Advertising Standards Bureau Review of Operations 2016 2016 Review of operations_WEB | Page 23

Challenge accepted – changes supported
The vast majority of
advertising and marketing
communications in Australia
complies with the relevant
codes and does not receive
any complaints, while the
majority of those complained
about are not found to be in
breach of the codes.
An essential element of the advertising
self-regulation scheme is effective compliance
with decisions.
The ASB aims to achieve a minimum compliance
rate of 99 per cent with Advertising Standards
Board decisions across all advertising platforms.
Over the past five years the average compliance
rate has been 97 per cent. This demonstrates the
commitment of the vast majority of advertisers
to the system and to maintaining high standards
of advertising.
Where a breach is found, very few advertisers
provide any opposition to Board decisions.
However in 2016 the ASB’s compliance record
fell to slightly over 96 per cent as a result of
continued non-compliance by one Queensland
based advertiser.
The complaint resolution process is quick,
transparent and accessible to all consumers, with
easy to follow steps and support throughout the
process provided by the ASB staff.
Review of Operations 2016
After several years of seeking support from
Federal, State, Territory and Local government
agencies, the ASB was successful in finding
an avenue to address compliance by this
particular advertiser.
On 8 November 2016, the Transport Operations
(Road Use Management) (Offensive Advertising)
Amendment Bill 2016 was introduced to
Queensland parliament by The Honourable Mark
Bailey (Queensland Minister for Main Roads,
Road Safety and Ports).
advertisement if it is found to breach the AANA
Code of Ethics.
The approach highlights the effective manner in
which Governments can support self-regulation
through the use of minimal effective legislative
backstops. Such an approach recognises that the
vast majority of advertisers voluntarily remove or
modify advertising which is found to be offensive.
In introducing the Bill, Minister Bailey
highlighted the aim of the Bill was to ensure that
vehicles registered in Queensland did not display
sexist, obscene or otherwise offensive advertising.
The ASB welcomed the introduction of the Bill as
a means to supporting enforcement of Advertising
Standards Board determinations in relation to
vehicles registered in Queensland.
The Bill was the result of extensive co-operation
between the Queensland Department of Justice
and the Queensland Attorney-General, the
Queensland Department of Transport and Main
Roads, and the ASB.
The ASB supported the approach contained in
the Bill, on the basis that the government will
only intervene on a referral from the ASB. A
referral will only be made to the Queensland
government’s Department of Transport and
Main Roads if an advertiser fails to comply with
an Advertising Standards Board determination.
Advertisers are asked to modify or remove an
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