FOI16/063 Document 1
Social Media Policy
This policy sets out the roles and responsibilities of all Attorney-General’s Department (AGD) employees and
contractors when using social media in an official capacity. It also sets out the responsibilities of individuals
when using social media in a personal capacity at work, or in relation to work.
This document was developed to complement the responsibilities and obligations that staff have under the
APS Values and Code of Conduct. Staff should also refer to the Social Media Guidelines and the Australian
Public Service Commission Circular 2012/1: Revisions to the Commission’s guidance on making public
comment and participating online.
General principles
AGD recognises the value and opportunities in using social media in policy development, stakeholder
engagement, brand enhancement and public communication. Social media are services and tools used for
publishing, sharing and discussing information. They can include forums, blogs, wikis, social networking
websites, and other online channels that allow individuals to upload and share content.
Making public comment online is becoming increasingly common for APS employees—in official, personal
and professional capacities.
As an AGD employee, you must be aware that your responsibilities under the APS Code of Conduct and APS
values apply when using social media. The same principles that apply to any kind of public comment also
apply to social media.
It is important to be mindful of the speed and reach of online communication, as comments posted are
available immediately to a wide audience and effectively last forever. Content may be sent to recipients who
were never expected to see it, viewed out of context and continuously duplicated.
You are expected to maintain the same high standards of conduct and behaviour online as would be expected
through any other communication channel.
When using social media in an official capacity, this includes:
being apolitical, impartial and professional
behaving with respect, courtesy, and without harassment
managing information appropriately
taking reasonable steps to avoid conflicts of interest
using Australian Government resources appropriately.
Social Media Policy
1
Documents released by the Attorney-General's Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
FOI page 1
FOI16/063 Document 1
Official use
Official use of social media includes posting to an official departmental social media site using AGD systems
and personal devices, as well as participating as a departmental representative on a third party site.
When authorised to comment or use a social media platform on an official basis, you must:
disclose you are an AGD employee/contractor when commenting on a non-AGD platform, unless you
have been specifically authorised not to
disclose and comment only on information that is public
ensure that all content published is accurate and not misleading
ensure you do not disclose inappropriate personal information relating to you or other people
comment only on your area of expertise and/or authority
ensure comments are respectful of the online community you are interacting with
comply with the terms of use of the relevant social media platform
comply with applicable laws and departmental policies including copyright, privacy, discrimination,
freedom of information and AGD’s Social Media Guidelines
inform the relevant Assistant Secretary and Strategy and Delivery Division of any significant issues
that could harm AGD’s reputation as soon as you become aware of them.
seek appropriate approvals of content before posting on official accounts.
You must be authorised by the First Assistant Secretary, Strategy and Delivery Division to create an official
social media account. Social media accounts for AGS need to be authorised by the Australian Government
Solicitor and also the First Assistant Secretary, Strategy and Delivery Division.
All authorised accounts must be registered on the department’s Social Media Register, which is a list of
current official accounts. The register, including relevant contacts, is available on the intranet.
All social media accounts must have an SES owner who will assign social media officers responsible for
managing that account. The owner is responsible for ensuring that staff who use the authorised account are
familiar with the social media policy and guidelines.
A social media management plan should be developed for authorised social media accounts.
Moderation
Social media moderation refers to the management of the community and content that is generated by users
on a platform. It involves monitoring responses to content on the department’s accounts and ensuring issues
are escalated or actioned where required.
A moderation policy must be clearly set out when inviting public comments on a website or social media
platform managed by AGD. A privacy statement is also required.
Moderation must not be seen as an opportunity to prevent comments being made publicly that differ to, or
openly challenge, the official AGD position. Participants must feel comfortable that they can comment and
offer alternative opinions, views and beliefs and that these will be dealt with respectfully.
Strategy and Delivery Division can provide advice on the suitable forms of moderation. The agreed
moderation policy and processes should be built into a social media management plan.
Social Media Policy
2
Documents released by the Attorney-General's Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
FOI page 2
FOI16/063 Document 1
Personal and professional use—making comment in an
unofficial capacity
Outside the role of your APS employment, you may wish to make public comment in a professional or a
private capacity.
If you choose to use social media as a private citizen, you should be aware that content published on social
media sites is publicly available—even on personal accounts. You must ensure that your personal presence on
a platform is not misconstrued as being representative of AGD and, accordingly, any comments you make
could not be reasonably viewed as representative of AGD.
APS employees must still uphold the APS Values and Code of Conduct even when material is posted
anonymously, through an alias or pseudonym. Bear in mind that, even if you do not identify yourself online as
an APS employee or an AGD employee, you could still be recognised.
Access to social media through the AGD’s (including AGS’s) IT systems must be in accordance with the ICT
Security Policy (and AGS IT Use Policy). This requires resources to be used in a reasonable manner that does
not interfere with your work, and is not inappropriate or excessive.
Professional use of social media is based on your area of expertise and/or association with other practitioners
in that field. It may be related to your employment as an AGD officer (eg maintaining a professional account
on LinkedIn) and you should be aware that it can reflect on your employment at the department.
You must also make it clear when making public comment in that role that you are not representing AGD or
the government. This includes formally blogging or hosting accounts on issues relevant to your area of
professional expertise. You must not respond to information online as an AGD officer unless authorised to do
so. If you find information online that you think the department should respond to, contact the Justice and
Corporate Communication Section to arrange a response.
When APS employees are making public comment in an unofficial capacity, it is not appropriate for them to
make comment that is, or could be perceived to be:
being made on behalf of their agency or the government, rather than an expression of a personal
view
compromising the APS employee’s capacity to fulfil their duties in an unbiased manner. This applies
particularly where comment is made about policies and programmes of the employee’s agency
so harsh or extreme in its criticism of the government, a member of parliament from another political
party, or their respective policies, that it raises questions about the APS employee’s capacity to work
professionally, efficiently or impartially. Such comment does not have to relate to the employee’s
area of work
so strong in its criticism of an agency’s administration that it could seriously disrupt the workplace
APS employees are encouraged instead to resolve concerns by informal discussion with a manager or
by using internal dispute resolution mechanisms, including the APS whistleblowing scheme if
appropriate
a gratuitous personal attack that might reasonably be perceived to be connected with their
employment
unreasonable criticism of an agency’s clients and other stakeholders
compromising public confidence in the agency or the APS.
Social Media Policy
3
Documents released by the Attorney-General's Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
FOI page 3
FOI16/063 Document 1
At all times, APS employees must be mindful of the requirements set out in Public Service Regulation 2.1
concerning the disclosure of information.
Because of their position, senior APS employees in particular should carefully consider the impact of any
comments they make. Senior Executive Service (SES) employees have a special responsibility under section 35
of the PS Act to promote the APS Values and compliance with the Code of Conduct, by personal example and
other appropriate means within their own agencies. SES employees within each agency are also part of a
collective leadership group that extends across the APS.
Personal privacy and security online
If you identify yourself as an employee of the Attorney-General’s Department in a social media site, you
should be aware that this information may be searchable, even by people who are not your ‘friends’ or
‘followers’ online. This may result in your personal activities being accessed and mistakenly perceived by
others as being undertaken in an official capacity. This may constitute a breach of the department’s policy.
You should familiarise yourself with the terms and conditions and privacy notices of the social media sites,
and adjust your privacy settings accordingly. Do not rely solely on a site’s security settings for a guarantee of
privacy, as material posted in a relatively secure setting can still be copied and reproduced elsewhere.
Comments posted on one site may also be used on others under the terms and conditions of many social
media sites.
Breaches of this policy
Failure to comply with this policy or acting in a manner that is contrary to the APS Code of Conduct may
constitute a breach of employment or contractual obligations.
Related policies and guidelines
All staff use of social media must also comply with the following policies:
AGD Information and Communications Technology Security Policy (ICTSP)
AGD Network Conditions of Access
AGD Recordkeeping Policy
APS Code of Conduct
Australian Public Service Commission Circular 2012/1: Revisions to the Commission's guidance on
making public comment and participating online.
Further guidance on social media processes and procedures can be found in the department’s Social Media
Guidelines.
Contact
For more information relating to social media in the department, contact the Justice and Corporate
Communication team on 02 6141(s 22) or email (s 22)
@ag.gov.au, or in AGS, the Client Services team
on 02 (s 22)
or email (s 22) @ags.gov.au.
Social Media Policy
4
Documents released by the Attorney-General's Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
FOI page 4
FOI16/063 Document 2
Social Media Guidelines for official AGD
accounts
This document outlines the processes and procedures for Attorney-General’s Department official social
media accounts. Social media engagement will be conducted primarily through the department’s corporate
accounts managed by Strategy and Delivery Division or in some circumstances, through accounts established
by line areas.
The department’s primary accounts are:
Attorney-General’s Department Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/attorneygeneralsdepartment
Attorney-General’s Department Twitter @agdgovau: https://twitter.com/agdgovau
Attorney-General’s Department YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/AttorneyGeneralsAU
Attorney-General’s Department Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/attorneygenerals/
Attorney-General’s Department LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/attorney-generals
Australian Government Solicitor Twitter @AGSgovLawyers: https://twitter.com/agsgovlawyers
Australian Government Solicitor YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/AGSGovernmentLawyers
Australian Government Solicitor LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/australian-
government-solicitor.
Staff should consider use of official accounts as part of communication, stakeholder engagement or policy
development including:
a one-off or occasional message, or as part of a broader strategy
a need to leverage the department’s existing branding and reputation
work that significantly contributes to the department’s corporate identity and reputation
a requirement to immediately access established audiences
a need to disseminate information urgently to a wide audience.
The Justice and Corporate Communication team maintains a list of approved departmental accounts in the
Social Media Register, which is available on the intranet.
Engagement principles
The terms of use on social media accounts are critical to managing stakeholder expectations and the way
which the department engages with audiences. It sets expectations about what type of information people
can expect to find from an account and helps to ensure a comfortable environment for users to interact.
Managers should act quickly to remove offensive, defamatory, bullying or other unacceptable comments on
corporate accounts.
Social Media Guidelines
1
Documents released by the Attorney-General's Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
FOI page 1
link to page 7
FOI16/063 Document 2
Examples of this include content that:
is obscene, defamatory, threatening, harassing, discriminatory or hateful
threatens any person or organisation
is continuously off-topic or contains links to off-topic sites
is repeated and duplicated by an individual or multiple people
contains solicitations or advertisements for any political party
encourages illegal activity.
AGD social media accounts are generally post-moderated. User comments should not be edited where valid
criticism or an alternate point of view (eg political or ideological) is expressed.
If an account receives an enquiry relating to the department that would not ordinarily be handled on social
media, the responsible officer will inform the user of an appropriate channel eg media enquiries,
departmental complaints and feedback. If staff identify information on an account not owned by AGD that
requires clarification or deletion, please contact the Justice and Corporate Communication team.
Content requirements
All departmental social media accounts should seek to have original, engaging, tailored content for their
audiences wherever possible. The accounts are intended for genuine interaction with audiences, not a one-
way channel to simply broadcast information, other than where AGS communicates with its clients, such as
for AGS events and publications.
The department will be selective about what matters it responds to on social media accounts. Given public
expectation and the speed with which information is shared on social media, the maximum response time by
the department for a Facebook enquiry should be ideally within four hours during business hours.
Posts which require follow up activity will be forwarded to a nominated line area contact for advice/further
action. Line areas may provide in advance standard responses or holding lines for anticipated enquiries and
questions. Endorsement or support activity (eg Facebook and YouTube likes, Twitter retweets and favourites)
will be considered in the context of how the department and broader Australian Government are
represented. Officers will ensure there is no conflict of interest. Content on corporate accounts will be post-
moderated.
Clearances All new content on corporate social media accounts must be cleared by an Assistant Secretary (SES Band 1)
unless other arrangements are made (see
Owner and officer responsibilities). Reposted content—such as a
message from an external organisation—requires approval by an Executive Level 2. Responses to comments
on the AGD Twitter and Facebook page will be triaged, with indicative actions and approvals below:
not urgent and can be answered with a link to existing website information—not sent for clearance
urgent requiring a response—Executive Level 2
urgent requiring a response to a topical issue—SES Band 1.
Line areas may provide in advance standard responses or holding lines for anticipated enquiries and
questions. Any images provided to Strategy and Delivery Division by line areas for social media use must have
consent or permission from the owner. Suggested approved content for the corporate social media accounts
can be emailed to (s 22)
@ag.gov.au or, for AGS accounts, (s 22) @ags.gov.au. Urgent requests should be
sent and followed up with a call to 02 6141 (s 22) or, for AGS, 02 (s 22)
.
Social Media Guidelines
2
Documents released by the Attorney-General's Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
FOI page 2
FOI16/063 Document 2
Operational hours
Departmental accounts are generally managed and monitored during regular business hours Monday to
Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm.
Owner and officer responsibilities
SES owners of official departmental social media channels are responsible for:
setting the clearance level and process for content on their account
advising ministerial offices of issues relevant to them as a result of the account
managing ongoing staff resourcing and related costs
ensuring all applicable laws and departmental policies such as copyright, privacy, discrimination,
freedom of information and AGD’s Social Media Policy are met.
Authorised social media officers are responsible for the administration, management and monitoring of
official accounts. Officers will:
post, monitor and moderate content on social media accounts
keep passwords safe and secure
escalate issues where required
arrange responses to content warranting further action on behalf of the department
work with relevant areas to develop new content
evaluate progress of social media accounts and provide reports to executive as needed.
Creating a new account
You must be authorised by the First Assistant Secretary, Strategy and Delivery Division to create an official
social media account and, in AGS, also authorised by the Australian Government Solicitor. Some
circumstances may warrant establishing a separate account from the department’s existing suite of social
media accounts. Examples include:
needing to distinguish an audience from the department’s general audiences
you have a unique brand and identity that needs to be viewed independent of the department
a specific ministerial or government decision relating to a dedicated account.
Short-term social media accounts are not generally encouraged. Areas should develop a detailed social media
management plan and communications strategy prior to setting up an account. The plan should cover:
objectives, target audiences and key stakeholders – what are the goals and who is involved
resourcing and costs – includes initial set up, ongoing maintenance, equipment and training
issues and risk management – security, IT, moderation, business challenges
operational hours – includes contacts responsible for the account
branding and persona – is there a unique logo or identity for the account that is consistent with other
communication products eg websites and publications
content management – includes clearances, processes for responses and content development
recordkeeping – how and where will information be stored and archived
account lifecycle – includes key milestones, start and end dates
evaluation and reporting – what and how quantitative and qualitative data will be used.
Social Media Guidelines
3
Documents released by the Attorney-General's Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
FOI page 3
FOI16/063 Document 2
Account closure
If a social media account needs to be deactivated or deleted, users should be advised of options for further
engagement via the account. Deactivation or deletion of any corporate accounts will be discussed with the
responsible SES owner. Non-active accounts will be removed from the department’s Social Media Register.
Other considerations when deactivating and deleting accounts include:
likelihood of needing to reactivate the account
access to historical information by the department and external users
information stored by other websites and search engines
access to the username and/or linked email addresses by the department or other users.
Contact
For more information relating to social media in the department, contact the Justice and Corporate
Communication team on 02 6141 (s 22) or email (s 22)
@ag.gov.au, or in AGS, the Client Services team
on 02
or email (s 22)
(s 22)
@ags.gov.au.
Social Media Guidelines
4
Documents released by the Attorney-General's Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
FOI page 4
FOI16/063 Document 3
AGD social media content tips and hints
All areas in the department are encouraged to contribute content for the AGD social media accounts. This
document provides guidance and suggestions about potential content.
If you are new to social media or are unsure about how it works, feel free to contact the Justice and
Corporate Communication team to discuss.
If you have a suggestion for content, do not be concerned about exact wording or character limits in the first
instance. We will work with you to adapt and finalise language to ensure it is appropriate for the platform
before it’s approved for use.
In addition to opportunities identified in the department’s fortnightly media forecast calendar, social media
may be a timely way to:
make pre-event announcements eg workshops, forums, conferences, programmes
share real-time event updates eg key messages, quotes, photos, videos from presenters
promote post-event news eg thank participants, key outcomes/event results, follow up materials.
Images, videos, audio and infographics in most cases will assist to boost engagement and activity compared
to plain text posts. We can provide stock images, if required.
At a glance
Facebook is the most popular social media platform amongst Australians. Users rely heavily on
visuals to increase the visibility of their posts. The AGD Facebook page can be used to promote
and share the activities undertaken by the department.
YouTube provides a forum for people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos.
AGD’s YouTube channel includes a range of short videos that explain and promote policy
concepts and work of the department. Links to YouTube can be shared on other social media
platforms to increase the video’s exposure.
Twitter is a social networking platform that gives users 140 characters to quickly share photos,
videos and links. Hashtags (#) help categorise tweets and assist with searches. Handles
(@username) identify users, and are used by others as a way to send messages or to provide a
link to the mentioned profile. AGD uses a URL shortener when linking to websites. The character
limit includes spaces, and images will use 24 out of the 140 character limit.
LinkedIn is a professional networking site with more than 400 million members, globally. The
department’s LinkedIn page is used to connect with and inform key stakeholders. The
department’s account could be useful for recruitment, as users tend to provide genuine personal
details including experience and skills.
Documents released by the Attorney-General's Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
FOI page 1
