Premier & Cabinet

Type:
Department of Premier and Cabinet Circular
Identifier:
C2018-07
Status:
Archived

C2018-07 Use of Publicly Available Government Material by Political Parties

Description

  • The NSW Government supports and encourages the reuse of its publicly funded information
  • Material on a government website may be reused by political parties provided the copyright and licensing arrangements permit reuse by any person and the terms and conditions of reuse are complied with
  • Agencies must not give one political party access to material that would not be given to another political party

Detailed Outline

Government resources should not be used in a manner to advantage a particular political party. For detailed guidance, see M2018-01 State Election – Caretaker Conventions.

Use of NSW Government information generally

The NSW Government supports and encourages the reuse of its publicly funded information, and endorses the use of the Australian Governments Open Access and Licensing Framework. Where material on a NSW Government website is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence, it may be used by any person provided that:

  • appropriate credit is given to the NSW Government agency by including the name of the agency and acknowledging the agency as the source of the material
  • any modifications to the material are made clear, and
  • there is no suggestion that the NSW Government endorses the user or its use.

Permitted uses of material under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence include to:

  • share – copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, and
  • adapt – remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

Further information on the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence is available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Before any person reuses material available on a NSW Government website the terms and conditions for use of the material should be reviewed. These can usually be found under the copyright or disclaimer notice on the relevant website.

Reuse of material on a NSW Government website by political parties

Material on a NSW Government website can only be used by political parties if the copyright and licensing arrangements permit its reuse by any person. The terms and conditions of reuse must be complied with.

Any reuse of publicly available NSW Government material should be done in a manner that does not suggest that the NSW Government endorses:

  • the political party, or
  • the use of the material by the political party.

Reuse of publicly available NSW Government material during the caretaker period

Special arrangements apply in the period immediately before a State general election. During the caretaker period, agencies should be especially vigilant to protect the political neutrality of the public service and to ensure that public resources are not misused for party political purposes.

In the lead up to the State general election, agencies should review their websites to ensure that appropriate copyright notices are in place.

Agencies must not give one political party access to material that would not be given to another political party.

Overview

Who needs to know and/or comply with this?

Departments
Executive agencies related to Departments
Advisory Entities (including Boards and Committees)
Separate agencies
State Owned Corporations
Statutory Authorities/Bodies
Subsidiaries of the NSW Government established under the Corporations Act

Compliance

Mandatory

AR Details

Date Issued
Nov 23, 2018
Review Date
Jun 30, 2024
Replaces
Replaced By

Contacts

Contact
Contact us
Phone
02 9228 5555
Publishing Entity
Department of Premier and Cabinet
Issuing Entity
Department of Premier and Cabinet