Social media archiving for NT government

NT social media records, ready when an information 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
Public sector organisationsLocal government councils

'Public sector organisation' expressly includes a local government council (Information Act s 5(1)(d)).

Parliament House, Darwin
Darwin · Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0
Know your legislation

Four things shape the record in the Northern 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

Information Act 2002 (NT)

A single Act covers freedom of information, privacy and records management in the Territory. Public sector organisations must keep full and accurate records of their activities and manage them under the records management standards issued under Part 9, disposing of them only as those standards allow. Information Act 2002

Access to information

Information Act

A public sector organisation must consider, decide and notify the applicant in writing within 30 calendar days after receiving an application that complies with section 18 (s 19). If more than 30 days is required — for example, for a large volume of information or third-party consultation — section 26 requires the organisation to give a notice stating the reasons and the period within which a further notice will be given. An application not decided within the period is taken to be refused (s 19(3)). Request term: FOI application · Information Act 2002 (NT), Part 3 (freedom of information)

Retention & disposal

Records retention and disposal schedules issued under the NT records management standards

Department of Corporate and Digital Development. 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

NT Archives Service and the Department of Corporate and Digital Development (government records)

NT Archives Service and the Department of Corporate and Digital Development (government records) · Records and information management standardsOversight: Office of the Information Commissioner Northern Territory

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.

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

Download the free NT
Social Media Legislation Guide.

The NT edition, written for records and communications teams in Northern Territory government.

The Northern Territory records Act, access regime and retention framework Records obligations explained in plain English Bonus compliance checklist inside
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In their words
“Recorded information in any form (including data in a computer system) that is required to be kept by a PSO as evidence of the activities or operations of the organisation.”

Definition of a record, NT public sector organisations records and information management standards — read the guidance

For councils

Local Government Act 2019 (NT)

Councils are public sector organisations under the Information Act; elected members' official-capacity communications can be council records.

  • Integrity body: Department of Housing, Local Government and Community Development

Social media archiving for councils

Brolly illustration of records being organised for a request
How Brolly helps

Meeting the obligation in the NT, 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 NT Archives Service and the Department of Corporate and Digital Development (government records).

  • Searchable exports in PDF, CSV, HTML or JSON to support Information 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 Information Act 2002 (NT) 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 NT records teams ask

Can NT council or agency social media content be a record?
Yes, it can. The Information Act 2002 defines a record as recorded information in any form that a public sector organisation must keep as evidence of its activities. A post, comment or message made in the course of council or agency business can meet that description. Your records standards and disposal schedule decide what is kept.

Source: Information Act 2002 (NT) · NT Archives Service and the Department of Corporate and Digital Development (government records): Records and information management standards

How long does an NT organisation have to decide an FOI application?
A public sector organisation must consider, decide and notify the applicant in writing within 30 days of receiving a compliant application. If more time is needed, section 26 requires a notice stating the reasons and when a further notice will be given — and an application not decided in time is taken to be refused. Because one Act covers FOI, privacy and records management, a social media archive helps with all three.

Source: Information Act 2002 (NT), Part 3 (freedom of information) · Office of the Information Commissioner Northern Territory

What about emergencies, when posting is fastest?
Cyclone, flood and fire updates are often the records most likely to be asked about later. Capturing them automatically means the comms team can keep posting while the record keeps itself, including what was changed or removed and when.
How does Brolly help a Territory organisation 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 application. It helps you meet the Information Act's records and FOI requirements; it does not replace your standards or legal advice.
How long must social media records be retained?
Retention depends on the purpose and content of the communication and the disposal schedule applying to the council or agency function it documents. We have not identified a single retention period that applies to every social-media record in the Territory — no express social-media class was located in the current local-authority disposal schedule — so social content is sentenced under the class for the function it evidences. Confirm the applicable class with the NT records authority or your legal adviser.

Source: Information Act 2002 (NT), Part 3 (freedom of information) · Office of the Information Commissioner Northern Territory

See your channels as records.

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

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