HHarbourside Regional Council
♡ 42 8
Social media archiving for WA government
WA 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
WA agenciesLocal governmentsRegional subsidiaries
'Agency' includes local government, regional local government and regional subsidiaries (FOI Act Glossary cl 1).
WA organisations that use Brolly
Know your legislation
Four things shape the record in Western 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 2000 (WA)
Government organisations, including local governments, must have an approved recordkeeping plan and keep records of their business in line with the State Records Principles and Standards 2002. Records may only be destroyed under an approved retention and disposal authority. State Records Act 2000 No. 52 of 2000
Access to information
FOI Act
An agency must deal with an access application as soon as practicable and within the permitted period of 45 days after it is received, or another period agreed with the applicant or allowed by the Information Commissioner where statutory conditions are met. 'Deal with' means consider the application, decide access and charges, and give written notice of the decision; no timely notice produces a deemed refusal. Request term: FOI access application · Freedom of Information Act 1992 (WA)
Retention & disposal
General Disposal Authority for Local Government Records and sector disposal authorities approved by the State Records Commission
Retention follows the business function the content documents. Social media records sit under the same disposal authority as the activity they evidence, as set out in your recordkeeping plan. Capture is a risk-management decision; retention depends on the subject matter and an approved retention and disposal authority. Retention and disposal authorities
Records authority & oversight
State Records Office of Western Australia
State Records Office of Western Australia · Social communication tools guidanceOversight: Office of the Information Commissioner WA
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 Western Australia law says when records are mishandled. Disposal done under your authority is routine; this layer is about disposal done without one.
Destruction outside the recordkeeping plan can be an offence
Section 78 of the State Records Act 2000 creates offences that include a government-organisation employee destroying a record unless the disposal is authorised by the organisation's approved recordkeeping plan — maximum penalty $10,000, with the statutory defences in s 78(6). Under the FOI Act, no written notice within the permitted period is a deemed refusal, with internal and Information Commissioner review to follow.
Source: State Records Act 2000 (WA) s 78
Free download
BrollyFree guide · PDF
Download the free WA
BrollyFree guide · PDFState Records Act 2000 (WA)
Archiving Social Media: A Guide For WA Government
WA lawAccess lawRetention & disposalChecklist
Captured. Searchable. Defensible.PDF
Free guide
Download the free WA
Social Media Legislation Guide.
The WA edition, written for records and communications teams in Western Australia government.
The Western 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
From current guidance
The State Records Act 2000 defines a record as ‘information however recorded’; business-related content created using social media or messaging apps is subject to the same recordkeeping requirements as information created by other means.
Paraphrase of current guidance — State Records Office of Western Australia — read the guidance
For councils
Local Government Act 1995 (WA)
Local governments are government organisations under the State Records Act and must hold an approved recordkeeping plan; elected members' official-capacity communications can be local government records.
- Integrity body: Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries
How Brolly helps
Meeting the obligation in WA, 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 Office of Western 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 2000 (WA) 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
♡ 86 24
EditedBBayview Ports Authority
♡ 61 12
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.
♡ 86 24
Export prepared
Straight answers
Questions WA records teams ask
Can social media content be a government record in WA?
Yes. The State Records Office's advice points to the Act's definition of a record as 'information however recorded', which means business-related social media content can be subject to the same recordkeeping requirements as email or paper. Your recordkeeping plan and disposal authority decide what is kept and for how long.
Source: State Records Act 2000 (WA) · State Records Office of Western Australia: Social communication tools guidance
How long does a WA agency have to deal with an FOI application?
The Freedom of Information Act 1992 sets a permitted period of 45 days, or another period agreed with the applicant or allowed by the Information Commissioner. 'Dealing with' the application means considering it, deciding access and charges, and giving written notice of the decision. 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: Freedom of Information Act 1992 (WA) · Office of the Information Commissioner WA
Do elected members' accounts need to be covered?
Content an elected member creates or receives in their official capacity may be a local government record, whichever account it sits on. Many WA local governments add councillor and shire president accounts to their archive after each election. Treat it case by case under your recordkeeping plan.
How does Brolly help a WA local government meet these obligations?
Brolly captures official accounts as they are used, including comments, edits and deletions, keeps the content searchable with its metadata and exports it in formats you can file in your EDRMS or produce for an access application. It helps you meet your recordkeeping plan; it does not replace it.
How long must social media records be retained?
Retention depends on the subject matter of the communication and the approved retention and disposal authority applying to the function it documents. The State Records Office says capture decisions are risk-based and retention follows the subject matter under an approved authority; no single period applies to every social-media record. Confirm the class with the State Records Office of Western Australia or your records team.
Source: Freedom of Information Act 1992 (WA) · Office of the Information Commissioner WA
See your channels as records.
See capture, search and export on your own WA channels in a 20-minute walkthrough. Records teams welcome.