1. PURPOSE
1.1 batyr Australia Limited (batyr) is a not-for-profit organisation and social enterprise that focuses on preventative education in the area of young people’s mental health.
1.2 The health, safety and welfare of all people engaged with batyr is paramount. In this regard, batyr is cognisant of its legal obligations under applicable legislation and strives to ensure the health and safety of Workers and other people connected to its activities, so far as is reasonably practicable.
1.3 Social Media is a major component of this initiative and can be a very powerful tool in assisting batyr in encouraging discussions and education with respect to mental health issues. However, it is important that Social Media is used responsibly and does not negatively impact:
(a) batyr
(b) its objectives and reputation
(c) its affiliated support organisations or service providers, and
(d) individuals (including Workers or other persons engaged with batyr).
1.4 This policy describes:
(a) the general principles and expectations with respect to the use of Social Media
(b) the appropriate use of Social Media by Workers (and other persons) in both a:
(i) Personal Capacity, and/or
(ii) Professional Capacity
(c) considerations for setting up, establishing and utilising Social Media, and
(d) how to respond to or escalate potential issues associated with Social Media use.
2. APPLICATION
2.1 This policy applies, so far as is reasonably practicable, to all workers engaged or performing work for batyr.
2.2 Irrespective of the potential enforceability of this policy, it is expected that all other persons utilising Social Media in connection with or potentially attributable to batyr will comply with the standards and principles detailed within this policy.
2.3 A contravention of or non-compliance with this policy may constitute misconduct warranting disciplinary action and/or termination of a Worker’s engagement or membership with batyr.
3. DEFINITIONS
3.1 In this policy:
(a) Minor means a person under 18 years of age.
(b) Personal Capacity means when a person is using social media to reflect a personal view, position, experience or sentiment but is not expressly authorised or permitted to do so on behalf of batyr. This may include a person that is a member of batyr but is not authorised to speak on behalf of or represent batyr.
(c) Professional Capacity means when a person is using social media in circumstances where they are authorised and permitted to put forward a view or position on behalf of batyr or as an authorised representative of batyr.
(d) Reasonably practicable means that which is, or was at a particular time, reasonably able to be done, taking into account and weighing up all relevant matters. For guidance on how to determine what is reasonably practicable in a particular situation, see the SafeWork Australia guide ‘How to determine what is reasonably practicable to meet a health and safety duty’.
(e) Social Media is defined broadly as content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies. It comprises relatively inexpensive and accessible tools that enable anyone (even private individuals) to publish or access information. This may include, but is not limited to:
(i) social networking sites (e.g. Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, Bebo)
(ii) blogs, including corporate blogs and personal blogs
(iv) blogs hosted by media outlets (e.g. ‘comments’ or ‘your say’ feature on smh.com.au)
(v) micro-blogging (e.g. Twitter)
(vi) wikis and online collaborations (e.g. Wikipedia)
(vii) forums, discussion boards and groups (e.g. Google groups)
(viii) vodcasting, and podcasting
(ix) instant messaging (including SMS and email), and
(x) geo-spatial tagging (Foursquare).
(f) WHS legislation means Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW), Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (NSW) or any state/territory equivalent legislation covering workplace and/or occupational health and safety.
(g) Worker means any person carrying out work, in any capacity for batyr, including work as:
(i) an employee (regardless of whether full-time, part-time or casual)
(ii) a contractor or subcontractor
(iii) an apprentice, trainee or work experience student, and
(iv) a volunteer.
4. USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
4.1 General Principles
(a) batyr recognises that Workers (and other people) that support or are associated with batyr may wish to use Social Media in their personal life and capacity. This policy does not intend to discourage or unduly limit this personal expression or online activities.
(b) However, it is important that Workers (and other people) understand there is the potential for damage or harm to be caused (either directly or indirectly) to batyr, its workers and other people by the use of Social Media, including but not limited to potential:
(i) legal claims
(ii) reputational damage
(iii) security or confidentiality breaches, and
(iv) detriment to the workplace culture and dynamics
(c) Accordingly, personal responsibility and accountability must be exercised with respect to the content published, disseminated, encouraged or permitted on Social Media.
(d) If a Worker (or other person) uses Social Media in a manner that may relate or be connected to batyr (either in a Personal Capacity or Professional Capacity), they should not:
(i) post, incite or encourage the publication of material that is inappropriate, offensive, obscene, defamatory, threatening, harassing, bullying, discriminatory, hateful, racist, sexist, infringes copyright, constitutes a contempt of court, breaches a court suppression order, or is otherwise unlawful;
(ii) publicly disclose or use any confidential, secure or sensitive information obtained through or in connection with batyr;
(iii) make any unauthorised comment; and/or
(iv) make any comment or post any material that might otherwise cause damage to batyr’s reputation or bring it into disrepute.
(e) If a Worker is uncertain or unclear on how to comply with the expectations and obligations detailed in this policy, they should:
(i) refrain from actively using Social Media, and
(ii) seek guidance and/or clarification in the manner detailed below at part 7.
4.2 Use of Social Media in a Personal Capacity
(a) Where a Worker (or other person) comments or has a profile on Social Media and can be
reasonably identified as affiliated or connected with batyr, they should:
(i) not imply or infer that they are an authorised representative or otherwise acting on behalf of batyr;
(ii) ensure that they do not disclose any confidential, secure or sensitive information obtained through or in connection with batyr;
(iii) ensure all comments are respectful of the community in which they are made and all persons they interact with;
(iv) ensure that they do not post material that may be critical of, or harmful to, batyr, its sponsors, or any person connected to batyr;
(v) ensure that they do not bring batyr, its sponsors, or any person connected to batyr into disrepute through any Social Media entry or contribution; and
(vi) adhere to the terms of use of the relevant Social Media platform/website, as well as copyright, privacy, defamation, contempt of court, discrimination, harassment and other applicable laws.
4.3 Use of Social Media in a Professional Capacity
(a) A Worker should not use Social Media on behalf of or as a representative of batyr unless they are authorised to do so.
(b) Workers authorised to use Social Media on behalf of or as a representative of batyr include:
(i) CEO
(ii) National Program Manager
(iii) Being Herd Manager
(iv) Partnerships Manager
(v) Media, Marketing and Comms Manager
(vi) Brand and Campaign Coordinator
(vii) Digital Marketing and Content Coordinator
(viii) Office Manager
(ix) any Worker with written permission or confirmation from any of the above authorised representatives of batyr advising that they are authorised to comment on behalf or as a representative of batyr
(c) If a Worker is authorised to represent or comment on behalf of batyr, they should:
(i) disclose they are an authorised representative of batyr;
(ii) use only their own identity (with limited personal details and contact information
available) or an approved official account;
(iii) ensure that all content published is accurate and not misleading and complies with all relevant policies, procedures and/or practices of batyr ;
(iv) only comment on their area(s) of expertise and within the ambit of their authority to comment on behalf of batyr;
(v) ensure all comments they make are respectful of the community in which they are made;
(vi) adhere to the terms of use of the relevant Social Media platform/website, as
well as copyright, privacy, defamation, contempt of court, discrimination,
harassment and other applicable laws; and
(vii) monitor, so far as reasonably practicable, the use of Social Media by other batyr Workers to ensure that it is appropriate and commensurate with this policy.
4.4 Use of Social Media and minors
(a) batyr Workers are not, under any circumstances, to accept or send out invites to become connected on any Social Media platform with minors whom they work with or have been introduced through their engagement with batyr (for example, minors who are involved in a batyr@school program).
(b) If a community group with minors is set up on Social Media, there should always be more than one batyr Worker included in the group and where reasonably practicable, an
employee from the host school or organisation should also be included.
(c) If you are contacted by a minor, please notify your line Manager and direct all contact
through the [email protected] email address. Please encourage the minor to include an
adult in all correspondence.
5. ADDITIONAL MATTERS
5.1 Profiles and details
(a) When using or preparing to use Social Media in a Professional Capacity, a Worker (or other person) should not display or disclose their personal contact details or location information (such as residential or business addresses or personal telephone numbers) or that of any other person.
(b) A Worker (or other person) may choose to show their support and advocate for batyr.
However, they should not hold themselves out to be an authorised representative unless
they meet the criteria detailed above at 4.3(b).
5.2 Meetings
(a) batyr does not encourage its Workers (or other person) to conduct face-to-face meetings organised and/or facilitated through Social Media, particularly when:
(i) the parties are not familiar or do not know each other; and
(ii) this has not been arranged or approved by batyr.
(b) Should a Worker (or other person) independently choose to meet-up with another person, they should consider:
(i) having any meeting in a mutual, public location (such as a café);
(ii) attending with another person; and
(iii) letting other persons know of the meeting and the anticipated timeframe
5.3 Setting up or establishing Social Media communities, group and/or sites
(a) Ideally, any Social Media communities and/or sites pertaining to batyr should be set up or established in consultation and with the approval of an authorised person as detailed above at 4.3(b).
(b) Any Social Media communities, groups and/or sites pertaining to batyr should contain the following information in a prominent location (such as a header, footer or within a description section):
(i) batyr is a not-for-profit social enterprise that focuses on preventative education and facilitating discussions in the area of young people’s mental health. However, it is not a counselling or psychological support service provider. In the event that you or someone you know requires specific assistance or support, please contact or direct them to:
(A) Headspace on https://www.eheadspace.org.au/
(B) Kids Help Line on 1800 55 1800 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
(ii) this community and/or site is not actively monitored or supervised by batyr
(iii) the content and matters discussed on this community and/or site may not reflect the authorised position or views of batyr
(iv) it is expected that all users of this community and/or site will conduct themselves in an appropriate and respectful manner that complies with the batyr Social Media Policy available on request.
5.4 Work-related use and monitoring
(a) When accessing Social Media or the internet when at work or in connection with work for batyr and/or using personal devices or equipment or systems provided by batyr (such as computers, mobile devices and/or work emails), Workers:
(i) acknowledge and consent to the monitoring of their use by batyr at batyr’s absolute discretion;
(ii) shall ensure it is only used in a reasonable manner, whereby it does not interfere with their work, become a distraction during work hours and is not inappropriate or excessively accessed; and
(iii) shall not engage in conduct that is inappropriate, offensive, obscene or infringes any laws or standards.
6. IDENTIFYING INAPPROPRIATE USE OR OTHER CONCERNING MATTERS
6.1 If a Worker (or other person) notices or becomes aware of potentially inappropriate or unlawful content on Social Media relating to batyr, or content that may otherwise have been published in breach of this policy, this should be reported to the person detailed below at 7.2.
6.2 If a Worker (or other person) identifies any comments or posts on Social Media relating to batyr from another person that reasonably indicates a potential imminent threat or issue to wellbeing, health or safety, they should:
(a) encourage the use of specific counselling or psychological support service such as above;
and
(b) follow the risk assessment and incident report framework set out in the WHS policy.
7. ESCALATION AND FURTHER ENQUIRIES
7.1 Any issues or concerns regarding the use of Social Media in connection with or potentially
impacting upon batyr should be dealt with in accordance with the applicable Grievance Policy.
7.2 Specific enquiries or concerns regarding Social Media issues should be directed to:
Media, Marketing & Communications Manager (email - [email protected])
8. POLICY ADMINISTRATION DETAILS
Date Implemented: 28th October 2015
Date Amended: 18th January, 2019
Version Number: 3
Policy changes, updates or amendments: This Policy may be rescinded, changed or replaced at any time at the absolute discretion of the CEO of batyr or their authorised delegate.
Status of Policy: The terms of this Policy are not intended to be contractual in nature and do not form part of any worker’s contract of employment or engagement.