Photography & Social Media

Two SLSA policies set what members may and may not do with photos, video and social media: 6.20 Social Media and 6.21 Photography, Digital Recording & Images. They apply whenever you are taking images at the Club or on the beach, and whenever you post as a member of Trigg Island SLSC.

Taking photos

• Never photograph or film in change rooms or toilets. Phones and cameras do not belong in those spaces.

• The clubhouse is private property, so photography can be restricted there — follow any direction from the Club about where and when you can take images.

• At carnivals, stay out of the competition arena unless you are an accredited photographer. Photograph from where the public can go.

Photographing children

• Get the consent of a parent or guardian before you publish a photo or video of someone else's child.

• Don't name children in captions or posts where you can avoid it.

• Don't post details about a child — their school, where they train, their likes and dislikes. That information can be used to groom.

• Use images that are about the activity, with the child suitably attired. Photos involving minimal clothing or unusual poses can be misused, however innocently they were taken.

Before you post

• Consent first. Ask the person in the photo before you publish it. For anyone under 18, ask a parent or guardian.

• Someone else's photo is someone else's copyright. Get permission and credit them.

• Keep incidents off social media. Nothing about rescues, first aid, patients, or anything else confidential involving members or the public.

• Don't use Club or SLS imagery to promote a product, business or service — paid or unpaid — without approval.

What not to post

This applies whether you are posting from a Club account or your own. Members must not post anything obscene, defamatory, threatening, harassing, bullying, discriminatory, offensive, abusive, hateful, racist or sexually explicit, and must not criticise or disparage the Club, other clubs, officials, sponsors, athletes or their people.

Cyberbullying is a member protection matter, not just bad manners — see Member Protection.

Respond to others respectfully, keep what you post accurate, correct mistakes promptly, and don't express political affiliations on an account clearly associated with surf life saving.

Your own accounts

If your account identifies you as a member — in your bio, your photos, your posts — you are accountable for what you put there, and these policies apply.

A personal account can mention the Club, as long as the affiliation is not the main thing the account is about and you make clear the views are your own. Something like: “Trigg Island SLSC member. Opinions are my own and do not represent the Club or Surf Life Saving.”

Only authorised accounts represent the Club itself. If you want to set up an account for a team, squad or event, talk to the Club first.

If something isn't right

• A child at risk — police, 000.

• A breach of these policies — report it at complaints.sls.com.au.

• Something involving a member at Trigg — speak with the Club's MPIO. See Member Protection.

Misuse of social media or images can lead to disciplinary action under the Club's and SLSA's codes of conduct.