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Current Issues
Censorship and Classification in Australia
E-Brief: Online Only issued 19 October 2001
Kim Jackson,
Analysis and Policy
Social Policy Group
Australia's censorship system is often the subject of
controversy. In recent years there has been debate over the
classification of films such as Hannibal, Lolita
and Romance, as well as the proposal to replace the 'X'
category with 'NVE' (non-violent erotica) and the introduction of
Internet censorship. There have also been recent changes to the
censorship legislation and a review of the classification
guidelines is currently being undertaken.
This brief describes the major features of the Australian
censorship system, as well as providing access to a range of
relevant web sites and documents.
Under the Constitution the Commonwealth Government has the power
to make laws with regard to telecommunications (including
broadcasting) and imported material, but not locally produced
matter. The latter is under the jurisdiction of the State
governments. Censorship provisions have thus varied according to
the nature of the material (TV, film, print etc.) and the state or
territory. A Commonwealth Film Censorship Board was first
established under the provisions of the Customs Act in 1917. In
1949 Western Australia, Queensland and Tasmania signed agreements
with the Commonwealth to delegate their film censorship powers and
functions to the Commonwealth. The other States eventually followed
suit.
By the early 1980s the Film Censorship Board had the following
roles:
- examination of imported films and video tapes under Customs
regulations;
- registering and classifying films and videotapes for public
exhibition on behalf of the States/Territories in accordance with
their legislation;
- classifying imported television programs and certain locally
produced television programs on behalf of the Australian
Broadcasting Tribunal (ABT) and the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation. Programs produced by commercial television stations
were classified by themselves in accordance with the Television
Program Standards administered by the ABT.
Publications remained the responsibility of the States, which
generally operated voluntary classification schemes (ie. there was
no requirement to have all printed matter classified before
publication). Instead, restrictions were applied to the display or
sale of 'adult' publications (whether classified or not) to ensure
that children did not have access to them.
In July 1983 a meeting of Commonwealth and State Ministers was
convened to pursue proposals for a uniform classification scheme
for publications and videotapes. The Ministers agreed on a
voluntary scheme for the classification of videotapes, with the
classification being the responsibility of the Film Censorship
Board. Each State and territory would introduce legislation based
on a model ACT Ordinance. Five classification categories would be
provided for: G (General), PG (Parental Guidance), M (Mature), R
(Restricted) and X.
Queensland and Tasmania had indicated at the July 1983 meeting
that X classified material would not be accepted in their States.
In 1984 the remaining States followed suit, so that by 1985 only
the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory allowed
the sale or hire of X-rated material.
In September 1984 a meeting of State and Commonwealth censorship
ministers foreshadowed stronger controls on videos after
acknowledging widespread concern about X-rated material and the
level of violence in the M and R categories. At this stage X-rated
videos could contain some limited depictions of violence, although
most portrayed only explicit sex. The meeting also considered the
possibility of introducing a new category for non-violent erotica.
In October 1984 another meeting of censorship Ministers agreed to
stricter controls on violence in the M and R categories and the
replacement of the X category with a new category for non-violent
erotica, although Queensland and Tasmania did not support this
proposal. In November 1984 changes were made to the Film Censorship
Board's guidelines to exclude any suggestion of coercion or
non-consent from the X category.
In April 1988 the Report of the Joint Select Committee on
Video Material was tabled. The Committee was split on
non-party lines with varying majorities for individual
recommendations. It recommended a new category to be called
non-violent erotica (NVE) to replace the X category. It noted that
many people were under the misapprehension that X videos contained
violence, child pornography and bestiality. It also recommended a
tighter interpretation of the guidelines by the Film Censorship
Board to reduce the level of violence in all categories. It should
be noted that while six of the eleven members of the Committee
voted for a NVE category, only five voted in favour of transferring
the existing X-rated material to the new category.
In June 1988 a meeting of Commonwealth and State censorship
ministers rejected the NVE recommendation, with the States
unanimously supporting the ending of the X category (ie. that
X-rated material should be refused classification). However, in
November 1988 the ALP Caucus voted not to accept this move.
In May 1990 the Attorney-General, Mr Michael Duffy, referred the
censorship legislation to the Australian Law Reform Commission,
which reported the following year. The report,
Censorship Procedure, made numerous recommendations, including
draft legislation. This formed the basis of the Commonwealth
Classification
(Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995, which
provided for the new system. The Act contained a single National
Classification Code which had been negotiated between the
Commonwealth and the States. The Code sets out the principles to be
followed in classification decisions and the general criteria for
the various classification categories (G, MA, R, X etc.). The Act
took effect on 1 January 1996 at the same time as supporting State
legislation came into force.
A paper by the Attorney-General, the Hon. D. R. Williams AM QC,
From Censorship to Classification provides a good description
of the development of the national system and of Commonwealth
censorship policy.
The Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games)
Amendment Bill (No.2) 1999 introduced into Parliament on the 8
December 1999 would have removed the 'X' classification for films
and videos and create a new classification - 'NVE' (Non-violent
Erotica). The Bill was referred to the Senate Legal and
Constitutional Legislation Committee to determine the reasons for
the change and its possible effects. The Committee reported in
April 2000 and its report is available from the Committee's
home page. The Committee recommended that the Bill be passed
without amendment.
In May 2000 the Government abandoned the NVE proposal, amending
the Bill so that the 'X' classification would be retained. The
Attorney-General issued a news
release announcing the change of policy. The Bill, which also
contained a number of procedural and technical amendments, was
passed on 1 March 2001. A statement by the Attorney-General
explaining the changes introduced by the
Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Amendment
Act (No.1) 2001 is available from this
page.
A detailed page on
the NVE issue has been prepared by Irene Graham, a civil
liberties activist opposed to censorship. The page contains
arguments, links to related documents and Internet resources.
Under the scheme the enforcement of classification decisions is
the responsibility of the States and Territories, some of which
have also reserved certain censorship powers. The relevant State
and Territory legislation is as follows:
The Office of Film and
Literature Classification was established in 1988 to
incorporate the following:
- the Film Censorship Board; and
- the literature censorship function and the censorship policy
role from the Attorney-General's Department.
Under the provisions of the Classification
(Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995, the Film
Censorship Board was replaced by the Classification Board. This
body is responsible for the classification of films, videos,
publications and computer games according to criteria set out in
the National Classification Code (part of the Act) and the
Classification Guidelines which are approved by the Commonwealth,
State and Territory Ministers responsible for censorship.
The National Classification Code is contained in a schedule to
the Classification Act. It sets out the principles to be followed
in classification decisions and the general criteria for the
various classification categories (G, MA, R, X etc.).
There are separate Classification Guidelines for film and video,
publications and computer games. These can be accessed from
this OFLC
page. The Guidelines contain detailed criteria for each
classification category. On 24 August 2001 the State, Territory and
Commonwealth censorship Ministers announced
a review of the classification guidelines. A Discussion Paper
prepared by the OFLC is available from this page.
The OFLC web site also provides access to the Annual Reports of
the Office and to a searchable
classification database.
In December 1996 the Government
announced that it would establish Community Assessment Panels
to ensure that classification decisions reflected community
standards. The scheme involves three Panels, each of around twenty
people of varying age and background, who view and classify a
selection of films that have already been classified by the OFLC.
The Attorney-General announced
an extension of the scheme in January 1999.
The regulation of program material on radio and television is a
Commonwealth responsibility undertaken through the provisions of
the Broadcasting
Services Act 1992. Under Part 9 of the Act the Australian
Broadcasting Authority (ABA) must determine standards relating to
programs for children and the Australian content of programs.
Standards relating to other matters are the subject of Codes of
Practice developed by the commercial broadcasting industry
groups and approved by the ABA. The Codes of Practice must adhere
to the criteria set out in section 123 of the Act. These stipulate
that the Codes:
- take into account community attitudes with regard to violence,
sex, offensive language, drugs and the vilification of particular
groups;
- apply the film classification system administered by the
Classification Board and ensure that films classified as M or MA
are shown only at designated times.
The ABA is responsible for investigating and reporting on
complaints regarding breaches of the Codes of Practice and other
licence conditions. The ABA Internet site has pages with
information on:
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Special
Broadcasting Service (SBS) are also obliged to develop Codes or
Practice under their own enabling legislation. Complaints about
breaches of their Codes can also be made to the ABA. If the ABA
finds that a complaint was justified, it can direct the ABC or SBS
to comply with the Code or to take other action such as an apology
or retraction. The Codes of Practice for the national broadcasters
can be found at the following pages:
The legislative basis for the regulatory regime for online
content is the Broadcasting
Services Amendment (Online Services) Act 1999. This legislation
was preceded by a number of reports from the Australian
Broadcasting Authority (ABA) and parliamentary committees. A good
description of this background, together with access to the
reports, can be found at this ABA
page.
The ABA is responsible for administering the Commonwealth's
Internet censorship regime. The Authority's web page Internet content
regulation provides an overview of the scheme, together with
details on :
- the complaints mechanism under the scheme;
- community education programs;
- research studies on online service regulation, attitudes to the
Internet, and technological developments;
- Internet Codes of Practice;
- information about the scheme for Internet Service Providers and
Internet hosts; and
- international liaison on Internet content regulation.
A number of Parliamentary Committees have published reports on
censorship issues in recent years. The following reports are
available online.
From the Senate
Legal and Constitutional Committee:
From the Senate
Select Committee on Information Technologies:
From the former Senate Select Committee on Community Standards
Relevant to the Supply of Services Utilising Electronic
Technologies:
-
Report on Regulation of Computer Online Services Part 2
(November 1995)
-
Report on Regulation of Computer Online Services Part 3 (June
1997)
There is a substantial body of material online produced by
individuals and interest groups opposed to censorship, particularly
of the Internet. The principal Australian sites in this category
are:
The Eros Foundation
represents the Australian adult goods and services industry. Its
web site contains some statistics and a list of around four hundred
members of the Foundation (mostly retail organisations).
Young Media
Australia is a non-profit organisation with the objective of
promoting a "quality media environment for Australian children".
Its web site provides access to a range of materials on the impact
of the media on children and possible regulatory responses.
For copyright reasons some linked items are only
available to Members of Parliament.
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