Federal government

Agency social media is Commonwealth business.

Information your agency creates or receives on official channels can be a Commonwealth record under the Archives Act 1983, and it is reachable by FOI Act requests, Senate estimates and audits. Brolly captures posts, comments, edits and deletions in near real time, with the metadata and audit history you need to rely on them.

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DepartmentsAgenciesStatutory authoritiesCommissions

Two colleagues working through a records request together at a meeting table

Commonwealth agencies that use Brolly

  • Australian Government
  • Department of Veterans’ Affairs
  • Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
  • NDIS
  • Bureau of Meteorology
The framework

Three authorities define your obligation.

Archives Act 1983

Manage it as a record

National Archives of Australia guidance is that social media used for business activities creates information that needs to be managed. Content left on the platform may not be retained or accessible over the long term.

FOI Act 1982

Answer within the period

FOI decisions are generally due within 30 days. Comments, replies and content that was later edited or deleted can fall within a request, so the archive needs to be searchable before it arrives.

Information Management Standard

Build it in

The Standard asks agencies to manage information as an asset: created, described, kept and disposed of through business-as-usual systems. Brolly gives social media a home in that system, retained until your agency authorises disposal under its records authority.

Read the Commonwealth recordkeeping guide for the legislation, access regime and oversight bodies in one place.

Every channel, captured as it happens.

Brolly connects to Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, YouTube, LinkedIn and TikTok through official APIs and captures posts, comments, replies, reactions, edits and deletions, each with its metadata, and every export carries a digital checksum that supports integrity and chain-of-custody review. Unlimited accounts on every plan, so every program and regional office is covered.

  • Searchable by keyword, date, account and author
  • Exports in PDF, CSV, HTML and JSON
  • Content Manager integration for records that belong in the EDRMS

FOI-ready by default.

Search every account and platform at once, review the captured chronology, and export a response-ready package in PDF, CSV, HTML or JSON, with an audit trail recording every export along the way. Role-based access keeps records, FOI, communications and legal teams in their own lanes.

  • Saved searches for recurring request patterns
  • Response packages assembled from the captured record
  • Exports logged for accountability

Moderation with evidence.

Public comment on agency pages can turn quickly. Brolly Protect helps your team hide harmful comments under rules you set, while the archive keeps the record of what was posted and what was done about it. Insights adds sentiment and topic reporting for the executive.

  • Rules you control, reviewed by your team
  • The record stays even when the comment is hidden
  • Works with Hootsuite through the Brolly app
Comments moderated with the record kept
Trust

Australian Government security, answered plainly.

Brolly is certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and registered with CSA STAR, with controls aligned to the Australian ISM and the ASD Essential Eight. Your data is stored on AWS cloud servers located in Australia. Brolly Australasia Pty Ltd is 100% Australian owned and operated. Records are encrypted in transit and at rest, with an audit trail on records and exports.

Visit the Trust & Security Centre
ISO/IEC 27001:2022Independent certification, not self-assessment.
CSA STAR registeredListed on the Cloud Security Alliance STAR registry.
ISM and Essential Eight alignedControl mapping available for your security review.
Data stored in AustraliaAWS cloud servers located in Australia.
Encrypted in transit and at restWith digital checksums on every export.
MFA and role-based accessAccess scoped to records, FOI, comms and legal teams.

We do not claim an IRAP assessment or a PROTECTED classification. Certificates and the control mapping are available for your agency’s assessment. Trust & Security Centre →

In their own words
“Being Australian-owned with data locally stored – and knowing other councils who face challenges similar to ours use Brolly – gave us confidence in making the switch.”

Amanda Hillman · Record Management Coordinator, Cessnock City Council · read the story

Commonwealth agency questions

Asked by information managers and FOI teams.

Are our agency’s social media posts Commonwealth records?
They can be. The Archives Act 1983 (Cth) covers information created or received by an Australian Government agency in the course of its business, whatever the format, and National Archives of Australia guidance says social media used for business activities creates information that needs to be managed as a record. Content held only on the platform may not be retained or accessible over the long term, which is why agencies capture it. General information, not legal advice.
How does the FOI Act 1982 (Cth) apply to social media?
A request for documents held by the agency can extend to content on its official channels, including public comments and posts that were later edited or deleted. Decisions are generally due within 30 days, so the records need to be searchable before the request arrives. Brolly lets your FOI team search by keyword, date, account or author and export the result with metadata intact.
What does “aligned to the Australian ISM” mean for Brolly?
Brolly maps its security controls to the Australian Government Information Security Manual and the ASD Essential Eight, and is independently certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and registered with CSA STAR. We do not claim an IRAP assessment or a PROTECTED classification. Your security team can request the control mapping and certificates through the security page.
Can records flow into our EDRMS?
Yes. The Content Manager integration sends selected records from the archive into your EDRMS, so social media records sit under the same classification, retention and disposal rules as the rest of the agency’s records. Exports are also available in PDF, CSV, HTML and JSON.
Where is our data stored, and who runs Brolly?
Your data is stored on AWS cloud servers located in Australia. Brolly Australasia Pty Ltd is 100% Australian owned and operated, with an Australian support team. Every plan starts with a 30-day free trial and includes unlimited accounts and users.

See your channels as records.

See capture, search and export on your agency’s own channels in a 20-minute walkthrough. Records and FOI teams welcome.

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