Broadcasting Services Act 1992

It is the intention of the Parliament that radio and television industry groups representing:

commercial broadcasting licensees; and

community broadcasting licensees other than providers of services targeted, to a significant extent, to one or more remote Indigenous communities; and

community broadcasting licensees whose services are targeted, to a significant extent, to one or more remote Indigenous communities; and

providers of subscription broadcasting services; and

providers of subscription narrowcasting services; and

providers of open narrowcasting services;

For the purposes of a code of practice developed under this section, the licensee who holds the apparatus licence mentioned in subsection 103(2A) of the Radiocommunications Act 1992 is taken to be:

part of the section of the industry referred to in paragraph (1)(b); and

not part of the section of the industry referred to in paragraph (1)(e).

Codes of practice developed for a section of the broadcasting industry may relate to:

preventing the broadcasting of programs that, in accordance with community standards, are not suitable to be broadcast by that section of the industry; and

methods of ensuring that the protection of children from exposure to program material which may be harmful to them is a high priority; and

methods of classifying programs that reflect community standards; and

promoting accuracy and fairness in news and current affairs programs; and

preventing the broadcasting of programs that:

simulate news or events in a way that misleads or alarms the audience; or

depict the actual process of putting a person into a hypnotic state; or

are designed to induce a hypnotic state in the audience; or

use or involve the process known as subliminal perception or any other technique that attempts to convey information to the audience by broadcasting messages below or near the threshold of normal awareness; and

in the case of codes of practice developed by commercial broadcasting licensees—broadcasting time devoted to advertising; and

in the case of codes of practice developed by commercial radio broadcasting licensees—the broadcasting of Australian music; and

methods of:

handling complaints from the public about program content or compliance with codes of practice; and

reporting to the ACMA on complaints so made; and

captioning of programs for the hearing impaired; and

in the case of codes of practice developed by community broadcasting licensees:

the kinds of sponsorship announcements that may be broadcast by those licensees; or

the kinds of sponsorship announcements that particular kinds of program may carry; and

in the case of codes of practice developed by subscription broadcasting licensees—dealings with customers of the licensees, including methods of billing, fault repair, privacy and credit management; and

such other matters relating to program content as are of concern to the community.

In developing codes of practice relating to matters referred to in paragraphs (2)(a) and (c), community attitudes to the following matters are to be taken into account:

the portrayal in programs of physical and psychological violence;

the portrayal in programs of sexual conduct and nudity;

the use in programs of offensive language;

the portrayal in programs of the use of drugs, including alcohol and tobacco;

the portrayal in programs of matter that is likely to incite or perpetuate hatred against, or vilifies, any person or group on the basis of ethnicity, nationality, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion or physical or mental disability;

such other matters relating to program content as are of concern to the community.

A code of practice referred to in paragraph (2)(i) has no effect to the extent to which it is inconsistent with a standard determined under subsection 130ZZA(1).

If:

a group representing a particular section of the broadcasting industry develops a code of practice to be observed in the conduct of the broadcasting operations of that section of the industry; and

the ACMA is satisfied that:

the code of practice provides appropriate community safeguards for the matters covered by the code; and

the code is endorsed by a majority of the providers of broadcasting services in that section of the industry; and

members of the public have been given an adequate opportunity to comment on the code;

To avoid doubt, a reference in this section to broadcasting operations includes a reference to each commercial television broadcasting service provided by a commercial television broadcasting licensee.

To avoid doubt, a reference in this section to broadcasting operations includes a reference to each commercial radio broadcasting service provided by a commercial radio broadcasting licensee.

To avoid doubt, a reference in this section to broadcasting operations includes a reference to each community radio broadcasting service provided by a designated community radio broadcasting licensee.