Social media archiving for ACT government

ACT social media records, ready when an FOI request arrives.

Brolly automatically captures supported posts, comments, edits and deletions from connected official accounts, helping your team find and export records with their metadata and an audit trail intact.

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Supported posts, comments, edits & deletions · Search & export · Metadata & audit trail
ACT directorates & agenciesMinisters

The ACT has no separate municipal council tier — this page covers ACT agencies and Ministers.

ACT Legislative Assembly, Canberra
Canberra · Photo: Bidgee, CC BY-SA 2.5 au

Used in ACTACT Policing

Know your legislation

Four things shape the record in the Australian Capital Territory.

The records Act, the access regime, retention and disposal, and the authority that oversees them — each named from the legislation and linked to its source.

Records act

Territory Records Act 2002 (ACT)

Territory agencies must make and keep full and accurate records of their activities, have a records management program, and dispose of records only under a records disposal schedule approved by the Director of Territory Records. The Act aims to keep public access to records consistent with the Freedom of Information Act 2016. Territory Records Act 2002 A2002-18

Access to information

FOI Act

An agency or Minister must give a receipt notice, stating the day the application was received, within 10 working days after receiving it (s 32), and must decide the application no later than 30 working days after the day it is received (s 40). Section 40 excludes specified periods from the count — including 15 working days where third-party consultation under s 38 is required, and 27–31 December — and the Act separately allows an extension agreed with the applicant (s 41) or approved by the Ombudsman (s 42). An undecided application is taken to be refused (s 39). Request term: access application · Freedom of Information Act 2016 (ACT)

Retention & disposal

Records disposal schedules approved under the Territory Records Act

Territory Records Office. Retention follows the function the record documents. Social media content is kept under the same disposal schedule as the business activity it evidences. Retention and disposal authorities

Records authority & oversight

Territory Records Office

Territory Records Office · Standards and guidelinesOversight: ACT Ombudsman

Your organisation determines what must be captured and how long it is kept by applying the relevant authority, record class, business context and legal holds. Sources last reviewed 30 August 2026.This page provides general information only and is not legal advice. Your organisation is responsible for determining its legal, regulatory, retention and disposal obligations.

Free download
BrollyFree guide · PDF
Territory Records Act 2002 (ACT)
Archiving Social Media: A Guide For ACT Government
ACT lawAccess lawRetention & disposalChecklist
Captured. Searchable. Defensible.PDF
Free guide

Download the free ACT
Social Media Legislation Guide.

The ACT edition, written for records and communications teams in the ACT Government.

The Australian Capital Territory records Act, access regime and retention framework Records obligations explained in plain English Bonus compliance checklist inside
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PDF · free · delivered on the guide page

How Brolly helps

Meeting the obligation in the ACT, with an automatic archive.

Automatic capture from connected official accounts

Brolly connects to Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, YouTube, LinkedIn and TikTok and captures supported posts, comments, replies, edits and deletions with available metadata, and every export carries a digital checksum. Coverage varies by platform and depends on the content and metadata made available through platform APIs. That helps you meet the recordkeeping expectations set by the Territory Records Office.

  • Searchable exports in PDF, CSV, HTML or JSON to support FOI Act response workflows
  • Records keep their metadata and audit history; exports carry digital checksums for audit and evidentiary workflows
See the archive

Harmful comments hidden, the record kept

Comments on official accounts can be subject to the Territory Records Act 2002 (ACT) just like the posts above them, and the harmful ones arrive at any hour. Brolly Protect hides scams, abuse and personal attacks on connected accounts around the clock, while the archive keeps the original comment, the action taken and the time. Moderation never has to mean deletion.

  • AI moderation 24/7 across cyberbullying, scams, personal information and custom keywords
  • The original comment, the action and the time are retained in the archive
Explore Brolly Protect
A road closure, preserved

One closure notice. Every version, every reply.

This interface reconstruction uses a fictional council, Willowdale Council, and a flood road closure on 7 March 2026. It shows how the original notice, each edited version and the community replies around it can be reviewed together.

01
The council publishes

An official account posts a road closure notice with an estimated reopening time.

02
The post is edited

The reopening time and the cause are updated as contractors confirm them.

03
Your team reviews

Records, comms and the information-access officer can see the whole chronology, and export it.

Brolly Archive

Archive feed

Captured posts and conversations from connected accounts

All networksAll accountsAll dates12 captured posts
A waterfront civic quarter
♡ 42　 8
A flooded road closed at a bridge crossing
♡ 86　 24
Edited
Staff at a district council service centre
♡ 61　 12
A waterfront civic quarter
A flooded road closed at a bridge crossing
Staff at a district council service centre
Post Inspector
3 versions
A flooded road closed at a bridge crossing
Willowdale Valley Road is closed by flooding. Slip damage at the bridge approach has been confirmed; contractors are repairing it. Estimated reopening 11:30 am 2:30 pm.
♡ 86　 24
Export prepared
Straight answers

Questions ACT records teams ask

Can ACT Government social media content be a Territory record?
Yes, it can. The Territory Records Act 2002 requires agencies to make and keep full and accurate records of their activities, and the Territory Records Office's standards cover records in all formats. A post, comment or message made in the course of agency business can be a Territory record. Your records management program decides what is kept.

Source: Territory Records Act 2002 (ACT) · Territory Records Office: Standards and guidelines

How long does an ACT agency have to decide an access application?
The Freedom of Information Act 2016 requires a receipt notice within 10 working days and a decision no later than 30 working days after the day the application is received. Specified periods do not count towards the 30 days — including 15 working days where another person or agency must be consulted, and 27 to 31 December — and the Act separately allows extensions agreed with the applicant or approved by the Ombudsman. The statutory period governs the decision and notice; locating the complete record set is the operational work needed to make that decision defensibly. The Act also favours proactive release, so content you can find quickly is content you can publish quickly.

Source: Freedom of Information Act 2016 (ACT) · ACT Ombudsman

The ACT has no separate councils. Who does this apply to?
The ACT Government delivers both state-level and municipal services, so directorates, statutory office holders and Territory-owned corporations all fall under the Territory Records Act. The same recordkeeping and FOI obligations can reach any official social media account they run.

Source: Territory Records Office

How does Brolly help an ACT agency meet these obligations?
Brolly captures official accounts continuously, keeps posts, comments, edits and deletions searchable with their metadata, and exports them in formats your records team can file or produce for an access application. It helps you meet the Territory Records Act and FOI Act; it does not replace your records management program.
How long must social media records be retained?
Official guidance exists — the Territory Records Office's social-media advice asks agencies to document what they capture and to preserve relevant context, including edits, deletions, comments, associated media and metadata — but no dedicated social-media class or fixed period has been verified. Retention depends on the purpose and content of the communication and the approved disposal schedule applying to the function. Confirm the applicable class with the Territory Records Office or your legal adviser.

Source: Freedom of Information Act 2016 (ACT) · ACT Ombudsman

See your channels as records.

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

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