Social media terms of use

Use of social media

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) uses social media to:

• provide authoritative, accessible, sharable information
• support and empower people with an accessible two-way communications channel
• champion success and achievement
• reinforce the organisation’s overall focus on equity.

We only post or share content on social media which aligns with our role and functions, or in support of colleague organisations where the content aligns with their roles and functions.

Our role in New Zealand's education system

Acceptable use

NZQA works to make sure our social media platforms are impartial, politically neutral, and safe and accessible for people to use. We reserve the right to moderate and/or delete any comment which we feel is offensive, irrelevant, shares an individual’s personal information or could negatively impact perceptions of our political neutrality.

NZQA also reserves the right to mute, block and/or report social media accounts which are offensive or abusive. When moderating and deleting comments, or muting, blocking, or reporting social media accounts, we will consider the following factors:

• the language used and perceived tone of the comment
• the Terms of Use of the social media platform involved
• our commitment to providing a safe and welcoming workplace for NZQA staff
• the potential relevance of the account to future conversations involving NZQA (when considering muting or blocking an account)
• any aggravating or mitigating factors
• unlawful use of imagery that violates copyright or breach of a licence agreement
• refers to any commercial activity, including advertising.

Engagement

Private Messages or Direct Messages sent to NZQA will be responded to by the Communications Team where possible. If the Communications Team is unable to assist, Private Messages or Direct Messages will be forwarded to the NZQA Contact Centre and/or a subject matter expert for consideration.

Where possible, we aim for a subject matter expert to respond to complex queries directly, so we may need to request your contact email address or telephone number.

Endorsement

NZQA may choose to establish connections (such as follow, like) with other organisations and individuals using social media. We do not implicitly or explicitly endorse any individual or organisation merely by creating a social media connection.

This allows us to maintain contact with what social media users are saying and, where appropriate, share their content. Sometimes, we also need to establish a connection to engage with users, e.g. via direct messages or posting.

NZQA may maintain social media connections with individuals and organisations that are critical and/or have opposing views. We do not hold any responsibility for the content of such profiles.

Complaints

NZQA aims to investigate and resolve all complaints quickly and effectively. The timeframe for complaint resolution and outcome is ten working days, or earlier if possible.

If you would like to make a complaint, including about our use of social media, we encourage you to do so through our website.

Make a complaint

However, if you prefer to make a complaint through our social media channels, we will acknowledge it within two working days from date of receipt and enter it into our system for considering and responding to complaints. We may need to request your contact email address or telephone number to seek clarification or obtain additional information relating to your complaint, or if the response contains personal information or is too long to post to social media.

If you have a complaint about a registered education provider, you should follow the provider's complaints procedure in the first instance. If the matter is not resolved satisfactorily, you may make a formal complaint through NZQA.