Engage with us on social media

We have a presence on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram. We encourage you to read the terms of use before engaging with us on these channels.

How we use social media

We use social media to share the latest information on our programmes and services, and to enable 2-way conversations and feedback.

Our followers can expect to receive regular updates covering some or all of the following:

new content on our other digital channels (news, publications, speeches, media releases, campaigns etc)
information about our products, services and activities
invitations to provide feedback on specific issues
other tweets, articles or publications of interest which are relevant to our key messages, objectives, promotions or updates
information about recruitment.

We may follow/like organisations and individuals that are relevant to our organisation. This does not imply endorsement or guarantee the accuracy of their information.

Posts made by others to our social media channels are the responsibility of that person or organisation. They don't necessarily reflect the opinions or policy of our Ministry.

Terms of use for social media accounts

Before you engage with us through social media channels — Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram — we encourage you to read each channel's terms of use and also our terms of use below.

By using or accessing our social media pages, you are considered to have consented to the conditions of use of the particular social media channel and our individual page or account. These terms of use apply to all of our social media channels and tools, unless otherwise specified.

Engagement

We welcome feedback and ideas from our followers and will try to join these conversations where possible, however we can't guarantee we will be able to reply individually to every post. If you have an urgent query, please contact us directly.

We cannot enter into any discussion related to politics.

We may choose to retweet, @mention, or post information by other organisations and/or individuals for the interest and information of our followers. However, we do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of this information.

At times people employed by us may engage in forums on LinkedIn and other online channels. Any opinions or views expressed on these forums belong to the individual staff member. Our staff acting in an official capacity will identify themselves along with their position within the organisation, and state that they are representing the Ministry.

Monitoring

We reserve the right to report or remove (as appropriate) any posts or comments that do not comply with the:

In addition, we reserve the right to remove content posted on our pages that:

is not relevant
is deemed offensive
has political bias
breaches privacy
refers to any commercial activity including advertising.

We may, at our discretion, report, block or ban anyone who posts the above content, or who breaches these terms of use, or the terms of use of a social media channel.

All social media accounts are monitored from 8.30am – 4.30pm on weekdays.

These terms of use may be updated any time without notice.

Privacy

Voluntary disclosure of personal information

You may choose to voluntarily provide personal information through our social media channels. This information may be viewable by account administrators, and our staff (as appropriate).

Holding of information

When you provide personal information, unless otherwise indicated, it will be held by us. It may be stored or accessed on behalf of us by authorised third parties (such as third-party contractors) to the extent that is necessary. We will store and keep your personal information secure in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and any agents will be subject to our information security and privacy requirements.

Use of personal information

We will generally only use personal information provided to us through our social media channels for the purpose you provided it (eg, to improve our services, or to action or respond to the information provided). We may also use personal information provided to us for other reasons permitted under the Privacy Act 2020 (eg, with your consent, for a directly related purpose, or where the law permits or requires it).

Privacy Act 2020(external link)

Disclosure of information

We will generally not share personal information that is provided or collected through our social media channels, unless it is necessary to do so for the purpose for which you gave us the information (eg, to investigate a complaint) or where you consent. We will not otherwise disclose personal information provided or collected through our social media channels unless required or otherwise permitted by law.

We encourage you to protect your personal privacy and that of others when using social media, and to take into account the public nature of most social media. Where our social media channels are run by third parties we encourage you to read their privacy policy as well as their terms of use.

Copyright

Crown copyright

Unless otherwise indicated, the material we make available on our social media accounts is protected by Crown copyright. You can reproduce this Crown copyright material free of charge without further permission, as long as you:

reproduce the material accurately
don't use the material in a derogatory manner or a misleading context
do not sell or distribute any material on a commercial basis
acknowledge the source and copyright status of the material.

Copyright of third parties

Our social media accounts may provide links to other websites or embed material which may contain information that is the copyright of third parties and subject to restrictions on use or reproduction.

You must get permission from the copyright owner to use:

copyrighted materials from other websites, or
material on our social media pages that is protected by the copyright of a third party.

We cannot give you this permission.

Licence

By submitting, posting or displaying your content on any of our social media accounts, you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide licence to use that content.

Disclaimer

The contents of our social media accounts are intended for informational purposes only. We shall in no event accept any liability for loss or damage suffered by any person or body due to information provided on these sites or linked sites.

The information on our social media sites and all government web sites is provided on the basis that persons accessing the web site undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its content.

Engage with us on social media

Join one of our social media channels and take part in the conversation. We have a presence on:

Different parts of our Ministry also have social media accounts that provide information about specific subject areas. Follow us for information and updates.(external link)