Social media archiving for Queensland government

Queensland social media records, ready when an RTI 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
Queensland agenciesLocal governments

The RTI Act's 'agency' expressly includes a local government (s 14(1)(b)).

Parliament House, Brisbane
Brisbane · Photo: Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0

Queensland organisations that use Brolly

  • Brisbane City Council
  • Cairns Regional Council
  • Central Highlands Regional Council
  • Lockyer Valley Regional Council
  • Moreton Bay Regional Council
  • Sunshine Coast Council
Know your legislation

Four things shape the record in Queensland.

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

Public Records Act 2023 (Qld)

Public authorities must make public records in a way that accurately shows their actions and decisions and the matters informing or contextualising them, keep those records, comply with the standards made by the State Archivist, and dispose of them only under a disposal authorisation. The 2023 Act replaced the Public Records Act 2002. Public Records Act 2023 No. 33 of 2023

Access to information

RTI Act

The processing period for an access application is 25 business days from the valid application day — the day the application complies with the Act's application requirements (s 18), not necessarily the day it first arrives. The agency must make its decision and give written notice of it by the end of that period, plus any applicable additional periods (for example, a further 10 business days where third-party consultation is required). Request term: RTI application · Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld)

Retention & disposal

General Retention and Disposal Schedule and the Local Government Sector Retention and Disposal Schedule issued by Queensland State Archives

Whether social media content needs to be captured and how long it is kept depends on its value, purpose and the applicable disposal class. Not every social media item requires separate capture. Retention follows the business activity the content documents, under the schedule that applies to your authority. Retention and disposal authorities

Records authority & oversight

Queensland State Archives (QSA)

Queensland State Archives (QSA) · Social media public records guidanceOversight: Office of the Information Commissioner Queensland

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
Public Records Act 2023 (Qld)
Archiving Social Media: A Guide For Queensland Government
Queensland lawAccess lawRetention & disposalChecklist
Captured. Searchable. Defensible.PDF
Free guide

Download the free Queensland
Social Media Legislation Guide.

The Queensland edition, written for records and communications teams in Queensland government.

The Queensland 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

In their words
“Social media content (e.g. posts, blogs, comments, likes, tweets, retweets) is a public record and should be managed according to its value and the same rules as all other public records.”

Queensland State Archives — read the guidance

For councils

Local Government Act 2009 (Qld)

Councils are public authorities for recordkeeping purposes; the Crime and Corruption Commission has published guidance on council records and councillor conduct.

  • Integrity body: Crime and Corruption Commission Queensland

Social media archiving for councils

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

Meeting the obligation in Queensland, 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 Queensland State Archives (QSA).

  • Searchable exports in PDF, CSV, HTML or JSON to support RTI 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 Public Records Act 2023 (Qld) 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 Queensland records teams ask

Are Queensland council social media posts public records?
Queensland State Archives' guidance says social media content such as posts, comments and likes is a public record to be managed by its value, under the same rules as other records. The Public Records Act 2023 sets the duty to make and keep records. What to keep and for how long depends on the activity the content documents, so follow your records policy.

Source: Public Records Act 2023 (Qld) · Queensland State Archives (QSA): Social media public records guidance

What is the RTI processing period in Queensland?
The Right to Information Act 2009 gives an agency 25 business days from the valid application day — the day the application meets the Act's requirements — to make its decision and give written notice, with defined additional periods such as 10 further business days for third-party consultation. The statutory period governs the decision and notice; locating the complete record set is the operational work needed to make that decision defensibly, and access is given separately.

Source: Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld) · Office of the Information Commissioner Queensland

Do councillors' own accounts count?
Content a councillor creates or receives in their official capacity may be a public record, even on a personal account. The Crime and Corruption Commission has written about council records and councillor communications. Treat it case by case under your records policy and seek advice where the line is unclear.

Source: Local Government Act 2009 (Qld)

How does Brolly help a Queensland authority meet these obligations?
Brolly captures official social media activity as it happens, including comments, edits and deletions, keeps it searchable with its metadata and exports it in formats your records team can file or produce for an RTI application. It helps you meet your obligations under the Act; it does not replace your retention and disposal schedule.
How long must social media records be retained?
Retention depends on the purpose and content of the communication and the disposal class applying to the function it documents. Queensland State Archives says social content is managed according to its value and sentenced by the purpose of the communication — not every item has the same value, and no single period applies to every social-media record. Confirm the class with Queensland State Archives or your records team.

Source: Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld) · Office of the Information Commissioner Queensland

See your channels as records.

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

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