How we decide what to publish, how we check it, and how we fix mistakes.

What we cover

We cover news that matters to people of Indian heritage living in Melbourne: local and state government, business, festivals and faith, education, health services and community life. News from India appears when it affects readers here.

Sources

We report from published records, official announcements, organisers' own listings and documents we can link to. Every story ends with its sources and the date we checked them. When sources disagree, we say so or we hold the story.

How a story gets published

We sort every story into one of three levels before it goes anywhere.

Routine: Official dates, public event details, program facts and notices taken directly from an official or organiser's source. These are checked against that source before publication.
Review: Election promises, policy debates, business disputes and anything a reasonable person could contest. A person approves these before publication.
Sensitive: Crime, courts, allegations about people, public safety, health, migration or legal advice, and anything involving children. These get careful human editorial review, and legal advice where needed.

When we are unsure which level applies, we treat the story as the higher one. While our publishing workflow is new, every story at every level is approved by an editor before it goes live.

AI tools

We use AI tools to help find sources, draft stories and translate them into Hindi and Punjabi. We do not use AI to invent quotes, people, interviews or images of real events. Translations are checked against the English original, and we welcome corrections from readers fluent in each language.

Politics

We do not endorse candidates or parties. In election coverage we give the same treatment to every candidate and stick to what they have said and done.

Advertising

Advertisers do not influence our reporting. Advertising and sponsored content are always clearly labelled as such.

Corrections

When we get something wrong, we fix it and add a note at the end of the story saying what changed and when. To report an error, email news@themelbourneindian.com.au.