Using Academyship safely and respectfully

#01What this guide is

This is a plain-language guide to using Academyship safely and respectfully. Academyship is the online platform your Institution — whether a school, university, college, RTO or other training organisation — uses to help run classes, records, messages and other learning and Institution activities.

This guide is here to help you understand the rules. It is information only — it is not a contract. You do not sign it or accept it. Reading it, or using Academyship in the ordinary way, does not create a contract between you and Academyship: your Institution is the organisation that has the agreement with Academyship.

The rules that actually apply to you come from three places:

• the law, which applies to everyone;
• Academyship's full Acceptable Use Policy, which applies to everyone who uses Academyship, including students; and
• your Institution's own rules and policies, such as its code of conduct, IT rules and assessment rules.

Your Institution's rules apply alongside the law and the full Acceptable Use Policy. They do not override the law or the Acceptable Use Policy, and this guide does not override any of them. If something your Institution asks you to do seems to conflict with this guide or the full Acceptable Use Policy, do not guess — ask an educator or authorised Institution staff member, or contact Academyship at support@academyship.com.au, before you go ahead.

#02Who this guide is for

This guide is for students and learners who use Academyship. It is written in plain language for students and learners, including younger users and adult learners. When we say "your Institution", we mean whichever school, university, college or training provider gave you your account.

Some parts mention parents or guardians. If you are an adult learner, those parts may not apply to you, but the rest of the guide does.

#03What you can use Academyship for

Academyship is for learning and Institution activities. Depending on what your Institution turns on, you can use it to:

• see your classes, timetable and enrolment information;
• view your work, tasks, feedback and results;
• hand in work where your Institution allows it;
• read messages and notices from your teachers or Institution;
• find documents, resources and certificates;
• use other features your Institution turns on, such as bookings, events, the library, the canteen or forms to sign; and
• keep your own contact details up to date where you are allowed to.

Use Academyship for these learning and Institution purposes, and follow directions from educators or authorised Institution staff.

#04Keep your account safe

Your account is yours. To keep it safe:

• keep your password private and do not share it with anyone;
• do not use someone else's account or pretend to be another person;
• sign out when you finish, especially on a shared or public device;
• lock your own device with a passcode; and
• if you think someone else has used your account, tell an educator or authorised Institution staff member straight away.

Student cards, wallets and passes

If your Institution uses student cards, canteen wallets or similar passes:

• do not lend your card, or share your wallet or login details, with anyone;
• do not use another person's card, wallet balance or money without their permission;
• do not use someone else's card or account to get around a spending limit or food restriction on your own account — these can be there for health or safety reasons; and
• if your card is lost, or someone has used it or your wallet without permission, tell your Institution straight away.

For example: using a friend's card to buy lunch without asking, or lending your card to someone so they can get around a limit on their own account, is not okay.

Signing forms and documents

If you are asked to sign a form or document in Academyship, sign only for yourself. Do not sign as a parent, guardian, teacher or anyone else, do not use someone else's signing link or account, and do not tick, approve or agree to something on another person's behalf unless you genuinely have the authority to do so. If a form needs a parent's or guardian's signature, they must sign it themselves. If you are not sure what a document means, or whether you should be the one signing it, ask before you sign. If a signing request reaches you by mistake, tell the person who sent it instead of signing.

#05Be respectful

Treat other people the way you would want to be treated. On Academyship, you must not:

• bully, tease, threaten or frighten anyone;
• say hurtful things about someone's background, religion, race, gender, disability or anything else;
• leave someone out on purpose to be unkind;
• send sexual messages, or try to trick or pressure someone into anything sexual (this is very serious and can be against the law); or
• encourage anyone to hurt themselves.

For example: posting a mean comment about a classmate, sharing an embarrassing photo of someone to make fun of them, or sending a threatening message are all not allowed.

#06What you must not post, send or upload

Do not post, send or upload anything that is:

• illegal, or sexual content involving anyone under 18 (this is never allowed anywhere);
• violent, hateful or made to scare or hurt people;
• a lie meant to trick people, or someone else's work pretended to be yours;
• someone's private information that you are not allowed to share; or
• a virus, malware or anything designed to break or attack the system.

Certificates, results and other records

Do not change, fake or copy a certificate, result, transcript, student card or other official record, and do not make anything that looks as if it came from your Institution when it did not. Do not use a certificate, or a link or code for checking one, to mislead anyone about what you have completed. For example, editing the course name or date on a downloaded certificate before sending it to an employer is not allowed, and can be against the law. If you think a certificate or result is wrong, ask your Institution to correct it — do not change it yourself.

#07Protect other people's privacy

Other people's information is private, just like yours. Do not share photos, recordings, phone numbers, addresses, health information, locations, private messages, marks or documents about other people unless you are allowed to. And do not look at records or information you do not need for your own learning — even if you happen to be able to see them.

Comments, reviews and shared spaces

Some features let other people read what you write — for example, comments on an event or reviews of library books. Before you post, think about who will be able to read it. Do not include other people's private details, marks, health information, or what someone else has borrowed or bought. Keep a review about the book or resource, not about the people who borrowed it. Honest, respectful opinions are fine.

#08Use messaging and group features safely

If your Institution turns on messaging or group features, use them kindly and only with the people you are meant to. Keep your language respectful. Do not pressure anyone to move a chat off Academyship or to keep secrets from adults. If a message worries you, you can report it or tell a trusted adult. Remember that authorised educators or Institution staff members may be able to see activity on the platform, so it is not a private space away from your Institution.

#09Do your own work and use AI honestly

Your Institution decides when and how you are allowed to use AI tools for your work, and whether you need to say when you have used them. Follow those rules. Do not cheat, or copy someone else's work and call it your own. Do not hand in work that an AI tool produced and present it as your own work where your Institution does not allow that. Where AI use is allowed, follow your Institution's rules about saying how you used it — for example, naming the tool or explaining what it helped with. If you do use an AI tool where it is allowed, remember it can be wrong — check facts, and do not treat its answers as always true. If you are not sure whether AI is allowed for a task, ask your educator before you use it.

#10Do not bypass controls

Do not try to get around the way Academyship is set up. That means do not try to break in, test for weaknesses, scrape or copy data in bulk, get past permissions, reach another Institution's information, use bots or automation to misuse the system, make fake accounts, or try to open another person's records. If you notice a way to do something you should not be able to do, do not use it — report it instead (see Section 13).

Bookings and event places

If your Institution uses bookings or event sign-ups, book only what you need. Do not book in someone else's name without their permission, hold places you do not plan to use so that other people miss out, use bots or scripts to grab places, or pass on a booking or invitation link to people it was not meant for. If you can no longer go, cancel where you can so someone else can have the place.

#11Who can see what you do

It is fair for you to know who can see your activity:

• authorised teachers and staff at your Institution can see activity and records according to their role;
• whether a parent or guardian can see your information is decided by your Institution; and
• Academyship's own support team can only access information in limited, authorised situations, for example to help fix a problem.

Academyship does not watch students live or read everything as it happens.

#12What happens when rules are broken

Your Institution handles these matters under its own policies and applicable law. Where Academyship takes action, it aims to act reasonably and proportionately. Academyship may restrict access to an account or remove content where needed for safety, security or law.

#13If something worries you

If something on Academyship worries you, or you see something that is not okay, you can choose who to tell. You do not need anyone's permission to report a safety worry.

• If you or someone else is in danger right now, call 000.
• You can tell a trusted adult — an educator or authorised Institution staff member, a parent or guardian, or another adult you trust. They can help you, but you do not have to go through them.
• You can contact Academyship yourself at safety@academyship.com.au. You do not need an adult to email for you, although a trusted adult can help you write the message if you would like.
• For a privacy worry or a security problem, you can use privacy@academyship.com.au or security@academyship.com.au.
• Eligible online-harm concerns — such as serious cyberbullying, or intimate images of you being shared without your permission — can also be reported to the eSafety Commissioner at esafety.gov.au/report.

If your worry is about someone at your Institution — including a teacher, a staff member or the person you would normally tell — you do not have to tell them first, or at all. Tell a different adult you trust, or contact Academyship or eSafety directly, and say in your message that the worry is about someone at your Institution.

It helps to say what happened, when, where in Academyship it happened (for example, the page, message, event or comment), and who was involved. You do not need every detail before you report. Please do not forward or share anything harmful — describe it instead. Never send, forward or screenshot sexual images or videos of anyone under 18, even to report them; describe where you saw them instead.

Academyship's safety email is not an emergency service and messages may not be read straight away, so call 000 first if anyone is in danger. Academyship will not punish anyone for honestly reporting a safety worry, even if it turns out to be a mistake, and your Institution must not punish you for raising a safety concern in good faith. Academyship shares information about a report only with people who need it, but it cannot promise to keep everything secret: it may need to share information with your Institution, the police or another authority to keep someone safe, to look into the worry, or because the law requires it.

This guide does not replace your Institution's rules or the formal Acceptable Use Policy.

#14Questions and accessibility

If you have a question about using Academyship, ask an educator or authorised Institution staff member first — they know how your account is set up. You can also reach Academyship's support team at support@academyship.com.au. If you need this guide in a different format, you or your Institution can ask at accessibility@academyship.com.au.

#15Related documents and change history

Acceptable Use Policy Child Safety Student Privacy Guide Privacy Policy Terms of Service