Fair Work Commission  
Social Media Policy 
 
 
This policy relates to the acceptable use of social media by staff of the Fair Work 
Commission (Commission) in both a personal and professional capacity.  
This policy should be read in conjunction with the Commission’s Acceptable use of ICT 
resources policy. 
All Commission staff are expected to abide by the following policy and failure to do so could 
be regarded as a breach of the APS Code of Conduct and could result in disciplinary 
action. 
Social media includes but is not limited to: 
 
social networking sites (for example Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Yammer)  
 
video and photo sharing websites (for example Flickr, YouTube)  
 
blogs, including personal blogs and blogs hosted by media outlets (for example 
‘comments’ or ‘your say’ feature on theage.com.au)  
 Twitter 
 
wikis and online collaborations (for example Wikipedia)  
 
forums, discussion boards and groups (for example Google groups, Whirlpool).  
Personal or professional use by individuals 
Staff are responsible for being aware of and understanding this social media policy. 
Personal and professional use of social media by Commission staff must not: 
 
bring the Commission into disrepute 
 
compromise their or others effectiveness at work 
 
suggest or imply endorsement by the Commission of their personal views 
 
post material that is offensive, defamatory, threatening, harassing, bullying, 
discriminatory or otherwise unlawful 
 
use the company email or logo without permission 
 
disclose confidential information 
 
publicise workplace disputes 
 
contravene the APS Code of Conduct, APS or Fair Work Commission Values. 
Staff must ensure that all personal comments or views expressed on social media sites are 
easily identifiable as their own and not those of the Commission. 
Staff are responsible for the content they post, or allow others to post, on their personal 
social media accounts.  
Use of the Commission’s social media accounts 
Professional use means the use of Commission accounts. Social media accounts held by 
the Commission and in its name must only be used by authorised users and must be 
approved by the President, General Manager or Manager Media and Communications. 
February 2014 
 

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Contacts 
For advice or clarification regarding this policy, including a list of authorised users, please 
contact the Manager Media and Communications. 
 

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