How to Complain
The Advertising Standards Board provides a free public complaint service about advertising in the mainstream media, 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.
To lodge your complaint, simply write to the Advertising Standards Board taking care to include the following:
- NAME OF ADVERTISER AND/OR PRODUCT
- DESCRIPTION OF THE ADVERTISEMENT
- WHEN AND WHERE YOU SAW OR HEARD IT
- REASON FOR YOUR CONCERN
- YOUR NAME AND POSTAL ADDRESS
All complaints MUST be submitted in writing.
CONTACT DETAILS
Email your complaint by using the online Complaint Form in this section.
OR
Fax your complaint to: (02) 6262 9833
OR
Post your complaint to: Advertising Standards Board
Level 2, 97 Northbourne Avenue
TURNER ACT 2612
Funded by the advertising industry's self-regulation voluntary levy, the Advertising Standards Board is made up of twelve members from a range of backgrounds and of varying ages. The Board meets regularly to review advertising material which has attracted public complaint. The Board aims to apply current community standards to the advertisements its reviews, using Section Two of the Advertiser Code of Ethics as its guide.
Board determinations are sent to relevant advertisers and complainants. They may also be sent to the media and/or published on this website. Individual case reports are generally available on request.
The Advertising Standards Board cannot deal with issues about:
- truth and accuracy of advertising (see below)
- legality
- label directions
- business practices
- public advocacy messages
- television or radio program content or promotions
- community service announcements
- advertisements NOT broadcast or distributed in Australia
- time classifications of advertisements
- loudness of commercials
If your complaint is about the truth and accuracy of advertising, contact the Fair Trading / Consumer Affairs body in your State or Territory and / or the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Contact details are available under Who Else to Contact in this section.
If your complaint is about the time an advertisement is telecast, please contact Free TV Australia. Free TV Australia views all television commercials before they go to air and gives each one a classification. This classification governs the times at which advertisements can be shown. If your complaint is about the sound level of advertisements, please contact Free TV Australia about this issue also.
If your complaitn is about a television or radio program or program content, please contact the broadcaster.
If your complaint is about an alcohol advertisement , a copy of it will be sent to the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code Management Committee. Alcohol advertisements are required to comply with both the Advertiser Code of Ethics and the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code.