St Joseph's School
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St Joseph's School is legally authorised to share student personal information with external agencies when that information concerns student safety, wellbeing, or learning support, or maintaining the law and others' health and safety. External agencies may also request information about students.
When sharing information with external agencies, St Joseph's School complies with all relevant legislation, including the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, Family Violence Act 2018, and Search and Surveillance Act 2012, and follows the Ministry of Education's learning support guidelines. We are also guided by the information privacy principles of the Privacy Act. See Privacy and Personal Information.
Before sharing information with external agencies, the designated child protection person discusses any safety and wellbeing concerns with relevant staff. At St Joseph's School, our designated child protection person is the principal. We proactively share information with certain external agencies when needed (e.g. social, family, and community services) and if we determine that it is in the best interests of the student. In all situations, we only share information that is accurate, up-to-date, and relevant to the safety and wellbeing of the student.
In most cases, we seek consent from the student before sharing information. Consent to share information covered by the Oranga Tamariki Act or the Family Violence Act may not be required if there is risk of harm to an individual's safety or wellbeing. There may also be different consent requirements when sharing information with the police.
Sharing information under the Oranga Tamariki Act
Our board is classified as a child welfare and protection agency (CWPA) under the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989. This means we may proactively share information with, and request information from, other professionals, or may receive a request for information under section 66C of the Act from another CWPA or an independent person (as defined in the Act). No civil, criminal, or disciplinary proceedings can be brought against someone acting in good faith under this Act.
The Oranga Tamariki Act states that information may be shared to:
We follow the guidance of Oranga Tamariki when sharing information. See Information sharing 
.
Sharing information under the Family Violence Act
Our board is classified as a family violence agency under the Family Violence Act 2018, and teachers with current practising certificates or limited authority to teach are classified as social services practitioners. The school considers sharing information if we:
family violence sector may protect someone from family violence. Our school responds to family violence using guidance from the Ministry of Justice. See Information Sharing Guidance .
Sharing learning support information
St Joseph's School follows the Ministry of Education's guidance for sharing learning support information under the learning support delivery model, which includes considerations and template protocols for sharing personal information, sharing aggregate information, and sharing information about an individual without identifying them. See Follow protocols for sharing information (Ministry of Education).
Sharing information with the police
We are required to provide information to the police if the police have a search warrant or production order. Otherwise, we may disclose personal information to the police if we believe on reasonable grounds that:
If information is requested by the police, we ask the police to explain why they need the information for any of the above purposes. We determine if we are satisfied the information should be released, taking into account our privacy and confidentiality obligations.
Hei mihi | Acknowledgement SchoolDocs appreciates the professional advice of Kathryn Dalziel, senior barrister specialising in privacy law and certified seminar leader for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. |
Release history: Term 1 2024, Term 4 2022, Term 4 2019
