a short period of time beyond the published submission date. This service can be made available to schools only if the VCAA administrative processes are not compromised. An extension of time is not possible for the specific results deadline.

Special circumstances beyond the school’s control will be taken into account, otherwise the school will be charged a fee for this service (see Fees and charges).

Accuracy of personal and enrolment data

The accuracy of personal and enrolment data is a school’s obligation to its students. Data may be entered into the VASS database manually or by data import.

Student data imports

A student’s personal details and program data can be imported from other applications, including CASES21 for government schools. For advice on file formats, consult the VASS help screens and the VASS Import Document, which is available as a download through VASS.

Student number errors

If a student has either 2 VCAA student numbers in the current year of enrolment or multiple numbers across various years, schools should notify the VCAA Student Records and Results unit immediately so the issue can be resolved as soon as possible.

Reporting the death of a student

Schools must communicate the death of a student to the VCAA by sending a letter signed by the principal to the Manager, Student Records and Results unit. The student’s record will be amended on the VCAA database accordingly. If the VCAA is not informed of the death of a student, the student’s data will be included in VCAA senior secondary data collections, which may result in the student’s family experiencing further distress.

Student enrolment data

The Student full details report on VASS is the key report for checking students’ personal details and enrolments. As part of the school’s audit procedures, this report must be printed and given to students for checking and signing at the beginning of the academic year, and always when changes have been made to either a student’s personal details or enrolment details.

VASS-generated class lists should also be produced and handed to class teachers at the beginning of each unit. Class teachers should confirm the list against the students they are teaching. When a student’s enrolment changes, the relevant class lists should be produced and given to the class teachers for signing to confirm acknowledgement of the changes. These quality assurance procedures are essential for ensuring the accuracy of students’ personal and enrolment data.

Student eligibility

Schools should run eligibility reports in VASS to determine if, or how, units contribute to the VPC and to make sure the minimum requirements of the VPC qualification have been met. Eligibility reports should be run as early as possible at the beginning of the academic year and every time a student’s enrolment is changed. Individual student eligibility can be checked on VASS when students are enrolled in the learning program.

Accuracy of results data

The accuracy of results data is a school’s obligation to its students. Results data may only be entered into the VASS database manually.

Reporting unit results

Schools report students’ results as follows:

VPC unit results are reported as S (satisfactory) or N (not yet complete)
VCE, including VCE VM, unit results are reported as S (satisfactory), N (not yet complete) or J (discontinued a study without formal withdrawal and no form of assessment has been completed)
VET unit of competency results are reported as S (competent) or N (not yet competent) for all certificate types.

VPC results entered as N (not yet complete) will appear on the Student full details report from VASS.

VET results entered as N (not yet competent) will appear on the Student full details report from VASS.

Schools can produce several relevant reports:

RESULTS ADMIN > VPC Reports / VET Reports > Unit Results > By Class RESULTS ADMIN > VPC Reports / VET Reports > Unit Results > By Student

While VPC unit results are due to the VCAA by specific dates, the VCAA recommends schools enter unit results as they are received to reduce the amount of data entry required closer to the deadline.

N results

Schools that record an N for a VPC unit can record an S for individual modules achieved within the unit (existing credit).

Students with existing credit will only need to complete the outstanding modules for the VPC unit that they were yet to achieve to record an S for the unit. This will assist VPC students who have interruptions to their studies, including those who:

have a significant illness
have significant personal hardship
are returning to VPC after changes to their career pathway, for example, if they left VPC to take up employment but then lost their job
have other interruptions to their study, for example, if they became disengaged and left school
have taken a long time to achieve their VPC.

Missing results

VASS can be used to produce input, summary and missing result reports for all types of results. Schools must check these reports to make sure all students’ results are entered. Failure to do so may lead to unit results or certificates not being awarded. If results for a whole class are not available for entry by the scheduled submission date, contact the Manager, Student Records and Results unit for advice.

The student’s home school is responsible for entering results where the assessing school is a private provider.

Award of certificate

Each student’s Victorian Pathways Certificate is sent to their home school on the scheduled date at the end of the academic year.

Each certificate contains the student’s full name but not their individual studies or results. A certificate is issued in the academic year in which the student first satisfies all VPC requirements.

Students who have previously satisfied all VPC requirements and have chosen to undertake additional studies with the same certificate enrolment are not re-issued the certificate.

Statement of Results

The VPC Statement of Results is issued to students enrolled in the VPC as their primary program, and those completing some VCE studies as part of their VPC. The VPC Statement of Results contains:

a cumulative record of achievement for all VPC, VCE, VCE VM, VCAL and VCE VET units undertaken and the academic year in which the result was obtained
graded assessment and study scores for each sequence of VCE and VCE VET Units 3 and 4 studies undertaken either in the current year or earlier. If both Units 3 and 4 are awarded a J result, the entire record for the sequence is not printed
credit obtained for study undertaken overseas, interstate, as part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) or for a vocational certificate
higher education studies successfully completed
a GAT statement (if completed)
a declaration stating whether the student has or has not been awarded the VPC.

The Student Achievement Profile is a holistic summary of a student’s achievements captured during their senior secondary education that will complement the existing Statement of Results.

Certification points

In 2025, 2 certification points will be available to students who complete the VPC in July and December.

Students who have lost their original certificate or Statement of Results may apply to the VCAA for a replacement. Requests for replacement certificates or Statements of Results should be made on the appropriate forms.

Reporting graded assessment results

VPC units do not have graded assessments.

Reporting study scores

VPC units do not have study scores.

Data amendments and late fees

Procedure for amending enrolments after the due date

Data will be locked after the due date for enrolments in each cycle. The Manager, Student Records and Results unit must be notified of any errors that have occurred in entering VPC unit data as soon as they are detected. Schools are reminded that enrolment changes will not be accepted if students have indicated their intention to withdraw from the unit after a closing date or have left school without formally exiting from the VPC.

Acceptance of an application for amendment is at the VCAA’s discretion. Applications for amendments must be submitted on the appropriate forms, available as VASS downloads.

The relevant enrolment amendment forms for VCE and VPC are available as VASS downloads.

All requests for changes to VCE VET and VET units of competency should be made on the Application for late VET enrolment amendments form, available on VASS. If the results submission date has also passed, the result for the new enrolment must be included on the form.

Requests to add units of competency to certificates or create a new certificate should be accompanied by the student’s training plan scanned and emailed to the VCAA VET Unit for approval.

If the request is made after the VCAA cut-off dates, the request must include:
- a letter from the school principal explaining the reason for the error
- evidence supporting the enrolment change, such as copies of a class attendance sheet, and evidence of the student’s intention to withdraw.
The application for amendment must be accompanied by the appropriate fee (see Fees and Charges). No GST is payable on late fees.

School/provider obligations to students

Schools should:

advise students in writing of the VCAA’s rules and the school’s rules and responsibilities at the beginning of the academic year
make sure any subject matter that students investigate through self-directed research and/or produce as an artwork, performance or product is consistent with community standards, appropriate for study by school students, and does not place them or other students at risk of contravening Victorian or Australian laws
make sure teachers use the accredited VCAA curriculum and assessment documents as the source of content for teaching and learning programs
provide comprehensive course advice to students, including the consequences of receiving an N result for a unit
provide a process for students to check their personal details stored on the VCAA database each year
keep students’ personal details secure from unauthorised access
allow for student appeal on adverse school decisions
make sure students understand, and have access to, Special Provision for VPC studies
make sure VPC student eligibility reports are run regularly to guarantee students will meet the eligibility requirements for the award of the VPC.

Provision of accredited curriculum and assessments

Teachers must provide learning experiences and assessment opportunities that are in accordance with the intention of the currently accredited curriculum designs without undue assistance.

Enrolling students in the VPC

The VPC is designed for students:

working at Level 1 of the AQF
in Years 11 and 12 who would benefit from an individualised program at a more accessible level than a senior secondary program.

Checking the accuracy of student data

Students’ personal details

Students must submit a Student personal details and declaration form that includes their intended program for the year. The information on this form should be entered on VASS.

Each student’s personal details, particularly their date of birth, consent permissions and subject enrolment details must be entered on VASS. Schools are responsible for using the Student full details report from VASS to make sure eligibility reports for the VPC are run regularly and checked and signed by students and their teachers. Failure to run this report could severely affect students’ eligibility for satisfactory completion of their VPC. Students should be provided with a new Student full details report to sign at the end of each enrolment cycle to guarantee any requested changes have been made. Students should also be advised that their Year 12 results will be mailed to the postal address on their Student full details report at the end of the academic year.

Students must be enrolled on VASS using their legally registered name as per the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, or the relevant state or national agency. When signing their personal details form under the General declaration, students attest that they are enrolling using their legally registered name.

Gender diverse students

A student who does not identify as male or female may elect to have ‘self-described’ as their nominated gender identity. The self-described gender category refers to any person who does not identify as either exclusively male or female, including people of non-binary gender.

Transgender students

Schools with students who are in the process of gender affirmation/transition should contact the VASS team for further advice relating to recording student details on VASS and reporting their results.

From 1 May 2020, a student who has legally changed the sex that is recorded on their birth certificate through the Births, Deaths and Marriages registry process may present this birth certificate to their school (if under 18 years of age and currently in school) or to the VCAA (if over 18 and no longer in school) so their record can be updated.

Students’ postal addresses

VASS only stores a student’s preferred postal address. It is mandatory to enter an address line, suburb, state and postcode. If a student’s postal address is unknown, schools should enter the school address as the student’s address.

The VCAA uses the postal addresses stored on VASS to mail students the final results of their VCE, VCE VM, VPC or VCE VET Units 3 and 4 studies.

To make sure the final results are successfully delivered, the VCAA undertakes to validate the postal addresses of all students eligible to receive their results in the mail. If an error is detected, schools will receive an email that lists the affected students. Schools are responsible for making sure student personal details are accurate and should contact students to amend the information.

Students’ email addresses

The VCAA requires schools to enter a non-school email address for each student enrolled in a VCE, VCE VM, VPC or VCE VET Units 3 and 4 study into VASS. This will support results delivery, enable post-results service statements to be provided by email, and support communication with students, including any information about recognition and awards.

Changes to students’ personal details

Results will be printed using the student’s name as entered on VASS. The results will be mailed to the student addresses as entered on VASS where applicable. The Important Administrative Dates 2025 will have deadlines for amending this information. The VCAA cannot accept changes of address after this date as results processing would have already begun.

Matching students with previous results

Matching of student details is done on the basis of name, date of birth and gender. Slight differences in spelling, an inaccurate date of birth or a change of name may mean that a student who has attended more than one school might be assigned multiple student numbers, each having only part of the student’s academic record.

As the matching process will start as soon as a student is registered, it is essential that the personal details entered for the student are accurate. This ensures the system is able to match the student’s academic history with their current details. If a match is found on the database for a particular student, the student is allocated their previous student number and their previous results and enrolments for the current year are combined to make up a complete academic history.

Schools should not estimate dates of birth to enrol students. If details are not correct, these matches cannot occur and the student will have 2 student numbers, each having only part of their academic history. This may lead to the student not being awarded the certificate in which they are enrolled.

Security of student data

All VPC data on VASS must remain secure and the privacy of students’ personal and academic details must be protected (see Privacy section).

Security of student numbers

The student number is a key identifier that allows the VCAA to securely maintain student result data. Students should have full confidence that the enrolment and result record maintained by the VCAA is accurate, complete and confidential.

The confidentiality of a student record should be restricted to the student and administrative staff at their home school and assessing school. Select VCAA staff have a specific role in the maintenance of that data. Any other access requires the student’s written consent.

Each student should be given a printed copy of their Student full details report so they are aware of their student number. Lists of student numbers and names should not be printed and published or displayed on school noticeboards or otherwise made available to members of the school community.

Integrity of student work

At the beginning of the academic year, schools must provide students with clear written details of both the VCAA’s rules and the school’s rules and procedures for submitting work, including the rules for authentication.

Principals are responsible for administering the VCAA’s rules and instructions in their school. They must make sure teachers are using only the currently accredited VPC curriculum designs.

To guarantee the integrity of student work, schools should:

carefully plan, develop, document and implement authentication policies, processes and strategies for their school to make sure student work is the student’s own and completed without undue assistance from another person, including their teacher
develop a document that clearly states the school’s expectations relating to the development and delivery of assessment
have students sign a declaration stating they will abide by their school’s policies and rules relating to the appropriate use of the internet
suitably modify commercially produced materials to ensure the school can authenticate student work
suitably modify publicly available materials to ensure the school can authenticate student work.

For all units in the VPC, schools must specify the work that a student must do to achieve an S and the conditions under which the work is to be done. The school must inform each student in writing of the following:

the achievement of a module by demonstrating the Learning Goals and applications
class attendance requirements
rules for authentication of submitted work
how to submit work.

Decisions about satisfactory completion of a unit are solely the responsibility of the school.

A student is awarded the VPC when they have satisfactorily completed 12 units, including a combination of units that meets the VPC minimum requirement.

A VPC unit is satisfactorily completed once all modules within that unit have been completed. Completion of a module is based on the teacher’s judgement that the student has achieved the learning goal(s) of that module.

Evidence of achieving a learning goal must be ascertained through a range of assessment activities and tasks.

Students can include other curriculum in their VPC learning program, such as VCE units, VCE VM units and VET, to meet the VPC minimum requirement.

The teacher certifies that the student has achieved the learning goal(s) for the module according to the rules set out by the VCAA and the school by reporting satisfactory completion.

To support students with additional opportunities to achieve a satisfactory result, schools should:

have an established process to support the delay of satisfactory completion decisions that is applied consistently across studies, units and modules
assess students on an ongoing basis, integrating knowledge and skills with practical application over a period of time
use flexibility to meet the specific needs of students, ensuring that every student has the opportunity to demonstrate achievement at their own level and at their own pace, as appropriate to the purpose of the qualification.

Schools decide the procedures for assessing levels of achievement, based on the examples provided in published VCAA supporting material.

Administration of special provision

Procedures must be established to identify students who may require Special Provision to ensure consistent and fair decisions are made about appropriate assistance. Schools may approve Special Provision for both classroom learning and school-based assessments to enable students with a disability, illness, impairment or a personal circumstance to demonstrate what they know, and to participate in classroom learning and/or school-based assessments.

Decisions on whether to approve school-based provisions are made by schools. The VCAA recognises that school personnel, because of their knowledge of individual students and their circumstances, can sensitively vary the school learning programs and school-based assessments to accommodate student circumstances.

Application procedures for Special Provision must be given in writing to all students and the school must retain the necessary documentation used to support decisions. Students may apply to their school for Special Provision for classroom learning and school-based assessment. If a student’s application for Special Provision for classroom learning is rejected in full or in part, the student should be advised in writing of the reasons for the decision within 14 days. The student can appeal the decision within 14 days of receiving the advice.

Partnerships

VPC providers are encouraged to form cooperative partnerships with external education providers, businesses, community organisations and individuals. Partnerships will enhance the curriculum provision and/or assessment arrangements for students and extend the learning program and resources available to VPC providers.

Successful partnerships between schools, non-school providers and partner organisations involve building a culture of collaboration and creating connections between schools, non-school providers and partner organisations. These partnerships rely on strong, cooperative relationships and a shared understanding and commitment to:

‘learning that does not stop at the school gate’
the values of TAFE institutions, ACFE organisations and schools, with easy movement between these sectors
a ‘whole community’ approach that involves shared leadership, pooling of resources and expertise, and non-exclusive ownership of learning programs.

Maintenance of school records

Schools must establish procedures to keep records and documentation of decisions relating to:

module and unit completion
student appeals and resulting decisions
agreements to work in partnership with other providers
applications for extensions of time, with supporting documentation
applications for, and approvals of, special provision, with supporting documentation
student absences and whether or not these are approved
any interviews with a student and any resulting decisions.

Schools should advise students that they need to retain work completed for assessment until the end of the academic year in which the work was undertaken. Schools may wish to supervise the storage of student work for this purpose, but this is not required. Work assessed as N or which may be the subject of dispute for other reasons at a later date should be retained at the school. Such work may be retained in original or photocopied form.

Privacy

Laws relating to the privacy of personal information affect the collection, use, disclosure, security and storage of, and access to, student and parent or guardian information.

The Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) set legal standards for the way the Victorian public sector collects and handles the ‘personal information’ and ‘health information’ of individuals. The Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) requires public authorities to act compatibly with human rights, including the right to privacy. Victorian government schools must comply with the Privacy and Data Protection Act, the Health Records Act and the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act. The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) may apply to the way in which non-government schools collect and handle personal information about individuals. Affected schools should seek their own advice in this regard. The Department of Education or the relevant sector authority may require these schools to have their own privacy policy.

Access to student data

Schools registered with the VRQA are required to make sure parents or guardians of a student have access to accurate information about their child’s achievement and performance. This information must include at least 2 written reports on the student’s performance each academic year. This is a requirement of the minimum standards for registration of a school (regulation 60 and clause 3 of Schedule 4 of the Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017 (Vic)).

Schools should seek their own advice from the Department of Education, the relevant sector authority or their legal adviser about providing information to parents or guardians and students to make sure they comply with applicable privacy legislation.

Students should be allowed to access their VPC records during the course of their study and, at the principal’s discretion, after completing the course.

Security and storage

Schools should store student and parent or guardian personal information securely and protect it from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification and disclosure, and in accordance with applicable privacy legislation and policies. This may mean a locked filing cabinet or cupboard within a locked room that is accessible only to persons authorised by the principal, or secure data storage with appropriate access controls for digital records.

School copies of results should be held separately from collections of student work. Duplicate master records should also be stored separately. Information stored electronically on databases or portable storage devices should be kept securely and in such a way that it cannot be accessed by unauthorised persons.

Schools should seek their own advice relating to compliance with legislation and good practice for the storage of personal, confidential and sensitive information, and digital and cloud-based storage. School privacy policies, if required, should address data security.

Freedom of Information requests

At government schools, students and their parent(s) or guardian(s) may be able to request access to school documents by making a Freedom of Information (FOI) request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic). To find out how to make an FOI request for access to government school records, go to the Victorian Department of Education’s Freedom of information requests webpage.

The VCAA holds records relating to students’ personal details, enrolment and assessment. FOI requests for access to documents held by the VCAA should be sent to the VCAA Freedom of Information Officer. Schools must not process such applications. Further information about FOI and the VCAA is available.

Maintenance and disposal of records

Advice for government schools/providers

Government schools are obliged to keep and dispose of school records in accordance with retention and disposal authorities (RDAs) made under the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic). RDAs describe the categories of records kept by schools and specify the minimum period for which they should be retained.

The relevant government school RDAs are:

PROS 22/06 Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Schools
PROS 10/09 Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Education and Early Childhood Development Functions.

RDAs can be viewed on the Public Record Office Victoria website.

Advice for non-government schools/providers

To comply with the Child Safety Standards Ministerial Order 1359, non-government schools should meet the minimum retention periods for records relevant to child safety and wellbeing in PROS 22/06 Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Schools, excluding the transfer to Public Record Office Victoria obligation.

Non-government schools may otherwise be guided by the retention periods specified for government school records, or they may wish to use the Records Retention Schedule for Non-Government Schools produced by the Australian Society of Archivists. Alternatively, they may have their own internal records authority for school records and wish to follow their own advice about record-keeping.

Schools and providers

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