Editorial Standards
These are the public standards we hold ourselves to. If we fall short of them, we want to hear about it — and we will correct it in writing.
I Am An Australian exists to educate, inform, connect and inspire Australians through respectful storytelling, civic literacy, historical awareness, cultural respect and constructive public discussion.
We are independent, non-partisan and community-facing. We publish for every Australian — First Nations and migrant, young and old, city and regional, service and civilian — and we hold ourselves to the standards a serious national publication must uphold.
We aim to publish accurate, evidence-based, clearly sourced content. Historical, political, scientific, medical, legal and financial topics include source references and, where relevant, links to primary documents, peer-reviewed research or official government publications.
When we discover a factual error, we correct the piece publicly, date the correction, and — where the change is material — note what changed at the top of the article.
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia and honour their continuing connection to Country, waters, culture and community. We pay respect to Elders past and present.
Content relating to First Nations history, culture, knowledge, Country, community and identity is handled with care and cultural sensitivity. Indigenous cultural content is reviewed, contributed to, or guided by appropriate First Nations voices wherever possible. Any commissioned Indigenous art or storytelling is used with proper attribution, permission and cultural-protocol awareness.
We do not reproduce restricted knowledge, sacred imagery or ceremonial material without explicit community authority. Where a story involves people who have passed, we may include a warning at the top of the piece.
We explain government, democracy, elections, public policy and civic participation without favouring any political party. Our aim is a better-informed public, not a partisan following.
Where policy is contested, we describe the positions of the major parties and the arguments used to support them, and we identify the primary sources readers can consult to form their own view.
Opinion content is welcome. It must be respectful, lawful, constructive, and clearly labelled as opinion — with the author's name and, where relevant, their affiliations or interests disclosed.
Strong disagreement is part of a healthy democracy. Personal attacks, hate speech and dehumanising language are not.
Public Voice submissions must be solution-focused and respectful. The platform does not allow hate speech, racism, threats, harassment, defamatory content, personal attacks, incitement to violence, doxxing, spam, or knowingly false claims.
Every submission is reviewed by moderators before it is published for community support. See our Public Voice Guidelines for the full framework.
If you believe a piece contains a factual error, please tell us. We investigate every good-faith correction request in writing and we publish substantive corrections openly on the article.
Submit a correction request through our corrections page.
Where AI tools contribute to research, illustration, transcription or draft copy, we disclose it. AI-generated illustration is labelled as illustration and is never used to depict a real, identifiable person without consent.
Our on-site AI guide, Matilda, is clearly identified as a digital assistant. Matilda does not impersonate government officials, Indigenous Elders, veterans, police officers, ministers or any real individual.
