WSET Level 1 Award in Beer

The Oak Barrel always strives for high standards and aims to deal with complaints and appeals quickly and efficiently.

If you have an issue, we recommend that as soon as the situation arises that you talk to one of our teaching or other staff or contact the office on 02 9264 3022 or WSET.Education@OakBarrel.com.au. All complaints need to include the student’s full name, address and contact details. All details of the complaint must be included and any necessary supporting documentation. Including any details of previous attempts made to resolve the problem.

Most concerns can be resolved quickly and informally by talking to a staff member who knows your situation. In other cases, the student will be contacted by the Nominated Educator within 72 hours of receiving the complaint. The student will receive a response within 7 days of receiving the complaint.

All communication will be confidential and that the complaint will not prejudice the student in any way.

If the student receives a response and they are not satisfied they need to email Manager@OakBarrel.com.au for a further review. Confirmation of receiving the appeal will be made within 72 hours and a final review of the complaint will then be undertaken. The student will receive a response within 7 days of submitting the appeal.

If the above steps have all been completed and the student is still not satisfied, they may wish to file a complaint with WSET. All information and necessary documentation should be referred to the Governance Team at governance@wsetglobal.com.

What personal information we collect

• Your name, date of birth, gender and contact details (this could include your postal address, telephone numbers and email address);
• Purchases and orders made by you on the website and in store:
• Your payment details will be collected (which are encrypted) when you purchase any products or services over internet or in store. Your card details will not be retained;
• Your correspondence with us;
• In certain situations, information relating to health which may be required to support applications for reasonable adjustment and/or special consideration in the context of examinations for WSET qualifications;

Why we collect your personal data

We use your personal information for a number of different reasons, which we set out below.

• To verify your identity;
• To register you as a candidate with WSET Awards and enable you to sit examinations for WSET qualifications;
• To administer and conduct your examination, including making arrangements for reasonable adjustments and/or special considerations;
• To communicate with you and issue your examination results and qualification certificate as appropriate;
• To provide you with post-results services such as enquiries against results and appeals and solicit feedback from you on WSET qualifications;
• To process your registration for any WSET-hosted courses or events so that we can deliver these services to you;
• To send you information regarding the course or event for which you are registered (or which you have registered interest in) ;
• To process sales of products or services you have purchased from us.
• To carry out research to better understand your requirements on the relevant products and services;
• To personalise, report on and improve the services and products we provide to you, and to provide you with a best-in-class customer service experience;
• To send you marketing communications including information about our qualifications, upcoming events and links to our blogs;

Consent

We will ask for a Candidate’s consent for use of their personal information for a specific purpose. We require consent so that we can register Candidates for exams. You always have the right to withdraw your consent however you will not be able to sit the exam.

Data Protection

Data protection law recognises certain categories of personal information as sensitive and therefore requiring more protection. These categories of data include information about health, ethnicity, and political opinions. The Oak Barrel may collect and/or use special categories of data in connection with the provision of our services, for example in order to make adjustments for any disabilities or dietary requirements you may have. We will only process these special categories of data if there is a valid reason for doing so and where the data protection laws allow us to do so.

The Oak Barrel has appropriate measures in place to ensure the data held on our systems is secure. In the event of an unauthorised use of data or data loss, the individuals concerned will be notified and a recovery plan implemented. This will include a risk assessment and review of operating procedures.

This policy will be made available to candidates upon request. For further information, including data subject access requests, please contact WSET.Education@OakBarrel.com.au.

Marketing communications – Opt-in and Opt-out

In general, The Oak Barrel will not send you any marketing information unless you have requested to receive e-mail/text/social media message from us. However, if you have made a purchase from us in the past or contacted us in relation to one of our qualifications, we may contact you in the future about similar items or qualifications. We will always provide you with an opportunity to opt out of any further communication, as discussed more below.

If you (whether an individual or a legal entity) wish to be removed from our direct marketing list and do not wish to receive any further information from us (opt-out) you can inform us of this by clicking on the link at the bottom of each email communication you receive from us. Once this information is received, we will remove you from our direct marketing database.

Sharing your personal information with third parties

We reserve the right to disclose your personal information to third parties:

• WSET [WSET will handle all data shared with it according to it’s publically available privacy policy, which is available on the WSET website here: https://www.wsetglobal.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy/]
• WSET’s approved third parties;
• in the event that we buy or sell any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your personal information to the prospective buyer or seller of such business or assets;
• if substantially all of our assets are acquired by a third party, personal information held by us may be one of the transferred assets;
• with our professional advisors e.g. lawyers, where necessary to protect our interests;
• if we are under any legal or regulatory obligation to do so; and
• in connection with any legal proceedings or prospective legal proceedings, in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights.

If we share your information with any other third party, we will let you know in advance.

How do we keep your personal information secure?

The Oak Barrel is committed to maintaining the security of your personal information. We conduct a data security review of any third party we are required to share your personal information with to ensure that they meet our high security standards.

Every company we work with is required to have a contract with us that clearly describes how your personal information is kept secure.

We will only ever share data specific to its intended use.
Specific details of what data we have shared are available to you on request.

Data retention

We will not hold your personal information for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this policy. If, however, you have completed one of our qualifications we will retain your information for a longer period, to comply with our regulatory obligations.

Your rights

You have several rights under data protection law, these are summarised below.

• The right to be informed:
• You have the right to total transparency on how we are using your personal information, we will endeavour to make this clear by ensuring that this document is regularly reviewed and updated;
• Candidates have the right to know what information The Oak Barrel holds about them and how it is processed. If you wish to access your personal information, contact Education@OakBarrel.com.au. If we are satisfied that you have a right to see this personal information and we can confirm your identity, we will, except in very limited circumstances provide you with this personal information;
• Candidates reserve the right to ask us to delete your personal information; however, this is not an absolute right. We can refuse to erase personal information which we need to keep to comply with legal obligations;
• When you ask us to delete your personal information, we may clarify with you as to whether instead you no longer wish to hear from us again. If this is the case, we may retain limited information about you to make sure you are removed from all future marketing lists.

The Oak Barrel aligns itself with WSET Award’s diversity and equality in all areas of its work to ensure that it does not discriminate unlawfully against anyone on the grounds of disability, age, marriage and civil partnership, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation (having regard to the legal minimum age for the retail purchase of alcohol and assessment competence standards). The Oak Barrel will ensure that all staff and candidates will always be treated fairly and equally.

The Oak Barrel assures equality of opportunity for candidates by ensuring that:

• The selection, recruitment, and training of those working for us is non discriminative against anyone,
• The format and content of all syllabi, examinations and other learning materials meet the awarding body requirements and do not discriminate against anyone,
• The assessment of examination candidates is anonymous whenever possible,
• The practices and procedures give equal opportunities to everyone,
• The variation of any conventional rules and regulations for the conduct of examinations that might inhibit the performance of candidates with specific needs provided that the assessments’ standard, quality, and integrity are not compromised,
• We work with relevant organisations and agencies to develop measures to identify and prevent inequality of opportunity,
• We make every effort to ensure that there is equality of opportunity in any assessment process, regardless of the candidate’s gender, age, racial origin, religious persuasion, sexual orientation, or disability,
• That any documentation does not contain language or images which may be regarded as offensive or stereotypical and reflects the diversity of contemporary society.

Cancellations by the student

All cancellations by the students must be advised in writing.

No refunds are made for cancellations advised within 21 working days of the course commencement.

If cancellations are advised more than 21 working days prior to course commencement, the student is eligible for a refund. The refund amount is equal to the total cost of the course minus the $100 administration charge minus the cost of the shipped study pack. Note, if the study pack has not yet been shipped or the shipped study pack is returned unopened to The Oak Barrel within 7 working days of the cancellation advise, the cost of the study pack will also be refunded. The student must bear the shipping costs for the return of the study pack.

All eligible refunds will be processed between 7-10 working days post the cancellation advise.

The student may be offered a transfer to the next, or any possible course of the same type that the student was previously enrolled in.

Cancellations by The Oak Barrel

Courses are run subject to demand. If there are insufficient numbers, courses may be cancelled or deferred.

If a course is cancelled by the Oak Barrel, the student is eligible for a refund. The refund amount is the total cost of the course minus the cost of the shipped study pack. Note, if the study pack has not yet been shipped or the shipped study pack is returned unopened to the Oak Barrel within 7 working days of the cancellation advise, the cost of the study pack will also be refunded.

All eligible refunds will be processed between 7-10 working days post the cancellation advise.

The student may be offered a transfer to the next, or any possible course of the same type that the student was previously enrolled in.

No-Show / Absentee

Course fees cannot be refunded to students who are absent from the course. If the student is absent from a course due to situations outside of the student’s control, The Oak Barrel; at its own discretions, may work with the student to determine a solution.

As an APP, The Oak Barrel is required to identify to WSET and assist in managing or monitoring actual, potential and perceived conflicts of interest (‘Conflicts of Interest’) involving both APP staff and students. This policy complements WSET’s conflicts of interest policy and works to safeguard the integrity of WSET qualifications and promote confidence in WSET and The Oak Barrel processes and procedures.

This policy applies to all Oak Barrel’s staff and students and to any individual acting on behalf of The Oak Barrel

A Conflict of Interest exists where an individual has interests or loyalties that could adversely influence their judgement, objectivity or loyalty to WSET or The Oak Barrel when conducting activities associated with WSET qualifications.

Examples of Conflicts of Interest include:

• The assessment of candidates by an individual who has a personal interest in the result of the assessment for any or all individuals concerned;
• The moderation of assessment of candidates by an individual who has a personal interest in the result of the assessment for any or all individuals concerned;
• The undertaking of a WSET qualification by any individual employed by an APP;
• The invigilation of a WSET assessment by any individual involved in the delivery of training leading to the assessment;
• The coaching of candidates by any individual involved in the assessment of candidate scripts;
• The employment by an APP of individuals engaged in the delivery of taught programmes or in the role of Internal Assessor in another APP;
• The investigation of a non-compliance incident by someone who is unable to act impartially.

Some of these Conflicts of Interest are manageable and therefore acceptable. For example, if family member of one of The Oak Barrel’s educators or APP staff takes a qualification and exam through The Oak Barrel or when an employee of The Oak Barrel or of the WSET, takes a WSET qualification through The Oak Barrel, we can notify WSET in advance and work with them to put in place measures to maintain the integrity of the exam.

Some Conflicts of Interest are not manageable and are not acceptable. For example, no mitigation efforts overcome the conflict created when an individual when a single individual serves as the educator and exam officer of an exam for a family member where an external invigilator is not available.

Any staff member or student of The Oak Barrel who becomes aware of a Conflict of Interest must inform the office on 02 9264 3022 or WSET.Education@OakBarrel.com.au as soon as possible. The Oak Barrel will inform the WSET of the possible conflict of interest and will work with WSET to put any protective or mitigating measures in place to manage the conflict on a case-by-case basis. If WSET and The Oak Barrel determine the conflict is not manageable, The Oak Barrel will inform any impacted APP staff or students.

Please note that the failure to declare a conflict of interest may have consequences for the student or The Oak Barrel because we are required to report conflicts to WSET.

Both WSET and The Oak Barrel want to make WSET assessments accessible for all students, so none are at an advantage or disadvantage based on a disability or differing ability. This policy and the reasonable adjustment process allows us The Oak Barrel to work with you, our student, before an assessment to gather the information we need to submit a request to WSET and work with them to make arrangements that give students access to WSET qualifications.

A reasonable adjustment is any accommodation or arrangement that helps to reduce the effect of a known disability or difficulty that substantially disadvantages a student’s assessment. Using a reasonable adjustment does not impact how WSET grades your exam, or your result, but WSET cannot agree to reasonable adjustments where your particular difficulty directly affects performance necessary to complete the assessment outcomes (e.g. inability to smell or taste for a Level 3 Exam). The goal of a reasonable adjustment is to give you equal access to a WSET qualification, not to give unfair advantages over other students who take an assessment without the same adjustment, or to affect the overall reliability of the assessment outcomes that are explained in the course Specification.

Examples of reasonable adjustments may be:

• Changing standard assessment arrangements, for example allowing candidates extra time to complete the assessment activity;
• Adapting assessment materials, such as providing materials in large text format;
• Providing access facilitators during assessment, such as a sign language interpreter or reader;
• Re-organising the assessment room, such as removal of visual stimuli for an autistic candidate.

The Oak Barrel will gather the information we need from you to submit a Reasonable Adjustment Application form to WSET. WSET must approve and arrange reasonable adjustments before the assessment activity takes place. Before completing enrolment with The Oak Barrel, we will give all students access to this policy and the chance to identify any special needs that could require a reasonable adjustment. If a student identifies a special need, The Oak Barrel will give the student the Reasonable Adjustment Application form as soon as possible and work with the student to gather the necessary information.

For any student seeking a reasonable adjustment, please contact office on 02 9264 3022 or WSET.Education@OakBarrel.com.au with:

• Your full name;
• contact information;
• description of the special need, disability or differing ability that requires an adjustment; and
• supporting documentation.

You must submit this information at least 28 working days before the exam date for Levels 1-3 qualifications. The information you submit will be shared with WSET and will be handled under WSET’s Privacy and Data Protection Policy.

The Oak Barrel will keep records of all reasonable adjustment applications.

Special consideration is an action taken after an assessment to allow candidates who have been disadvantaged by temporary illness, injury, indisposition or adverse circumstances at the time of the assessment to demonstrate attainment.

Special consideration will not give unfair advantage over candidates for whom special consideration is not being applied or alter the assessment demands of the qualification as detailed in the applicable Specification.

A candidate may be eligible for special consideration if:

• Performance in an assessment is affected by circumstances beyond the control of the candidate. This may include recent personal illness, accident, bereavement or examination room conditions;
• Alternative assessment arrangements which were agreed in advance of the assessment proved inappropriate or inadequate; Applying for special consideration:

Candidates must apply for Special Consideration to The Oak Barrel Nominated Educator within 1 week of the assessment date. This must be a written submission including WSET Candidate number and the extenuating circumstances as to reasons why special consideration would be given to the Candidate. Eligibility can only be considered if accompanied by supporting independent documentation.

Please send your written submission to WSET.Education@OakBarrel.com.au and this will be sent to the Nominated Educator. The application of special consideration would not mislead the user of the certificate as to the candidate’s attainment. Please note that WSET Awards does not offer awards unless all assessment requirements of WSET qualifications have been met. Special Consideration can also be given if a Candidate has to miss scheduled classes due to temporary illness, injury, indisposition or adverse circumstances at the time of the classes.

The Oak Barrel will keep records of all applications for special consideration.

Both The Oak Barrel and WSET have policies and procedures in place to protect WSET students and safeguard the integrity of WSET qualifications. The Oak Barrel ensures compliance with The Oak barrel and WSET’s policies through this Malpractice and Maladministration Policy, which gives a framework for both us and you to identify, report and manage potential malpractice or maladministration.

Non-compliance with The Oak Barrel or WSET Policies and Procedures can fall into two distinct, but related, categories:

1. Maladministration, where the non-compliance is generally unintentional, or the result of mistakes, carelessness, inexperience or poor processes; and
2. Malpractice where the non-compliance is intentional or the result of a negligent or reckless action without consideration of the consequences of the action.

Context is important and the line between maladministration or malpractice is not always clear: for example, maladministration incidents may become malpractice (e.g. if you fail to implement corrective measures, repeat the same or similar incident, or attempt to misrepresent or hide information during an investigation); or there may be mitigating factors that turn potential malpractice into maladministration. Though malpractice and maladministration are distinct concepts, they can shade into one another. Malpractice and maladministration are always case, context and fact specific. Both APPs and students can commit malpractice and maladministration.

There are many ways that malpractice or maladministration could occur, including new ways we have not seen yet. But some examples of malpractice or maladministration include:

• Failure to adhere to WSET Policies and Procedures;
• Failure to follow WSET requirements for course delivery or exam regulations;
• Failure to follow WSET’s candidate registration and certification procedures;
• Late student registrations;
• Fraudulent claim for certificates/fraudulent use of certificates/reproduction or forgery of certificates;
• Withholding critical information from WSET quality assurance;
• Insecure storage of exam materials;
• Revealing or sharing confidential exam materials with candidates ahead of an exam;
• Intentional attempts to manipulate exam results so that they do not reflect the candidate’s actual exam performance;
• Issue of incorrect exam results/failure to issue results to students in a timely manner;
• Failure to timely respond to WSET;

In general, we also expect that both The Oak Barrel staff and our students should treat others and be treated professionally and respectfully at all times. We will treat inappropriate behaviour including verbal or physical abuse, persistent or unrealistic demands, or threats that cause stress to staff as misconduct and may report student misconduct to WSET as necessary.

Reporting and Investigation of Malpractice or Maladministration

As an APP, we aim to ensure compliance with WSET Policies and The Oak Barrel policies and will keep records of potential or actual malpractice or maladministration by you, our students, or our staff.

We are required to notify WSET immediately of any non-compliance issues that could be malpractice or maladministration, so that WSET can investigate the non-compliance under their own Malpractice and Maladministration Policy.

We ask that you also raise any concerns or non-compliance issues that may be malpractice or maladministration with The Oak Barrel as soon as possible by following the process outlined in our Complaints policy.

During WSET’s investigation, they may reach out to The Oak Barrel or to you directly to request further information or conduct an interview. Please respond to any requests promptly and honestly.

Managing Non-Compliance

If WSET identifies malpractice or maladministration, they will consider its impact and may apply sanctions. WSET will take all reasonable steps to ensure the sanctions do not disadvantage uninvolved students affected by malpractice or maladministration. However, in some cases, they may need to disallow or withhold results and/or certificates.

Potential sanctions may include:

WSET will consider all relevant information on a case-by-case basis, balancing the facts with potential or actual effects, and against the seriousness of the sanctions against those effects. WSET records all malpractice and maladministration incidents for both APPs and students. If WSET determines that a student has committed malpractice or maladministration, they may apply one or any of the following sanctions:

Sanctions Applicable to Students/Candidates

Appeals

If you wish to appeal penalties or sanctions WSET has imposed due to Malpractice or Maladministration, please follow the procedures laid out in WSET’s Complaints Policy.