This guide is for all members of the In the Cove community Facebook groups. These guidelines apply to both posts and comments in Lane Cove Chat by ITC and Kids in the Cove.
In short
Lane Cove Chat by ITC and Kids in the Cove are community discussion spaces. They are not free advertising platforms, political campaign forums, classifieds boards or promotional channels for businesses, networking operators or self-interested groups.
What the Facebook groups are for
The groups exist to help residents share useful information, ask local questions, discuss community issues and stay connected.
Why we have rules
The groups are large, active and valuable. Without clear boundaries, they can quickly become overwhelmed by advertising, repetitive posts, political arguments, unsafe recommendations, personal complaints and content that creates moderation or legal risks.
In the Cove staff and moderators spend real time reviewing posts, managing issues and keeping the groups useful. We ask everyone to use the groups in the spirit they were created.
Kids in the Cove specific rules
Kids in the Cove is specifically for family, parenting, children’s activities, schools, sport, local services and kid-focused community information.
Content posted in Kids in the Cove must be relevant to local families, children or parenting. General community discussion should be posted in Lane Cove Chat by ITC instead.
Unlike Lane Cove Chat by ITC, Kids in the Cove allows members to post occasional second-hand children’s items, such as kids’ clothing, toys, books, baby items and children’s equipment, provided the post is genuinely local, family-focused and not part of a business or regular selling activity.
Business promotion, repeated selling, ticket sales, adult items and unrelated marketplace-style posts are not permitted.
Community groups, clubs and organisations
Eligible community organisations may post in the groups. This includes sporting clubs, not-for-profit groups, churches, public schools, residents’ associations, community gardens and similar groups.
- Maximum once per week
- No repeated posts about the same event or campaign
- No posting multiple times in one evening or over a short period
- No using the groups as though they are your organisation’s own page
- Content must be community-focused, not primarily self-promotional
- Posts in Kids in the Cove must be family, parenting or child-focused
- Fundraising, donation requests, raffles and charity appeals may be declined or limited, even where the cause is worthwhile, to keep the groups balanced and useful.
Businesses
General business promotion is not allowed unless it is within a specific approved opportunity or with explicit permission from In the Cove.
Current In the Cove Business Supporters may only promote themselves during approved business posting opportunities, such as Business Night, and must follow the specific rules for that opportunity.
- No advertising products or services outside approved opportunities
- No sharing sales, offers or packages outside approved opportunities
- No promoting paid workshops, classes or events outside approved opportunities
- No posting from or sharing your own business page unless specifically permitted
- No promoting networking groups, business directories or lead-generation groups
- No repeatedly tagging your own business
- Posts in Kids in the Cove must be family, parenting or child-focused
Self-recommendations
Only genuine personal recommendations are allowed in these groups.
If someone asks for a recommendation — for example a plumber, tutor, cleaner, gardener, babysitter, tradie, coach, therapist or other service — replies should come from genuine customers or community members only.
No self-promotion, business promotion or “I can help” comments are allowed unless you are a current In the Cove Business Supporter and clearly disclose that in your comment.
ITC is funded by local Business Supporters, which helps us keep these community spaces running. You can view our Business Directory here:
inthecove.com.au/business-directory
Interested in becoming a Business Supporter?
inthecove.com.au/advertise
Indirect or sneaky promotion
In the Cove may remove posts or comments that appear community-minded but are primarily designed to benefit a business, commercial operator, networking group or self-interested organisation.
This includes sharing your own business page, networking page or commercial platform, posting photos with local businesses to promote your own networking service, or using In the Cove’s audience to show clients or members that you can get them reach.
This may result in immediate removal from the groups.
Fundraising, GoFundMe and donation requests
We do not allow personal fundraising links, GoFundMe links, donation requests or similar appeals in either group.
As In the Cove cannot verify the legitimacy of every request, we apply this as a blanket policy.
Community organisations, schools, sporting clubs and not-for-profits may share approved community-focused updates, but fundraising campaigns may be declined or limited to keep the groups balanced and useful.
Political content
The groups are not political campaign forums. No campaigning, party-political posts, candidate promotion or political attacks are allowed.
Current elected officials may share factual, community-relevant information, maximum once per week, provided it meets In the Cove’s political content policy.
During election periods, political posting may be restricted further.
Read the In the Cove Political Content Policy
Jobs, babysitting and service requests
Job-seeking posts are generally not permitted. This includes posts from people offering babysitting, tutoring, cleaning, gardening, odd jobs, pet sitting or similar services.
The groups cannot verify every person’s qualifications, insurance, Working With Children Check status, experience or suitability, and allowing these posts can quickly turn the groups into free classifieds boards.
For safety reasons, we also do not allow posts from under-18s offering services such as babysitting, tutoring, dog walking, lawn mowing or similar work.
Selling items and ticket sales
Lane Cove Chat by ITC is not a buy, swap and sell group. Posts selling items, tickets or services are not permitted.
Kids in the Cove may allow occasional posts selling or giving away second-hand children’s items, such as kids’ clothing, toys, books, baby items and children’s equipment, provided the post is family-focused, genuinely local and not part of a business or regular selling activity.
For safety reasons, we do not allow ticket resale posts, including concert, theatre or event tickets. Please use appropriate resale platforms or local buy/swap/sell groups.
Pet rehoming
We do not allow animal rehoming posts in either group. Facebook has specific rules around animal sales and rehoming, and only approved rescue organisations may be able to post this type of content.
Please use specialised rescue, adoption or pet rehoming channels.
Anonymous posts
Anonymous posts, or posts using a nickname instead of a real profile, are not permitted.
Anonymous posts were often misused and created moderation issues. Members are welcome to contact In the Cove directly with sensitive community information.
Local news tips
We welcome tips about new stores, closures, accidents, incidents and other local updates. However, we may not approve these directly in the groups until we have had a chance to fact-check the information.
Please send local news tips to In the Cove so the team can verify details before anything is published.
Privacy, safety and legal guidelines
Posts may be removed if they show or identify people, children, private homes, car registration plates or personal information in a way that creates privacy, safety or legal concerns.
CCTV and doorbell footage may be sensitive. In the Cove may remove or decline posts that identify people, show minors, include private property, make allegations or create legal risk.
Posts or comments containing unverified claims, rumours, misinformation or allegations about individuals, businesses, schools, organisations or community members may be removed.
Posts sharing screenshots from other groups, private pages, private messages or personal profiles may be declined or removed, especially where they identify individuals or could create privacy or legal concerns.
Where appropriate, incidents should be reported to Police, Council or the relevant authority first.
Rants, open letters and call-outs
We do not allow rants, open letters, vague call-outs or posts directed at unnamed individuals, businesses, organisations, Council, schools or community groups.
This includes posts that begin with phrases such as “To the person who…”, “To Lane Cove Council…”, “To the driver who…”, “To the parent who…” or similar.
Members are welcome to ask for advice, share practical information or raise genuine local issues, but posts must be constructive, factual and community-focused.
Defamation and legal risk
Members are responsible for what they post and comment. Posts or comments that make allegations, damage someone’s reputation, accuse someone of wrongdoing or encourage revenge-style posting may be removed.
This applies even if the poster believes the information is true or important. In the Cove may remove content that creates legal risk for the poster, the group, our moderators or In the Cove.
Where appropriate, concerns should be reported to Police, Council, Fair Trading, a school, a business owner or the relevant authority instead.
Naming and shaming
We do not allow naming and shaming of individuals, businesses, schools, organisations or community members.
Posts or comments identifying people involved in disputes, making allegations, encouraging pile-ons or inviting others to criticise a person, business or organisation may be removed, even where the poster believes the concern is valid.
This includes direct naming, screenshots, identifying details, photos, number plates or comments that make it easy for others to identify the person or business involved.
Where appropriate, concerns should be reported to Police, Council, Fair Trading or the relevant authority.
Crime, CCTV, number plates and safety posts
Posts showing identifiable people, children, homes, car registration plates or CCTV footage may be declined or removed for privacy, safety and legal reasons.
If an incident has been reported to Police and there is an official reference number, In the Cove may consider sharing verified information on the main page or in the groups.
Bad parking, rule-breaking and neighbourhood complaints
We do not generally allow posts calling out bad parking, traffic behaviour, rule-breaking or similar neighbourhood complaints.
These posts often lead to unhelpful debate, privacy concerns and naming-and-shaming issues.
Where appropriate, concerns should be reported to Council, Police or the relevant authority.
Moderator decisions
If a post is declined, removed or comments are closed, it is not personal. Moderators are trying to keep the groups useful, safe, respectful and manageable for the community.
In the Cove does not have the capacity to debate every moderation decision. Repeatedly arguing with moderators, reposting declined content or attempting to work around the rules may result in removal from the groups.
Moderation
In the Cove may remove posts or comments at its discretion.
Members may be removed or blocked if they repeatedly ignore the rules, post excessively, promote themselves or their business, create conflict, mislead the community, post inappropriate content, argue with moderators or use the groups in a way inconsistent with their purpose.
Members must remain respectful. Personal attacks, bullying, name-calling, harassment, pile-ons or deliberately inflammatory comments may be removed.
The rules exist to protect the usefulness, fairness and safety of the groups for everyone.
Questions
If you have a specific question that is not covered by these guidelines, you can contact [email protected]. Please note this is a very busy inbox.
More community guidelines
Looking for a different category? Return to our main guide or view related policies.
Support In the Cove
In the Cove is an independent community publication with no corporate backing. If you find value in what we do for the Lane Cove community, we would love your support. Every contribution helps keep local journalism alive.
These guidelines may be updated from time to time. Submission of information does not guarantee publication. Paid advertising does not guarantee editorial coverage. In the Cove reserves the right to edit, decline or remove content at its discretion.
