HHarbourside Regional Council
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Social media archiving for SA government
SA 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.
Supported posts, comments, edits & deletions · Search & export · Metadata & audit trail
SA agenciesCouncils
The FOI Act's 'agency' expressly includes a council (s 4(1)).
SA organisations that use Brolly
Know your legislation
Four things shape the record in South Australia.
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
State Records Act 1997 (SA)
Agencies, including state agencies, ministerial offices, councils and universities, must maintain official records in their custody in good order and condition and may dispose of them only under a determination made under the State Records Act 1997. State Records' current guidance uses 'information asset' as an umbrella term that incorporates the Act's definition of 'official record' and also encompasses government information and data. State Records Act 1997 No. 8
Access to information
FOI Act
An agency must deal with an FOI application as soon as practicable and within 30 calendar days after receiving it. Under section 14A the principal officer may extend the period for a reasonable time where the application is unusually large or requires an extensive search that would substantially and unreasonably divert the agency's resources, or where required consultation cannot reasonably be completed in time — and written notice of the extension must be given within 20 days of receipt. An application not determined in time is taken to be refused (s 19(2)). Request term: FOI application · Freedom of Information Act 1991 (SA)
Retention & disposal
General Disposal Schedules issued by State Records of South Australia
GDS 30 for state agencies, GDS 40 for local government. Retention follows the function the record documents, not the channel. Social media content sits under the same disposal schedule as the activity it evidences. Retention and disposal authorities
Records authority & oversight
State Records of South Australia
State Records of South Australia · Managing information guidanceOversight: Ombudsman SA
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.
Legal detail
The consequences of unauthorised disposal.
The optional fine print: what South Australia law says when records are mishandled, and how the rules have been applied. Disposal done under your authority is routine; this layer is about disposal done without one.
Intentional unauthorised damage or disposal is a criminal offence
Under s 17 of the State Records Act 1997, a person who knows they lack proper authority and intentionally damages, alters, disposes of or removes an official record faces a maximum penalty of $10,000 or two years' imprisonment, and the court may order compensation. Under the FOI Act, an application not determined in time is taken to be refused, with internal review ordinarily preceding Ombudsman review.
Source: State Records Act 1997 (SA) s 17
Free download
BrollyFree guide · PDF
Download the free SA
BrollyFree guide · PDFState Records Act 1997 (SA)
Archiving Social Media: A Guide For SA Government
SA lawAccess lawRetention & disposalChecklist
Captured. Searchable. Defensible.PDF
Free guide
Download the free SA
Social Media Legislation Guide.
The SA edition, written for records and communications teams in South Australia government.
The South Australia records Act, access regime and retention framework
Records obligations explained in plain English
Bonus compliance checklist inside
PDF · free · delivered on the guide page
For councils
Local Government Act 1999 (SA)
Councils are agencies under the State Records Act and the FOI Act; council members' official-capacity communications can be council records.
- Integrity body: Ombudsman SA
How Brolly helps
Meeting the obligation in SA, 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 State Records of South Australia.
- 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
W
Willowdale Shire CouncilFacebook · captured as it was posted
EditedWater supply interruption in Willowdale Heights. Crews are on site; estimated restoration 11:30 am 2:30 pm.
Interface reconstruction · fictional demonstration data
Harmful comments hidden, the record kept
Comments on official accounts can be subject to the State Records Act 1997 (SA) 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
?
Unknown accountComment · captured, then hidden
Hidden · ScamCongratulations! You won — claim your prize here…
Moderation on the recordInterface reconstruction · fictional demonstration data
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 dates
Willowdale Council
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EditedBBayview Ports Authority
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CCoastal District Council
RRegional Rail Link
HHinterland Regional Council
3 versions
Willowdale CouncilWillowdale 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.
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Export prepared
Straight answers
Questions SA records teams ask
Can SA council and agency social media content be an official record?
Yes, it can. The State Records Act 1997 covers information created or received in the conduct of government business in any format, and State Records of South Australia lists social media among the digital records agencies manage. Whether an item must be kept, and for how long, follows your disposal schedule and records policy.
Source: State Records Act 1997 (SA) · State Records of South Australia: Managing information guidance
How long does an SA agency have to determine an FOI application?
The Freedom of Information Act 1991 requires an agency to deal with an application as soon as practicable and within 30 calendar days of receipt. The principal officer may extend the period only on the section 14A grounds — an unusually large application or extensive search that would substantially and unreasonably divert resources, or required consultation that cannot reasonably be completed in time — and written notice of the extension must be given within 20 days of receipt. An application not determined in time is taken to be refused. The statutory period governs the determination and notice; locating the complete record set is the operational work needed to make that determination defensibly.
Is a screenshot enough to meet the obligation?
A screenshot captures one moment. It usually misses later comments, edits and deletions, and it carries little of the metadata that shows when and where the content was made. A capture that keeps the thread, the changes and the context is easier to rely on if a request or complaint arrives.
How does Brolly help a South Australian agency?
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 in an EDRMS or produce for an FOI application. It helps you meet your obligations; it does not replace your disposal schedule or legal advice.
How long must social media records be retained?
Retention depends on the purpose and content of the communication and the disposal determination applying to the function it documents. We have not identified a single retention period that applies to every social-media record in South Australia — no express social-media class was located in the current GDS 40 for councils — so council social content is assessed against the schedule by the function it documents. Confirm the applicable class with State Records of South Australia or your legal adviser.
See your channels as records.
See capture, search and export on your own SA channels in a 20-minute walkthrough. Records teams welcome.