Advertising Standards Bureau Review of Operations 2014 | Page 9

Funding of self-regulation
Who funds the
self-regulation system?
Responsible advertisers assist in maintaining the
self-regulation system’s viability and support its
administration by agreeing to a levy being applied
to their advertising spend. At the establishment of
the advertising self-regulation system in Australia,
the levy was set at 0.035 per cent, just $350 per
$1m of gross media expenditure. The levy rate
remained unchanged between 1997 and 2013
despite a significant increase in the number of
codes, complaints, cases and media touch points.
Following on from a review in 2013 the ASB
sought and received key industry stakeholder
support for an increase of the levy rate. On 1
April 2014 the self-regulation levy was set at
0.05 per cent ($500 per $1m of media spend).
Funding of the Advertising Standards Bureau
(ASB) and its secretariat support of the
Advertising Standards Board and Advertising
Claims Board is provided through the voluntary
levy - the ASB receives no government
funding. The levy is paid to and administered
by the Australian Advertising Standards
Council (AASC).

Review of Operations 2014

How levy is collected

What the levy is used for

The levy is collected mainly through media buying
agencies but also directly from advertisers that buy
their own media space.

All levy monies are applied exclusively to the
maintenance of the self-regulation system and are
used to finance activities such as:

The levy is remitted quarterly through the
Australian Advertising Standards Council
(AASC), the funding body of advertising selfregulation. The AASC holds the industry funds in
an account which is drawn upon to pay the costs
involved in administering and operating the selfregulation system.

•

general ASB administration and operation of
the self-regulation system

•

recruitment of Advertising Standards Board
members, and attendance of Board members
from diverse geographical backgrounds at
regular meetings

•

Advertising Standards Bureau meetings and
teleconferences with industry, consumers
and government as appropriate throughout
the year

•

research to assist Advertising Standards
Board members and the community to
understand self-regulation and specific
Code related issues, including research into
communit y standards and levels of awareness
of the ASB

•

ASB contribution to Code reviews.

Management of the funds is outsourced, with
the financial accounts prepared by chartered
accountants and audited independently.

Confidentiality of levy collected
The amount of levy collected from individual
advertisers is kept confidential from the Board and
Directors of both the ASB and the AASC. This
ensures appropriate commercial confidentiality
about the expenditures of individual advertisers.

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