The Victoria Brief is an independent publication. These are the standards that govern what we publish and how.

Labelling

Every piece is labelled. News reporting appears under a section kicker (Politics, Economy, Infrastructure, Leadership). Editorials appear under the standing kicker The Brief Says. Analysis pieces that draw conclusions are labelled as such in the deck. We do not run advertorials, syndicated PR, or unattributed columns.

Sourcing

Named sourcing is preferred. Anonymous sourcing is used sparingly and only when the information is demonstrably in the public interest, the source faces a credible risk in speaking on the record, and the claim has been independently corroborated. We do not grant anonymity to sources attacking a named individual.

Corrections

Factual errors are corrected at the point in the article where they appeared, with a dated correction note appended at the foot of the piece. Substantive corrections are logged on our public corrections page. We do not silently edit published copy.

Conflicts of interest

Contributors declare any direct financial, political or personal interest in the subjects they cover. Editors do not run pieces on organisations they hold equity in. Political party membership is disclosed at the foot of the byline.

Independence

The Brief takes no money from political parties, government agencies, or entities that substantially rely on Victorian government contracts. Advertising, when we accept it, is walled from editorial and clearly labelled.

Right of reply

Named subjects of critical reporting are given a reasonable window to respond before publication. Responses received after publication are appended to the piece where they materially bear on the facts.