Media Regulation in Australia

Media regulation is the control or guidance of mass media by governments and other bodies. In Australia the media is regulated in a variety of ways. 

Industry Regulation

The Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB)

FreeTV

Responsible for the regulation of Advertising in Australia including handling complaints
https://adstandards.com.au/

Free TV is an industry body which represents Australia's commercial free-to-air television licensees. The organisation provides a forum for discussion of industry matters and is the public voice of the industry on a wide range of issues.
http://www.freetv.com.au/

The Australian Subscription Television
​and Radio Authority
​(ASTRA)

like FreeTV. This industry body represents subscription television and radio in australia. They uphold the codes of practice outlined by the ACMA
​http://www.astra.org.au/

Government Regulation

The Australian Communication
​and Media Authority
​(ACMA)

Responsible for regulating broadcasting and online content. they develop codes of practive (along with FreeTV). The ACMA also regulates the ownership of commercial media organisations in Australia
​http://www.acma.gov.au/

​The Australian Classifications Board
(ACB)

​Responsible for the classification of television, video games, film and literature in Australia. Ratings can range from G, PG, M, MA15, R18, to X (refused classification)
​http://www.classification.gov.au/Pages/Home.aspx

Question time!

1. ​Can you find the code of practice for commercial television and discover what the rules are for the depiction of suicide for programs rated M or MA and above?
 
2. Can you find the commercial radio codes of practice and discover what is the amount of Australian rock music that a commercial radio station must play?
 
3. Can you find the subscription broadcast television codes of practice and discover the rules about showing the act of hypnosis on subscription television?

Self Regulation

This type of regulation is perhaps the newest form of media regulation in Australia. This is where the media content creators themselves regulate their own product via a set of community standards, guidelines and policies. Companies like YouTube, TikTok and Netflix all self regulate

why do we regulate the media?

​There are a number of reasons why we regulate the media. Some of the main reasons are:
​
1. to prevent copycat behaviour
2. to protect from offence
3. to stop children from seeing harmful images
4. to protect cultural identity (making sure there is a high ratio of Australian content)
5. to encourage media diversity (making sure there are many voices in the media)

what are some issues with regulation?

On demand streaming services from globalised media institutions makes it far harder for the government to regulate the media and they are having to rely more and more on self-regulation. Of course, that has its own unique set of challenges such as:

• The consistency of regulations across streaming platforms
• The ability of foreign companies to regulate according to Australian values and guidelines
• The issue with problems with regulation being first identified after audiences have already accessed the material
• Another challenge for the Australian government in regulating the use of media products by Australian audiences is the ongoing debate over age appropriate classification. Organisations such as the 'Australian council on children and the media' have labelled the current categorisation system enforced by the ACB (the Australian classifications board) as outdated and unsuitable for today’s current media landscape. There have been urges for the Australian government to adopt a new classification system that is based on child development rather than community standards. With many organisations disagreeing with the ACB's method of categorisation.

changing media ownership laws

Why are we changing the media laws?
Australia's media ownership laws were drafted during an analogue era before the internet, when the media landscape was dominated by print newspapers and commercial radio and TV services.
Advances in technology now allow digital content from anywhere in the world to be accessed instantly through computers, smartphones or smart TVs. These new options have changed the way we consume media in Australia and have intensified competition between media outlets.
In this digital environment, Australia's ownership laws prevent traditional media outlets such as TV, radio and newspapers from structuring their businesses efficiently or achieving the scale necessary to adapt and compete more effectively with newer unregulated services.
To bring our media ownership laws into the digital era, the Government has announced the most significant reforms to Australian media regulation in a generation.
 
What are the reforms?
Under the reforms, the Government will repeal two media control and ownership rules in the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 that currently prevent a person from controlling:

• commercial television licences that collectively reach in excess of 75 per cent of the Australian population (the '75 per cent audience reach rule'); and
• more than two of the three regulated forms of media (commercial radio, commercial TV and associated newspapers) in the one commercial radio licence area (the '2 out of 3 rule').

In addition, the Government will introduce changes that will protect and enhance the amount of local television content in regional Australia as well as introducing an incentive for local content to be filmed in the local area.
The Government is maintaining other diversity rules including the '5/4' rule, the ‘one-to-a-market' rule or the 'two-to-a-market' rule. Changes to the anti-siphoning list are not part of this package.