Privacy Statement

The Australian Government is committed to the protection of privacy and must comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act).

Download the AEDC Privacy Statement

The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) is an Australian Government initiative managed by the Department of Education and delivered in partnership with state and territory governments.

The Department of Education is committed to the protection of privacy and must comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) when handling any personal information and sensitive information collected for the AEDC.

State and territory governments and non-government school systems involved in the AEDC collection are also committed to the protection of privacy and must comply with applicable privacy legislation and policies in their respective jurisdictions.

The Department of Education engages a number of service providers to assist with the collection and management of AEDC data and its linkage to other personal records.

These service providers are contractually required to comply with the APPs as if they were an APP agency under the Privacy Act.

At all stages of the AEDC data collection and reporting processes, the privacy of individuals is protected in accordance with the APPs and, where applicable, relevant state and territory privacy legislation and policies.

What information is collected about my child?

 

If your child is included in the AEDC, your child’s teacher will complete a questionnaire about your child. The questionnaire is called the Australian version of the Early Development Instrument (AvEDI) and includes approximately 100 questions across five areas (referred to as domains) of child development:

  • physical health and wellbeing
  • social competence
  • emotional maturity
  • language and cognitive skills (school-based)
  • communication skills and general knowledge.

This information is recorded along with your child’s name, date of birth and school. Your child will not be individually identified in any report. For the reason this information is collected, please see the section titled ‘What purpose is my child’s information used for?’.

Personal information about your child may be disclosed to their teacher and, as applicable, to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Consultant to assist them in completing the AvEDI. It may also be disclosed to AEDC State and Territory Coordinators and to data managers from the relevant school sector to ensure that the information collected is complete and accurate. In no cases the AEDC results for your child will be disclosed alongside other personal information that may identify them.

What purpose is my child’s information used for?

 

The AEDC data is used for policy and planning, data analysis and statistical and research purposes. Data is reported at the national, state and territory, community and local community level to help create a snapshot of early childhood development. You can see how AEDC data is published by visiting the AEDC website www.aedc.gov.au.

Once the AEDC data collection is completed, information about children participating in the AEDC is separated into two datasets:

  • An ‘identified dataset’ which has information that can be used to identify an individual, such as children’s name, age, residential address and school attended.
  • A ‘de-identified dataset’ which has all the remaining information collected in the AEDC.

The de-identified dataset is used to produce the AEDC results and for other research purposes. The identified dataset is used for data linkage purposes.