Privacy

ACARA and state and territory test administration authorities (TAAs) collect personal information from schools and students to enable NAPLAN testing to be undertaken and for the results of tests to be reported at student, school and state/territory and national levels. ACARA and state and territory TAAs have obligations to protect the personal information of students and take these obligations very seriously. For the NAPLAN tests, ACARA only collects student data once student names have been removed. Nonetheless, ACARA treats anonymised student-level data as if these were personal information and protects the data it collects in line with the standards in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

ACARA is also responsible for the overall management of the NAP sample assessments field trials and main studies, item trial studies, and other research studies. See:

NAPLAN privacy notice

Download the NAPLAN privacy notice (PDF 54 KB).

Notice of collection under Australian Privacy Principle 5 (Privacy Act 1988 Cth)

Personal information about your child and you (parents/guardians) will be collected for the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) conducts the NAPLAN tests and creates national reports on schooling, including reporting on the My School website.

State and territory education authorities are responsible for administering NAPLAN tests, including managing student data and providing reporting results to schools and students.

Section 40 of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority Act 2008 (Cth) authorises ACARA to collect personal information for purposes including producing national reports and informing education policy. ACARA protects the data it collects in line with the standards in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and only collects data that is anonymised (that is not linked to student names). You can find a summary of data fields that ACARA collects in ACARA’s privacy policy.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN assessments can run through a real-time internet connection or onscreen without an internet connection. Year 3 writing is undertaken on paper, and a small number of students will continue to use alternative format (paper or electronic PDF) tests. Read more NAPLAN at nap.edu.au/naplan.

Education Services Australia Limited (ESA) operates the Online National Assessment Platform used for NAPLAN. ESA (esa.edu.au) is a national, not-for-profit company owned by all Australian education ministers. ESA collects, stores, uses and discloses student personal information on behalf of state and territory education authorities and ACARA for purposes related to NAPLAN. Data stored may include assessments and data archived for inclusion in a future Longitudinal Data Store. More information about privacy and the ESA Online National Assessment Platform is at: assessform.edu.au/Public/Legals/PrivacyPolicy.aspx.

Collection

A state or territory education authority will collect personal information about your child or you in relation to the online or alternative format (paper or electronic) NAPLAN tests. State and territory education authorities also collect student names and other information for student- and school-level reporting and related purposes.

The state or territory education authority will make anonymised information available to ACARA. ACARA will also collect anonymised information about students who take the test online from the student and their school.

ACARA will collect the following categories of information for each student (noting that for some categories there will be multiple data fields): student identifier, gender, date of birth, country of birth, language background, whether your child identifies as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person, parent occupation and parent education level, as well as student participation and performance information (e.g. multiple choice and written responses).

Disclosure

ACARA will not disclose personal information about your child or you unless it is authorised by law and will not disclose personal information overseas. More detailed information is contained in ACARA’s privacy policy.

Access and correction

ACARA is not able to match information it receives or collects with individual students. If you wish to access or correct your child’s personal information or NAPLAN data, contact your child’s school in the first instance. Alternatively, you may contact the relevant state or territory TAA.

Complaints

If you wish to make a complaint about ACARA’s privacy practices, you can lodge a complaint with ACARA directly. ACARA’s privacy policy provides information on how to make a complaint.

If you have a complaint about identified NAPLAN data (data linked to a student name/s), contact your child’s school in the first instance. Alternatively, you may contact the relevant state or territory TAA.