The Advertising Standards Board

The Advertising Standards Board is made up of members who were appointed on the basis of their involvement in the community and their professional expertise in other relevant areas.

The Board considers written complaints about advertisements in the mainstream media, using the AANA Advertiser Code of Ethics The AANA Children's Code and the FCAI Code as the basis of its determinations. Among other things, it considers advertisements which people find offensive on the basis of:

discrimination (race, nationality, sex, age, sexual preference, religion, disability, political belief)
violence
language
portrayal of sex, sexuality or nudity
health and safety
alarm or distress to children.

The Board's role does not extend to issues about the legality or the truth and accuracy of advertising. It cannot deal with issues about public advocacy, nor with label directions.

Anyone can lodge a complaint about any advertisement simply by writing to the Advertising Standards Board. See full details under How to Complain.

The Board meets regularly to consider complaints about advertisements. Complainants and advertisers are kept informed of the process and provided with a written case report at its conclusion.

When a complaint is upheld, the advertiser is requested to remove or amend the offending advertisement. Over nearly ten years of operation, advertising self-regulation has a near-perfect record of industry compliance with Board decisions.

The Advertising Standards Board is one way in which the advertising industry is seeking to maintain high standards in all forms of advertising.