HSNet Groups User Guide for Central Coast
Interagency Members
Prepared by
For information and assistance:
The CCCC
Brad Wilson & Rebecca Smith
T: [02] 4333 4401 E: [email protected] or [email protected]
HSNET Help Desk
P: [02] 9765 5260 E: [email protected]
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What is HSNet Groups?
HSNet Groups is a collection of private and public collaboration spaces where users can find
information from around the sector. Registered members can post articles and events to the HSNet
community, as well as create their own groups for private collaboration. The website is administered
and supported by the Department of Family and Community Services.
Key features include:
Newsfeed and calendar – each group comes equipped with a fully searchable private newsfeed and
calendar
Email digest – receive an email (daily or weekly) summarising the posts to your groups
Private collaboration – invite project partners, working groups or interagency members to discuss
important matters privately online.
Why use HSNet?
The HSNet Groups function will ultimately give us all the opportunity to streamline our own
communications processes, taking the burden out of sending and receiving multiple emails
communicating the same and/or similar messages. In addition to this, it serves as a great resource to
store information, meeting agendas and minutes, as well as share events and other important pieces
of information within interagency groups.
Importantly, the Groups are based on the existing Interagencies, with the same conveners now
acting as group moderators.
We are all collectively responsible for minimising emails and streamlining communications. If you do
receive information via email with a request to forward to your networks, kindly suggest to the
sender to join HSNET and refer to this guide.
Feedback
The CCCC is working with the HSNet Team to ensure that this tool and the accompanying Directory is
as useful and effective as possible. If you have any challenges with missing services or incorrect
service information in the Directory, please email us directly so that we can follow up and ensure
that this resource is robust and serving the needs of the Central Coast community sector.
Brad Wilson EO / Regional Development Officer
Central Coast Community Council Inc E: [email protected] T: [02] 4333 4401
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Before you start - Browser Compatibility
HSNet should work on most browsers, however official compatibility advice is as follows:
The site will support Internet Explorer 8-10, latest Firefox and latest Chrome plus standards-
compliant mobile browsers. Opera is not a tested browser on the platform due to its small user base.
Safari is also not currently a supported browser (however upon testing it does work if you enable
cookies)
Cookie settings can have an impact on the way the site operates. HSNet is a secure site that uses
cookies to verify information in order to allow people to sign in. If you do experience issues with
logging in, they can usually be resolved by “allowing third party cookies” in your browser settings.
Joining HSNet
1. To join HSNET, visit www.hsnet.nsw.gov.au and click on the “sign up” tab.
2. You will be taken to a sign up page where you will need to enter your details. If you are
signing up with a general email domain or one that has not already been pre-authorised by
the HSNET team, you will also need to provide a referee. Please provide your interagency
convenors name and details if this is the case. Alternatively use our details as set out on the
title page.
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3. Once your account has been set up (this may take a day or two), the HSNET team will send
you a confirmation email with your login details and a generic password. To sign in, click on
the “sign in” tab.
Tip – If you are using a private computer or one that is not shared, we suggest that you remain
signed in to HSNET. When you have finished your session, simply close your browser. Doing this
will enable direct access to a post from your email digest, without the need to sign in each time.
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Initial account set up preferences
1. Once you have signed in, we recommend that you edit your profile preferences straight
away. By doing this, you can customise the information you receive and the frequency at
which you receive it. To access your profile, click on your name in the top right hand corner
of the screen.
2. You will then be taken to a profile dashboard screen. To edit your preferences, click on “edit
profile”.
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3. From here, you can update your contact details, add a picture and manage your groups and
subscriptions.
4. Group Management - Click on “groups” and you will see the different groups you are
subscribed to. As a default, you will automatically be subscribed to a number of state wide
groups. Unless you are specifically interested in this information, we recommend that you
leave these groups as these posts can fill up your digest very quickly. To leave these groups,
simply click the “leave” button.
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Joining groups
There are a number of ways to join a group
Via a direct invitation that comes to your email inbox from the convenor/group moderator
Via a direct webpage link
Through the HSNET search function
Central Coast group names are:
Central Coast Aboriginal Interagency Network (CCAIN)
Central Coast Cooperative Legal Service Delivery (CLSD)
Central Coast Aboriginal Employment Interagency (AEI)
Central Coast Mental Health Interagency (MHI)
Central Coast Interagency (CCI)
Central Coast Networks of Practice (CCNOP)
Mens Interagency Central Coast (MICC)
Central Coast Youth Interagency (CCYI)
Central Coast Multicultural Interagency (CCMI)
Central Coast Managers of Volunteers (CCMOV)
Central Coast Disability Network (CCDN)
Connect North of Wyong (ConnectNOW)
Central Coast Domestic Violence Committee (CCDVC)
Peninsula Interagency (PI)
Central Coast Homelessness Interagency (CCHI)
Rainbow (LGBTIQ) Inclusion Network Central Coast
Central Coast White Ribbon Committee
To search, type a group name in the search bar and click “search within groups”.
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In the search results screen, click on the groups tab. You will then see all of the groups that contain
your key word. Once you find the group you are looking for, click “request group membership”. Your
request will then be sent to the group moderator for approval. You will receive an automated email
once your request has been approved. It is up to the group moderator to manage approvals.
If a colleague sends you a direct webpage link, the page will appear as below. Simply click on the
“request group membership” button.
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Group Subscriptions – once your Group memberships are finalised, go to your profile (by clicking on
your name), then click “edit profile”.
Click on the subscriptions tab and manage how you receive notifications of posts to your groups. The
daily and weekly notifications are in the form of an email digest – a summary listing of all the new
posts to your groups. Each post in the digest contains a click-through to the full post on HSNet if you
would like further information (refer to screenshot on following page)
Set your email frequency to “immediately, daily or weekly”. Hit the save button once you have made
your selections.
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Example of the email digest:
Click through link to HSNet
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Inviting others to join a group
If you would like to invite a colleague to join a group you can either send them the group URL
address or formally invite them via the group. To do this, click on the little arrow next to the group
name on the left and select “invite colleague”.
You will then be taken to a page where you can enter an email address(es) and personalise an
invitation. You can enter up to 10 email addresses in one invitation.
Please note that the Moderator of the group will still need to approve the new member joining.
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Leaving groups
You can either manage your group subscriptions via your profile preferences (see above), or you can
manage via the main dashboard landing page.
To leave a group, click on the little arrow next to the group name and select “leave group”.
Tags
Much like other social media outlets, when posting content to a group, a user has the opportunity to
use tags. Attaching tags to a post helps to categorise information and make searching for content
much easier.
The following is a list of approved tags to use in the Central Coast region. Please ensure that when
you are posting content to a group you only use these tags. You can use more than one if
appropriate (just ensure that you use a comma to separate each tag)
Tag Name Use when content relates to
training online training, face to face training, training materials, workshops
events community events, sector events, expos
meeting interagency meeting, subcommittee meeting, working group meeting
service update changes to programs, changes of key staff
funding grants, tenders and awards
resources stats, surveys, reports, fact sheets, directories and guides, jobs, volunteers
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Posting
Posting is an easy process where you can share information that is relevant to your interagency
group. To post, click on the group you would like to publish your post to and then click “create post”
A free text box will then appear where you can type in your content. You can also upload a file (less
than 20MB).
In addition, you can also add “tags”. Refer to the “tags” section of this document for tagging
protocol.
Posting rules
To ensure content within each group is relevant and to avoid duplications, please adhere to the
following:
Please read the group description before posting to ensure that you understand the purpose
and aims of the group
Only post information relating to the group you are posting in
Use the “share” function to post in other groups only where appropriate (see next page)
If in doubt, contact the group moderator/convenor or Central Coast Community Council
(CCCC)
Please only post reminders and follow ups no more than once a week
If you find the groups or tags are not suitable for your information, please contact CCCC for
assistance.
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Once you are happy to publish your post, click on the blue “Post” button.
Note – in some groups, the moderator must approve each post.
Editing or deleting a post
After a post is published, it can easily be edited or deleted by the creator. To edit or delete, click on
the small arrow next to the post and select “edit” or “delete”.
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Sharing a post
If you have information that may be relevant to more than one group (that you subscribe to), you
can use the “share” function.
To share, click on the small arrow next to the post and select “share”. You will then be taken to a
secondary screen where you can select a group to share the post to.
NOTE – Please use the “share” function sparingly to avoid overloading a users email digest
Commenting on a post
HSNET allows users to comment on posts that have been shared to a group. To comment on a post,
click on the “reply” button at the bottom of the post and add your comments.
Please note that all replies to posts are visible to all members of the group. If you wish to discuss the
content of the post privately with the original poster, please contact them directly via phone or
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Searching
Using the search function is an easy way to find previously posted information. We encourage you to
use tags (see “tags” section) as key words in your search, or you can be more specific if you wish.
To search within all groups, click on the groups tab on the left hand side of the screen and then
enter your key words in the search box.
To search within a specific group, click on the group name on the left hand side of the screen and
then enter your key words in the search box. Ensure you tick “search within this group”.
