Monday, 1 September 2025
Learning Objectives:
- Understand your obligations under the Privacy Act 2020 when managing personal information in the school context
- Identify and address common risks and privacy pitfalls related to data handling, complaints, and disclosure in schools
Description
Attend and earn 1 PLD hour
* This interactive online recording includes questions and quizzes requiring critical thinking about the topics, so you have no annual limits to the number of points/hours you can claim with this format of learning. Please verify with your CPD rules
Privacy: Ensuring Your Information Privacy Practices are Fit for Purpose When Handling School Data and Student Information
Schools in Aotearoa New Zealand are major collectors and users of personal information, essential for their operation. However, they must balance this with obligations under the Privacy Act 2020 to protect this information. Navigate through these essential issues:
- Getting the context right: what are the high-level signposts to guide school and board procedures and practice in how they collect, create, store, use and disclose personal information they come to hold
- Establishing and following good information handling practices when collecting, creating, storing and using personal information about staff, students and their families
- Recognising situations where the school’s information privacy practices are more likely to be challenged, for example complaint investigations, disciplinary decisions and responding to parent complaints
- Balancing privacy protection with the right of individuals to request information under the Privacy Act and the Official Information Act 1982: privacy vs transparency and accountability- it is always a matter of context and perception
- The consequences when things go wrong: lessons to be learned from the recent Human Rights Review Tribunal decision awarding significant damages against a school board for failing to meet Privacy Act obligations
Presented by Leo Donnelly ONZM, Barrister, Education Law NZ
*Original Content was created in September 2024
Chair
Brent Lewis, Former Principal, Avondale College
Presenters
Leo Donnelly ONZM, Barrister, Education Law NZLeo Donnelly ONZM is a former Ombudsman of New Zealand and is one of New Zealand’s leading experts in official information and privacy law. As an Ombudsman, Deputy Ombudsman and a senior investigator at the Office of the Ombudsman, Leo spent 3 decades investigating and reviewing complaints about the administrative actions and procedures of state sector organisations and recommending resolutions to promote fair, just and transparent delivery of services to the public. This involved assessing individual actions and omissions in the context of an organisations systems and culture and statutory responsibilities. Leo brings governance and strategy expertise and wide experience in complaint handling and dispute resolution.
Brent Lewis, Former Principal, Avondale College
Brent Lewis has led three secondary schools and is the former Principal of Avondale (a secondary School of over 2,800 students and 240 staff). Brent has both an MA and MBA and uniquely has been the chair of both the Wellington and Auckland principals associations, Avondale College has high success rates in both NCEA and Cambridge pathways with students consistently topping NZ and the world in various subjects, Currently the college has former students at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Amherst; all on scholarship., Avondale College is now the highest provider of IT industry certifications in Microsoft, Adobe, and Autodesk in New Zealand and Avondale students have made up all of the national representatives to the Microsoft Global championships for three years in succession..8 students winning top ten finishes against annual fields of 1 million., The college now has its own data centre and leading edge network and most recently Brent has been engaging with international and domestic strategic partners on the Colleges new Innovation Programme which is being trialled with other schools as a not-for- profit initiative.
