EC Connect Terms and Conditions of Use

1.Background

1.1 Early Childcare Connect (EC Connect) has been developed by the Office for Early Childhood Development (OECD), as an online platform that assists with collecting and managing data related to preschool services and child development across government and non-government organisations.

1.2 By accessing and using EC Connect, you agree to be bound by and to comply with these Terms & Conditions of Use (Terms), as amended from time to time, which apply to your access and use of EC Connect and to the performance of EC Connect, and the information, services and other material contained in EC Connect or provided by it.

1.3 Please read and ensure that you clearly understand and accept these Terms before you proceed to use EC Connect. As a condition of your access, you must hold a valid Working with Children Check (WWCC) issued by the South Australian Department of Human Services (DHS) Screening Unit. Please decline the access request from EC Connect and provide a reason for declining if you do not agree to accept and be bound by these Terms and/or if you do not hold a valid WWCC.

2.Contacting us

2.1 For general enquiries relating to EC Connect please see the Contact Us option on the OECD website.

2.2 Alternatively, you can contact us on 1800 868 657 during business hours (Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm ACST) and we will endeavour to address any issues or concerns you may have.

3.Account Creation and Acceptance of Terms

3.1 You must create an account with us in order to access and use EC Connect (User Account). In order to create a User Account, you must be at least 18 years old or, if under the age of 18 years old, you must be under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who is at least 18 years old.

3.2 If you create a User Account, you must:

(a) provide us with accurate and current personal information, including your name and a valid work-related email address;
(b) obtain or register login details and password as required by us, and use them in the manner we direct from time to time in order to access and use the Website;
(c) keep your login details and password for the Website confidential, and not share them with any person, or allow any other person to use the Website using your login details or password; and
(d) promptly notify us by email to oecd.engage@sa.gov.au
- (i) there is any change to any of the contact or other details you register with us;
  or
- (ii) you have reasons to believe that another person is aware of your password for the Website - in which case, you must immediately take steps to re-secure your User Account (including by changing your password).

3.3 We may decline to provide you login details or a password, or to permit you to register login details or a password, for the Website in our sole discretion.

3.4 If another person uses your login details or password for the Website, you are responsible and liable for the use that person makes of the Website with your login details or password, as if that use of the Website was by you.

3.5 When a person accepts these Terms on user creation on EC Connect, the person becomes known as an 'Authorised User'.

4. Definitions

In these Terms:

“Authorised User” means a person who is authorised by OECD by means of a unique email and password to access and use EC Connect and is employed by the Provider and/or Service for which they are creating;
"Legal Representative User" means a user who is the legal representative for its Provider or Service(s), and has been assigned one or more of the following permissions:
- (a) for users who undertake approval of an agreement, variation, acquittal or offer, the access permissions assigned include:
  - (i) ‘Signatory–Funding Agreement’; and/or
  - (ii) ‘Signatory–Acquittal Statement’; and/or
  - (iii) ‘Signatory–Partnership Plan.
- (a) for users who submit confirmed data, the access permissions assigned include;
  - (i) ‘Provider–Contributor'; and/or
  - (ii) ‘Service–Contributor’; and/or
  - (iii) 'Provider–Authoriser'; and/or
  - (iv) 'Service–Authoriser'.

"Loss" means all liabilities, losses, damages, costs and expenses (including legal costs and expenses, regardless of whether incurred or awarded) arising in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise;
“Material” means any document, information, or data obtained from EC Connect;
“Office for Early Childhood Development”, "OECD", “we, “our” or “us” means the Office for Early Childhood Development, an independent office, separate from other State Government departments and agencies and its officers, employees and contractors.
“Privacy Policy” means the Office for Early Childhood Development Privacy Policy, as amended from time to time. A copy of the Policy can be found on our website.
“Provider” or “Service” means the entity or organisation at which you are employed or perform work-related duties;
"Provider–Authoriser" or "Service–Authoriser" means a user who is:
- authorised to act on behalf of their respective Provider or Service(s); and
- assigned the role "Provider–Authoriser" or "Service–Authoriser"; and
- has access permissions in the workflow to add new users, manage existing users in EC Connect, and manage the permissions of those users;
“Terms” means these EC Connect Terms and Conditions of Use;
“You or your” means the person who accepts the Terms.

5. User responsibilities

5.1 All Authorised Users

(a) You acknowledge and agree that you are responsible for:
- (i) ensuring all data submitted by it is accurate, complete and reflective of current or predicted service information as requested;
- (ii) verifying the integrity of all child, enrolment, service and financial records prior to submission;
- (b) Upon accepting access to EC Connect you acknowledge and agree:
- (i) that the information provided during registration for EC Connect is accurate, complete and not misleading and that we may rely on that information until we receive notice of any change from you;
- (ii) to update any information immediately if the information changes;
- (iii) to uphold the security and confidentiality of all data submitted by you, as well as any information accessed through the online platform; and
- (iv) to use EC Connect in a lawful, ethical and responsible manner and to follow any instructions provided by us for the use of EC Connect.

5.2 Provider–Authoriser or Service–Authoriser

You acknowledge and agree that in addition to the requirements of clause 4.1:

(a) you are responsible for:
- (i) conducting regular reviews of User Accounts;
- (ii) promptly deactivating accounts for individuals who do not require access or who no longer meet the eligibility criteria outlined in our guides;
(b) you must:
- (i) ensure that all users to which you grant access to EC Connect and/or authorised by your Service(s), hold a valid WWCC for the entire duration of their access to EC Connect;
- (ii) promptly deactivate EC Connect access for any user who:
  - (A) is no longer employed by your Provider or Service;
  - (B) no longer requires EC Connect access; and/or
  - (C) no longer holds a valid WWCC;
- (iii) discontinue your use of EC Connect following termination of your relationship with the Provider or Service.

5.3 Legal Representative Users

You acknowledge and agree that in addition to the requirements of clause 4.1:

(a) you are responsible for:
- (i) where there have been any changes to:
  - (A) account structures, signatories or banking arrangements that affect any submitted data, the Legal Representative User must notify OECD prior to the relevant submission of signatures and payment processing cycles, in accordance with the requirements set out in the OECD's Policy and Funding Guide available on the OECD's website and as varied from time to time: https://www.earlychildhood.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1057636/Policy-and-Funding-Guide.pdf;
  - B) the roles and responsibilities of the Legal Representative User being assigned to a different individual, the Legal Representative User must notify the OECD and update the user access no less than 24 hours to the effective date of the role assignment;
- (ii) maintaining appropriate internal controls to safeguard financial data and conduct regular account reconciliations to prevent discrepancies or unauthorised activity.
(b) you warrant that you have delegated responsibility for executing agreements on behalf of your Provider or Service(s);
(c) you agree that any information and agreements you submit complies with:
- (i) the Terms (as applicable);
- (ii) the current published OECD Policy and Funding Guide; and
- (iii) meets any required standards for integrity, accountability and financial governance.

6. Electronic communication

6.1 During registration, you must verify that a valid work-related email address is linked to your account and enabled to receive notifications from EC Connect. To maintain your registration, this email address must remain current and active.

6.2 If you do not verify your email address, we reserve the right to deactivate your account. To reactivate, update your access via your employer (Provider Authoriser or Service Authoriser) or contact us.

7. Privacy

7.1 Access to EC Connect includes authentication via the Australian Government’s Digital ID service provider, myID. Information submitted to or collected via myID for registration purposes is not held by OECD. Use of myID must comply with the Digital ID Act 2024 (Cth) and myID's associated terms and conditions. For further details, please refer to the Digital ID Act website: https://www.digitalidsystem.gov.au/what-is-digital-id/digital-id-act-2024

7.2 The OECD will collect the following personal information from a user of EC Connect:

(a) the user's legal name associated with their myID account; and
(b) the user's unique myID token.

7.3 Personal information from Authorised Users will be collected, used, stored and disclosed in accordance with these Terms, Education and Children’s Services Act 2019 (SA), the Government of South Australia’s Information Privacy Principles (IPPS) and the OECD's Privacy Statement. Authorised Users must acknowledge and accept the Privacy Statement before using EC Connect.

7.4 We may use your personal information for the purposes of:

(a) making EC Connect available to you;
(b) improving the user experience in relation to EC Connect;
(c) authenticating Authorised Users.

7.5 Certain functions on EC Connect require your browser to be set to allow the creation of cookies on your device. Cookies are required for security reasons and to allow our systems to uniquely identify you and your device. We do not use cookies to collect personal information. If you do not grant these permissions and this access, you may be unable to use EC Connect or some of its features.

8. Security and accuracy of data

8.1 We take reasonable precautions to protect data from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access during transmission or storage. We are not liable for unauthorised access. If you suspect a breach, notify us immediately and suspend electronic communications until resolved.

8.2 We reserve the right to audit data submitted by a Legal Representative User and to request supporting documentation. Submissions found to be non-compliant may be subject to rejection or further review.

9. Data backups

9.1 We perform electronic backups for internal purposes only. You should implement your own backup and recovery procedures for data collected and managed by the Provider and/or Service.

10. Intellectual Property

10.1 All copyright and other intellectual property rights in EC Connect including the Materials, online graphics, audio and video on EC Connect and any trade marks are owned by us and/or our affiliates.

10.2 We grant you a revocable, non-transferable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, personal licence to use EC Connect on your device, and to download and print out a copy of the information available from EC Connect for any purpose in connection with the provision of the Service(s).

10.3 You must not (and must not attempt to):

(a) except as expressly permitted by the above licence, use or copy any part of EC Connect without our prior written consent;
(b) distribute, translate, modify or tamper with, any part of EC Connect;
(c) create derivative works of, or from any part of, EC Connect;
(d) sell, rent, lease, sub-license, assign, exchange or otherwise transfer your rights under these Terms; or
(e) permit or assist any person to engage in any act described in paragraphs (a) to (d) above.

10.4 Apart from any fair use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), no part of EC Connect or the Materials, online graphics or audio and video on EC Connect may be reproduced or re-used for any commercial purpose without our prior written permission. Requests for authorisation should be made by email to oecd.engage@sa.gov.au

11. Links to and from other websites

11.1 EC Connect may link to and from external websites for convenience, over which we have no control. We are not responsible for their use, effect or content. We do not make any representations or warranties as to, accept no responsibility for, the quality, accuracy, or fitness of external content, nor endorse any information, opinions, goods or services referred to on them. You must assess external material independently.

12. Revoking access

12.1 We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to immediately suspend, disable or terminate your access to, and use of, or to revoke your authorised use of, EC Connect or any of its features or components, at any time and for any reason, without notice to you. In addition, we may refer fraudulent, abusive or illegal activity to the relevant authorities. This discretion is likely to be exercised in the circumstances:

1. where you have used (or attempted to use) EC Connect:
- (a) for any unlawful or dishonest activity, or any activity prohibited by these Terms;
- (b) to access, transmit, publish or communicate material which:
  - (i) is false, inaccurate, misleading, defamatory, offensive, inflammatory, obscene, unsuitable for minors, abusive, indecent, threatening, or otherwise unlawful;
  - (ii) is xenophobic, racist, abusive, harassing or hateful;
  - (iii) is invasive of a person’s privacy or constitutes personal abuse directed at other users;
  - (iv) is unsolicited or constitutes spam, commercial advertising, the promotion of gambling or the promotion of your own site, business or organisation;
  - (v) contains a virus or other harmful code;
  - (vi) infringes a person's copyright or other rights (including any other intellectual property rights); or
  - (vii) contains links to other sites that contain or promote the material identified in paragraphs (i) to (vi) above;
- (c) to obtain unauthorised access to (or damage, disrupt or interfere with the operation of) any computer, system, application, network or service which we use or operate;
- (d) in any way that may bring negative exposure or harm to us, our suppliers or other users of EC Connect (including by linking EC Connect or any part of it in a way that damages or takes advantage of any person's reputation such as:
  - (i) by implying or suggesting that you have any kind of association or affiliation with that person, or approval and endorsement from that person when there is none; or
  - (ii) in a way that is illegal or unfair;
  - (e) in any way that may cause us, our suppliers or other users of EC Connect to incur liability to a third party;
  - (f) use data mining, robots, screen scraping or similar data gathering and/or extraction tools on EC Connect; or
  - (g) interfere with the security-related features of EC Connect;
2. where there has been an extended period of inactivity of your User Account on EC Connect;
3. where you have breached any of the confidentiality or copyright requirements of these Terms.

12.2 If requested by us, you must immediately:

(a)stop using or accessing EC Connect; and
(b)destroy, expunge, disable or restrict access to any information from EC Connect that you have printed or downloaded, and any information derived or generated from that information.

12.3 If you are a Provider–Authoriser or a Service–Authoriser, and:

(a)you do not complete reviews of User Accounts as per clause 7, we may initiate suspension or revocation of access on your behalf, and we will provide you with prior notification confirming this action;
(b)if your access is revoked, we reserve the right to suspend access to EC Connect for all users associated with your Provider or your Service(s) until a new primary account is designated as a Provider–Authoriser or a Service–Authoriser.

13. Viruses

While we take all reasonable steps to protect our systems, we cannot guarantee that files downloaded from or accessed on the EC Connect site are free of viruses, malicious software or harmful code. To protect your device, we suggest you install your own cyber security software.

14. Connecting to EC Connect

14.1 You must procure your own internet access and device in order to access and use EC Connect. You are responsible for all internet access, data downloads and other network charges arising from your use of EC Connect and you agree that we have no responsibility or liability for those charges.

14.2 You are responsible for the operation and maintenance of your device and for ensuring that EC Connect is accessible from your device. This includes installing a compatible operating system (if applicable) for accessing and using EC Connect on your device.

14.3 The information available through EC Connect is subject to updates from time to time (including because some of that information is based on material provided by third parties) and, while we aim to ensure that it is up-to-date, there may be delays, errors or omissions that could affect its currency or accuracy. Accordingly, we cannot and do not warrant or guarantee that the information you obtain through EC Connect is or will be current, complete or accurate at all times. You agree that you will make your own enquiries to determine whether the information you obtain through EC Connect is current, complete and accurate before using or otherwise relying on it. Subject to the 'Liability' section below, we are not responsible for any Loss you suffer or incur as a result of your failure to comply with these Terms.

15. Availability of EC Connect

15.1 We will endeavour to have the general functions of EC Connect available to you during our normal business hours. We make no guarantee as to the reliability or performance of EC Connect. The performance of EC Connect depends on various factors, including the functions, capacity and configuration of the device you use to access EC Connect, the speed of your internet connection, and the number of users accessing EC Connect, and the systems that support it.

15.2 EC Connect depends on various third party suppliers and specific functions operating within EC Connect may have restrictions on availability due to operational or security constraints, so we do not warrant or guarantee that:

(a)you will be able to use EC Connect at any time;
(b)your use of EC Connect will be continuous, uninterrupted, secure or error-free; or
(c)any defect will be corrected.

15.3 You acknowledge that EC Connect may malfunction or become temporarily unavailable, including if:

(a)any network difficulties occur;
(b)the systems providing those services are unavailable for any reason (including so that maintenance can be performed);
(c)you breach any of these Terms;
(d)we decide to terminate your access to our services for any reason.

15.4 We reserve the right to suspend the availability of EC Connect at any time, in which case we will endeavour to provide reasonable notice of any planned outage. We will endeavour to restore the service as soon as possible after any such outage.

15.5 Where EC Connect is unavailable, we accept no liability for:

1.EC Connect being unable to perform either in whole or in part any of the functions which we have claimed to support; or
2.your inability to execute an operation or instruction.

16. Liability

16.1 To the maximum extent permitted by law, we:

(a)exclude from these Terms all representations, guarantees, conditions, warranties, rights, remedies, liabilities and other terms that may be conferred or implied by statute, general law or custom (except any guarantee or right which if excluded would contravene legislation (including the Australian Consumer Law, being Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)) and / or cause part or all of this clause to be void);
(b)provide give no warranties regarding EC Connect or any Material in EC Connect, whether relating to defects in quality or characteristics, or otherwise; and.
(c)disclaim all liability (including any indirect, special, incidental, consequential, punitive or exemplary damage or Loss) suffered or incurred by you or any third party, whether directly or indirectly, by reason of any use of EC Connect.

16.2 You indemnify us and our employees, officers, contractors and agents (together, the Indemnified Parties), against any reasonable Loss suffered or incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim made by a third party due to or arising out of your breach of:

(a)these Terms;
(b)any applicable law; or
(c)the rights (including intellectual property rights) of any person.

17. Freedom of information

The Office for Early Childhood Development complies with the Freedom of Information Act 1991 (SA). Refer to our Freedom of Information Statement for more information.

18. Time and place of sending and receiving

All interactions with us which occur through EC Connect, are deemed to have been executed in the State of South Australia. The time stamp of any interaction or transaction is defined at the time of sending from or receipt by our Web Server(s) which are set to South Australian Standard Time.

19. Right to change Terms

We reserve the right to change these Terms from time to time, in our sole discretion, and without notice, by posting the varied terms on EC Connect. Any amendments will be effective immediately upon being posted. You should regularly check these Terms for any amendments. If these Terms are amended, you must follow the updated Terms. By continuing to use EC Connect, you agree to be bound by the updated Terms. If you do not agree to be bound by the updated Terms, you must stop using EC Connect.

20. Miscellaneous

20.1 Governing Law – These terms are governed by the laws of the State of South Australia, Australia.

20.2 No Waiver – We do not waive a right, power or remedy in connection with these Terms if we fail to exercise or delay in exercising the right, power or remedy. A right, power or remedy is only waived by us if it is in writing and signed by us.

20.3 Severability – If any part of these Terms is found to be void, invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, that provision is deemed to be ineffective only to the extent of the prohibition, invalidity or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions. The remaining conditions remain in force and constitute a binding agreement between you and us.

20.4 Relationship between the parties – Nothing in these Terms constitutes the parties as partners or joint venturers or agents for the other party or give rise to any other form of fiduciary relationship between the parties.

20.5 Entire agreement – These Terms and any other additional terms which may be applicable at different stages of usage of EC Connect, replace any previous understanding, agreement, representation or warranty relating to the subject matter in these Terms (including in relation to your use of EC Connect).

20.6 Force majeure – To the extent permitted by law, we will not be liable to you for any failure to fulfil, or delay in fulfilling, our obligations caused by circumstances outside of our reasonable control.

20.7 Dispute resolution – If you have any issue arising out of these Terms or in relation to EC Connect, you must notify us in writing and use reasonable endeavours to resolve the matter through discussions or correspondence with us before commencing any court or tribunal proceedings.

From the heart

EC Connect Terms and Conditions of Use