Choosing a Consultation Method Under Time Pressure
A student group must produce a short film about local water management for a regional showcase in six weeks. The film will include interviews with Aboriginal community members. The group has a small budget of $600, one member with a car, and access to a school camera. Two community organisations are relevant: one is 30 km away and responds slowly but represents the wider community; the other is local and responsive but represents a smaller group. A teacher suggests filming a public event instead, to save time, and using footage of attendees without individual interviews.
1. Compare the two consultation options and recommend an approach.
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The options differ in reach and representativeness. The distant organisation offers broader representation but risks delay that the six-week timeline may not absorb. The local organisation is faster but speaks for a smaller group, so its approval alone may not cover material attributed to the wider community.
A sound approach is to contact both early, explain the timeline, and ask each what they can support within it. Use the local organisation for prompt guidance on protocol, and ask the wider body whether it can nominate a contact or provide written guidance quickly. If broader approval cannot be obtained in time, scope the film to what the local organisation can properly authorise and say so in the film.
2. Evaluate the teacher's suggestion to film the public event and use footage of attendees.
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The suggestion saves time but creates consent problems. Attending a public event does not automatically permit being filmed and broadcast, particularly where cultural material may be involved.
Problems include:
- No opportunity for participants to set conditions on use.
- Risk of capturing people or material that should not be distributed.
- No community body has approved the content.
A better version: seek the event organisers' permission, announce filming, obtain individual consent for identifiable footage, and let the relevant organisation review the final cut. If those steps cannot fit the timeline, cut the footage rather than rely on implied consent.
3. Explain how the group should document its decisions for the showcase organisers.
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Documentation should record who was consulted, when, what they approved, and any conditions. Include written confirmation from each organisation, consent records for interviewees, and a note of any content excluded for lack of approval. This lets organisers verify that the film was made with proper authority and protects the group if questions arise later. It also makes the limits of the consultation visible rather than hidden.