Policy and Procedure Library (PPL)

It was acknowledged that moving to a new platform impacted websites, document templates, forms, internal systems as well as existing PPL documents. For some this change was minor, for others a larger impact. The following information will assist you in identifying the change impacts and help you make those changes. 

Referring to policies, procedures and guidelines

The 'old' numbering and naming format in the PPL was replaced by the 'simple' name. For example, 5.60.01 Leave Entitlements - Policy became Leave Entitlements Policy. Documents are listed alphabetically, with the ability to filter by document type, category (e.g. Teaching and Learning, Human Resources) and/or key words.  

• The numbering format within sections (e.g., section 3, 3.2, 3.2.1, etc.) was removed. Section headings are used with continuous paragraph numbering in clauses, with bullets in letter and roman numeral format as subclauses.

• The 'old' PPL URLs have changed to a new URL (redirects are in place, see next section).  Policies and corresponding procedures and guidelines will be linked in the text of each document, instead of across tabs. This will also mean each document has a unique URL. 

• Images and diagrams are linked, rather than embedded within the document. 

• All historical versions created on the site after go-live (3 April 2024) are available for download by users.  

It’s important to note that no substantive updates were made to any documents in the PPL. All updates to cross references within policies and procedures were completed as part of the migration, however it is advisable that this practice is reduced or stopped where possible (see below).

Attachments to your policies, procedures and guidelines

Some 'old' PPL documents attached forms or other material like schedules or tables (uploaded to the Forms tab) may have had references to content in the PPL. Due to the large volume and currency of attachments in the PPL, these documents were migrated across to the new platform unchanged.

Policy owners are encouraged to check the forms and other attachments on your policies, procedures and guidelines. For any issues identified (for example, if a form was uploaded into the PPL instead of linking to where it is hosted on your website or if a reference to the PPL requires updating), contact the Governance team. Please also consider hosting this type of content currently in the PPL, where possible, on an intranet site so that you have complete control of the document to amend at any time.

Redirections in place

Any hyperlinks to the old PPL are redirected to the new PPL platform for approximately 12 months after go live (until March 2025). The incorrect hyperlinks will be reviewed periodically and owners will be reminded to update them until all are correct.

Cross-referencing

Because clauses are numbered sequentially, a clause inserted earlier into a PPL document (policy, procedure or guideline) will change the numbering of all subsequent clauses.

The Enterprise Governance team recommends, wherever possible, to remove cross-referencing within PPL documents and instead refer to a particular section or heading, rather than using clause numbers. This will help future proof the PPL document for updates where clause numbering shifts, meaning that document, and any other document referencing it, will need a review of cross referencing. 

If you are drafting or amending policy, visit the Enterprise Governance 'Resources' page for templates which align with the formatting required in the new PPL.

For website links to the PPL documents on the superceded platform, a re-direct will be in place for approximately 12 months (until March 2025). All high traffic policies will go directly to the new version, others will point to the search (or home) page.   

Given re-directs will be in place, we encourage business areas to prioritise the amendment of frequently used or high risk PPL document links in the first instance. Changing of links can happen incrementally.

All the new URL PPL document links are available for business areas to update their content, refer to  new PPL hyperlinks (XLSX, 28.1 KB) or refer to the new PPL site.

A list of PPL documents that were rescinded in the last 12 months (XLSX, 11.9 KB) prior to go live on 3 April 2024 is also available with links to the replacement documents. This was not part of the PPL project and all changes were reflected in the old PPL site prior to go live as part of the standard policy approval process.  This is not a comprehensive list of all changed PPL documents, so please contact Enterprise Governance at governance@uq.edu.au if you have specific questions.

Finding links across UQ sites

The analytics team have provided a list of referral sites (XLSX, 521.5 KB) (how users accessed the superceded PPL site) showing click counts from across the UQ website. As a starting point, this document can be used to locate website pages, broken down by business units, that contain PPL site links. This should cover some of your website content, however we encourage you to review other sites that this analysis did not pick up. 

You may also use Google search parameters to assist with finding content across UQ websites. The removal of the PPL domain (-site:ppl.app.uq.edu.au) ensures your search results are returned for everything other than the PPL library (where changes will already be covered). You can amend the search parameter words to whatever is relevant to your area. 

• To look for: ‘assessment procedure’ not within ppl.app.uq.edu.au but only within uq.edu.au 
  Insert in Google: "assessment procedure" site:uq.edu.au -site:ppl.app.uq.edu.au 

• To look for: ‘3.10.02’ not within ppl.app.uq.edu.au 
  Insert in Google: 3.10.02 -site:ppl.app.uq.edu.au 

• To look for: ‘3.10.02’ within uq.edu.au, but not within ppl.app.uq.edu.au 
  Insert in Google "3.10.02" site:uq.edu.au -site:ppl.app.uq.edu.au 

• To look for: ‘3.10.02’ but not '3.10.07 ', within uq.edu.au, but not within ppl.app.uq.edu.au 
  Insert in Google:  "3.10.02" -"3.10.07" site:uq.edu.au -site:ppl.app.uq.edu.au 

Results returned will be for public websites and documents, not for anything sitting behind logins or within systems. 

If you have any tips for methods you have used successfully to find content requiring amendment, please share them with grc@uq.edu.au so that we can share here. 

The project team recognised that some changes are low priority and had little impact on users (e.g. removing the PPL number at the beginning of the title) therefore these changes were not deemed critical to occur and can continue to be completed gradually. 

Unless you have already completed this activity, review all PPL references to ensure any changes to name, hyperlink and document references (i.e. new clause numbers) are identified and updated. This will include, but may not be limited to:  

• all intranet and internet sites; 

• support documents and templates; 

• forms (online and in hard copy); 

• UQ systems (UniTask, SI-net, Workday, UQProcure etc); 

• communications (e.g. newsletters, updates). 

The following document contains a list of recent PPL document changes from approximately April 2023 to March 2024 which may assist you in identifying the new reference points where a document no longer exists. This list is not exhaustive and is static as at 5 April 2024.

• Rescinded policies, procedures and guidelines during preparation for new PPL platform (XLSX, 11.9 KB).

Recommended approach to this activity

• Appoint an appropriate owner of this task in your unit with knowledge to coordinate and/or complete the review and amendments in a timely manner; remember the users of your content appreciate up to date referencing and links. 

• During the review of the unit’s content, create a register of affected content. 

  • For hyperlinks, note these down based on the new hyperlinks already available (see previous section) or access the new PPL site. 

  • For paragraph and section number references, you can access the new PPL site.

  • For policy titles with the pre-fix numbering, simply change them as you go by removing the number. 

• Governance drafted a Sample Register for content review which you may choose to use to capture the PPL references that require updating to manage the progress of updating. 

The project team worked closely with the PPL Reference Group which included members from a wide range of areas across UQ to create awareness and understanding of the changes expected in the new platform.

Reference group members included: