Institute of Excellence Privacy Policy
Date published: 16 September 2020
Date updated: 4 October 2026
About this policy
The Institute of Excellence (IOE) is a business and tourism training and mentoring practice based in Melbourne and serving businesses and organisations across Australia. IOE respects your privacy and is committed to handling personal information in a manner consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
This policy explains how IOE collects, uses, holds and discloses personal information, and how you can access it, correct it or make a complaint. It sits alongside IOE’s AI Use Policy (opens in a new tab), which sets out how IOE uses artificial intelligence tools. IOE is not a registered training organisation and does not assess or grade participants.
What IOE collects and why
IOE collects only the personal information it needs to provide its services. This usually includes your name, contact details, and business or organisation name and role. Depending on how you deal with IOE, it may also include:
- course enrolment and progress;
- purchase and booking records;
- your responses to IOE’s business audits and diagnostics;
- information you share in workshops, mentoring, coaching and podcast interviews.
IOE uses this information to:
- deliver its courses, workshops, webinars, mentoring, coaching, keynotes, resources and podcast;
- process payments and manage bookings;
- communicate with you about the services you use;
- send newsletters, where you have subscribed;
- meet its legal obligations.
IOE does not sell, rent or trade personal information, and does not use it for an unrelated purpose without your consent unless the law permits it.
Card payments are handled by secure payment processors. IOE does not see or store full card numbers.
You can browse the IOE website and make general enquiries without identifying yourself. Enrolling, purchasing or taking part in mentoring requires IOE to know who you are.
How IOE collects information
IOE collects personal information directly from you, when you:
- enrol, purchase, book or subscribe;
- complete one of IOE’s business audits or diagnostics;
- attend a session;
- contact IOE.
Occasionally, a client organisation that has engaged IOE provides a list of participants.
Mentoring
Mentoring sessions are confidential. What you share in a mentoring session is used only to support your mentoring. It is not passed to the organisation that funded your mentoring, or to anyone else, without your consent, unless the law requires it.
IOE wants to be fully present in every mentoring session and make the most of the time together. To do this, IOE uses AI tools to transcribe and summarise sessions, prepare for them and develop follow-up resources. IOE does this only with your agreement. You will be asked at the start of your mentoring, and again at the start of each session before any transcription begins.
When IOE uses AI tools in mentoring, it:
- uses only tools whose terms do not allow your information to be used to train their models;
- does not deliberately enter health information or other sensitive information, and if a transcript captures it, does not use that information in any other AI tool;
- reviews everything AI produces before it reaches you.
You can say no or change your mind at any time. If you do, IOE stops using AI tools in your mentoring and, if you ask, deletes the transcripts and AI summaries of your sessions from IOE’s records. Your mentoring is the same either way.
Artificial intelligence
IOE uses artificial intelligence tools in its work. How it does so is set out in IOE’s AI Use Policy (opens in a new tab). Personal information is entered into AI tools only as this privacy policy allows.
Client organisations
When a client organisation engages IOE, it may occasionally ask for information needed to manage the program, such as attendance. Participants are told beforehand when this will be shared.
Where a client agreement sets additional privacy requirements, IOE follows that agreement.
Recordings, testimonials and photographs
Some workshops and webinars are recorded or transcribed. You will be told in the registration details, and again at the start of the session, when this will happen and why. Where recording or transcription has been notified, it may continue for the whole session. If you have a concern, you can raise it privately before or during the session, and IOE will consider reasonable options, such as keeping your camera off, using a display name or taking part through chat.
Recordings made by IOE are available only to IOE and the participants in that program, and are used only to support their learning. Any other use requires your written consent.
IOE is responsible for the recordings and transcripts it creates, commissions or controls. It is not responsible for recordings, screenshots or transcripts made independently by participants or others. Participants must not record, photograph, screenshot, transcribe or share session content or other participants’ personal information without permission.
Testimonials, photographs and video are published only with your written consent.
Disclosure and overseas storage
IOE uses trusted service providers to run its business, including:
- online learning;
- payments;
- email;
- bookings;
- administration;
- accounting;
- transcription and artificial intelligence.
Each provider receives only the information it needs to provide its service.
Clients may request reasonable information about the service providers used in their engagement, subject to confidentiality, security and commercial-in-confidence considerations.
Some of these providers are based overseas. Personal information may therefore be stored, processed or accessed in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and the Philippines.
IOE may also disclose personal information with your consent or where the law requires or authorises it.
Website cookies and analytics
The IOE website uses cookies needed for it to work, such as remembering your cart. It also uses analytics cookies to understand, in aggregate, how the site is used. IOE does not use advertising tracking. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings.
Security and retention
IOE takes reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access, including access controls and multi-factor authentication. Personal information is kept only for as long as it is needed or as required by law, and is then deleted or de-identified.
If a data breach occurs that is likely to cause serious harm, IOE will notify those affected and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner where required.
Access and correction
You can ask for access to the personal information IOE holds about you, or ask for it to be corrected, by emailing hello@instituteofexcellence.com.
- IOE will respond within 30 days.
- There is no charge.
- If a request is refused, IOE will give written reasons.
You can unsubscribe from IOE emails at any time.
Complaints
If you have a concern about how IOE has handled your personal information, email hello@instituteofexcellence.com with “Privacy complaint” in the subject line. IOE will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and respond within 30 days.
If you are not satisfied with the response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:
- website: oaic.gov.au (opens in a new tab)
- phone: 1300 363 992
Changes to this policy
IOE reviews this policy each year. Updates are published on this page with a new date updated.
Contact
Institute of Excellence
5a Hartnett Close, Mulgrave VIC 3170