Legal notices

© IELTS Australia Pty Ltd 2011-2015, with IELTS Australia Pty Ltd solely owned by IDP Education Pty Ltd.

IELTS.IDP.COM is brought to you by:

IDP IELTS Australia Pty Ltd (solely owned by IDP Education Ltd) Level 10 679 Collins Street Docklands 3008 Victoria Australia ABN: 84 00 866 4766

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If you wish to disable the cookies on this website you will need to refer to the privacy and security settings of your preferred browser. 

Below is a summary of the types of cookies used on our sites and how they are used. 

Strictly Necessary Cookies 

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information. 

Performance Cookies 

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. 

Functional Cookies 

These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly. 

Targeting Cookies 

These cookies may be set on our site by our advertising partners, Google and Addthis. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising. 

If you prefer that we not share your non-personal information with partners, including third parties that use tracking technologies to deliver targeted display advertising based on that information, please visit https://optout.networkadvertising.org/?c=1#!%2F to access the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out. 

Social Media Cookies 

These cookies are for a range of social media services including Linkedin and Facebook that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools. 

See following documents for test and payments terms and conditions:

• IELTS on paper

• IELTS on paper (For testing in Hong Kong)

• IELTS on paper (For testing in Thailand - non residents)

• IELTS on paper for UKVI and IELTS for UKVI Life Skills

• IELTS on paper for UKVI and IELTS for UKVI Life Skills (For testing in Hong Kong)

• IELTS Online Terms and Conditions

• IELTS on computer

• IELTS on computer (For testing in Hong Kong)

• IELTS on computer for UKVI

• IELTS on computer for UKVI (For testing in Hong Kong)

By using the Website, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use which form a legally binding agreement between you and IDP. If you do not want to be bound by these Terms of Use, do not continue to use this Website. 

Further, we may amend these Terms of Use at any time. Your continued use of the Website is considered to be acceptance of the amended Terms of Use. 

IDP Copyright 

The material on this Website, including all information such as text, graphics, images, photographs and sound, is protected by copyright pursuant to the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), as amended from time to time and the laws of other countries. You must not alter, reproduce, store in retrieval system or transmit the material on this Website or any part thereof, unless authorised by IDP in writing or permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). 

Trademarks 

All trademarks that are included on this Website are the property of their respective owners and are protected by relevant laws in Australia and other countries. You must not use any of these trade marks (including the reproduction, modification, distribution, repudiation, display or communication of these trade marks) except by saving or printing out a copy of this Website for personal non-commercial use, unless expressly authorised by IDP or the owner of the relevant trade mark in writing. 

Links from this Website 

The external linked websites within the Website are not within the control of IDP. IDP does not take responsibility for the content in, or currency of, any externally linked sites. The inclusion of any link within the Website does not imply endorsement by IDP of the linked website, nor does it suggest any relationship with the organisation linked. 

Spam 

IDP publishes electronic addresses on this Website to facilitate communication relating to our business functions. This is not to be inferred as consent by IDP or the relevant addresses to receiving unsolicited commercial messages or SPAM as referred to in the Spam Act 2003 (Cth). 

Liability 

IDP makes no warranties or representations about this Website or any of its content. IDP is not responsible to you or anyone else for any damages of any kind, including (but not limited to) any direct or consequential loss and losses resulting from security failure, disclosure of confidential information by other parties or the transmission of a computer virus, suffered in connection with the use of this Website whether based on breach of contract or warranty, tort (including negligence), product liability or otherwise ,even if IDP is informed in advance of the possibility of such damages. IDP excludes, to the extent permitted by law, any liability which may arise as a result of the use of this Website. By using the Website, you agree to indemnify IDP for any loss or liability arising out of your use. Use of the Website is at your own risk and you assume full responsibility and risk of loss resulting from your downloading, use of, or access to data, files, information, or other material on or through the Website. IDP’s aggregate liability to you for any other losses resulting from the use of the Website is limited to the nominal amount of $1. 

Governing Law 

The Terms of Use will be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of New South Wales, Australia and you submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales, Australia. 

Further Information 

Corporate Governance  IDP Education Pty Ltd  Level 10 697 Collins Street  Docklands 3008  Victoria Australia 

Privacy statement

We are committed to meeting your expectations and will comply with all applicable privacy and data protection legislation in relation to your Personal Information and Sensitive Information. 

We know you love the small print, but here’s a summary of how we protect your privacy: 

1. We only collect what we need to help you with your request or provide you with information that you ask for, personalising it to your interests. 

2. We won’t hang on to your information. If we don’t need it, and you don’t want us to keep it we’ll delete it. 

3. We want you to understand everything we do with your information, so we’ll try our best to explain with no nonsense. 

4. No surprises - you decide what and how you hear from us. 

5. That goes for everyone. We do not pass your information to third parties for marketing purposes without your knowledge. 

If you choose to take up any third party offers from within the app, it is your responsibility to review the terms and conditions of that product/service to understand how your data will be managed.

The rest of this policy provides you with more detail of our Privacy and Personal Information handling practices. 

Definitions of terms referred to in this Policy can be found in the ‘Glossary’ at the end of this document. 

Who we are 

IELTS Australia Pty Ltd is a subsidiary of IDP Education Limited. You can find the IDP Group privacy policy here: 

www.idp.com/global/privacy-policy/ 

Data controller contact details 

IELTS Australia  Level 10 697 Collins Street Docklands 3008 Victoria  Australia 

We will endeavour to respond to you within a reasonable time. 

Collection of Personal Information by IELTS Australia allows us to: 

• conduct the IELTS test and offer IELTS test Practice and Preparation. 

• forward any enquiries you have to another of the IELTS Owners (British Council and Cambridge Assessment English) in accordance with your expressed preference (e.g. when you make a general enquiry about sitting an IELTS test); 

• inform you of and provide you with information on the services we provide (including events and opportunities to participate in projects/programs); 

• manage our internal business operations; and 

• respond to your questions. 

IELTS testing 

IELTS test centres operate in more than 150 countries, across Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, North America, South America, Africa and the Middle East. IELTS Australia operates and manages some of these IELTS test centres and the British Council operates and manages others, to which you may be referred. 

IELTS Australia is a joint Data Controller with the other IELTS Owners (British Council, IDP Education and Cambridge Assessment English) for the purposes of conducting the IELTS test. 

If you apply to take, or have taken, an IELTS test we will collect personal details such as name, postal and email addresses, date of birth, gender, contact details, languages, country of nationality, residency status, education qualifications, national identity card number, passport details, employment history occupation, information required for visa application and professional memberships. 

This will include copies of documents you provide to us as proof of identity – e.g. copies of your passport or national identity card, proof of citizenship or photographs of you when you apply to sit the IELTS test. 

We will also hold results achieved by you. 

We may also hold Sensitive Information about you including: 

• medical information (which you may provide to obtain special consideration in relation to your testing); 

• biometric information for IELTS test candidates who provide a finger scan as part of the Identity Authentication Management (IAM) for the IELTS test (a copy of - your finger scan is held in the form of a Binary Large Object (BLOB); and 

• racial or ethnic origin (from information on your country of origin). 

An IELTS Owner may share any relevant information from your IELTS application or test with the other IELTS Owners for purposes such as administering the IELTS test, reviewing IELTS test results for statistical and fraud detection purposes, or accommodating changes in your preference as to test centre location; 

You can refer to the privacy policies of the other IELTS owners by following these links:: 

The British Council’s is found at: 

www.britishcouncil.org/privacy-cookies/data-protection 

Cambridge Assessment English ’s is found at: 

www.cambridgeenglish.org/footer/data-protection/ 

The IELTS Privacy Policy and the Test Terms and Conditions provide more details on Privacy and Personal Information handling practices related to IELTS testing. 

www.ielts.org/policy/privacy-policy 

IELTS test practice and preparation 

We provide services to support you in preparing to take the IELTS test including support tools, practice tests, seminars and IDP Masterclasses. 

Collection of your Personal Information allows us to: 

• provide you with test practice and preparation services you request 

• develop new and improved test practice and preparation tools 

• provide you with your test practice results and give you general or personalised feedback 

• with your consent, inform you of and provide you with information on the services we provide (including events and opportunities to participate in projects/programs); 

• manage our internal business operations; and 

• respond to your questions. 

Retention 

When the Personal Information that we collect is no longer required, we will destroy, delete it in a secure manner, or ensure that the information is de-identified in accordance with our information destruction and de-identification processes, unless we are required by law to retain a copy of the Personal Information or the information is contained in a Commonwealth record. 

If we collect your information for IELTS testing or test preparation purposes, we will retain it for up to 3 years after taking the IELTS test or participating in the service, or after your last activity with us. 

Finger scan data is only retained as a binary large object file for 60 days after your test date. 

We may also retain certain records for other legitimate reasons (including after your relationship with the IELTS Owner(s) has ended), for example to resolve any potential disputes, to comply with other reporting and retention obligations, or for the prevention of fraud.  

Other dealings with IELTS Australia 

Other ways you may deal with IELTS Australia include: 

• registering your interest in being engaged as consultants or employees 

• submitting a research proposal 

•  registering with a service offered by IELTS Australia; or 

• being the representative of a Recognising Organisation. 

We will provide specific notice at the point your information is collected. Any unsolicited personal information will be securely destroyed. 

How we collect Personal Information 

We will only collect your Personal Information by lawful and fair means. Personal Information may be collected directly from you or your authorised representative, or may be collected from a third party such as a licensee or representative authorised by us to provide services to you. You may supply your Personal Information to us when communicating with us via social networks and other online channels, e.g. through your Facebook or Twitter identity. 

We do not collect Personal and Sensitive information unless the information is reasonably necessary for our business functions or activities. We will obtain your consent before collecting any Sensitive Information. 

When you deal with us, you will need to identify yourself in order for us to provide our services to you, as such we do not accept the use of pseudonyms. 

If you access our websites, we may collect additional personal information about you in the form of your IP address and/or domain name. For more details please see our Website Cookie Policy for further information. 

Legal Bases for Processing Your Personal Data  

We will only process personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so. The basis for processing your personal data varies depending on the activity we collected it for. In some occurrences, we may have more than one lawful basis for processing. The information below summarises the basis on which the IELTS Australia processes personal information: 

Disclosure to others 

Information disclosed by us to overseas recipients for the purposes of providing IELTS Testing services to you may be transferred offshore to the other IELTS Owners (British Council and Cambridge Assessment English). These recipients are United Kingdom based entities, subject to the Data Protection Act (UK). Where we transfer data to offshore recipients, the data is subject to use restrictions and safeguards against unauthorised access. 

Some IELTS Australia IT systems and data are hosted on servers in countries outside Australia or the UK and we may send your information to one of those servers as part of our business. 

IELTS Australia may hold or transfer the data we collect in or to the following countries (in addition to your home country): 

• Australia 

• UK 

• India 

• Singapore

This information is stored and accessed only as required to provide our services to you. Where we transfer data to offshore servers, the data is subject to use restrictions and safeguards against unauthorised access. 

The information disclosed to overseas recipients consists of any information you have given us to provide the relevant services. By accepting services from us, you consent to us providing your Personal Information to the relevant overseas recipient as mentioned above. IELTS Australia takes appropriate steps to ensure there are adequate safeguards in place for the transfer of your personal information including standard protection clauses in our contracts and an IDP Group Data Transfer agreement. 

The IELTS Owners may disclose the relevant information from your IELTS registration or IELTS test with: 

• educational institutions, IELTS test centres, governments (including visa processing authorities), or professional bodies and commercial organisations that recognise IELTS scores

• with regulatory authorities for verification purposes, to protect the IELTS test and its stakeholders or where legally required;

• third parties identified by you which act on your behalf to facilitate your applications to educational institutions, governments (including visa processing authorities), or professional bodies and commercial organisations that recognise IELTS scores

• in certain situations, share personal information to government bodies and law enforcement bodies.

• We also use other organisations to process your personal information in order to carry out services on our behalf. We use them to: 

Provide customer service, surveys and marketing 

1. Personalise our services 

2. Process payments 

3. Carry out fraud and other legal investigations 

Where we use another organisation, we make sure that your personal information is protected and remains in our control.

We want to make sure that you know about the products and services of IELTS Australia and its related entities that may be relevant to you (please see our global policy for details on the related entities). We may use the personal information that we collect and hold about you to market and promote our products and services that may be of interest directly to you. However, we will ensure you have the ability of opt out of such communications at any time if you wish.

Your rights 

You have the right to seek access to any of your Personal Information held by us unless there is a valid reason under the applicable privacy legislation for us to withhold the information. 

Valid reasons may include: 

• We have reason to suspect that unlawful activity or misconduct of a serious nature has been engaged in and giving access would be likely to prejudice the taking of appropriate action in relation to the matter; or 

• Giving access would reveal evaluative information generated within us in connection with a commercially sensitive process. 

If your personal details change, or you believe the information we hold about you is incorrect, incomplete or out-of-date, please contact us so that we can correct our records. 

The right to erasure 

At your request, we will remove all the data we have for you which we are not required legally to retain. 

The right to restrict processing 

You have the right to restrict processing when you have exercised one of the above rights and it may take some time to process that request. For example: when you contact us to update your details you have the right to request restriction until your details are being updated. 

The right to withdraw consent 

For the processing activities where we have asked you for consent, you have the right to withdraw this consent at any point by unsubscribing from a message from us, or by contacting privacyofficer@idp.com. 

The right to object 

You can object to the processing of your personal data. 

The right to not be subject to automated decisions and profiling 

None of our processing activities are purely automated and no decisions are made without human intervention. There are instances where we process data to analyse or predict behaviour but we will ask you for explicit consent when this processing will involve your personal data. 

The right to data portability 

If you have provided us with your personal data with consent or under the contact obligations, you have the right to request the data you have provided to us in a machine-readable format should you decide to move to another data controller. 

Making a request 

Requests for access or correction to your Personal Information or other privacy rights described above should be addressed to the IDP Privacy Officer by emailing privacyofficer@idp.com. All requests will be responded to in writing within a reasonable period of time. As part of this process we will verify the identity of the individual requesting the information prior to providing access or making any changes. If we cannot fulfil your request, we will respond and provide you with an explanation. 

Making a complaint if you are unhappy about how we have dealt with or are dealing with your Personal Information 

We have procedures in place to deal with your inquiries or complaints. 

If you have any questions about our policy or any complaint regarding the treatment of your privacy by us, please contact privacyofficer@idp.com. 

If you feel we have intruded on your privacy or misused your data, you are able to complain. 

In Australia 

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s (OAIC)

website at www.oaic.gov.au 

The contact details for the OAIC are: 

Office address: Level 3, 175 Pitt Street, Sydney 2000  Postal address (Sydney): GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001  Postal address (Canberra): GPO Box 2999 Canberra ACT 2601  Phone: 1300 363 992  Fax: + 61 2 9284 9666  Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au 

In the UK 

Information Commissioners Office 

https://ico.org.uk/concerns/ 

Updates to this Policy 

This version of the policy was published in February 2024. From time to time we may update this privacy policy. We encourage you to take the time to review it any time you provide us with personal information. 

We aim for there to be ‘no surprises’ in our dealings with your personal information. If we make significant changes to the policy and we have your email address, we will send you an email information you of these changes, how they may impact you, and remind you of your privacy rights. 

Glossary 

1. Applicable Privacy laws means: 

• the Privacy Act 

• GDPR 

• any other applicable laws relating to privacy or the use or protection of personal data anywhere in the world 

2. IDP refers to IDP Education Limited (ACN 117 676 463). 

3. GDPR means the European General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679. 

4. IELTS refers to the International English Language Testing System. 

5. IELTS Australia refers to IELTS Australia Pty Ltd (ACN 008 664 766) which is a subsidiary of IDP. 

6. IELTS Owners refers to the British Council, Cambridge Assessment English and IDP Education Ltd (through its subsidiary IELTS Australia Pty Ltd), who together own the IELTS test. The British Council and Cambridge Assessment English are United Kingdom based entities. 

7. Personal Information means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not, and whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not. 

8. Privacy Act means the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). 

9. Sensitive Information includes information or an opinion about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a professional or trade association or criminal record that is also personal information, or health information about an individual, or biometric information used for the purpose of automated biometric verification or identification, or biometric templates. 

Information collected on this website 

Google Analytics 

We use Google Analytics to measure and analyse the site’s internet usage to ensure the site meets IDP's business objectives with advertisers and users. Individual privacy is protected but we gain insights on how to make the site more useful for advertisers as well as our users. 

Data collected from this analysis include: 

• the number of page views (or page impressions) that occur on our sites; 

• the number of unique visitors; 

• how long these unique visitors (on average) spend on our sites; 

• common entry and exit points to our sites; 

• files downloaded from the site; and 

• forms filled in on the site 

• Audience and device analysis 

• Referral source 

Hotjar 

We use Hotjar to better understand our users’ needs and to optimize this service and experience. Hotjar is a technology service that helps us better understand our users experience (e.g. how much time they spend on which pages, which links they choose to click, what users do and don’t like, etc.) and this enables us to build and maintain our service with user feedback. Hotjar uses cookies and other technologies to collect data on our users’ behaviour and their devices (particularly, device IP address (captured and stored only in anonymized form), device screen size, device type (unique device identifiers), browser information, geographic location (country only), preferred language used to display our website). Hotjar stores this information in a pseudonymized user profile. Neither Hotjar nor we will ever use this information to identify individual users or to match it with further data on an individual user. For further details, please see Hotjar’s privacy policy by clicking on this link. 

You can opt-out to the creation of a user profile, Hotjar’s storing of data about your usage of our site and Hotjar’s use of tracking cookies on other websites by following this opt-out link. 

Google AdWords 

Google AdWords is an online advertising service by Google, which allows advertisers to display ads on the Google display network. We use the Google AdWords remarketing feature to show you ads about IELTS preparation, products and support. Google Customer Match allows advertisers to target custom audiences based on a list of email address on the Google display network. We may use Google Customer Match to target IELTS preparation, product and support ads to you.  

Facebook Custom Audience 

The Facebook Custom Audience program allows advertisers to target custom audiences based on email address on Facebook. We may participate in the Facebook Custom Audience program to target IELTS preparation, product and support ads to you. 

If you wish to opt-out of Facebook Custom Audience ads, you may control this via your Facebook privacy settings, or by clicking on the ad and selecting ‘Hide all from this advertiser’. 

AdRoll 

AdRoll Group uses cookies, tracking pixels and related technologies to provide our services for Advertisers. Cookies are small data files that are served by our platform and stored on your device. 

If you prefer that we not share your non-personal information with partners, including third parties that use tracking technologies to deliver targeted display advertising based on that information, please visit http://optout.networkadvertising.org/?c=1#!/ to access the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out. 

IELTS online is not currently available in all countries, please check your local IELTS site to confirm availability.

Who we are – IELTS Owners

The IELTS Owners are the British Council, IELTS Australia Pty Ltd (ABN 84 008 664 766), (wholly owned by IDP Education Ltd) and Cambridge Assessment English (Part of the University of Cambridge).

This Privacy Notice describes how the IELTS Owners collect and use your personal information that we obtain when you register to sit an IELTS Online test. It is intended to provide further information on how your personal data is used and supplements any information the IELTS Owners may have already provided to you about how they will use your personal data. Some of the IELTS Owners’ activities will be carried out by IELTS UK Service Limited, which is a joint venture owned by the IELTS Owners.

Data shared amongst the IELTS Owners and subcontractors

The IELTS Owners may share any relevant information from your IELTS registration or the IELTS Online test with the other joint owners of the IELTS test for purposes such as administering the IELTS test and reviewing IELTS test results for statistical and fraud detection purposes.

The IELTS Owners may forward any enquiries you make to the other joint owners of the IELTS test where necessary and appropriate. The IELTS owners use third party subcontractors to provide parts of the IELTS services as detailed below. For these services it is necessary to share your information with these subcontractors in order for us to provide the IELTS test and associated services.

Snowflake – Data warehousing, including storing, cataloguing, and enabling analysis of data by IELTS.

Tableau – Data visualisation and reporting tool to enable the analysis of data by IELTS

Types of Information collected

IELTS Online Testing

If you apply to take, or have taken, an assessment service provided by, or through, the IELTS Owners we will collect personal details such as;

• name,

• postal and

• email addresses,

• date of birth, gender,

• contact details,

• languages,

• country of nationality,

• residency status,

• education qualifications,

• national identity card number,

• passport details,

• employment history occupation,

• information required for visa application and professional memberships.

This will include copies of documents you provide to us as proof of identity – e.g. copies of your passport or national identity card, proof of citizenship.

In the case of individuals who have taken any test or assessment provided by, or through the IELTS Owners, results achieved by the individuals will also be held.

We may also hold sensitive information about individuals, including

• medical information (which you may provide to obtain special consideration in relation to your testing) and

• racial or ethnic origin (from information on your country of origin).

Some personal data, such as gender, may be used to ensure that Greeters, Proctors and Examiners are assigned to test takers in accordance with local laws and practices, where applicable.

We will also process biometric information of IELTS Online Test takers who provide a visual image of their face for identity verification purposes. The image taken at the beginning of the test will be used throughout the test to confirm that it is always the same person.

We will also conduct video, audio and screen recording during the test for proctoring purposes. Further information regarding online proctoring is provided below.

IELTS Online

Remote proctoring is used to ensure test integrity, to prevent malpractice, and for fraud prevention. The proctoring platform is provided by Inspera. Audio and video from your webcam and microphone, as well as a recording of your computer screen, is captured throughout all parts of the test for proctoring purposes.

The IELTS Owners use Zoom to support video and audio communications for the delivery of the Speaking component of the IELTS Online test.

For further information on how Zoom and Inspera approach data protection, please visit the privacy sections of their websites:

https://zoom.us/privacy

https://www.inspera.com/legal/privacy

Remote Proctoring

As IELTS is a high stakes test, all IELTS tests are subject to proctoring to ensure test integrity and prevent malpractice.

The use of remote proctoring is a condition of taking the IELTS test online. If you do not agree to this condition, the alternative is to attend an IELTS Test Centre.

IELTS works with a company called Inspera to provide the IELTS online platform, including remote proctoring services. You can find out more about Inspera’ s privacy practices on their website here:

https://www.inspera.com/legal/privacy

Remote proctoring is made up of two parts:

Pre-test identity checking

Before the test begins, you will be asked to present an approved form of picture ID. The greeter will match the facial image on the ID with the person in front of the camera for the test session. This is to ensure that the person taking the test is the same person that registered.

Test session

During the test we will record audio and video from your device’s camera and microphone and a capture of the screen of the device used for the test. You will also be asked to provide a 360° view of the room before the test begins. This is to verify that there is no one else present to assist you.

Your entire testing session is monitored in real time and recorded through your device. Audio and video of your face, voice and workspace will be captured.

These recordings are held securely within the Inspera test platform in Europe for a period of sixty days, after which they will automatically be deleted. They may be retained for longer if there are legal grounds to keep them, such as for ongoing investigations.

The remote proctoring system uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) software to monitor the audio and video from your device for suspicious or unusual behaviour that may indicate malpractice. If the software flags any behaviour as potentially suspicious, that report is reviewed by the human proctor monitoring your test session before any action is taken.

The software will flag the following behaviours for further investigation.

• Unexpected noise – the systems will detect unusual noises that are picked up by your microphone. This is intended particularly to detect speech that is not coming from the test taker.

• People entering or leaving the frame – whenever someone enters or leaves the frame during the test, the software will compare the facial image of the person entering the frame with the facial image on the ID submitted at the start of the test. If the images do not match, the software will flag the behaviour.

The recordings do not form part of the exam and do not influence your grade – they are only used to prevent malpractice, investigate fraudulent activities and to verify the identity of the person taking the test.

We may also use extracts from the recordings for the purpose of training the AI so that it continually improves its ability to distinguish faces.

Remote Speaking Test

For the Speaking part of the IELTS Online Test, the Zoom video conferencing platform will be used. A digital recording of the Speaking test will be made via Zoom. This recording will be stored temporarily within Zoom and transferred to our cloud storage in Singapore where it will be split into Audio and Video components. The recording will be not retained on the device you use to take the test. The video file will be retained for 3 months and the audio file for 3 years.

In other dealings with Owners

We may also collect personal details such as name, postal and email addresses, contact details, languages, nationality, education qualifications, occupation, and professional memberships if you:

• register to participate in an event organised, managed or presented by the IELTS Owners, whether in its own right, or under contract for another organisation.

• provide your contact information to receive information on the services we provide on IELTS and IELTS related product and services.

Purpose

We collect your Personal information to allow us to:

• administer your IELTS Online test

• protect test integrity and prevent fraud

• improve the way in which IELTS Online is delivered

• inform you of and provide you with information on the services we provide (including events and opportunities to participate in projects/programs)

• use your information in an anonymous form, for informational, research, statistical and training purposes for the development of Cambridge Assessment English examinations

• manage our internal business operations

• respond to your questions

Legal basis for Processing your personal data

We will only process personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so. The basis for processing your personal data varies depending on the activity we collected it for. In some occurrences, we may have more than one lawful basis for processing. The information below summarises the bases on which the IELTS Owners process personal information.

Contract

The IELTS Owners process personal data necessary for the performance of a contract for your IELTS Online Test. This includes, but is not limited to, IELTS registration, identity checks and test administration.

Legal Obligation

The IELTS Owners process personal data necessary to comply with legal obligations. This includes, but is not limited to, providing personal information to regulators, law enforcement agencies and statutory bodies.

Legitimate interest

The IELTS Owners process personal data to meet our legitimate interests as a global provider of the IELTS tests. This includes, but is not limited to, responding to general enquiries, supporting test takers, preventing fraudulent activity and improving our services.

Consent

The IELTS Owners process personal data where you have provided your consent to do so. Where the IELTS Owners are relying on your consent, for example, where your personal data is being used for marketing purposes, you may withdraw your consent at any time.

Special Category personal data (also known as sensitive personal data) processing

The IELTS Owners will process Special Category personal data under the following legal bases.

Explicit Consent

The IELTS Owners process personal data with your explicit consent when you provide a visual image of your face for identity verification purposes at the beginning of the IELTS Online test. We also carry out video, audio and screen recording during the test for proctoring with your consent. We may also process medical information with your consent if you provide it to support requests for special arrangements to be made in relation to your IELTS Online test.

Public Interest

In the case of Cambridge Assessments, the collection of your personal data in remote proctoring is required in the public interest to prevent test malpractice and to ensure test integrity, for the benefit of Recognising Organisations and the public in applying to Recognising Organisations.

Equality of opportunity monitoring

The IELTS Owners process special category personal data to monitor equality of opportunity provision. Any such outputs from this processing would be aggregated and not identify specific individuals. Special category data will only be shared on a strictly need to know basis in line with the individual IELTS Owner security policy.

Recipients of personal data

We also use other organisations to process your personal information to carry out services on our behalf. We use them to:

• Provide customer service, surveys and marketing

• Personalise our services

• Process payments

• Carry out fraud and other legal investigations.

Where we use another organisation, we make sure that your personal information is protected and remains in our control.

Disclosure

The IELTS Owners may disclose the relevant information from your IELTS Online registration or IELTS Online test with:

• Educational institutions, IELTS test centres, governments (including visa processing authorities), or professional bodies and commercial organisations that recognise IELTS Online scores

• With regulatory authorities for verification purposes, to protect the IELTS Online test and its stakeholders or where legally required

• In certain situations, share personal information to government bodies and law enforcement bodies.

Unless required by law, the disclosures listed above take place in accordance with your instructions as to which organisations you want to be able to view your IELTS information.

Where we do share personal information with these types of organisations, we make sure it is protected, so far as it is reasonably possible.

Retention of personal data

We will retain your details for as long as they are needed for the relevant purposes listed in the Purposes section. When retaining information for the purpose of administering the IELTS Online test.

• All test results and records relating to your registration and sitting of the test, including your ID document, are held for 3 years after your most recent test result

• Video and audio recording of the test taker and their computer screen captured during the remote proctoring of your IELTS Online test is held for 60 days after your IELTS Online test

• Video of your speaking test is held for 3 months after your IELTS Online test

• Audio of your speaking test is held for 3 years after your IELTS Online test

We may also retain certain other records for other legitimate reasons (including after your relationship with the IELTS Owner(s) has ended), for example to resolve any potential disputes, to comply with other reporting and retention obligations, or for the prevention of fraud.

All the personal information that we collect and generate during the test (e.g. video and voice recording, your answers to the questions or the document to prove your identity, such as your Identity Card or your Passport) is temporarily stored on the device you take the test on and normally removed at the end of the test.

Your rights in relation to your personal data

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

• Your right of access – you have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. However, material produced in your IELTS Online test will not generally be provided.

• Your right to rectification – you have the right to ask us to rectify information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.

• Your right to erasure – you have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances. This may not be possible in all cases when it comes to maintaining a record of your results.

• Your right to restriction of processing – you have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your information in certain circumstances.

• Your right to object to processing – you have the right to object to the processing of your information in certain circumstances

• Your right to data portability – you have the right to ask that we transfer the information you gave us to another organisations, or to you, in certain circumstances

• You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.

For more information on these rights please visit the Information Commissioner’s Office website at https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/

If you wish to exercise any of the rights detailed above, please email the IELTS partner that you register with using the following details:

For British Council: IGDisclosures@britishcouncil.org

For IDP: privacyofficer@idp.com

For Cambridge Assessment English: privacy@cambridge.org

For further details on exercising your rights in relation to personal data processed by the IELTS Owners please see the privacy and data protection policies of the IELTS Owners for IELTS at https://www.ielts.org/policy/privacy-policy.

Making a complaint

If you are unhappy about how we have handled your personal information, we have procedures in place to deal with your enquiries or complaints. In the first instance, you should address your complaint to the IELTS Owner through whom you booked your test. Your booking confirmation will specify whether this is the British Council or IDP Education.

If you wish to raise a complaint with the British Council, please contact IGDisclosures@britishcouncil.org

If you wish to raise a complaint with IDP, please contact privacyofficer@idp.com.

If you wish to raise a complaint with Cambridge Assessment English, please contact privacy@cambridge.org

If you feel we have intruded on your privacy or misused your data, you are able to raise a complaint as follows:

In Australia

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s (OAIC) website at

https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints

In the UK

Information Commissioner’s Office

https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

Website usage and other information collected on this website

The IELTS Owners’ Privacy Notice applies solely to information collected by us and may differ from the policies of other companies’ or organisations’ websites that you link to from this website. We recommend that you read the privacy policy of any other companies’ or organisations website that you link to from our website.

IELTS believes that child protection requires everyone to take responsibility and that every child matters. We recognise that the care, protection and welfare of children are paramount and that all children have the right to be protected from all types of harm or abuse. This includes a responsibility to protect children from any harm or risk.

We aim to achieve this through compliance with all applicable child protection laws and by adhering to Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 1989.

A child is defined as anyone who has not reached their 18th birthday (UNCRC 1989) irrespective of the age of majority in the country where the child is, or in their home country.

In relation to the management, recognition and administration of the IELTS test, IELTS is committed to:

• Valuing, respecting and listening to children.

• Ensuring all necessary checks are made when recruiting staff.

• Maintaining strong child protection systems and procedures for staff.

• Training its staff and providing a common understanding of child protection issues to inform planning and practice.

• Protecting the data protection rights of children.

• Sharing information about any concerns with the relevant agencies and involving parents and children appropriately.

• Providing effective management for staff through clear processes, supervision and support.

We will provide adequate and appropriate resources to implement this policy and will ensure it is communicated and understood. IELTS will review this global policy statement annually to reflect new legal and regulatory developments and ensure good practice.

For more information, read the IDP IELTS Child Protection Policy document.

At IDP, we take security seriously. Criminal activity of any kind will not be tolerated. If you witness any suspicious activity at your testing centre, please report it to security.ielts@idp.com. 

While IDP IELTS has attempted to make the information on this server as accurate as possible, the information on this website server is for personal and/or educational use only and is provided in good faith without any express or implied warranty. There is no guarantee given as to the accuracy or currency of any individual item on the website. 

Persons accessing the website who require confirmation of any information should refer to IDP’s sourcing the information for this website. IDP does not accept responsibility for any loss or damage occasioned by use of the information contained on the server nor from any access to the server. While IDP will make every effort to ensure the availability and integrity of its resources, it cannot guarantee that these will always be available, and/or free of any defects, including viruses. Users should take this into account when accessing the resources. All access and use is at the risk of the user. 

IDP has provided hypertext links to a number of other web sites as a service to users of this website. This service does not mean that IDP endorses those sites or material on them in any way. IDP is not responsible for the use of a hypertext link for which a commercial charge applies. Individual users are responsible for any charges that their use may incur. 

© IELTS Australia Pty Ltd 2011-2015, with IELTS Australia Pty Ltd solely owned by IDP Education Pty Ltd.