Background
In July 2010, the Australian Government made a declaration of Open Government which noted:
"Citizen collaboration in policy and service delivery design will enhance the processes of government and improve the outcomes sought. Collaboration with citizens is to be enabled and encouraged. Agencies are to reduce barriers to online engagement, undertake social networking, crowd sourcing and online collaboration projects and support online engagement by employees, in accordance with the Australian Public Service Commission Guidelines".1
In response to the Gov2.0 initiative and Toward Q2 through ICT (AG2) this document was developed along with whole-of-Government policy for social media and online community engagement.
The Queensland Government supports the use of internet-based technologies as part of the routine conduct of government business. This extends to the use of social media as part of an integrated approach to government business and through the application of a risk-management approach.
The significant uptake and innovative functionality of social media offers many benefits, however its uncontrolled use also presents many risks. These guidelines have been developed to assist agencies realise the benefits of social media use while identifying the risks and potential mitigation measures.
Refer to Appendix A – Implementation Checklist (DOC, 53 KB) for impact areas recommended for consideration as part of a risk-assessment prior to the implementation of official social media accounts.
1 Declaration of Open Government, Department of Finance and Deregulation, 2010.
