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Context

  1. Social media increases the visibility and accessibility of the ACNC to the public, charities and other stakeholders.
  2. Social media enables us to communicate with stakeholders more rapidly and widely than through other forms of media. It helps the ACNC manage risks such as the spread of misinformation.

Principles

  • Principle 1: ACNC staff using social media will be impartial and apolitical
  • Principle 2: ACNC will only allow social media content that is open, honest and courteous on its platforms
  • Principle 3: Information on our social media will be accurate and up-to-date
  • Principle 4: We will seek to make our content accessible
  • Principle 5: The ACNC's social media use will be responsible

Principle 1: ACNC staff using social media will be impartial and apolitical

  1. Staff using social media will comply with the Australian Public Service Commission’s policy - Social media: Guidance for Australian Public Service Employees and Agencies, and the Australian Taxation Office’s Chief Executive Instruction on Social Media (CEI 2014/01/04), available on myATO.
  2. On social media, we will refer to government policy only to help explain it (including correcting misinformation), or to provide information to promote understanding of its implementation. Discussion on ACNC social media platforms should:
    • focus on matters relating to the administration of the ACNC Act
    • assist charities to comply with the ACNC Act, and
    • facilitate general discussion about issues relating to the charity sector.
  3. We will not comment on disputes between organisations or people, or criticise individuals or charities on our social media platforms.
  4. We will post and re-post resources for charities in line with our policy on linking to external online resources. We will not favour any particular organisation but will focus on sharing high-quality resources that will be of use to the sector.

Principle 2: ACNC will only allow social media content that is open, honest and courteous on its platforms

  1. We recognise that social media is primarily a platform for engaging with the community, rather than a platform for pushing out messages or promoting resources.
  2. The ACNC will allow all reasonable and relevant posts on its social media platforms, even if they are critical of the ACNC. However, our staff monitor social media to ensure discussion on all platforms hosted by the ACNC is respectful in tone and constructive in nature. Content that is abusive or inappropriate with be removed, as per our Social Media Terms and Conditions.

Principle 3: Information on our social media will be accurate and up to date

  1. The ACNC will ensure that the information that we post on social media is accurate and up to date. If we inadvertently post inaccurate information we will acknowledge the mistake and post a correction as soon as practicable.
  2. We will reply to questions and requests for information in a timely manner. If we need to seek further information to answer a question, we will let the person asking the question know that their question has been received and keep them updated.
  3. We will not provide advice specific to individual cases through social media.

Principle 4: We will seek to make our content accessible

  1. The ACNC will seek to make social media content informative, engaging and appropriate to the audience. We recognise that different platforms require different tones and approaches and will be sensitive to this while remaining professional at all times.
  2. We recognise the diversity of the community with which we interact, and we are committed to this diversity being reflected in our social media content.
  3. We will take reasonable steps to ensure the accessibility of all content we post on social media. However, we cannot ensure this for content posted by others.

Principle 5: The ACNC's social media use will be responsible

  1. The ACNC will never post an individual’s personal information without their permission. We will not allow posts that are defamatory to an individual.
  2. In line with our objective of supporting the sector, we may, at our discretion, share stories that relate to positive achievements by charities.
  3. We will not post or re-post information, including news stories, that could be harmful to an individual or charity.
  4. In line with Principle 2 in our media policy, our social media posts will adhere to the legislative limits on the disclosures the ACNC can make about charity investigations. This includes disclosing whether the ACNC is investigating a specific charity.
  5. We will take action in cases where the quality of interaction on our social media platforms is being diminished by any individual or group through abusive, inaccurate or otherwise inappropriate posts, as outlined in our Social Media Terms and Conditions. This action may include deleting other people’s posts, removing individuals from our groups, blocking individuals, or reporting individuals to the relevant social media outlet.

References

Version Date of effect Brief summary of change
Version 1 - Initial policy 03/06/2013 Initial policy endorsed by Commissioner on 03/06/2013
Version 2 - Amendment 03/08/2019

Updated policy to reflect current practice. Removed obsolete references.