MEDIA STATEMENT: Photography policy at Gympie ARC

The intention of the Belgravia Leisure camera and mobile phone policy is to prohibit the misuse of cameras for the privacy and comfort of all patrons, particularly with the prevalence of social media. It is designed to provide guidance to our 120+ sites when interpreting the intent, and developing local procedures. The organisational-wide policy does not instruct sites to view photos taken by patrons and it does not instruct sites to use lanyards to identify photographers.

The intent is to ensure patrons (who are identifiable in a photograph) sign a consent form when photos are taken for media and marketing purposes. The intent is not to seek signed consent from family and friends from taking photos of each other. Belgravia Leisure encourages families and people of all ages to enjoy their local swimming facility, and to capture their summer memories and share these with their friends. As social media users, we should all be vigilant about what we share.

Given the recent interpretation by Gympie ARC, we will use this as a timely reminder to educate all our sites on the intention of the policy, to ensure it is applied locally with common sense and with vigilance to uphold the privacy and comfort of all patrons.

Our policy will continue to strictly ban any photography in change rooms and to uphold the need for signed consent forms for photography and filming undertaken by media or for marketing purposes.