Councillor Communications Policy

1. Purpose and Intent 

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance to the Mayor and Councillors regarding the use of communication channels at the City of Casey.

This policy is aimed at protecting Council’s reputation by ensuring consistency and accuracy in the information Council places in the public realm and promotes open and effective communication with the community.

The Councillor Communications Policy:

• Provides a framework for the Mayor and Councillors to effectively use communications to support the delivery of clear, timely, transparent, responsive, and accurate information to the community.
• Outlines appropriate communication activities for the Mayor and Councillors aligned to the Councillor Code of Conduct.
• Facilitates adherence to the Councillor Code of Conduct, in particular the standards of conduct required of a Councillor.
• Outlines the role of the CEO, Executive, the Communications Team, and other Council employees in relation to spokesperson roles.

During a Federal, State or Council election period this policy must be read in conjunction with any relevant policies or protocols related to that election period (e.g. Council’s Election Period Policy – Governance Rules chapter 8).

2. Scope

This policy applies to all Councillors of the City of Casey. It is relevant to, and applies in, all instances that a Councillor makes a comment that expresses, or may be perceived to express, a view on the City of Casey, its decisions, its officers or its Councillors in the public realm.

This policy applies to all social media platforms and channels where users may comment, create, forward, link, tag, post, upload and share content, whether or not a particular social media platform or channel is mentioned in this policy. 

Examples of the social media platforms and channels that this policy applies to include:

• Social media networking and micro-blogging sites such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, Tumblr and Pinterest.
• Video and photo sharing sites such as YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok and WhatsApp.
• Online forums and discussion blogs, including any website or services identified as providing social networking services and/or functionality.

This policy does not apply to private or personal use of social media by a Councillor, where no reference is made to the City of Casey, its Councillors or employees, or its policies, practices, services or other stakeholders.

The principles outlined in this policy do not apply to the Chief Executive Officer and employees of the City of Casey. Employees are bound to the Employee Communications Policy and Employee Social Media Policy.

This policy does not preclude:

• Private or personal use of social media where reference is made, or could be perceived to have been made, to the City of Casey, its Councillors, or employees. It is important to note that all private posts can be discoverable once published online.
• Online behaviour that may be considered misconduct under the Councillor Code of Conduct.

For the avoidance of doubt, any use of a social media account which identifies the user as a Councillor of the City of Casey, or otherwise refers to their position as a Councillor, will not be considered private or personal use. 

3. Definitions