18 April 2024
Liam Hehir
[FYI request #25668 email]
Dear Mr Hehir
Thank you for your email of 8 February 2024 to Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities,
requesting information under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act). I have answered
your questions individually below.
A copy of Kāinga Ora's current policies and guidelines on the use of social media
by employees, especial y regarding political commentary.
Kāinga Ora does not have a specific policy on the use of social media by employees.
However, we do have relevant standards contained in our broader policies, in particular
the Standard of Integrity and Conduct policy, together with a series of guidance on their
application to social media use by employees. The following are attached to this letter:
• Standards of Integrity and Conduct (POL-337)
• Social media safety and reporting harmful content guidelines (SS-GDL-003)
• Atamai article: Be social media aware
• Atamai article: Walking a fine line during the election period
• Atamai article: Public Servant professionalism - before, during, and after the
election
• Kāinga Ora social media guidance
We also use the Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission (PSC) Standards of
Integrity and Conduct, which can be found through the following link:
https:/ www.publicservice.govt.nz/guidance/guide-he-aratohu
Descriptions of any training or advisories provided to employees about the use of
social media and the expression of personal political views.
Kāinga Ora does not provide specific training related to the use of social media.
Descriptions of the processes and criteria used to determine whether an
employee's social media activity is in breach of these policies.
Kāinga Ora wil assess concerns related to social media activity against the standards set
out in the relevant policy (such as the Standards of Integrity and Conduct policy) to assess
whether a breach of a relevant standard has occurred.
The number of complaints or inquiries received in the past year related to
employees' social media use, particularly in relation to political content during work
hours, and the outcomes of these cases.
In the past year, Kāinga Ora has recorded two complaints regarding employees’ social
media use; however, neither of these were related to political content. Each complaint was
addressed as an employment matter through the appropriate process, with the employee
concerned.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this
response. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or Freephone 0800 802 602.
Please note that Kāinga Ora proactively releases our responses to official information
requests where possible. Our response to your request may be published at
https:/ kaingaora.govt.nz/publications/official-information-requests/ with your personal
information removed.
Yours sincerely
Rachel Kelly
Manager Government Relations
