PURPOSE  In alignment with the Gymnastics Australia Social Media Policy, this document outlines Delta Gymnastics’ (Delta) policy in relation to Social Media use, inclusive of: 

• Delta staff, volunteers, gymnast and relations personal accounts (e.g. private Facebook accounts) 
• Delta staff professional accounts (e.g. LinkedIn account where your workplace is listed) 

This Policy outlines how Delta staff, volunteers and members must conduct themselves on social media. The Policy protects Delta, Delta staff, volunteers, gymnasts and relations, and the community it serves by creating explicit rules around social media and communication use.    COVERAGE  This policy applies to the following Delta members, whether they are in a paid or unpaid/voluntary position: 

• Gymnasts 
• Parent/Guardians of Gymnasts 
• Gymnast Relations 
• Technical Members 
• Individuals sitting on Delta boards, committees and subcommittees 
• Staff and volunteers 
• Delta State team officials and athletes 
• Delta Support personnel (e.g. managers, physiotherapists, psychologists, masseurs, sports trainers) 
• Coaches/Administration 
• Delta Judges and other officials

  SCOPE  Delta recognises Social Media and other forms of communication is an extension of the workplace and membership and therefore all existing Delta policies and procedures apply to Social Media activities.  What is social media?  Social Media refers to any type of media created using digital tools that allow individuals and organisations to generate content, engage in conversations and share content within an online environment. This content can be in the form of words, images, videos, audio, live streaming and more.  Some of the more popular social media sites (as of January 2019) include, but are not limited to: 

Type	Examples
Social networking sites	Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn
Rich media sharing sites	YouTube, Flickr, Pinterest
Micro-blogging sites	Twitter, Tumblr
Blogs	Corporate blogs, personal blogs hosted on platforms
Discussion forums	Consumer forums or Google groups

  The objectives of the Delta Social Media Policy are: 

• To protect Delta gymnasts. 
• To protect employees and volunteers. 
• To protect the reputation of Delta. 
• To ensure Delta meets its legal and governing requirements through application of and adherence to Club policies and guidelines. 

This Policy is an extension of existing policies including, but not limited to the Delta Code of Conduct, Child Wellbeing Policy and Member Protection Policy, and not a replacement of these. The policy is applicable when using social media as: 

1. An officially designated staff member representing Delta on social media; 
2. If you are a Delta gymnast or relation posting content on social media in relation to Delta that might affect Delta’s business, products, services, events, sponsors, members or reputation; and 
3. If you are tagging (#) peers or minors in Delta uniform or at Delta events. 

NOTE: This policy does not apply to the personal use of social media where it is not related to or there is no reference to Delta or its business, competitions, teams, participants, products, services, events, sponsors, members or reputation. However, any misuse of social media in a manner that does not directly refer to Delta may still be regulated by other policies, rules or regulations of Delta.    GUIDELINES  This Policy outlines the standard expected by Delta for its staff, volunteers, gymnasts and relations regarding the personal, professional and official use of social media and online communication platforms, and ensures that individuals who engage in such activity do not: 

• Negatively, or potentially negatively, impact Delta’s reputation. 
• Make comments or share content that would contravene the Delta Code of Conduct. 
• Suggest that Delta endorses any of your own personal views and opinions. 
• Disclose confidential Delta information without prior authorisation. 
• Breach of GA Child Safe policy. 
• Breach privacy of staff, volunteers, gymnasts and relations. 

Where postings and publications on social media have the potential to damage the employment relationship, Delta’s interests and/or reputation, or does not align with an individual’s duties and position as staff, volunteer or gymnast, the employee, volunteer or gymnast may be subject to disciplinary action.    Use of Social Media  Interaction with and on social media which Delta is concerned can be defined as: 

• Professional – Providing information that is linked with an individual’s employment or work at Delta, or can be linked to Delta or Delta staff or volunteers in any way. 
• Official – Speaking on behalf of Delta, which includes its sectors, products, services and managed contracts on official social media accounts. 
• Personal – Communicating information or statements that breach the Delta Code of Conduct and may be damaging to Delta gymnasts, their relations, the Clubs reputation, Gymnastics Queensland, Gymnastics Australia, or the wider gymnastics community. 

If an individual can be identified as a Delta staff member or volunteer, or as having an association with Delta on any social media platform, that individual’s conduct is deemed professional, official or personal and this Policy applies to your activity on that platform.    Duty of Care  Delta is committed to ensuring our staff, volunteers, gymnasts and relations are all treated fairly and are safe within our programs, services and facilities. This is the same on social media. When using official social media platforms, staff, volunteers, gymnasts and relations must always: 

• Endeavour to ensure Parents/Guardians have not opted out of the Delta use of images clause upon sign up. 
• Endeavour to always use inclusive language and politically correct terms. 
• Ensure the Delta Code of Conduct is being upheld at all times. 

  Delta Employee Interaction with Gymnasts  Due to the imbalance of power between a coach/employee and gymnasts; Delta prohibits social media interaction of gymnasts (regardless of their age) and coaches/employees. The same policy is applicable to a gymnast/coach or employee as a child under the age of 18/coach or employee.    Child/Athlete Protection  Delta is committed to ensuring the wellbeing of all Delta athletes. To align with the Gymnastics Australia Child Safe Policy and maintain the highest level of care, safety and welfare of individuals in our programs: 

• Delta staff/volunteers are not permitted to post any personal photos/videos of Delta gymnasts on any personal website, social media site or application (official Delta Gymnastics posts are permitted to be shared) 
• Delta staff/volunteers must not make private or public social media contact with any child or athlete (including Delta staff, volunteers or gymnasts) on social media sites or applications (e.g. ‘befriending’, ‘commenting’, ‘tagging’) 
• Delta employees/volunteers are not permitted to ‘follow’ athletes on social media platforms. 

  Exemptions  Delta recognises that within Delta programming, there may be pre-existing personal relationships that have been formed prior to/outside of the parameters/employment with Delta. In such circumstances, exemptions to the social media policy can be made in instances where – 

• A parent/guardian of the child under the age of 18 has provided written consent 
• An athlete over the age of 18 and Delta employee provide written consent 

Exemptions can be requested via the letter of consent form to jmitchell@deltagym.com.au. These forms can be collected from the Delta office.    BREACH OF POLICY  Breaches of this policy include but are not limited to: 

• Using Delta’s name, motto, crest and/or logo in a way that would result in a negative impact for the organisation, club and/or its staff, volunteers and gymnasts. 
• Personal tagging (#name) of any Delta affiliate while representing Delta. 
• Posting or sharing any content that is abusive, harassing, threatening, demeaning, defamatory or libellous. 
• Posting or sharing any content relating to Delta staff, volunteers, gymnasts and relations, or the wider gymnastics community that includes insulting, obscene, offensive, provocative or hateful language. 
• Posting or sharing any content which if said in person during training or competition would result in a breach of the code of conduct. 
• Posting or sharing any content that is a breach of any State or Commonwealth law. 
• Posting or sharing any material to our social media channels that infringes the intellectual property rights of others. 
• Posting or sharing material that brings, or risks bringing Delta, its affiliates, its sport, its officials, members or sponsors into disrepute. In this context, bringing a person or organisation into disrepute is to lower the reputation of that person or organisation in the eyes of the ordinary members of the public. 
• Posting private or confidential information.

Breach of Policy Reporting Process  For any breaches or complaints related to this policy please contact the appropriate Delta employee as outlined in the Delta Questions and Concerns Procedure Delta will follow the complaints procedure as per the Gymnastics Australia (GA) Member Protection Policy located at the link below: https://www.gymnastics.org.au/images/national/About_Us/By_laws_Policies_Tech_Regs/Member_Protection_Policy_0219.pdf The below outlined process is applicable to Delta staff, volunteers, gymnast and relations in regard to breach of policy.

Offence	1st Occasion	2nd Occasion	3rd Occasion	4th Occasion
Unsatisfactory conduct	Formal verbal warning	Written warning	Final written warning	Termination
Misconduct	Final written warning	Termination
Serious misconduct	Termination

Unsatisfactory conduct is defined as where the conduct involves a substantial or consistent failure to reach or maintain a reasonable standard of competence and diligence. Misconduct is defined as a substantial or intentional disregard of the employer's interests. Serious misconduct is defined as wilful or deliberate behaviour by an employee, participant or participant family member that is inconsistent with the continuation of the contract of employment, Delta Code of Conduct and causes serious and imminent risk to:

1. the health or safety of a person; or
2. the reputation, viability or profitability of Delta or the gymnastics community.

If a disciplinary penalty is imposed it will be in line with the procedure outlined above, which may encompass a formal verbal warning, written warning, final written warning, or termination, and full details will be provided. There may be occasions where the conduct of the individual/s is serious enough to by-pass one (or more) of the above steps and move immediately to a first and final written warning or termination. Delta Management retains the right to take into account the severity of a misconduct and use their discretion accordingly in relation to disciplinary proceedings.   Policy Promotion This policy is available to all Delta staff, volunteers, gymnasts and relations, and the broader gymnastics community, via the Delta website at https://www.deltagym.org.au/. This policy will be communicated to all Delta staff, volunteers and gymnasts by the Club Director (or delegate), at the beginning of each calendar year.   POST EMPLOYMENT RESTRAINTS  Delta reminds all employees that their implied and express contractual obligations, including Delta and GA policies, continue to apply for a post-employment period of 6 months.      APPROVAL AND REVIEW Approved By: John Mitchell, Director, Delta Gymnastics Review Date: March 2022 Policy Owner: Club Director, Delta Gymnastics Contact Details: jmitchell@deltagym.com.au