In March 2025 Free TV Australia completed a review of its Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice 2015 and submitted a revised code to the ACMA for registration.
After careful consideration the ACMA has decided not to register the revised code.
Based on evidence obtained during the code review process the ACMA is not satisfied that the revised code would provide appropriate community safeguards.
Of particular concern to the ACMA was the proposal to extend the times when M rated content would be permitted, allowing more M content, including advertising for products such as alcohol, to be shown on commercial TV at times when children are more likely to be watching.
This decision means that the current code will remain in force.
Since the code was last updated in 2015 there has also been significant research into the impacts of alcohol advertising, including in relation to sport.
To address outstanding community concerns on this matter the ACMA is commencing a body of work to assess the suitability of alcohol advertising restrictions in the current code, including exemptions for sporting events.
This work would inform the Authority’s considerations as to whether the current code is providing appropriate community safeguards and, if not, the ACMA should determine a content standard. We will provide further updates on this work in due course.
The code review also highlighted significant community concern regarding gambling advertising on commercial TV.
While broader gambling reforms are under consideration by government, the ACMA encourages Free TV to proactively review the existing gambling advertising rules ahead of any potential government reforms.
The ACMA also remains of the view that Free TV should voluntarily extend its broadcast safeguards to all television content provided online, consistent with the approach taken by the national broadcasters.
Free TV has been notified of the decision not to register the revised code and the ACMA’s intended next steps.
Information on broadcasting code reviews can be found on our website: Reviewing industry codes of practice.