Privacy Policy

1. ABOUT US

This Privacy Policy applies to Speaking Schools Pty Ltd (ABN 12 677 570 544), its related bodies corporate, authorised operators and representatives participating in the Speaking Schools network, including independently owned and operated franchisees and area development representatives.

In this Privacy Policy, “Speaking Schools”, “we”, “us” or “our” refers to Speaking Schools Pty Ltd and, where applicable, its related bodies corporate and/or relevant Network Participants operating within the Speaking Schools network.

Network Participant means an independently owned and operated franchisee, area development representative, authorised operator or other representative that participates in, or supports the operation of, the Speaking Schools network.

Depending on how you interact with us, your personal information may be collected, held, used or disclosed by Speaking Schools Pty Ltd, its related bodies corporate, the relevant Network Participant, or a combination of these parties.

The relevant Network Participant will usually be identified at the time you make an enquiry, booking or purchase, or otherwise interact with a local Speaking Schools business.

2. INTRODUCTION

(a) The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) requires entities bound by the Australian Privacy Principles to have a privacy policy.

(b) We take our privacy obligations seriously and we’ve created this privacy policy to explain how we store, maintain, use and disclose personal information.

(c) We are committed to preventing serious invasions of privacy and ensuring the protection of your personal information, so you can contact us using the details below if you have any questions or concerns.

(d) By providing personal information (including sensitive information) to us, you consent to our storage, maintenance, use and disclosing of personal information in accordance with this privacy policy.

(e) We may change this privacy policy from time to time by posting an updated copy on our website and we encourage you to check our website regularly to ensure that you are aware of our most current privacy policy.

(f) For the purposes of this policy, Participant means a child, student or other individual who is enrolled in, attends or participates in our programs, classes, workshops, events or other services.

3. TYPES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

The personal information we collect may include the following:

(a) name;

(b) mailing or street address;

(c) email address;

(d) telephone number and other contact details;

(e) the Participant’s name;

(f) the Participant’s age and/or date of birth;

(g) the Participant’s school year or grade;

(h) the Participant’s gender;

(i) the name of the school the Participant attends;

(j) parent, guardian, carer or authorised contact names and contact details;

(k) emergency contact names and telephone numbers;

(l) sensitive information as set out in clause 7, including health or medical information about Participants such as allergies, sensitivities, medical conditions, medication requirements and emergency management information;

(m) bank account details, where required for refund purposes and where you provide them to us;

(n) payment information where you make payments to us, including through our payment providers such as Stripe, PayPal or direct debit providers;

(o) information about your personal circumstances, where relevant to our services;

(p) photographs, video and audio recordings of Participants taken in connection with our services, including recordings of online classes made for child safety purposes;

(q) information in connection with client surveys, questionnaires, enquiries, feedback and promotions;

(r) your device identity and type, IP address, geo-location information, page view statistics, advertising data and standard web log information;

(s) information about third parties that you provide to us, including information about Participants, parents, guardians, carers, authorised contacts and emergency contacts; and

(t) any other information provided by you to us via our website, booking system, forms or our online presence, or otherwise required by us or provided by you.

4. PROVIDING INFORMATION ABOUT OTHERS

Where you provide us with personal information about another person, including a Participant or emergency contact, you must only do so where you are authorised to provide that information.

Where you provide us with sensitive information, including allergy, health or medical information about a Participant, you confirm that you are authorised to provide that information and consent to us, including the relevant Network Participant, collecting, holding, using and disclosing that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. This includes for the purposes of providing our programs and services, managing allergy, health, safety and supervision risks, responding to incidents or emergencies, communicating with relevant staff, contractors, parents, guardians, carers, authorised contacts and emergency contacts, and complying with our legal obligations.

5. HOW WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

How we collect information from you

We may collect personal information either directly from you, or from third parties, including where you:

(a) contact us through our website;

(b) receive services from us or enquire about our services;

(c) submit any of our online sign up forms;

(d) communicate with us via email, telephone, SMS, social applications (such as LinkedIn or Facebook) or otherwise;

(e) interact with our website, social applications, services, content and advertising; and

(f) invest in our business or enquire as to a potential purchase in our business.

How you provide information for someone else

If you are providing personal and/or sensitive information on behalf of someone else, you must have the consent of that person to provide their personal and/or sensitive information to us to be collected, used, and disclosed in accordance with this privacy policy.

Our programs and services are intended to be booked or arranged by a parent, guardian, carer or other authorised adult. Individuals under the age of 18 must not sign up for, enrol in, book or purchase our programs or services themselves, or provide personal information to us, without the consent of a parent, guardian, carer or other authorised adult.

If you are providing personal and/or sensitive information on behalf of someone under the age of 18 (Minor), you must either be that Minor’s parent or legal guardian / carer or have their consent, and you must provide consent for the Minor’s personal and/or sensitive information to be collected, used and disclosed in accordance with this privacy policy.

How we collect information from third parties

Where possible, we collect your personal information directly from you. However, there may be occasions when we collect personal information (including sensitive information) about you from someone else.

How we collect information from cookies

We may also collect personal information from you when you use or access our website or our social media pages. This may be done through use of web analytics tools, ‘cookies’ or other similar tracking technologies that allow us to track and analyse your website usage. Cookies are small files that store information on your computer, mobile phone or other device and enable and allow the creator of the cookie to identify when you visit different websites. If you do not wish information to be stored as a cookie, you can disable cookies in your web browser. For more information about how we use cookies and similar technologies, please see our Cookies Policy, available on our website.

6. USE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

6.1 PRIMARY PURPOSES

We collect and use personal information for the following primary purposes:

(a) to provide services, programs or information to you;

(b) for record keeping and administrative purposes;

(c) to provide information about you to our contractors, employees, consultants, agents or other third parties for the purpose of providing goods or services to you;

(d) to improve and optimise our service offering and customer experience;

(e) to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes or enforce our agreements with third parties;

(f) to send you administrative messages, reminders, notices, updates, security alerts, and other information requested by you;

(g) to use technology tools, including artificial intelligence-enabled tools, to assist us with providing our services, managing enquiries, drafting communications, summarising information, maintaining records, improving internal workflows and supporting administrative functions; and

(h) to consider an application for employment from you.

We may disclose your personal information to cloud-providers, contractors and other third parties located inside or outside of Australia. If we do so, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that any overseas recipient handles personal information in a manner consistent with applicable Australian privacy laws, unless an exception applies under those laws.

We may use artificial intelligence-enabled tools and other technology platforms to assist us with business operations, including managing enquiries, drafting responses, summarising information, maintaining records, supporting customer service and improving internal workflows. These tools may process personal information where relevant to the task being performed. Where practicable, we configure these tools so that information input into them is not used to train general artificial intelligence models. We do not use artificial intelligence tools to make final decisions about you, or to send communications to you, without human review and approval.

6.2 SECONDARY PURPOSES

We may also use your personal information for:

(a) secondary purposes closely related to the primary purpose, in circumstances where you would reasonably expect such use;

(b) such purposes where we reasonably believe that use of your personal information is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual, or to public health or safety, and it is unreasonable or impracticable to obtain your consent;

(c) any other purpose for which we receive consent from you; or

(d) any other purpose which is permitted or required under applicable privacy laws.

7. SENSITIVE INFORMATION

Collection of sensitive information

We, including Network Participants, may collect sensitive information about Participants in the course of providing our programs and services. This may include health or medical information such as allergies, sensitivities, medical conditions, medication requirements, emergency action plans or other information relevant to a Participant’s safe participation in our programs.

We will only collect sensitive information where you consent to the collection, where it is provided to us by a parent, guardian, carer or other authorised adult, or where collection is otherwise permitted or required by law.

Types of sensitive information we collect

The sensitive information we collect may include the following:

(a) health or medical information about a Participant where relevant to their participation in our programs, such as allergies, sensitivities, medical conditions, medication requirements or other health information that we need to be aware of, including for health, safety, supervision or emergency purposes;

(b) any other sensitive information provided by you or a third party to us via our website or platforms, or otherwise provided by you or a third party to us.

How we use sensitive information

Sensitive information will only be used for the purpose of:

(a) providing our services;

(g) assessing and managing allergy, health, safety, supervision and participation risks;

(h) responding to incidents, medical issues or emergencies;

(i) communicating with parents, guardians, carers, authorised contacts, emergency contacts, staff, contractors, franchisees and relevant service providers where reasonably necessary;

(j) complying with our legal obligations, resolving disputes or enforcing our agreements with you;

(k) any other purpose which is permitted or required under applicable privacy laws.

How we disclose sensitive information

Sensitive information will only be disclosed to third parties for the purpose of:

(a) providing our programs and services;

(b) managing allergy, health, safety, supervision, incident response or emergency risks;

(c) communicating with relevant staff, contractors, Network Participants, parents, guardians, carers, authorised contacts, emergency contacts, medical providers or emergency services;

(d) complying with our legal obligations; or

(e) any other purpose which is permitted or required under applicable privacy laws.

How you can withdraw consent

If you wish to withdraw your consent to our collection, use or disclosure of your or a Participant’s sensitive information, please contact us using the contact details set out below. We will deal with all such requests within a reasonable timeframe.

8. SHARING OF INFORMATION ACROSS THE FRANCHISE NETWORK

Speaking Schools operates through a network of authorised operators and representatives, including independently owned and operated franchisees and area development representatives.

Depending on how you interact with us, your personal information may be collected, held, used or disclosed by:

(i) Speaking Schools Pty Ltd (and/or a related body corporate);

(ii) the Network Participant that provides, or may provide, programs or services to you; or

(iii) both Speaking Schools Pty Ltd (and/or a related body corporate) and the relevant Network Participant.

Personal information may be shared between Speaking Schools Pty Ltd, its related bodies corporate and Network Participants where reasonably necessary for purposes connected with the operation, management and administration of the Speaking Schools franchise network, including to:

(a) respond to enquiries;

(b) manage bookings, enrolments, orders, accounts, payments, refunds and customer records;

(c) provide programs, classes, workshops, events and other services;

(d) communicate with parents, guardians, carers, Participants, authorised contacts and emergency contacts;

(e) manage incidents, health and safety matters, supervision requirements, complaints, disputes or legal claims;

(f) administer, support and improve the Speaking Schools franchise network;

(g) maintain consistent customer service, quality control, brand and operational standards;

(h) manage marketing, promotions and customer communications, where permitted by law;

(i) operate shared systems, databases, websites, apps, booking platforms, customer relationship management tools and other technology platforms;

(j) support Network Participants with business operations, compliance, training and reporting;

(k) assess franchisee compliance with franchise system requirements; and

(l) comply with legal, regulatory, contractual and franchise system obligations.

Network Participants are only permitted to access and use personal information for authorised purposes connected with their franchised business, the provision of our programs and services, or the operation and administration of the Speaking Schools franchise network.

We require Network Participants to handle personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and privacy standards equivalent to the Australian Privacy Principles, whether or not a particular Network Participant is independently bound by the Privacy Act.

Network Participants must take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, unauthorised modification and unauthorised disclosure.

If you make a privacy request or complaint involving a Network Participant, we may share relevant information with that Network Participant and require them to assist us in responding to your request or complaint.

9. HOW WE DISCLOSE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We respect your privacy, and we will take reasonable steps to keep your personal information confidential and protected. We may disclose your personal information to:

(a) our staff, employees, contractors, consultants and agents;

(b) Network Participants, where reasonably necessary as set out in clause 8;

(c) our professional advisors such as lawyers, accountants and auditors;

(d) our related entities; or

(e) any third parties to whom you have consented your personal information being disclosed.

We may also disclose personal information to third party contractors or service providers as required for us to provide our goods and services to you, such as technology service providers, software providers and artificial intelligence-enabled service providers, cloud-service providers, IT professionals, marketing agencies and debt collection agencies.

We take care to work with such third parties who we believe maintain an acceptable standard of data security and require them not to use your personal information for any purpose except for those activities we have asked them to perform on our behalf.

We will not otherwise disclose your personal information unless:

(a) you have consented to us disclosing your personal information for particular circumstances;

(b) as needed in an emergency or in investigation of suspected criminal activity;

(c) we are required to disclose under a subpoena, court order or other mandatory reporting requirements;

(d) we reasonably believe that disclosure of your information is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual, or to public health or safety, and it is unreasonable or impracticable to obtain your consent;

(e) it is reasonably necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of a legal claim; or

(f) it is otherwise authorised or required by law.

10. STORAGE

(a) Personal information we collect may be stored or processed using cloud-based and other technology service providers. These providers may store, process or back up personal information on servers located in Australia or overseas, and their personnel or related entities may access personal information from overseas where necessary to provide support, maintenance, security, hosting or other services.

(b) We use a range of third party platforms and service providers to operate our business, which may include providers of email, document storage, customer relationship management, analytics, project management, employee management, communications, artificial intelligence-enabled tools and other business systems. These providers may be located in, or store or process personal information in, countries outside Australia.

(c) Where we disclose personal information to overseas recipients, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient handles the personal information in a manner consistent with applicable Australian privacy laws, unless an exception applies under those laws.

(d) We may also use analytics and social media services, such as Google Analytics, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or other similar platforms. These services and their related entities, partners or service providers may collect, hold, process or access personal information overseas in accordance with their own privacy policies.

(e) Where we use artificial intelligence-enabled tools, personal information may be processed by those tools to assist with our business operations, including communications, administration, record keeping and service delivery. We take reasonable steps to configure those tools appropriately, including limiting the use of information for model training where practicable, but we cannot guarantee how all third party providers operate their systems.

11. RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

(a) We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to provide our programs and services, manage bookings and customer records, administer our business, comply with legal and regulatory obligations, resolve disputes, manage complaints, maintain insurance records and protect our legal rights.

(b) Because our programs and services involve children, we may retain certain records for extended periods, and in some cases indefinitely, where we consider this reasonably necessary for child safety, safeguarding, incident management, health and safety, complaints handling, legal, insurance, risk management or historical record-keeping purposes. This may include records relating to Participants, enrolments, attendance, incidents, medical or allergy information, emergency contacts, complaints, parent or guardian communications and related records.

(c) Where we no longer require personal information for any purpose permitted by law, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify that information, subject to our legal, operational, child safety, insurance and record-keeping requirements.

12. MARKETING

We may send direct marketing communications to parents, guardians, carers, authorised contacts or other adult individuals who interact with us, where permitted by law, including the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles and the Spam Act 2003 (Cth). Marketing communications may be sent by us directly, by a Network Participant, or on behalf of the Speaking Schools franchise network.

If we do, we may use email, SMS, social media, phone or mail to send you direct marketing communications.

We will only send electronic marketing communications where we have your consent or where we are otherwise permitted to do so by law. This may include where you:

(a) have explicitly opted-in to receiving email marketing from us in the past; or

(b) were given the option to opt-out of email marketing when you initially signed up for one of our platforms and you did not do so.

You can, at any time, opt out of receiving marketing materials from us by using the opt-out facility provided (e.g., an unsubscribe link on emails we send you) or by contacting us via the details provided at the end of this privacy policy. We will implement such a request as soon as possible, however, cannot guarantee that such a response will be immediate.

We do not knowingly send direct marketing communications to children. Where our programs or services involve Participants under the age of 18, marketing communications will be directed to the relevant parent, guardian, carer, authorised contact or other adult individual.

We will not use sensitive information, including allergy, health or medical information about a Participant, for direct marketing purposes.

We may also share limited personal information, such as a hashed email address, with advertising and social media platforms (for example Meta and Google) so that our advertising can be shown to you, or to audiences with similar interests, including through ‘custom audience’ and ‘lookalike audience’ tools. These platforms handle personal information in accordance with their own privacy policies. You can opt out of your information being used in this way at any time by contacting us using the details set out below.

13. SECURITY

We take reasonable steps to ensure your personal information is secure and protected from misuse or unauthorised access. Our information technology systems are password protected, and we use a range of administrative and technical measures to protect these systems. However, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information.

14. LINKS

Our website may contain links to other websites. Those links are provided for convenience and may not remain current or be maintained. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those linked websites and we suggest you review the privacy policies of those websites before using them.

15. REQUESTING ACCESS OR CORRECTING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

If you wish to request access to the personal information we hold about you or another person or Participant, please contact us using the contact details set out below including your name and contact details. We may need to verify your identity before providing you with your personal information. In some cases, we may be unable to provide you with access to all your personal information and where this occurs, we will explain why. We will deal with all requests for access to personal information within a reasonable timeframe.

If you think that any personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, please contact us using the contact details set out below and we will take reasonable steps to ensure that it is corrected.

If your request relates to personal information held by a Network Participant, we may need to consult with, or refer your request to, the relevant Network Participant. We require Network Participants to reasonably assist with access and correction requests relating to personal information they hold.

16. COMPLAINTS

If you wish to complain about how we handle your personal information or believe your privacy has been seriously invaded, please contact us using the details provided below with your name and contact details. We will investigate your complaint promptly and respond within a reasonable timeframe.

If your complaint relates to a Network Participant, we may need to share details of your complaint with that Network Participant and require them to assist us in investigating and responding to the complaint. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may be able to contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

17. CONTACT US

For further information about our privacy policy or practices, or to access or correct your personal information, or make a complaint, please contact us using the details set out below:

Privacy Officer

Email: contact@speakingschools.com.au

Our privacy policy was last updated on 26 August 2026.