The STPL News and all associated publications have adopted the Statement of General Principles and the Statement of Privacy Principles from the Australian Press Council.

Publications are free to publish as they wish by reporting facts and expressing opinions, provided they take reasonable steps to comply with the following Principles and the Council’s other Standards of Practice:

Accuracy and clarity:

• 1. Ensure that factual material in news reports and elsewhere is accurate and not misleading and is distinguishable from other material such as opinion.
• 2. Provide a correction or other adequate remedial action if published material is significantly inaccurate or misleading.

Fairness and balance

• 3. Ensure that factual material is presented with reasonable fairness and balance, and that writers’ expressions of opinion are not based on significantly inaccurate factual material or omission of key facts.
• 4. Ensure that where material refers adversely to a person, a fair opportunity is given for subsequent publication of a reply if that is reasonably necessary to address a possible breach of General Principle

Privacy and avoidance of harm

• 5. Avoid intruding on a person’s reasonable expectations of privacy, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.
• 6. Avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.

Integrity and transparency

• 7. Avoid publishing material which has been gathered by deceptive or unfair means, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.
• 8. Ensure that conflicts of interests are avoided or adequately disclosed, and that they do not influence published material.