Updated On / Insert Date
Approved by Board on / Insert Date
Legal Notice
This document does not provide legal advice. Organisations should obtain independent legal advice before endorsing or implementing a Social Media and Cyber Safety policy.
Guide
The following document is provided to assist you with the development of your Social Media and Cyber Safetypolicy. It is important that you consider the questions, prompts and don’t simply select (or cut and paste) into your Social Media and Cyber Safety policy.
The policy needs to be discussed, considered, agreed and owned by your organisation/body.
How to Use This Template
- For use as a guide by those involved in policy development within a sport.
- Critically, it should be cross referenced with any policy statement made by the national governing body on the issue.
- Policy statements made by the organisation in and on similar issues within the sport need also be consulted to ensure compatibility.
- Any statement should reflect the “values” of the organisation and be within the jurisdiction of the organisations constitution and bylaws and planning documents.
Introduction
This section describes what the policy is about.
Describe in broad terms what this policy is about. More specifically, howthe use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) with respect to Social Media and Cyber Safetyis viewed by your organisation.
Example:
This Social Mediaand Cyber Safetypolicy outlines our Associations commitment to ensuring that our Association and our member clubs/organisations provide a safe physical and emotional environment for members and participants and that ICT is usedin a responsible and safe way. This policy also establishes the responsibilities and behavioural expectations of members, participants and all others associated with our Association and our member clubs/organisations when using ICT in the context of various forms of Social Media.
Rationale
This section describes why your organisation/body believes that a Social Mediaand Cyber Safety policy is required. It looks at the values of your organisation/body and how it views the use of ICT in the context of Social Media and Cyber Safety.
Example:
This policy is based on:
- providing a safe physical and emotional environment for members and participants and ensuring that ICT is used in a responsible manner that respects the privacy and rights of the individual and does not cause harm to either the individual, our Association or member clubs/organisations.
This policy promotes:
- The responsible use of ICT in the context of Social Media to ensure that a safe environment (Cybersafe environment) is maintained for all members and participants of our Association and the participants of our member clubs/organisations.
- Increasing the awareness of the potential harm to others of inappropriate use of ICT and Cyber Bullying.
- Appropriate reporting of:
- any illegal behaviour to the appropriate authority (eg Cyber bullying and “sexting” (being in possession of an inappropriate sexualised image of a person under the age of 18)
- the inappropriate use of ICT or Social Media
Principles
What are the underlying principles that necessitate the need for this policy? They could be legislative, required by a peak body (eg National Sporting Organisation), socially or community driven OR a combination of any or all of these – what is driving your organisation to develop this policy?
Legislative
Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913 (WA)
Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth)
Peak Body, Social and Community
Any peak body requirements must be listed. Does your organisation / body have a National Sporting Organisation or some other peak body? If yes, you need to check if they have any requirements or policies related to the provision of a Social Media environment.
What views/values in relation to Social Media environments are held by:
- Your Board/Executive
- Your members, participants, coaches, umpires, volunteers, sponsors etc.?
How do you reflect this is in your policy? You could list/prescribe the relevant laws or describe them in more general terms, for example:
This policy is based on:
- OurAssociations National Body’s
- Member Protection Policy, insofar as it relates to cyber bullying and relevant complaints procedures
- Use of ICT and in particular Social Media policy
- providing a safe physical and emotional environment for members and participants and ensuring that ICT is used in a responsible manner that respects the privacy and rights of individualand does not cause harm to either the individual or our Association or member clubs/organisations.
This policy promotes:
List or describe what actions/behaviours the policy is promoting.
For example:
- The responsible use of ICT in the context of Social Media to ensure that a safe environment (Cybersafe environment) is maintained for all members and participants of our Association and the participants of our member clubs/organisations.
- The development and implementation of appropriate risk management strategies and codes of behaviour for our Association with respect to the responsible use of ICT, Social Media and Cyber Safety.
- Compliance with our AssociationsCodes of Behaviour on the appropriate use of ICT and Social Media.
- Responding appropriately to any suspected or reported incident of Cyber Bullying or inappropriate use of ICT or Social Media.
Purpose
List or describe what the policy is aiming to achieve.
For example:
The purpose of this policy is to ensure our Association and our member clubs/organisationsprovide a safe physical and emotional environment for members and participants and to ensure that ICT in the context of Social Media, is used in a responsible manner that respects the privacy and rights of the individual.
Position Statement
This is a statement about the organisation and what its attitude is toward this policy.
For example:
Our Association acknowledges the benefits of contemporary ICT devices and platforms and the positive contribution that use of such devices and platforms can make in providing effective communication, promotion and marketing of our association and sport to our members and participants and the broader community in general.
Our Association also acknowledges it’s obligation to ensure a safe physical and emotional environment for members and participants is provided and maintained and to ensure that ICT in the context of Social Media, is used in a responsible manner that respects the privacy and rights of the individual and does not cause harm to either the individual or our Association or member clubs/organisations.
Policy Coverage
List or describe who this policy applies to.
Board members/Directors, staff, players, coaches, administrators, volunteers, parents, sponsors, guests on a licensed premise? Are there any other stakeholders/people etc. that this applies to?
Are all clubs coming under your umbrella required to comply with this policy?
Commitment
What strategies or actions is the body/organisation going toundertake to implement this policy?
These could be specific or generic in nature. And this section could refer to specific procedures if specific procedures have been developed to implement this policy.
Examples include:
- The development and implementation of appropriate risk management strategies and codes of behaviour for our organisation with respect to the use of ICT, Social Media and Cyber Safety.
- Ensuring that the use of ICT and Social Media in particular:
- Does not use offensive, provocative or use hateful language
- Is not misleading, false or injurious to the reputation of another person
- Respects the rights and in particular the privacy of others
- Is used in a positive way to promote our Association and our sport
- Compliance with our Associations codes of behaviour with respect to the use of ICT, Social Media and Cyber Safety
- Education and training of members and participants in the appropriate use of ICT and Social Media and the creation of a Cyber Safe environment
- Responding appropriately to any suspected or reported incident of Cyber Bullying or inappropriate use of ICT or Social Media, including but not limited to the reporting of incidents to the appropriate authorities
Related Policies
List other related policies that your organisation/body has.
Does your organisation have other policies that inter-relate with this policy?
For example – Member Protection, Code of Conduct, Cyber Safety (Bullying), Social Media, etc.
Monitoring and Evaluation
How often will this policy be reviewed and updated?
How will you monitor that it is being adopted/implemented?
How and whom will you report this evaluation to?
Example:
This policy will formally be reviewed, evaluated and re-endorsed or modified by the Board bi-annually (every two years). Ongoing monitoring and evaluation will take place with an annual report provided to the Board. Any reported complaints or reported incidents in relation to this policy are to be reported to the next Board meeting. Any recommendations for changes can be submitted and tabled for discussion by the Board. All changes will be communicated to all staff, all affiliated clubs (or players, coaches, volunteers etc.) and posted on the organisations website.
Attachments
Attach and list relevant examples or other documentation that aids the development and/or implementation of this policy.
For example: Does your sport have a national ICT, Social Media, Cyber Safety or Member ProtectionPolicy?
Definitions/Abbreviations
List any relevant definitions and/or abbreviations.
Example:
Social Media for the purposes of this Policy includes but is not limited to:
a) External and internal social networking sites (eg Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, Linked In, MySite and Yammer);
b) Video and photo sharing websites (eg Flickr, YouTube);
c) Micro-blogging sites (eg Twitter);
d) Weblogs, including corporate blogs, personal blogs or blogs hosted by traditional media publications (eg. ‘comments’ or ‘your say’ feature on theage.com.au);
e) Forums and discussion boards (eg Whirlpool, Yahoo! Groups or Google Groups);
f) Online encyclopaedias (eg Wikipedia);
g) Instant messaging (including SMS);
h) Vod and Podcasting; and
i) Any other website that allows individual users or companies to use simple publishing tools.
Relevant Websites
List any relevant websites that would assist with the understanding and implementation of this policy.
WA Police (Cyber Bullying) -
Cybersmart -
Cybersafety Solutions -
WA Sports Federation Fair Safe Sport (Cybersafety) Project -
Play by the Rules – Club Toolkit (Social Media)-
Communications Council (Social Media Code of Conduct) -
Australian Sports Commission - Member Protection Policy -