The Advertising Standards Bureau ('Ad Standards') is Australia's body for handling advertising complaints. It manages the national self-regulation system for the advertising industry. Ad Standards ensures that advertising across all media is responsible, honest, and upholds community standards and values. Members of the community can report complaints about advertisements to Ad Standards, giving them a voice in how advertising is conducted.
What types of complaints can you make?
Complaints about advertising
The Australian advertising industry has written, and agreed to follow, rules for advertising. The rules reflect community standards and are designed to promote consumer confidence in the industry. If you believe an advertiser has failed to follow the rules you can make a complaint to Ad Standards. Below are types of complaints handled by Ad Standards:
- Discrimination: Advertising must not discriminate or vilify a person or section of the community based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual preference, or disability.
- Exploitative or degrading: Advertisements must not exploit or degrade any individual or group through the use of sexual appeal. Specifically, the use of sexual appeal is strictly prohibited in advertisements that feature images of minors or individuals who appear to be minors.
- Violence: Violence should only be used in advertising where it can be justified. It must not be excessive or gratuitous. This includes both actual depictions of violence and threats or suggested violence, as well as the consequences of violence such as fear, pain, and injury.
- Sex, sexuality, and nudity: Advertisements must treat sex, sexuality, and nudity with sensitivity. The use of overtly sexual images should be avoided in public spaces where they are exposed to a broad audience. Subjects in the ads should not be overly sexualised, especially where there is no relevance to the product.
- Language content: Advertising must use appropriate language for the target audience and ensure that strong and obscene language is not used. Ads may use a sexualised double entendre or play on words if there is a second non-sexual meaning which can be understood by children.
- Health and safety: Advertising must not encourage or promote behaviour which is unsafe, unhealthy, and contrary to current community health and safety standards.
- Distinguishable advertising: Advertisements should be easily recognisable and not be disguised as news, independent reviews, private blogs, or user-generated content.
- Advertising to children: Ads aimed at children must not be deceptive or inappropriate based on community standards. The Code sets standards related to safety, sexualisation, social values, parental authority, food and beverages, alcohol, and the presentation of factual information in advertisements aimed at children.
- Alcohol advertising: Alcohol must be marketed responsibly. Ads should not encourage unsafe and reckless consumption of alcohol or suggest its consumption can lead to success, create a significant change in mood, or offer a therapeutic benefit.
- Misleading and deceptive advertising: Advertising must not be misleading or deceptive in relation to marketing to children and food and beverages. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission as well as State and Territory consumer protection agencies also manage consumer complaints about general deceptive or misleading advertisements.
- Environmental claims: Advertisements need to be honest and factual about any environmental claims made about products and services.
- Food and beverage: Advertising for food and beverages must be legal, honest, and factual and must be in line with health and safety standards.
- Motor vehicles: Advertisements about motor vehicles must not encourage unsafe and reckless driving practices.
- Wagering: Gambling ads should not be primarily directed to people underage, be in combination with alcohol consumption, imply the promise of winning, or suggest that gambling relieves personal or financial difficulty.
Jurisdiction:
Ad Standards administers a national system of advertising self-regulation. Any member of the community can submit a complaint about the content of any advertising produced in Australia or overseas.
Time Limitations:
There are no specified timeframes for lodging a complaint with Ad Standards. However, you should raise your concerns as soon as possible so they can be addressed while the advertising is being broadcast.
Ad Standards will not deal with complaints about:
- Product packaging or labels
- Corporate public affairs messages in media releases and other media statements, annual reports, statements on matters of public policy
- Ads on TV and radio which promote a program on the same channel or station the ad is broadcast on
- The timing or frequency of gambling advertisements
- Therapeutic goods advertisements
- Editorial content
- The loudness or frequency of advertisements
- Political and election advertising
Exercise of Discretion:
Ad Standards may decide not to act on your complaint if it has already been assessed by the Ad Standards Community Panel or if it assesses that your complaint does not raise issues related to the advertising codes.
Who can you make a complaint against?
Advertisers and brands
You have the right to submit a complaint about any advertisement or brand targeting Australians, spanning a wide array of advertising formats. These include:
- Television and Radio Ads
- Print Ads
- Social Media and Online Ads
- Billboards and Posters
- Cinema Ads
- Claims on a Company’s Own Website
- User-Generated Content
- Advertorials and Sponsorship
- Commercial Emails, Direct Mail, Brochures, and Point of Sale Material
Ad Standards will not deal with complaints about:
Ad Standards cannot handle complaints about therapeutic goods advertisers or political or election advertising.
Are you eligible to make a complaint?
Member of the community:
To be eligible to submit a complaint, you must be a member of the community. Members of the community can lodge a complaint about the content of any advertising or marketing communications produced in Australia or overseas. You must have directly seen or heard the advertisement in its intended medium for Ad Standards to be able to review your complaint.
Industry competitor:
Australian businesses can make a complaint to Ad Standards about a competitor.
Before you lodge a complaint:
There are no steps that you need to take before lodging your complaint with Ad Standards.
Can complaints be made on behalf of someone?
Complaints cannot be made on someone’s behalf. You must have seen or heard the advertisement.
Ad Standards will not deal with complaints about:
You cannot make a complaint if you are not an Australian community member.
What can this body do to help?
Ad Standards may provide:
- Notification of Breach: If your complaint is upheld, Ad Standards will notify the advertisers that they have decided that they have breached the industry code. The advertiser will be asked to remove or change the ad. The advertiser will have 5 days to respond to the decision and confirm that the advertisement has been or is being removed.
- Decision publication: The decision made by Ad Standards, its reason and details of any response or action taken by the advertiser regarding it will be made publicly available on its website.
- Request for removal of an ad: If an advertiser does not comply with a decision of Ad Standards asking them to remove or modify their advertisement, Ad Standards may contact the media owner that is displaying the advertisement to ask for it to be removed.
- Referral to another agency or body: If Ad Standards believes another government or industry body should be made aware of any issues raised in a complaint, it may refer the matter to them.
How to prepare your complaint
Format:
Ad Standards will accept complaints via their online form or by post. Ad Standards does not accept complaints via email or telephone.
Personal Details:
You must provide your title, first name, surname, and either an email or postal address. All other personal details are optional. Ad Standards does not accept anonymous complaints.
Respondent’s Details:
You must describe the ad. If you know the advertiser or brand you should provide that so Ad Standards can identify the advertisement.
Relevant Facts:
You should provide enough information and detail to help Ad Standards to understand your complaint. If you lodge your complaint using the online complaint form, you must:
- Explain the reason for your complaint. What about it upset or offended you?
- Identify the type of advertising or marketing communication you are complaining about (e.g., free to air TV, internet, cinema, promotional material, etc.)
- Identify the category of product or service being advertised (e.g., alcohol, entertainment, household goods, etc.)
- Identify the postcode, city, or town you were in when you heard or saw the ad
You will also be asked, but are not required to answer:
- When or how you saw or heard the ad, for example, Channel 10 during the news on Thursday night at 6.45pm
- If you have lodged a formal complaint with any other organisation
If you lodge your complaint by post, you should include the information outlined above. If you have any supporting documents such as a screenshot or copy or recording of the ad you should upload them to your online complaint or include them in your postal complaint.
What not to include:
You should not include abusive, obscene, or threatening language, or make comments of a personal nature in your complaint. Your complaint should not make false, inflammatory, or trivial arguments.
Lodging your complaint and next steps:
Where to lodge your complaint:
- Online form: Ad Standards Complaint Form
- Post: PO Box 5110, Braddon ACT 2612
Ad Standards does not accept complaints via email or telephone.
Ad Standards assessment:
Your complaint will be assessed by Ad Standards to determine if it is:
- A new complaint
- About an issue that is within Ad Standards jurisdiction
- The issue is not something that has been consistently considered in relation to other complaints and dismissed
If it is, Ad Standards will notify you that a case has been opened. You may be asked for more information if what you have provided is not sufficient.
If it is not, Ad Standards will notify you that it will not accept your complaint and explain the reasons for that decision.
Notification:
Ad Standards will provide the advertiser with a copy of your complaint. They will be asked to provide a written response and copies of the relevant advertising communications. If the advertiser fails to respond, your complaint will be considered without their input.
Community Panel Meeting:
The Community Panel meets regularly to consider cases that have been opened by Ad Standards. The Panel will consider:
- The complaints received
- All relevant communications submitted by the advertiser/marketer
- The advertiser/marketer’s response (if any)
- All relevant provisions of the codes
- Any other relevant supporting materials or other representations or submissions
The Panel will vote to decide if your complaint will be dismissed or upheld. If the vote is tied, the Chair has a casting vote. The position of Chair is rotated on a monthly basis. You and the advertiser will be notified of the decision which is usually published on Ad Standards' website within 10 days.
Resolution:
If the Community Panel finds a rule was broken in the ad, the advertiser has 5 days to respond to the Community Panel's decision and confirm that the advertisement has been or is being removed.
Additional Information:
Ad Standards does not have the power to take any enforcement action against advertisers for breaches of the advertising codes.
More information:
Refer to the factsheet provided below for more information.
