How to create an accessible online publication in SDP

There are 2 ways to create a publication landing page:

1. From your dashboard page, select + Add content, then choose Publication from the next page.

2. Go to the Content tab, select Add content, then Publication.

Complete the following fields as needed (items marked with an *asterisk are mandatory).

Header tab

Complete the following fields if needed (items marked with an asterisk are mandatory):

Title*

Title of your publication.

Summary*

This is a short description of the publication and is picked up within search engines.

Introduction text

Brief summary that appears under the page title. Keep it short.

Featured image

Feature images don't display on the page you're creating. They display on featured cards or navigation links to the page. They must be resized to 496px high x 818px wide.

License Type

Select from Copyright (if the publication cannot be shared or used in other work) or Creative Commons (if the publication can be shared or used in other work).

Date of publication

Date the publication was released (it only displays month and year on live page).

Publication author

Department or branch that owns the publication; you can add more than 1 author.

Page content section

For instructions on using these content components, visit our Body text components page.

Customised header tab

Header style* allows you to select between 2 options.

Default appearance

Display the publication title and introduction text.

Full-width background image

Display a hero image as well as the publication title and introduction text. Follow our hero image instructions.

Sidebar section

For instructions on using the sidebar, visit our sidebar components page.

Save your work

Click 'Save' once you're happy with your latest draft.

Once you've created and saved your landing page, you will see a Children tab. This means you'll be able you can start adding child pages from your landing page. This is usually each chapter of your publication.

1. Select the Children tab.

2. Select Create new Publication page.

Chapter header tab

Click on the Header tab and add a title for the child page. The Publication/Parent page should remain as the landing page for your publication. Fields with an asterisk (*) are mandatory.

Complete the following fields if needed (items marked with an asterisk are mandatory):

• Publication/parent page: this will default to the landing publication page*

• Title*

• Summary*

• Introduction text

Chapter page content section

You can add more components to chapter pages. For instructions on using these content components, visit our Body text components page.

Customised header tab

Header style* allows you to select between 2 options.

Default appearance

Display the chapter title and introduction text.

Full-width background image

Display a hero image, the publication title and introduction text. Follow our hero image instructions.

Chapter sidebar

For instructions on using the sidebar, visit our sidebar components page.

Change the order of your chapters

For instructions, visit: How to change the order of children in your publication.

Save your work

Click 'Save' once you're happy with your latest draft.

We follow the Australian Government's Style Manual for footnotes, endnotes or references.

For example, add the number to the sentence in Superscript format where required:

Victoria Police can issue family violence safety notices to a perpetrator to offer immediate protection to a victim survivor and can apply to the Magistrates Court for a family violence intervention order. Victoria Police practice guidance is clear that such notices and orders "must be strictly enforced…and police must lay charges for any contravention".¹¹⁹ It acknowledges that "a lack of attention conveys to the [perpetrator] and the [victim survivor] that the order is not taken seriously" and could risk the family's safety.

At the end of your chapter or content page:

1. add a Heading 2 titled Footnotes, Endnotes or References

2. list the entire source content like the below example.

Referencing example

Below is an example of referencing.

The below features an H3 heading. Use an H2 for your publication.

References

115 State of Victoria (2014–2016): Royal Commission into Family Violence: Report and Recommendations, Parl Paper No 132, Vol 3, Chapter 18, p. 28.

116 Unpublished data provided to the Monitor by the Crime Statistics Agency, December 2020.

117 Expert Advisory Committee on Perpetrator Interventions (2019): Expert Advisory Committee on Perpetrator Interventions: Final Report, November 2019.

118 Victorian Council of Social Service, submission 41; Individual — Grampians Community Health, submission 6.

119 Victoria Police (2019): Code of Practice for the Investigation of Family Violence, edition 3, Vol 4, p. 34.

120 Unpublished data provided to the Monitor by the Crime Statistics Agency, December 2020.

Before you publish, double check the child page order is correct. The order may have gotten mixed up as you added child pages.

Once you're happy with your content:

1. change the page status to Needs Review

2. enter comments in the Change request detail field

3. select Save (you can view saved comments in the Revisions tab).

All content is usually published within 48 hours. Inform us of embargoed or time-critical content in the comments.

The page is then submitted to the publishing queue. We review it against the publishing checklist.

We'll publish your page if it meets publishing best practices. We'll notify you if your page needs changing before publishing.

Once your publication is live, your landing page and children pages will include:

• navigation (menu) that includes each of the publication's chapters

• the download of the publication

• print full document option that prints an HTML page with all sections merged onto one

• pagination to the previous and next child page at the bottom of the screen (child pages only).

Publication examples

Visit our Department and Premier Corporate Plan page to see a live example of a publication.

Find more examples below:

• Pride in our future: Victoria’s LGBTIQ+ strategy 2022–32

• Inclusive Victoria: state disability plan (2022–2026)

• A future–ready Victoria