Social media guidelines
Our guidelines for using social media channels to post information, service announcements, consultations and emergency information for New Zealanders.
Purpose of the StudyLink social media accounts
StudyLink is a service of the Ministry of Social Development. We use social media channels to post information, service announcements, consultations and emergency information for New Zealanders.
We welcome your feedback and ask you to be respectful in your comments and your opinion of others' comments. Please stay on topic and do not upload content or post comments that are unrelated to the purpose of the StudyLink social media accounts as stated above.
Please do not use language or post content that:
- is or appears to be spam or contains a virus
- is racist, sexist or discriminatory
- contains insults or put downs
- is likely to be seen by others as offensive, inflammatory or provocative (including swearing and obscene or vulgar comments)
- contains potentially harmful advice
- is not accurate
- violates the Terms of Use of the platform where it is being posted
- breaks the law or encourages others to do so (this includes defamation, breaching privacy, breaching another person’s intellectual property rights such as copyright, condoning illegal activity and breaching any court orders)
When using the community areas of the StudyLink social media accounts, please don't post personal information – addresses, phone numbers, email addresses or other online contact details – relating either to you or other individuals. Don't impersonate or falsely claim to represent a person or an organisation. Don't make any commercial endorsement or promotion of any product, service or publication.
Endorsement
StudyLink and MSD don’t necessarily endorse any website or organisation which the social media accounts posts links to/reposts etc.
Connected.govt.nz social media accounts liking, reacting to, engaging with or sharing information does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation - it is solely for the purpose of sharing information.
Private messages
The best way to get in touch with us online is by emailing us.
You can also contact us through Private Messages. We try to respond to all Private Messages within two working days.
Removing comments or banning users
Any comments or posts that breach the above terms will be removed. If a user violates this policy, that user may be temporarily or permanently blocked from posting in the future. The Ministry of Social Development accepts no liability in any way connected to the use of, or access to, the StudyLink social media accounts.
Monitoring outside of business hours
The pages are not monitored outside of business hours. If you need to contact us or any of our services, please use the contact information on the StudyLink website.
Feedback or complaints process
We are committed to delivering a high level of service and providing dependable advice.
If you think we are not meeting these standards, we would like to hear from you. Not only so we can put right your complaint, but also so we can improve our services for everyone.
In the first instance, you can contact us by Private Message. We try to respond to Private Messages within 2 working days.
There's more information about our formal complaint process on the Ministry of Social Development website: