56 valid complaints assessed
18 investigations commenced
26 investigations finalised
6 investigations with breach findings
Six investigations with breach findings
Quarterly highlights
The ACMA commenced 10 investigations into coverage of the March 2019 terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, by Australian television broadcasters. The investigations considered news and current affairs programs broadcast over the weekend of 15–17 March 2019 against relevant provisions of the various codes of practice. The investigations included the review of more than 200 hours of broadcast footage as well as analysis of the detailed information provided by broadcasters about the editorial decisions they made in relation to that footage.
The ACMA considered that there was some material and treatment of that material that raised questions about whether there was compliance with the broadcasting codes of practice. However, given the level of responsibility shown by the broadcasters and the unique circumstances of this incident, the ACMA did not make compliance findings about individual broadcasts.
A report consolidating our investigation findings was published in July 2019.
Broadcasting matters and investigations
The ACMA considers every complaint it receives and assesses whether to investigate the complaint.
Number of broadcasting matters/investigations
Investigations commenced or declined by broadcast sector
Investigations finalised
* Note: These ten investigations related to broadcasts about the Christchurch terrorist attack that occurred on Friday 15 March 2019.
Investigations finalised by broadcast sector
Broadcasting: Average time taken to finalise closed investigations as at 30 March 2019
Provisions investigated
The ACMA receives and investigates complaints about a variety of licence conditions, program standards and codes of practice. Broadcasting codes of practice investigations usually assess a broadcast against more than one provision of the relevant code.
The following table shows finalised investigations and the relevant provisions. Breaches found during this period are shown in bold.
| Investigation number | Broadcaster | Program / issue | Provisions investigated |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Provisions of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice 2015 (revised 2018) |
|||
| BI-462 | Ten/Network Ten (Sydney) Pty Limited | Territory Cops |
|
| BI-456 |
Seven/Channel Seven Melbourne Pty Ltd |
Seven News |
|
| BI-444 | Prime 7/Prime Television (Southern) Pty Limited |
Allegations that the commercials for cinema films Halloween and Hunter Killer did not meet PG classification criteria |
|
| BI-443 | Seven/Channel Seven Adelaide Pty Limited |
Allegation that a commercial for Venom, a cinema film, did not meet PG classification criteria |
|
| Provisions of the national broadcaster (ABC and SBS) codes | |||
| BI-442 | Australian Broadcasting Corporation | Catalyst |
|
|
Provisions of Part 9D of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 |
|||
| BI-482 | Channel Seven Sydney Pty Ltd | Captioning in My Kitchen Rules and Instant Hotel |
|
| BI-493 | Channel Seven Adelaide Pty Ltd | Captioning in AFL Collingwood vs Geelong game |
|
| Provisions of Schedule 2 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 | |||
| BI-472 | NBN/NBN Pty Ltd | Political advertisement—broadcast of required particulars |
|
| BI-447 | Yarra Valley FM Inc | Complaint about a community broadcaster providing political matter without required particulars and broadcast of election material during blackout period |
|
| BI-449 | Clarence Valley Christian Broadcasters Inc | Complaint about a community broadcaster not representing the Christian community interest, not encouraging participation in the operations of the service and not providing the service for community purposes |
|
| BI-452 | Tweed Coast Community Radio Inc | Complaint about a community broadcaster not providing the service for community purposes |
|
| BI-455 | Port Stephens FM Radio Inc | Complaint about a community licensee broadcasting advertisements and exceeding the sponsorship limit |
|
| BI-459 | Tatiara Community FM Broadcasters Inc | Complaint about a community licensee broadcasting advertisements |
|
| BI-463 | Yarra Valley FM Inc | Complaint about a community licensee exceeding the sponsorship limit |
|
| BI-470 | Memphis Mayhem FM Radio Inc | Complaint about a community broadcaster not providing the service for community purposes |
|
| BI-490 | Fresh Broadcasters Inc | Complaint about a community licensee broadcasting a tobacco advertisement |
|
