Policies and Processes

Privacy Policy

Nautilus Training knows very well how important it is to keep students’ personal information confidential and secure, and therefore, will not allow access to anyone who is not entitled to see these records.

A student’s own records and all the information on those records at Nautilus Training is available to that student only and can be accessed by request in writing.

The organisation responsible for training in Victoria is Skills Victoria, a division of the Department of Education and Training. As the responsible organisation, Skills Victoria collects information about each student in a training course. Information about students is collected by Skills Victoria to allow analysis by gender, age and geographic distribution.

Neither Nautilus Training nor Skills Victoria is permitted to publish or allow any information to be made public, which might infringe upon the privacy of any individual undertaking a training or further education program.

Nautilus Training and Skills Victoria are subject to the Australian Privacy Principles, as expressed in Nautilus Training’s Policy for APP Compliance

The principles for Nautilus Training and Skills Victoria that protect the student’s privacy are:

–       to collect only the information that is necessary,

–       to be fair about the way in which the information is collected,

–       to inform the student who is collecting the information and what will be done with it,

–       where practicable, to collect private information from the student, in person,

–       when collecting information about the student from somewhere else, when and wherever possible, to make sure the student knows that this has been done,

–       to use, or to disclose, information only in ways that are consistent with the student’s expectations or that are required in the public interest,

–       to ensure that the student’s information is accurate, when it is collect or used,

–       to keep any information about the student safe, in secure storage and to prevent access to this information, without the student’s permission with the exception of the staff of Nautilus Training,

–       to take steps to protect the student’s privacy, if the student agrees to someone else seeing his or her personal file,

–       be open with the student about what kinds of personal information are kept,

–       to correct the records if the student’s information is wrong,

–       to limit the use of codes, numbers, identifiers that government agencies have given the student,

–       if possible, to deal with the student anonymously at the student’s request, and

–       to keep the collection of highly sensitive information about the student to a minimum.

In some circumstances, as a visitor to Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltds website, Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd may ask for personal information from you, such as your name, e-mail address, company name, or telephone number. This information is used by Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd to develop, research and provide improved services and validate the advice it obtains from industry. In addition, Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd may use this information for other business purposes, such as to alerting people, who may have visited the website, to products, services and information that may assist, or be of interest to, them.

With reference to Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltds website, in general, anyone can visit the site, without divulging any personal information.

As a visitor to Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltds website, you always remain in control of any information you may choose to provide to Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd.Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd is interested in two types of information about visitors to our website and the people with whom we consult:

• personal information (such as name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc.), which you have voluntarily provided to us, and
• aggregate information (such as information about how many people log on to our website, the different sorts of information they are interested in, pages they access, etc.).

Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd collects, maintains and uses personal information you may have voluntarily provided, in order to:

• contact you, including via email,
• respond to your comments or requests for information, or
• contact you if needed in the course of developing advice or responding to your request.

As part of its routine analysis of the use of this site, Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd may also collect domain information. This information enables us to better understand the needs of the different sorts of visitors to our site, how often they visit, and what parts of the site they visit most often. This does not involve collecting any information about you, rather it finds out which parts of the website are most popular and how many people visit the site, etc.

Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd uses this information to improve what it puts on its website. This information is collected automatically and requires no action on your part.

Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd will not trade, sell or share any of your personal information for use by any business, without your consent, unless required by law or as disclosed to you when the information is obtained from you.

Any personal information you provide will generally be stored in Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltds database, which is maintained and located in Victoria, Australia.

From time to time, we may set up online surveys, which may ask you for contact information (such as your email address) and demographic information (for instance, your occupation). We may use data from such surveys to contact you. Demographic information may also be used to customise your experience at our site by showing content in which we think you may be interested, and displaying content according to your preferences.

Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd takes steps to make all information received from you as secure as is reasonably practicable, against unauthorised access and use.

Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd endeavours to keep any information, that we may have about you, complete, up-to-date, and accurate. You are invited to contact us in order to access your personal information and to notify us about errors.

Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd is committed to working with you to obtain a fair and rapid resolution of any complaints or disputes about privacy.

Our commitment to child safety

Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd, at all times and in all circumstances, is committed to promoting and protecting the best interests of children and young people involved in its programs.

All children and young people, regardless of their gender, race, religious beliefs, age, disability, sexual orientation, or family or social background, have equal rights to be protected from abuse and harm. 

Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd has zero tolerance for child abuse. Everyone working at Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd is responsible for the care and protection of the children and young people within the organisation’s care and reporting information about suspected child abuse. 

Child protection is a shared responsibility between the Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd, all employees and the broader community. 

Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd values and considers the opinions of children and young people and use their opinions to develop and refine child protection policies. 

Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd supports and respects all children and young people, staff and other stakeholders, and is committed to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children and young people, and those from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, and to providing a safe environment for children and young people who are living with a disability.

Complaints, Grievances or Appeals Process

Nautilus Training strives to address complaints, grievances and appeals quickly, fairly and openly. All complaints and grievances are investigated objectively and addressed in a non-judgmental manner, in order to deal with any concerns and/or problems as effectively and efficiently as practicable.

Any complaint, grievance about training or assessment issues should be taken to the Training Manager of Nautilus Training. All complaints and/or grievances that involve verbal, physical, sexual or emotional harassment or abuse, or unresolved difficulties with any Nautilus staff members or students, should be brought to the attention of the Training Manager of Nautilus Training as soon as possible.

Where it is possible that a breach of law may have occurred, the Training Manager will liaise with the appropriate agency, including Police where necessary. Counselling may be involved at any stage in the process of reaching a resolution.

Complaints, grievances and appeals are recorded in accordance with Nautilus Training’s Recording Complaints, Grievances or Appeals procedure, including the recording details of the steps taken to resolve the problem within a reasonable timeframe. Any such records are treated with the same regard to privacy and confidentiality, as is all students’ personal information.

Students are expected to take any problem that they are unable to resolve themselves with those directly involved, to their Trainer or to the Training Manager of Nautilus Training.

1. If the directly involved parties are unsuccessful in reaching a solution between them, agreeable by both parties, within a week, one or both of them should write to the Training Manager of Nautilus Training. The written complaint should state what the problem is and what steps have been taken by both parties to this point to find a solution. The Training Manager will talk to both parties about what will be done to try to resolve the problem.
2. If this action does not resolve the problem within a further week, the Training Manager will refer the issue to the Managing Directors of Nautilus Training for consideration and a decision will be made. All parties will be formally advised in writing as to the decision of the Managing Directors.
3. In the event of the student’s appealing the decision made by the Managing Directors of Nautilus Training, the Managing Directors will appoint an independent arbiter, who is mutually acceptable to all those involved, to hear the appeal and make a final decision. The appellant will have the opportunity to formally present his or her case and provide all the supporting evidence to the arbiter, clarifying all issues as they arise. The arbiter will insure all required information is provided and/or clarify further what has already been stated.
4. Nautilus Training will abide by the decision made by the independent arbiter, as the final decision, and will act in accordance with that decision. The student will be notified by the arbiter in a formal letter, stating the appeal outcome(s) and the reasons behind the decision. Where the complainant does not accept the arbiter’s decision, they will be directed to the VRQA (Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority.

All students should be familiar with the grievance, complaint and appeals process as it plays an important, if rarely used, role in settling disputes, dealing with complaints and fixing problems.

Refunds

All Registered Training Organisations, including Nautilus Training and Curriculum Pty Ltd, are required to have a fair and reasonable refund policy that complies with the guidelines of the Fees and Charges set by the Higher Education and Skills Group.

All student fee contributions are invoiced subsequent to enrolment. Any student, who withdraws prior to commencement will not have been required to make any payment. Accordingly, once commencement occurs no refund is payable.

However, due to the multiplicity and complexity of the different funding models and pathways, any refund, to which a student may feel they are entitled, needs to be determined on a case-by-case basis. Any student, who feels they may be due for a refund and wants this to be considered, should make their request in writing to the Finance Manager. Refunds are subject to an administration fee not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200).

An appeal in respect of Nautilus Training’s refund decision is dealt with in accordance with the information provided in the complaints, Grievances or Appeals section of the Student Information Handbook and above.

Cheating and Plagiarism

Nautilus Training and Curriculum Pty Ltd (NT&C) views cheating and plagiarism as serious breaches of trust between the student and itself, and does not allow deliberate cheating or plagiarism. NT&C investigates and responds to identified occurrences of cheating and plagiarism and a sanction may be imposed where either occurs.

Cheating involves acting in a dishonest way whereby you present work to your trainer as genuinely representing your understanding of, and your abilities in the competency concerned.

Cheating includes, but is not necessarily limited to:

• Submission of work for assessment, which is not your own (regardless of whether you have the owner’s permission).
• Submission of work that has been misappropriated, purchased or borrowed from someone else.
• Submission of work that has been duplicated with or without modifications, having been taken from a source other than yourself, including another student.
• Submission or use of falsified or fabricated data.
• Collaboration in the preparation of a response to an assessment task, unless such collaboration is specifically permitted or required by the trainer.
• Using any part of someone else’s work without proper acknowledgement.

Cheating does not include:

• Discussing, with your trainer or with others, training program content and assessments, in order to better understand the unit of competency and what is required.
• Submitting work that you have completed independently of your current studies or with the assistance of your trainer.
• Obtaining assistance or guidance with correcting minor errors in spelling, grammar or syntax.
• Using other people’s ideas where they are appropriately acknowledged.
• Working collaboratively with others on responding to an assessment task, with the trainer’s informed consent and approval of such arrangements.

Plagiarism is a form of cheating and involves using another person’s ideas or work without acknowledgement. Whether inadvertent or deliberate, plagiarism includes the following:

• Word-for-word copying of sentences or whole paragraphs from one or more sources, or presenting substantial extracts from books, articles, internal reports, lecture notes, or websites, and passing it off as your own original and authentic work;
• Using very close paraphrasing of others’ sentences or whole paragraphs and presenting it as your own original and authentic work;
• Using another person’s ideas, work or research data and presenting it as your own original and authentic work;
• Downloading information from the internet and presenting it as your own original and authentic work.

Prevention

All students are informed of the cheating and plagiarism policy including definitions via this policy. This policy is included on NT&C’s website. All students are required to complete an authenticity declaration included in the competency unit’s Assessment Coversheet. Trainers are informed of cheating and plagiarism policy during their orientation and induction process.

Detection

The actions, which NT&C undertakes to detect cheating and plagiarism, may include:

a) Comparison of a student’s work with that of other students;

b) Comparison of a student’s work with electronic reference materials and internet sources;

c) Other methods deemed appropriate by the trainer or Training Manager.

Process

1. All trainers are encouraged to identify and investigate any possibility of cheating or plagiarism.
2. A trainer, who suspects that cheating or plagiarism may have occurred, should first establish the evidence (through identification of the source) to confirm their suspicion.
3. Where the trainer has evidence that the action of a student may involve cheating or plagiarism, the trainer will notify the Training Manager and request that the student discusses the matter with the Training Manager.
4. The student may elect to invite a support person or advocate to participate in this discussion. The advocate is to speak on the student’s behalf. The support person has a passive role during the interview and the student speaks for themselves.
5. If, as a result of this discussion, the Training Manager is not convinced that cheating or plagiarism has actually occurred, no further action will be taken, and no record of the matter will be kept.
6. Where the Training Manager concludes that the action of the student was an example of inadvertent or accidental cheating/plagiarism, the student will be counselled by Training Manager and a file-note to that effect will be made on the student’s file. No further sanction is to be imposed.
7. Where the Training Manager concludes that the case involves deliberate cheating/plagiarism and provides evidence to the student to this effect, and the student admits to cheating/plagiarism, the matter will be referred to the Directors of NT&C for review.
8. The Directors will review the findings of the investigation and, if it is deemed necessary, will undertake additional follow up. Upon conclusion of this, the sanction to be applied will be determined, the student informed and the sanction imposed.
9. In instances of deliberate cheating/plagiarism, all evidence, interview records and other relevant documentation will be retained in the student file.

Sanctions

A student found to have engaged in deliberate cheating/plagiarism may be subject to any of the following sanctions:

• Formal warning from the Training Manager and a notation in the student’s file;
• Awarding of Not Yet Competent for a unit of competency and a notification in the student’s file. The student will be requested to prepare an original authentic response to the assessment task, for assessment by the trainer.
• Suspension from the training program.
• Cancellation of enrolment.

A student found to have repeated incidents of deliberate cheating/plagiarism may have their enrolment terminated.