Social Media Guidelines

The University of Queensland (UQ) values social media as a space to share experiences and information and create lasting connections.  

This guidance outlines expectations for the use of UQ-owned social media channels and associated content and engagement. 

All UQ-owned social media channels must comply with UQ policies and, as a public sector institution, the Public Sector Ethics Act.  

As a public institution, UQ is institutionally neutral and, as outlined in The Act, is required to be impartial and apolitical. These obligations apply to all content and activity undertaken by UQ-owned social media channels. 

Staff who manage UQ-owned social media channels are responsible for ensuring that all owned content on those channels – including content UQ publishes, engages with and posts UQ is tagged in – meets these requirements. 

We encourage learning and respectful discussion, and welcome contributions to our social media platforms, as long as they contribute to a safe and vibrant online community. 

UQ’s community includes current students, future students, alumni, professional and academic staff, stakeholders, industry partners and members of the public. Content posted, or commented on, by any individual is the opinion of the poster and is not representative of UQ. 

UQ is committed to academic freedom and freedom of expression, as such does not discriminate against individual views, but reserves the right to delete or moderate any of the following within its online communities: 

• Violent, obscene, profane, racist, homophobic, transphobic, denigrating or generally hateful comments 
• Sexually explicit content and content commenting on sexuality or gender (assumed or otherwise) 
• Content that aims to blackmail / manipulate an individual 
• Commenting on a person’s appearance 
• Posts or content that tag UQ accounts that are not impartial or apolitical 
• Comments that threaten to, or aim to harm the reputation of any person or organisation 
• Unauthorised commercial solicitations (such as spam) 
• Comments suggesting or encouraging illegal activity 
• Multiple off-topic posts or repetitive posts that are copied and pasted 
• Personal information including, but not limited to, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, mailing addresses, or identification numbers. 

If there is activity you find offensive as a user, please report it using the moderation tools of the social media platform it was viewed on, and if necessary, notify the social media account’s administrator via direct message or email.