Terms and conditions
Use of comments
We aim to publish a representative cross-section of comments. We will make sure that all comments are taken into account as part of the formal consultation process.
Try to keep your comments short. We will not generally publish an article longer than 400 to 500 words, or we may ask you to summarise it.
The Department reserves the right not to publish comments and to edit comments on grounds of space or style.
By submitting a comment to this site you agree to abide by the following rules.
Personal identification
We will not accept anonymous comments. If you submit comments to this site you must include your name and a genuine email address. Do not represent yourself as another person.
Conduct and use of language
Your comment should be within the scope of the topic under discussion. Comments should be civil and tasteful, and must not be malicious or designed to offend. We will not accept swear-words or profanity. Do not refer to the personality of other participants or attack an individual’s character.
Legal liability
You should remember that you are legally responsible for what you write. By submitting a comment you undertake to indemnify the Department against any liability arising from breach of confidentiality or copyright, or any obscene, defamatory, seditious, blasphemous or other actionable statement you may make.
Advertising, spamming and research
No advertising or promotion is allowed except where it is for an event, publication or similar item that has direct relevance to the subject of discussion.
Information about locating and sharing knowledge and expertise is welcomed, but within the specific discussion provided.
Propriety and moderation
This is a Government website and we will remove any comments used for party political purposes.
We encourage open, lively debate but the decision to publish comments remains at the Department’s discretion. We will not publish comments that violate any of the above rules.
Your privacy
If you submit a comment you must include your email address. The Department respects your email privacy and we will not store, display or share your email address for any purpose. We will only use your email address to contact you about the comment you submitted or to ask for feedback on this site.