Grievance and Dispute Resolution Policy
The Grievance and Dispute Resolution Policy (GDP) outlines the required behaviour of the Noise team when a grievance or other issue is raised regarding the conduct of one or more members of the Noise editorial. This policy applies to all contributors of the publication, including temporary and guest editors.
Types of grievances
In line with university policy, the Noise team divides grievances into Workplace Health and Safety, publication, and non-publication grievances.
Workplace health and safety grievances are formal complaints or concerns raised by editors, guests, or other stakeholders regarding conditions or practices in the workplace that they believe pose a risk to health, safety, or well-being. These grievances may pertain to physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, or psychosocial hazards.
Publication grievances are any case where material published, created, or disseminated by Noise is deemed offensive, defamatory, illicit, or otherwise unethical, in a manner which presents a significant and unapproved risk or liability to Noise or its affiliated organisations.
Non-publication grievances are any inter-personal or inter-organisational dispute which does not directly pertain to material published, created, or disseminated by Noise.
Workplace Health and Safety
Workplace Health and Safety issues are required to be reported to UNSW in all cases where the issue occurs on campus AND is “Notifiable” as per HS307 (Hazard & Incident Reporting Procedure). All incidents must be reported in accordance with the flowchart in Appendix A of the document.
Whether or not the issue is considered Notifiable, in all cases where a Workplace Health and Safety concern is raised to the Coordinators, the Coordinators of Noise are required to produce a report within twenty (20) academic days of the concern being raised. This report must include the original concern, as well as any actions taken by the coordinators, the University, other members of the Noise team, or any other member of the community to mitigate the risk presented. This may be extended with the permission of the complainant. All members of the Noise team must receive notice of the risk if the coordinators believe there is a chance of them being impacted by it.
Publication Grievances
Publication grievance resolution will be delegated to the Noise Editorial Standards. In cases where this document and the Editorial Standards conflict, the Editorial Standards should be preferred.
The Grievance Officers are required to reply to any publication grievance within 5 working days (excluding the UNSW annual shutdown and Primary Calendar exam periods). This is not necessarily a resolution, but an acknowledgement of receipt.
In cases of a publication grievance, the Grievance Officers may elect to deny a complaint. The Grievance Officers must unanimously agree that this outcome is correct, and in cases of illicit material or defamation complaints, must have consulted a legal advisor who agrees with their conclusion.
In cases where the Grievance Officers do not unilaterally elect to deny a complaint, the Coordinators are required to consult legal advice within 5 working days of the acknowledgement of receipt. In cases where legal advice indicates a takedown, the offending material must be removed from all Noise platforms within 2 working days.
In cases where legal advice does not recommend a takedown or other removal, the Coordinators shall present the request at the next meeting of the Noise Editorial Team, where a simple majority vote (i.e. 50% of those present + 1 person) must be taken as to whether or not the content is removed. A failing vote shall be considered to mean that the material is to not be removed.
From time to time, with the approval of at least 2 of the Coordinators, the Grievance Officers may request a temporary takedown pending a final decision.
A full list of takedowns for the current and preceding academic year, including the contents and a full record of the complaint, must be maintained by the editorial team.