Documented or not said
We comment on patterns we have recorded to an evidentiary standard. Where a question goes beyond the record, the honest answer is that we do not know.
Press room
On the record, within our mandate, about what we have documented
We speak to the press on the record, within our mandate, and about matters we have documented. We do not comment on individual cases, do not speculate about matters under investigation, and do not offer opinion on party politics.
Who responds
The ACHRC secretariat
Enquiries are handled by the ACHRC secretariat. We identify the responding office-bearer by role rather than by name in written material.
How quickly
Two working days
We aim to acknowledge a press enquiry within two working days. Where a question falls outside what we have documented, we will say so rather than answer it.
Ground rules
What we will and will not say
These are not negotiable per enquiry. Publishing them means a journalist knows before writing in which questions we are able to answer.
No individual cases
Nothing brought to a desk is discussed with the press, in any form, whether or not the person is named. Consent to document is not consent to publicise.
Non-partisan
We do not comment on parties, candidates, or electoral outcomes. Our election work is process literacy and that is the limit of what we will discuss.
Corrections on the record
If we give the press something inaccurate, we issue a correction publicly rather than asking for a quiet amendment.
Press kit
What is in the kit
Written so that our work can be described accurately without anyone having to interview us first. Ask for the kit and we will send it.
Organisation summary
Registered name, legal status, year of constitution, area of operation, and the registered objects — the facts that should appear in any accurate description of us.
Logo and usage note
The mark in permitted formats with the clear-space rule, and a note that reproduction does not imply endorsement of the reproducing publication.
Standing limits statement
The paragraph we ask to be carried whenever our work is described: we are not a government body, hold no statutory power, and give no legal advice.
Programme fact sheet
The fourteen standing programme streams with a one-line description of each, so that our work is not described in terms we would not use.
Coverage
Where our work has been reported
We list only pieces that have actually been published, with a working link. An empty list is more honest than a padded one.
Nothing is listed here yet. When our work is reported and we can link to the published piece, it will appear on this page. We would rather show an empty list than imply coverage we have not had.
For journalists
Ask us what we can evidence, and we will tell you where the evidence stops
We do not speculate, we do not comment on individual cases, and we say plainly when a question falls outside what we have documented.