Advertising Standards Bureau Review of Operations 2016 2016 Review of operations_WEB | Page 13

During 2016 we also focused on keeping our
Advertising Standards Board, 20 members of
the Australian community with no ties with
industry or consumer groups, well informed
and well supported in their decision making.
While we farewelled a number of members
of the Board we were successful in our goal of
increasing the diversity of the Board membership
and welcomed four new members from diverse
cultural backgrounds (see the Board reports
section). Most challenging to the work of the
Board in 2016 is further expansion to the media
and spaces in which advertising and marketing
communications appears. During 2016 the Board
considered complaints about Snapchat for the
first time. Thank you to all Board members for
the commitment and thought you demonstrate
in all decision making, and in being able to work
as a team in a manner that respects such diversity
of opinion.
accessibility, efficiency were part of the ASB’s
every day, and that as a team we ensured our focus
on continuous improvement of all aspects of
our complaints resolution system. My particular
thank you to Ian, with whom I have worked
closely for nearly 12 years. Ian understood the
importance to industry of a well-respected, and
robust self-regulation system and demonstrated
the utmost integrity in his Chairmanship. Ian
has been able to hand over a robust and well
governed company to the new Board of Directors,
and I look forward to working with them and to
meeting the challenges and opportunities that
2017 holds.
A small team of hard working staff at the ASB
dealt with more than 5000 complaints and
hundreds of phone calls from members of the
community in 2016. At times a very challenging
role, every member of the team has stretched
themselves to ensure the ASB undertakes its
task effectively and efficiently. My sincere thanks
to everyone for their dedication and sense
of humour.
At the end of 2016 we farewelled three long
standing members of the Bureau Board of
Directors – Ian Alwill, Chairman since 2005,
Hayden Hills and John McLaren. All three
contributed their time and intellect to ensuring
the values of transparency, independence,
Review of Operations 2016
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