The Australian Communication and Media Authority is an organisation overseen by the Australian Government designed to regulate the media and ensure the media doesn't break their licence agreement. The ACMA will fine $ if the licence is breached.
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The Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) is a statutory authority within the Federal Government portfolio of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. |
Australian Classification Board (ACB)
The Australian Classification Board is another company overseen by Australian Government. This organisation is responsible for all media products gaining a licence and classification. It was called the Office of Film & Literature Classification (OFLC).
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There is a Commonwealth Act that sets out how the Classification Scheme operates. The scheme operates as a cooperative scheme between all the States and Territories of Australia. Enforcement of the scheme is covered by a Classification Enforcement Act for each State and Territory. |
The Classification Review Board is an independent statutory body responsible for reviewing decisions of the Classification Board. Please note that while it is an independent body, Board members are appointed by the Governor-General, meaning that is still overseen by the government.
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The Classification Review Board is a different Board to the Classification Board. The Classification Review Board is a part-time Board who only meet to review decisions of the Classification as needed. The members of the Classification Review Board live in different parts of Australia and travel to Sydney to make review decisions. |
CLASSIFICATIONSIn Australia we have the following rating system:
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Changes to RatingsJanuary 1st 2013 saw the introduction of an R18+ classification rating for gaming in Australia. This debate had been going on for years, and has only now been implemented.
Prior to this year any game that was above MA15+ was banned in Australia. |
One of the most important arguments in favour of regulation is to protect children and young people. One area in which our regulation system has impact on this is in regards to the rules governing the extent and reach of advertising to Aussie kids.
Laws on Media Ownership have been created to protect our diversity, ensuring that most Australian Media Organisations have an Australian (rather than International) base. Take note, the rules have recently changed. In Australian, our media is encouraged to support and promote Aussie content. It is also founded in law that states broadcasters must air a certain percentage of Aussie content during the day. |
ASBThe Advertising Standards Bureau is an organisation that is
solely in charge of advertisements. They have a set of standards that the advertising industry MUST obey. The public can complain to this organisation if they are offended by an advertisement .
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Commercial Radio Australia
The radio industry has their own version of FreeTV. The Board of Commercial Radio Australia governed by a Board of Directors representing the major member groups including; Southern Cross Austereo, Grant Broadcasters, Capital Radio Network, Australian Radio Network, Southern Cross Austereo, Fairfax Radio Network, and DMG Radio Australia.
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First banned game since R rating
June 25th 2013 – Saints Row IV was refused classification in Australia by The Classification Board. Is the 1st game to be rejected since the introduction of the R18+ rating.
Media commentators see that as a result, this will guarantee the game lots of free publicity and grey imports. The Board’s decision rules that the game “includes interactive, visual depictions of implied sexual violence which are not justified by context” as well as “elements of illicit or proscribed drug use related to incentives or rewards”. |
Saints Row IV - MA15+ new release
After Saints Row IV was refused classification, Koch Media GmbH applied to the Classification Review Board for a review of the decision. On July 29th 2013 the CRB met in response to the receipt of the application from, and concluded that the newly edited version of Saints Row IV could now be released in Australia with an MA15+ classification.
This is a great example of Government regulation at work, but also offers a chance for us to discuss the issue.
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220 video games banned in 4 monthsAustralia has banned more than four times as many computer games in the past four months than in the entire period from 1994-2014, according to new figures from the Attorney-General's Department.
The huge spike in the number of games being censored results from a decision by the Federal Government to adopt a new model for classifying games sold through digital storefronts. From July 1, Australia will officially begin participating in a global pilot program that attempts to regulate the enormous volume of games being released online using the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) tool, which has been adopted by the UK, the USA, Canada, Brazil, and most of Europe. |
Packed To The RaftersThe episode of Packed To The Rafters "Blurring the Lines" aired on TV on the 22nd September 2009. The audience was 1,766,00.
On May 20th 2010 ACMA found that they breached their PG rating for showing the main character fantasizing about having sex with his boss and masturbating. The show was rated PG but shown at 8:30pm which is a M time slot. The ACMA didn't fine Channel 7, but ordered their staff to undergo training around classification. The reason behind this is was their good history around classification. |
The Karate KidThe Karate Kid, 2010, was originally given an M rating by the ACB due to violence. The film - starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith (son of Will Smith) was originally classified M but later changed to PG after an appeal from distributor Sony Pictures.
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Ban on live betting oddsIn May 2013, TV networks agreed to implement restrictions to the display of live betting odds after Prime Minister Julia Gillard threatened to legislate a complete ban on live betting odds during any sporting game.
Jump forward to 2017, and the Turnbull Government has acted on the issue in an attempt to counter problem gambling. Betting ads have been banned from live sporting events on television and radio before 8:30pm. The restrictions have been put in place as part of a list of major changes to the media sector in 2017. The new restriction means that broadcasters of live sports cannot show gambling ads from five minutes before a match starts to five minutes after it ends. It includes crosses to betting companies for updates on odds during matches until 8:30pm. Considering one of the main arguments in favour of regulation; to protect children, the government hopes that the ban will allow a safer environment for families to watch live sports. Exemptions to the rule include the broadcasting of horse racing, harness racing and greyhound racing, so that betting odds and gambling ads can still be shown during these events. |
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Fanta ad breaches guidelinesCoca-Cola was forced to pull a Fanta TV ad and app from its marketing campaign for breaching guidelines designed to fight obesity.
The Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) found that the TV ad and tablet application were directed at children, which is a breach of industry guidelines. Coca-Cola said the campaign was aimed at teenagers aged 15 to 17 and the animated characters were depicted as teens, however the Board found that children would aspire to be like the teenagers, and that doing things like riding on a roller coaster and landing in a pool of bubbles were things children would enjoy. |
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Rip n RollOn the 30th May 2011 Adshel received a large amount of complaints about an ad about Safe Sex featuring two gay men in an embrace.
Adshel decided to remove all the ads to avoid being fined by ASB. It turned out that all of the complaints came from one group – the Australian Christian Lobby Group. There was a massive social backlash – Facebook groups, protests, twitter – and Adshel decided to put the ads back up. |
unfriended poster bannedA poster for the movie Unfriended was banned by the ASB because the advertisement could potentially promote the idea of suicide with the word shown on the poster in a mock internet search bar along with several autocompleted search terms.
The ASB concluded: “It is not appropriate to display this word in an advertisement without providing support services information and in the absence of support information in the context of this advertisement the concept of suicide can be seen as attractive an option as being at a party or with your boyfriend.” Whilst Universal Pictures Australia said that they had followed every rule required, the posters are no longer in the market. |
The Biggest Loser - child pornDeryck James Ward was a contestant on The Biggest Loser Australia 2010 with his sister. During filming he was arrested by the police on charges of child pornography.
Police found more than 1000 photos and videos on his home computer. He was arrested days before the season went to air on Channel 10. Channel 10 made a decision to re edit the show to not show any traces of Ward or his sister. This was before he was official charged. |
The Biggest Loser - sex scandalTen reported an ‘inappropriate relationship’ between two contestants of The Biggest Loser 2013. The show made a decision to edit the TV series so these contestants and their families never existed.
“In line with our strict duty of care obligations, the incident was referred to the relevant authorities. Therefore, we cannot comment any further other than to say that contestants were unable to continue with the show.” – TEN spokesperson. |