Advertising Standards Bureau Review of Operations 2014 | Page 5

40 years of independent
complaints handling in Australia
In 1974 an Advertising Standards Council (ASC) was established by the Media
Council of Australia (representing the media), the Advertising Federation of Australia
(representing the agencies) and the Australian Association of National Advertisers
(representing the advertisers). The ASC was set up as a strictly independent and
autonomous complaint handling body for the advertising industry, effectively putting
in place a self‑regulatory system.
The procedure for complaint handling by
the ASC resembled the system currently
applied by the Advertising Standards
Bureau. The complaint procedure included
four steps beginning with a complaint
screening process, moving through to
seeking responses from advertisers,
then to complaints consideration at
a monthly meeting of the ASC, and
finally to advertisers removing offending
advertisements with case reports
published quarterly.
The ASC made its determinations based
on a Code and if advertisements were
found to offend, advertisers were forced
to withdraw these advertisements or face
expulsion from the Media Council of
Australia (MCA).
This initial system, while laying the
foundation for the future system, was
hindered by its funding structure which
affected not only the autonomy of the

Review of Operations 2014

ASC, but also the ability to increase
awareness of the system within the
industry or the public.
In 1996, after the Australian Competition
and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
revoked the MCA’s accreditation
system for advertising agencies, the
self-regulatory system had no means
of enforcing its decisions. That year
the ACCC also announced a review of
advertising standards and of the complaint
handling body, finding indications of
a lack of compliance with rulings, lack
of administrative control and lack of
confidence and commitment to the Codes.
These issues combined, led to the collapse
of the initial self-regulatory system.

The current system uses a similar
complaint handling process, but now
advertisers voluntarily comply with the
system, with complaints considered
by a Board made up of community

members who have no affiliation with the
advertising industry or with consumer
interest groups.
This system has yielded an impressive
99.5 per cent average compliance rate
during its 16 year history and has
received Government endorsement of
its effectiveness and responsiveness to
community standards.

In 1997, the Australian Association of
National Advertisers (AANA) established
a new system which was up and running
by 1998.

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