New guidelines have been released by the APSC that
clarify the expectations of Commonwealth public servants'
behaviour on social media. It comes at a time where politically
charged topics such as same sex marriage dominate the national
conversation.
"Making comment on social media: A guide for
employees" was released on 7 August 2017. The guide reiterates
to APS employees the potential pitfalls faced when commenting on
public and political topics via social media. It clarifies that
comments which might undermine the public's perception of the
APS being impartial and professional may amount to a breach of the
APS Code of Conduct.
Is it binding?
In short, no. The guide is simply that, a guide. The guide does
not displace any of the existing obligations under the Code, agency
enterprise agreements, or workplace policies, including Social
Media policies.
