© Commonwealth of Australia 2022

ISSN 1327–6182

This Annual Report 2021–22 is protected by copyright.

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The CC BY 4.0 AU Licence is a standard form licence agreement that allows you to copy, distribute, transmit and adapt material in this publication provided that you attribute the work. Further details of the relevant licence conditions are available on the Creative Commons website (accessible using the links provided) as is the full legal code for the CC BY 4.0 International licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode).

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Other use

The use of any material from this publication in a way not permitted or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act 1968, may be an infringement of copyright. Where you wish to use the material in a way that is not permitted, you must lodge a request for further authorisation with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.

Contact details

This report can be viewed online at www.classification.gov.au

If you would like additional information on the report, please contact:

Classification Branch

Department of Infrastructure, Transport,

Regional Development, Communications and the Arts

Level 6

23–33 Mary Street

SURRY HILLS NSW 2010

Postal address:

Locked Bag 3, HAYMARKET NSW 1240

Telephone +61 2 9289 7100

Facsimile +61 2 9289 7101

enquiries@classification.gov.au

www.classification.gov.au

Introduction

This report includes the reports of the Classification Board and the Classification Review Board. A copy of this report is available online at www.classification.gov.au as are Annual Reports from previous years.

Information about the Classification Board and the Classification Review Board is also available on the Australian Classification website at www.classification.gov.au

The Classification Branch of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts provides administrative support to both the Classification Board and the Classification Review Board. Further information about the Classification Branch is available in the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts Annual Report 2021–22 at www.infrastructure.gov.au

Overview of the National Classification Scheme

The National Classification Scheme (the Scheme) is a co-operative scheme established and maintained by agreement between the Commonwealth and all state and territory governments in Australia. The Intergovernmental Agreement on Censorship, which was executed in 1995, underpins the Scheme.

The Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 (Cth) (the Classification Act), provides for a National Classification Code (the Code) and Classification Guidelines for films, computer games and publications (the Guidelines). The Classification Board (the Board) makes decisions about films, computer games and certain publications. The Board is independent from government. The Classification Review Board (the Review Board) is an independent statutory body responsible for reviewing certain decisions of the Classification Board. The Review Board is independent of both the Board and the government.

The states and territories are responsible for regulating the sale, exhibition and advertising of classifiable content. Each state and territory has its own classification Act that is enforced by state or territory police or law enforcement bodies. There are some offence provisions in the Commonwealth Classification Act including offences regarding the unlawful use of markings in relation to goods other than films, computer games or publications.

Commonwealth

Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 (Cth)

The Classification Act establishes the Classification Board and the Classification Review Board (collectively, the Boards). The Boards are independent from government and from each other. The Classification Act requires that, in appointing members of the Boards, regard is to be had to the desirability of ensuring that membership of the Boards is broadly representative of the Australian community.

The Classification Act also sets out:

• powers and functions of the Boards
• statutory criteria for review of classification decisions
• powers of the Minister responsible for the administration of the Classification Act to approve classification tools to generate decisions and consumer advice
• the assessor schemes that enable industry to self-classify content and submit their classification recommendations to the Board
• statutory requirements for applications for classification
• rules regarding exemption from classification of unclassified films, computer games and certain publications
• requirements for advertising of films, computer games and publications
• provisions for the approval of advertisements for certain products
• provisions for reclassification
• provisions for handling prohibited material in prohibited material areas.

The Classification Act is available online at www.legislation.gov.au

There is a range of determinations, instruments and principles made under the Classification Act available online at www.classification.gov.au or www.legislation.gov.au

When making decisions, the Boards apply the Classification Act, the Code, and the three statutory Guidelines (respectively, the Guidelines for the Classification of Publications 2005, the Guidelines for the Classification of Films 2012, and the Guidelines for the Classification of Computer Games 2012).

National Classification Code

The Boards must make classification decisions in accordance with the Code which broadly describes the classification categories. The Code is agreed to by Commonwealth, state and territory ministers with responsibility for classification. The Code is available in Appendix A under “National Classification Code” on page 86.

Classification Guidelines

The Guidelines are used by the Boards to assist them in applying the criteria in the Code, by describing the classification types and setting out the scope and limits of material suitable for each classification type. The Guidelines are approved by all ministers with responsibility for classification.

States and territories

As partners in the Scheme, each state and territory has classification legislation that complements the Commonwealth Classification Act. The legislation sets out how films, publications and computer games shall be sold, hired, exhibited, advertised and demonstrated in that jurisdiction. It prescribes penalties for classification offences and provides for enforcement of classification decisions. Some states and territories retain powers to classify or reclassify material. The Northern Territory has legislated concurrent classification powers, while the Northern Territory and Tasmania have reserved the power to re-classify publications, films and computer games already classified by the Classification Board: the Classification of Publications, Films and Computer Games Act 1995 (NT) s 16 and the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Enforcement Act 1995 (Tas) s 41A.

Corporate overview

Administrative arrangements

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (the department) is responsible for the financial management of the operations of the Boards.

The Classification Branch in the department undertakes the following functions:

• processing applications for the consideration of the Boards
• providing policy and operational advice on classification issues to the Commonwealth minister with classification responsibilities
• providing secretariat services to the Review Board
• providing classification education and training for Australian Border Force personnel, as well as industry
• administration and monitoring of approved classification tools.

Liaison with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts

The Boards maintain effective liaison with the department through both formal and informal meetings and contacts.

Stakeholder liaison

The Classification Branch maintains effective liaison arrangements with officials with responsibility for classification, peak industry body and university representatives, international classification colleagues, community members and interest groups, and other classification stakeholders.

The Board provides information about decisions to interested parties as well as advice to industry assessors to promote professional development on classification issues.

The Review Board provides information to interested parties.

Financial management, accountability and reporting

Classification is carried out largely on a cost recovery basis with fees for classification set out in the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Regulations 2005 (the 2005 Regulations). Fees for the review of a decision are based on partial cost-recovery to enable access to reviews of a classification decision, while discouraging vexatious or frivolous applicants. The classification application revenue from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 is $3,040,290, which is an increase of $300,205 (about 11%) when compared with the previous year, which totalled $2,740,085.

The funding for the classification service is included in the appropriation for the department. The department’s Annual Report is available at www.infrastructure.gov.au/department/annual_report

Risk management

Management of risk is undertaken in accordance with the department’s risk management framework and fraud control plan and procedures.

Website

The Australian Classification website address is www.classification.gov.au. Information is tailored to user groups such as the public, industry and law enforcement agencies. The website contains a public access database, the National Classification Database (NCD), of classification decisions made by the Boards as well as the Netflix film classification tool and the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) computer games classification tool. Information on the NCD incorporates classification ratings and consumer advice in the search results, including a classification matrix (except for IARC decisions) which shows the level of impact of material for each of the six classifiable elements in a film or computer game. It also incorporates additional information for public exhibition and other major films, and for computer games, which describes some of the content of the material. The NCD also includes classification decisions for submittable publications.

In the reporting year, there have been 1,079,600 visits to the website.

External accountability

The Boards work within an accountability framework which includes parliamentary scrutiny, the Crimes Act 1914, the Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Privacy Act 1988 and the Ombudsman Act 1976.

Freedom of Information

In accordance with section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act), this section of the report contains information about FOI procedures and access to documents.

Twelve applications were received for access to Classification Board or Review Board documents under the FOI Act during the reporting period, of which ten have been finalised.

Applicants seeking access to documents under the FOI Act should contact:

The FOI Officer

Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts

GPO Box 2154

CANBERRA ACT 2601

foi@infrastructure.gov.au

Categories of documents

The following categories of documents are maintained by the department on behalf of the Boards:

• applications under the Classification Act
• documents relating to decisions of the Boards.

Reasons for decisions of the Review Board are available on the Australian Classification website at www.classification.gov.au

The following categories of documents are publicly available at www.classification.gov.au

• the Classification Act, the Code, the Guidelines and the 2005 Regulations
• the Determinations, Principles and other instruments made under the Classification Act
• Annual Reports
• application forms for classification and review.

Privacy

The Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 set out the requirements for agencies in handling personal information. The relevant privacy policy is at www.classification.gov.au. It outlines how responsibilities in relation to records containing personal information held by the department in administratively supporting the work of the Boards are met. For more information please contact the department’s Privacy Officer:

Privacy Officer

Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts

GPO Box 594

Canberra ACT 2601

Tel: +61 2 6274 6495

Email: privacy@infrastructure.gov.au

Reports by the Auditor-General

There were no reports on the operation of the Boards by the Auditor-General in the reporting period.

Changes to the National Classification Scheme

There were no changes to the National Classification Scheme in the reporting period.

Commonwealth Ombudsman

No matters involving the Boards were dealt with by the Commonwealth Ombudsman in the reporting period.

Director’s letter of transmittal

The Hon Michelle Rowland MP

Minister for Communications

Parliament House

CANBERRA ACT 2600

Dear Minister

In accordance with subsection 67(1) of the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995, I am pleased to submit a report on the management of the administrative affairs of the Classification Board for the period 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.

Yours sincerely

Fiona Jolly

Director

28 September 2022

Locked Bag 3, HAYMARKET NSW 1240

Telephone 02 9289 7100 Facsimile 02 9289 7101 www.classification.gov.au

Director’s overview

The Classification Board has the important role of classifying films, computer games and certain publications to give effect to principles regarding:

• the right of adults to read, hear, see and play what they want
• the protection of minors from material likely to harm or disturb them
• protection of the community from exposure to unsolicited material that they find offensive
• taking account of community concerns about depictions that condone or incite violence, particularly sexual violence, and the portrayal of persons in a demeaning manner.

The Board undertakes this role by providing consumers with information about the content of material through a classification and informative consumer advice, and in the case of MA 15+, R 18+, and X 18+ material, by classifying the material in a way that brings into play legal restrictions on access by minors.

Evolving to meet the changing media landscape

The Former Minister for Communications, in his 2019 Statement of Expectations for the Classification Board, noted that ‘the Board should adapt its operations in recognition of the changing media landscape’.

The past few years have seen significant changes in the way the Board works to meet this changing media landscape.

The first has been the growth in the use of Approved Classification Tools. The Netflix tool (now in its 6th year) and the IARC tool (in use since 2014) have made it possible for the Australian community to view and play material which is able to be on the market quickly.

The Board monitors the decisions generated by the tools to ensure that the classifications and consumer advice generated are aligned to Australian community standards, as reflected in decisions made by the Board. To that end the Board has been working closely with the Classification Branch in 2021–22 to implement more robust monitoring strategies.

The second has been the manner in which the Board works. We have continued to request the provision of classification media in a digital format. This ensures that Board members are able to classify material in a more flexible work environment and enables the Board to meet its statutory deadlines, particularly during the COVID-19 restrictions. The department’s provision of appropriate laptops and improved security has given the Board the ability to keep workflow on time and to a high standard. We have been working towards the end of this reporting period with both the Classification Branch and technology providers to further improve our ability to receive digital media in a secure and timely manner to ensure our workstyle continues to evolve with the media landscape.

The workload—legislative deadlines and statistics

Of note during this reporting year, once again the Board met its statutory timeliness obligations, with no applications being processed outside the timelines. This is worth noting considering the somewhat challenging conditions during 2021–22. COVID-19, of course, continues to play havoc with access to our building and access to material to be classified. The Classification Applications team are to be commended for their support of the Board during this difficult time. And for the Board, the ability to work from home and still be able to connect meaningfully in making classification decisions showed their exceptional commitment to their role and to the importance of classification decisions to the community and industry.

During this reporting period, the Board more closely monitored the type of material being classified. Our new statistical information included in Tables 3 and 4 in the Statistics section demonstrates that although the number of applications decreased slightly, there was actually a significant increase in the number of applications for films in the 200–300 minute category and in the number of public exhibition films, which resulted in an increase in workload for the Board.

Quality decision making

The Classification Board employs a number of practices and procedures to ensure quality of decision making:

• regular internal meetings are held to ensure issues on current standards are communicated, debated and discussed
• all draft classification decisions are reviewed by the Deputy Director to promote consistency in standards and approaches to decision making
• the new eLearning modules for films and computer games include contemporary examples of Board decisions and have replaced outmoded training material
• two professional development days are held each year, attended by all members
• there are standardised internal procedures for managing applications.

Whole Board meetings

The Board as a whole meets twice per month. During 2021–22 we held 22 meetings. These meetings are an opportunity for the Board to discuss recent applications and decisions and to identify unusual elements of content, why and when a particular consumer advice was given and whether this is a precedent to follow. During COVID-19 meetings were also a critical time to discuss our workloads, effectively considering applications during work from home and hybrid arrangements, and to check in formally on our team’s wellbeing.

These meetings are also an important opportunity for the Board to be briefed and provide input into reform projects of the Classification Branch. During this year we had presentations regarding research into community attitudes towards classification and community understanding of consumer advice.

During 2022, we commenced the practice of programming all full time and temporary Board members to work on Board meeting days, ensuring that the Board as a whole can participate in these important conversations with the goal of improving decision making.

Board development days

During 2021–22, the Board held one development day—with the usual two not being possible due to COVID-19 restrictions. Development days enable the Board to spend in-depth time discussing particular elements of the Code or Guidelines that are challenging the Board. Board members are encouraged to identify areas of concern or things that they wish to discuss further.

At our meeting in March 2022, we discussed the meaning of ‘drug use’ in the context of computer games, reviewed our standards around classification of crude language in films, and started discussing potential changes to consumer advice to take into account some of the concerns raised in submissions to the Stevens Review.

The Classification Branch also provided a presentation on the results of recent research undertaken with the community about classification usage.

Psychologist and wellbeing

The Board views a diverse range of material including material which has very strong content or content that is unsuitable for viewing. Board members have on-call access to the department’s Employee Assistance Program, and also have dedicated sessions with a psychologist. Comprising quarterly one-on-one sessions and an annual group session, Board members have an opportunity to discuss issues and mechanisms for protecting their mental and physical wellbeing whilst undertaking this role.

Stakeholder liaison

During the current year COVID-19 restrictions and the leadership transition of the Board meant that there was limited opportunity for liaison with stakeholders.

Board members were each able to attend one or more days at the Australian International Movie Convention and the Australian Feature Film Summit which were held for the first time in Sydney in May. These provided opportunities for Board members to hear from the movie industry on new releases, priorities and changing audience expectations as well as behaviours post COVID-19. The Board were also able to meet industry stakeholders in an informal setting and answer queries.

I was very pleased to meet virtually in May with representatives from distributors of films from the South Asian film industry. We discussed ways in which the Board and Branch can work more efficiently with this significant part of the Australian film industry to minimise regulatory classification hurdles for multiple language versions of the same film.

I met twice during this year with representatives from Netflix. These meetings are an important part of monitoring the Netflix tool and discussions centre around consumer complaints, Board checks of Netflix classifications and emerging policy issues. Thank you to Netflix for working with us to ensure the effectiveness of tool classifications.

Board Code of Conduct

Early in 2022, the Board refreshed and updated its Code of Conduct to specifically reference our obligations regarding confidentiality of deliberations, the importance of maintaining commercially confidential information about films and computer games prior to their release, and ensuring we understand how to maintain an appropriate divide between our personal social media interactions and the work of the Classification Board.

Update on classification reform

The former government did not progress classification reform prior to the conclusion of its final term. I am looking forward to working with the new Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland, and the department, to keep the classification system evolving to meet the community’s and industry’s needs.

The Classification Board

Left to right — Mr Damien Carr, Ms Lora Pechovska, Mr Felix Hubble, Ms Fiona Jolly (Director), Ms Jenny Burke, Mr Paul Tenison, Mr Tristan Sharp (Deputy Director), Ms Jenny Fowler, Mr Iain Humphrey, Ms Ellenor Nixon, Ms Jennifer Marvello, Mr Thomas Mann

Changes to the Board

The Board farewelled Alison Bickerstaff, Rachel Merton and Andrew Humphreys during this reporting year. Alison completed her seven years as a Board member in August, and was acting Director at that time. Andrew completed his seven years as a temporary Board member, having contributed significantly to the Board’s submission to the Stevens Review. Rachel was a respected and valuable Board member who served with distinction over her term. We wish them well.

During the year, Ellenor Nixon acted as Director and prior to that, as Deputy Director. Thomas Mann also acted as Deputy Director. This team kept the Board working effectively through some very challenging times, and I particularly thank them for ensuring the Board met all of its statutory and industry agreed deadlines.

My appointment as Director in December 2021 was followed by the appointment in May 2022 of Tristan Sharp as Deputy Director, and the changed status of Iain Humphrey, Paul Tenison and Jennifer Marvello from temporary Board members to full time or job sharing Board members. These changes will provide greater stability to the Board team and place us in a better position to train new Board members over the course of 2022–23, when seven of the current Board members will reach their maximum terms.

Lastly, I would like to thank all of the Board, and in particular Ellenor Nixon, who have welcomed Tristan and me into the new roles. They have provided us both with training and insights into our roles—and have proven to be very, very patient!

Fiona Jolly

Director

Classification Board

The Role of the Classification Board

The Classification Board

The Board is an independent statutory body established under the Classification Act which comprises a Director, a Deputy Director and other members.

The Board classifies films, computer games and certain submittable publications (all of which are defined in the Classification Act).

The Director

Under the Classification Act, the Director is responsible for ensuring that the business of the Board is conducted in an orderly and efficient way and, for that purpose, the Director may give directions as to the arrangement of the business of the Board.

The Director of the Board has a range of statutory functions under the Classification Act which include:

• convening and presiding at Board meetings
• determining the constitution of the Board for classifying particular products
• determining how decisions are recorded
• calling in publications, films and computer games for classification
• determining procedures for the Board
• providing the Minister with the Board’s Annual Report.

In addition to the Director’s powers in relation to the Board, the Classification Act and a number of Determinations made pursuant to the Act confer additional functions and powers on the Director which include:

• approving forms for the purpose of the Classification Act
• providing certificates and notices of decisions, including evidentiary certificates
• authorising industry assessors.

Further, pursuant to sub-clause 18(2) of Schedule 7 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (the BSA), the Director must approve the training for Trained Content Assessors (TCAs), whose role is to provide advice to a Commercial Content Service on the classification of content that has not been classified by the Board. The training for TCAs needs to provide instruction about content that might be considered to be restricted, that is: for films and computer games likely to be classified MA 15+, R 18+, X 18+ and Refused Classification (RC) and for publications likely to be classified Category 1—restricted, Category 2—restricted and RC.

The Director and Deputy Director of the Board are authorised to grant permission to import or export prohibited or potentially prohibited goods in accordance with the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 (the Prohibited Imports Regulations) and Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958 (the Prohibited Exports Regulations).

Membership of the Board

Appointments to the Board are made by the Governor-General, following a recommendation by the Minister. Before making a recommendation, the Classification Act requires that the Minister consult with state and territory ministers with responsibility for classification about the proposed recommendations. Appointments are made for fixed terms of up to five years and members are eligible to serve a statutory maximum term of seven years.

Under section 50 of the Classification Act, the Minister may appoint temporary members of the Board if it is necessary to do so for the efficient dispatch of the Board’s business. The Minister has authorised the Director to perform this function for members that have initially been appointed by the Minister.

Section 66 provides that the Minister may appoint a person to act as a member during a vacancy on the respective Boards.

Conditions

The Remuneration Tribunal determines the entitlements of the members of the Board in relation to remuneration, annual leave and official travel. These determinations are available on the Remuneration Tribunal website at www.remtribunal.gov.au.

Conflict of interest and outside employment

The Classification Act makes provision for the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest by members of the Board.

The Classification Act provides that full-time members of the Board must not engage in outside employment without the consent of the Minister. This requirement does not apply to service in the Australian Defence Force. Temporary Board members may undertake other paid employment elsewhere, and these Board members disclose such work to the Director who ensures that there is no perceived or actual conflict of interest when temporary Board members are engaged to classify material.

Meetings

The Board has fortnightly meetings to discuss classification decisions and other procedural issues.

Applications for classification of films, computer games and certain publications

The primary work of the Board and the Review Board is to classify films, computer games and publications according to the instruments described below. While the Review Board only convenes in response to an application for Review, the Board works daily. This work is undertaken by the Board, through viewing, playing and reading content submitted as part of an application for classification from industry.

The Act enables the Board to make a broad range of classification decisions. All decisions are made in accordance with the Classification Act, the Code and the three Statutory Guidelines:

Section 11 of the Classification Act:

11. Matters to be considered in classification

The matters to be taken into account in making a decision on the classification of a publication, a film or a computer game include:

(a) the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults; and

(b) the literary, artistic or educational merit (if any) of the publication, film or computer game; and

(c) the general character of the publication, film or computer game, including whether it is of a medical, legal or scientific character; and

(d) the persons or class of persons to or amongst whom it is published or is intended or likely to be published.

National Classification Code

The Board must make classification decisions in accordance with the Code which broadly describes the classification categories. The Code is agreed to by Commonwealth, state and territory ministers with responsibility for classification. The Code is available in Appendix A under “National Classification Code” on page 86.

Classification Guidelines

The Guidelines are used by the Board to assist with applying the criteria in the Code, by describing the classification types and setting out the scope and limits of material suitable for each classification type. The Guidelines are approved by all ministers with responsibility for classification.

Other functions of the Board

In addition to making classification decisions about films, computer games and certain publications, the Classification Board and its Director perform a number of other functions under the Scheme.

Serial classification declarations for publications

The Classification Act provides that the Board may declare that the classification granted for an original issue applies to future issues of a publication for a specified period or number of issues. The Board must have regard to the Classification (Serial Publications) Principles 2005 in deciding whether to grant a serial classification declaration.

Pursuant to section 13(5) of the Classification Act, the Board must revoke a serial declaration so far as it affects that issue and any future issues, if it is of the opinion that an issue of the publication covered by the declaration either: contains material that, if the issue were being classified separately, would cause it to be classified with a higher classification than the original issue; or contains an advertisement that has been refused approval.

Cultural Exemption Rules—Exemptions to show unclassified content

Under the Conditional Cultural Exemption Rules, event organisers self-assess their eligibility for exemption to exhibit unclassified films, computer games and certain publications. If they comply with the standard conditions, event organisers can register their event online.

Some organisations that conduct activities of an educational, cultural or artistic nature and have a sound reputation may be eligible to become an Approved Cultural Institution (ACI). An ACI is not required to register its events but instead undertakes training provided by the Board. Trained persons then assess unclassified material for events held under the auspices of the ACI and must ensure compliance with legislative requirements.

In exceptional circumstances, where the prescribed conditions cannot be met, an organisation may still apply to the Director of the Board for a waiver or variation to the exemption rules.

Industry assessments

As the nature and volume of film and computer game content has changed and continues to change over the years, the Board’s role has to evolve and governments have agreed it is appropriate to give industry a greater role and responsibility for classification.

Industry can be involved in two ways in the classification process: under one of the assessor schemes as authorised assessors, or through the use of approved tools. In either case, the industry decision is taken to be a decision of the Board and is able to be reviewed by the Board.

Assessor schemes

Several schemes have been established that enable authorised industry assessors to submit content for classification. Under the schemes, the Board is deemed responsible for the decision, which is informed by the assessor’s report.

Applications for classification may be lodged under the following voluntary assessor schemes:

Authorised Assessor Scheme for Computer Games (AACG)

The Director of the Classification Board may authorise trained persons to recommend the classification for a computer game.

An authorised assessor may submit an application recommending the classification and consumer advice for a computer game, if the computer game is likely to be classified G (General), PG (Parental Guidance) or M (Mature). The Board may accept the recommendation or may vary or reject the recommendation and itself determine the classification rating and consumer advice.

Additional Content Assessor (ACA) Scheme

The Director of the Classification Board may authorise trained persons to assess additional content which accompanies a previously classified or exempt film released for sale or hire. Additional content includes material such as ‘making of’ documentaries, out-takes, alternative endings and commentaries or interviews with the director or actors, and does not include television programs, series or computer games.

An authorised assessor may submit an application recommending the classification and consumer advice for the additional content for any classification category from G (General) up to and including R 18+ (Restricted). The Board may accept the recommendation or may vary or reject the recommendation and itself determine the classification rating and consumer advice.

Authorised Television Series Assessor (ATSA) Scheme

The Director of the Classification Board may authorise trained persons to assess films that consist of one or more episodes of a television series, as well as any series-related content. At least one episode of the television series must have been broadcast in Australia. The scheme does not apply to films that would be classified X 18+ (Restricted) or RC (Refused Classification). An authorised assessor may submit an application recommending the classification and consumer advice for the series and related additional content for any classification category from G (General) up to and including R 18+ (Restricted). The Board may accept the recommendation or may vary or reject the recommendation and determine the classification rating and consumer advice.

Approved classification tools

Subsection 22CA(1) of the Classification Act provides for the Minister to approve classification tools to make classification decisions.

Section 22CF of the Classification Act deems decisions made by classification tools to be decisions of the Board. Section 22CH of the Classification Act provides for the Board to revoke a classification decision produced by an approved classification tool if the Board is of the opinion that it would have given the material a different classification or assigned different consumer advice. The Board may revoke a classification decision on its own initiative or on application. If a tool decision is revoked, the Board is required to classify the content (section 22CH).

Industry currently uses two classification tools to generate classification decisions:

• the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) Global Rating Tool (the IARC tool) which produces Australian classifications for online games
• the Netflix classification tool (the Netflix tool) which produces Australian classifications for content delivered by Netflix, which offers a subscription video on demand service in Australia.

IARC tool and Netflix tool decisions are published on the NCD.

To ensure tool decisions align with decisions of the Board and Australian community standards, they are monitored. The Board is working with the department to review and improve monitoring strategies and procedures applied to classification tools. Factors which are considered include: the volume of tools decisions; targeted and randomised checks for statistical validity; any complaints received; media interest; and research findings on any content issues of particular interest to the Australian community.

IARC tool

IARC tool decisions are monitored through Global Overrides and local testing alongside international IARC members. Games that might be high profile, the subject of a complaint or notified by international ratings authorities are checked.

The Board has delegated its powers to revoke an IARC tool decision and classify the computer game to departmental staff who have received training from the Board under section 59(2) of the Act.

Delegates monitor and revoke IARC tool decisions and classify computer games as required. Delegates may refer a computer game to the Board as needed, for example if the IARC tool has Refused Classification (RC) for a game, it is considered to be at the R 18+ and RC borderline, or it contains sensitive content.

Netflix tool

Netflix tool decisions are monitored through targeted and random checks. Films that are high profile, the subject of a complaint, raised by Netflix, considered to be at the R 18+ and RC borderline, or contain sensitive content are checked by the Board.

The Board monitors and revokes Netflix tool decisions and classifies films as required. The Board has not delegated powers to revoke a Netflix tool decision to departmental staff.

Other functions

Advertising of Unclassified Films and Computer Games Scheme

The Advertising of Unclassified Films and Computer Games Scheme (the Advertising Scheme) allows for the advertising of unclassified films and computer games under certain conditions. The conditions are prescribed in the Classification (Advertising of Unclassified Films and Computer Games Scheme) Determination 2009 (the 2009 Determination).

The primary condition is that advertising for unclassified films and computer games must display the message “Check the Classification” (or “CTC” in its shortened form).

For certain forms of advertising, once a film or computer game is classified, the “Check the Classification” or “CTC” message must be replaced with the classification marking.

Prior to classification, however, trailers and advertisements for unclassified films and games may be advertised with films or games that have already been classified, provided that an assessment of the likely classification of the film or game has been made, either by the Classification Board, or by a trained advertising assessor employed by industry. Once this assessment has been made, the ‘commensurate audience’ rule applies. This means that the trailers and advertisements for unclassified films and games may only be advertised with content of the same or higher classification. For example, if there is an advertisement for an unclassified game and it is determined by the Classification Board or an assessor, that the game will have a likely classification of M, then the advertisement may only be shown alongside games that already have an M, MA 15+ (Mature Accompanied) or R 18+ classification.

The Advertising Scheme includes a number of safeguards and sanctions. These include the Director of the Classification Board having the power to revoke or suspend an assessor’s authorisation, and to prohibit a distributor from advertising their unclassified products for up to three years, in certain circumstances (Part 4 Sanctions of the 2009 Determination).

Permission to import or export objectionable goods

The Prohibited Imports Regulations prescribe classes of goods that must not be imported into Australia. The Prohibited Exports Regulations prescribe classes of goods that must not be exported from Australia.

The Australian Border Force can detain or seize any material that may contravene regulation 4A of the Prohibited Imports Regulations or regulation 3 of the Prohibited Exports Regulations. The criteria in regulation 4A and regulation 3 accord with the RC (Refused Classification) criteria in both the Code and the Classification Act. The Australian Border Force may apply for classification of items intercepted at the border. Organisations such as the Australian Border Force, various Australian police forces, and public and private art galleries apply to import and export material from time-to-time.

The Director and Deputy Director of the Classification Board are authorised under sub-regulation 4A(2A) of the Prohibited Imports Regulations and sub-regulation 3(3) of the Prohibited Exports Regulations to grant requests for permission to import goods to which the Prohibited Imports Regulations apply, or to export goods to which the Prohibited Exports Regulations apply.

Online content

Until 22 January 2022, Schedule 7 of the BSA provided for the Classification Board to classify internet content on application from the Office of the eSafety Commissioner. The Office of the eSafety Commissioner could refer material in response to a valid complaint about Australian hosted online content, or if it discovered potential prohibited content on its own initiative. The eSafety Commissioner then took appropriate action in respect of online content.

However, on 22 January 2022, the Online Safety Act 2021 commenced, replacing schedules 5 and 7 of the BSA. The new Act includes an Online Content Scheme, under which the eSafety Commissioner has enforcement powers in relation to Class 1 content (which is, or would be Refused Classification) and Class 2 content (which is, or would be, classified X 18+ or R 18+). Under the new Act, the eSafety Commissioner may determine whether material would meet these classification categories without referral to the Board (although the Commissioner may seek the advice of the Board). It will be important for the eSafety Commissioner and the Board to exchange information about decisions of this type to ensure consistency.

Classification Board profiles

Current Board members

Fiona Jolly

Director

APPOINTED: 6 December 2021

APPOINTMENT EXPIRES: 5 December 2024

Fiona Jolly was Chief Executive Officer of Ad Standards Australia for 15 years, following an extensive and diverse career with a number of Australian Commonwealth Government departments. She holds a Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne, a Bachelor of Arts and Laws from the Australian National University, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ms Jolly formerly held the position of Convenor on the Classification Review Board from 2011 to 2019. She holds a number of Non-Executive Director and Advisory positions in the private and not-for-profit sectors including as Board Director of Choice (Australian Consumers Association).

Ms Jolly has four boys who are active in various sports around the ACT. She is extensively engaged with her local community including as Deputy Chair of Cricket ACT.

Ms Jolly is also a Director on the Board of Goodwin Aged Care, the Rural Financial Counselling Service (NSW) and the ACT Cemeteries and Crematoria Authority, and is Deputy Chair of the ACT Radiation Council. These are positions for which Ms Jolly receives some payment and for which she has approval from the former Minister.

Tristan Sharp

Deputy Director

APPOINTED: 2 May 2022

APPOINTMENT EXPIRES: 1 May 2025

Tristan Sharp, 50, was Director of the consultancy firm Kingfisher and Co for over three years. His previous roles have included senior leadership positions in the visual arts and finance sectors including Director, Programs and Engagement at the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. He is currently a member of the Art Gallery of New South Wales Society Council and Create NSW’s Museums and History Artform Board.

Mr Sharp’s qualifications include a Master of Art Administration from the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, a Diploma of Education (Visual Art) with Merit, from the University of Newcastle, and a Bachelor of Arts (Fine Arts, Psychology, Film Studies and Production) from the University of Sydney and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Mr Sharp is married with two children and a cat named Rufus. He is active in his community of Umina Beach as a volunteer under 10s soccer coach and primary school learning support parent, and when time permits he enjoys riding his classic Vespa Scooter.

Ellenor Nixon

Board Member

APPOINTED: 1 June 2016

APPOINTMENT EXPIRES: 31 May 2023

Acting Director from 21 August 2021 until 6 December 2021

Acting Deputy Director from 17 May 2021 until 16 May 2022

Ellenor Nixon, 31, holds a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Archaeology and Forensic Science. She relocated from Merriwa, NSW, to take up her position with the Board.

During her undergraduate study, Ms Nixon studied at the University of Wyoming in the USA on a twelve-month exchange program. She participated in archaeological field research and studied animal management.

Ms Nixon is a partner in her family’s mixed farming and grazing business in the Upper Hunter region of NSW. She has been actively involved in the community through her work with the local rural fire brigade, Landcare events, agricultural shows and charities, as well as competing in local sporting competitions. She has a keen interest in environmental issues, natural resource management and stewardship of the land. She enjoys adventure horse riding as well as video-gaming. She completed her Graduate Certificate in Agriculture in 2020 and was chosen to be a participant in the GenAngus Future Leaders Program, offered by Angus Australia.

Thomas Mann

Board Member

APPOINTED: 1 June 2016

APPOINTMENT EXPIRES: 31 May 2023

Acting Deputy Director from 21 August 2021 until 6 December 2021

Thomas Mann, 40, is a writer and teacher. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in English Literature, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Editing and Communications. Mr Mann relocated from Melbourne to take up his position with the Board.

He has a background in writing for a variety of publications and was an editor for an online music website prior to his appointment. Through his work and personal interests, Mr Mann had an extensive involvement with the online community.

His local community involvement included support to the migrant community in Footscray as a volunteer English tutor and work with Melbourne’s student community as a volunteer with the youth-focused radio station SYN FM. Mr Mann has three children.

Iain Humphrey

Board Member

APPOINTED: 4 April 2022

APPOINTMENT EXPIRES: 31 May 2025

Appointed as a Temporary Member on 16 January 2020

Iain Humphrey, 50, holds a Bachelor of Arts in French from the University of Hull, UK. After graduation, he worked for a major brand consultancy as an operational specialist, before migrating to Australia in 2007.

In Australia, Mr Humphrey worked for Red Bee Media for 12 years, one of the leading providers of access services for blind and hearing-impaired audiences. During this time, he worked extensively with broadcasters and content creators in support of the hearing-impaired and blind communities and also voluntarily participated in a Sydney-based program for people affected by HIV/AIDS.

Mr Humphrey has strong computer skills, with extensive experience of captioning and audio description software, and has been a hobby console gamer since his undergraduate days. He presents a weekly book discussion on a NSW community radio station and is a passionate reader and music enthusiast. He is also an avid cinema-goer and has been widely exposed to the classification process in Australia and Europe in both a professional and personal capacity.

Mr Humphrey worked 142 days as a temporary Board member during 2021–22. He was appointed as a full time Board member in April 2022.

Current part-time Board members

Jennifer Marvello

Part-time Board Member

APPOINTED: 4 April 2022

APPOINTMENT EXPIRES: 31 May 2024

Appointed as a Temporary Member on 16 January 2020

Ms Jennifer Marvello, 57, now retired from full-time employment, lives in the south-western suburbs of Sydney. She holds a Certificate IV Training & Assessment and Certificate IV Government Administration and has trained Customs Officers in drug detection technologies, interpretation of x-ray images, and identification of prohibited imports and exports, particularly films and publications which had been, or were likely to be, Refused Classification.

Ms Marvello enjoyed many years in human resources, particularly rehabilitation and case management. She has previously worked intensively with students in a one-on-one remedial reading program in infants and primary schools.

Subsequently, Ms Marvello transferred to the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department where she developed and delivered training to industry assessors making classification decisions. She spent six years as Office Manager in a specialist dermatology practice. She has been involved in her community as a long-term fundraising chair at Kingsgrove Public School and the Kingsgrove Cricket Club.

Ms Marvello worked 93 days as a temporary Board member during 2021–22 and was appointed as a part-time Board member in April 2022.

Paul Tenison

APPOINTED: 4 April 2022

APPOINTMENT EXPIRES: 3 April 2024

Appointed as a Temporary Member on 16 January 2020

Paul Tenison, 67, resides in the northern districts of Sydney. Mr Tenison was previously a temporary Board member and has re-joined the Board following his retirement from full-time public sector employment with the Classification Branch. His previous work with the Classification Branch included training of industry assessors, and financial and policy management of the classification scheme.

Mr Tenison is married with two adult children and has three grandchildren. He is active socially in his immediate community and through his grandchildren’s schooling and sporting activities. Thanks to family, Mr Tenison has travelled extensively through South America, New Zealand, Christmas Island and on the City Rail Network. His interests include motorbike riding, astronomy, current affairs and political science; he is an avid trivia player and is a prized asset in local competitions, as well as being an accomplished ‘barbequer’ at social gatherings.

Mr Tenison worked 66 days as a temporary Board member during 2021–22 and was appointed as a part-time Board member in April 2022.

Board members who left the Classification Board in 2021–22

Alison Bickerstaff

Acting Director from 20 May 2021 until expiration of her maximum term on 20 August 2021

Acting Deputy Director from 8 June 2018 until 20 March 2019.

Board Member

APPOINTED 21 August 2014

Duties of Deputy Director

1 July 2017–7 June 2018

Rachel Merton

Board Member

APPOINTED 4 April 2019

RESIGNED 7 January 2022

Temporary Board members

Under the Classification Act, the Minister has authorised the Director to appoint a person to be a temporary member of the Classification Board following their initial appointment by the Minister. A register of people suitable for temporary appointments is maintained and drawn on from time-to-time to provide short-term assistance in undertaking the work of the Board. Terms of appointment may be as short as one day and may extend to three months. The statutory limit of seven years also applies to temporary Board members.

Andrew Humphreys

Andrew Humphreys, 51, lives in Sydney with his family. He is a writer and novelist with a background in publishing, having written for, edited and published a range of consumer magazines.

Mr Humphreys has degrees in Arts and Law and has also taught undergraduate and postgraduate media courses.

Mr Humphreys worked 40 days as a temporary Board member during 2021–22. Mr Humphreys finished his seven-year statutory maximum term of appointment on 16 November 2021.

Jenny Burke

Jenny Burke, 40, resides in the inner western suburbs of Sydney and has a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Marketing and Organisational Behaviour.

Over the past 15 years, Ms Burke has worked as a freelance market research contractor and a research consultant for a number of social research firms and the Australia Council for the Arts. Ms Burke is a mother of two young boys and is actively involved in her local community, including managing her son’s soccer team and volunteering at the local primary school. Ms Burke is an arts and crafts enthusiast and can often be found working on a new creation in her downtime.

Ms Burke worked 82 days as a temporary Board member during 2021–22.

Jenny Fowler

Jenny Fowler, 57, resides in the southern suburbs of Sydney. She has a Bachelor of Education, Primary.

Ms Fowler currently works as a Youth Justice Conference Convenor, conducting conferences for juvenile offenders as an alternative to court. She has also worked as a primary school teacher and as an extra in film and television. Ms Fowler has a 27-year-old son and a 24-year-old daughter. Her interests include travel, sport and keeping fit.

Ms Fowler worked 135 days as a temporary Board member during 2021–22.

Felix Hubble

Felix Hubble, 30, is a Melbourne-based classifier who commutes to Surry Hills to perform his duties. He has a Bachelor of Arts (Film Studies) (Digital Cultures) (Hons) and works externally as a network classifier for SBS. When not classifying, Mr Hubble dedicates time to his company Static Vision, distributing arthouse titles, and hosting film festivals and regular screenings of international independent and cult cinema. Mr Hubble is also an avid gamer and enjoys spending quality time with his partner.

Mr Hubble worked 142 days as a temporary Board member during 2021–22.

Damien Carr

Damien Carr, 34, is an actor based in the Inner West of Sydney who trained at Actors Centre Australia and Improv Theatre Sydney. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Drama and English from Flinders University and a Diploma of Screen and Media from Sydney Film School.

Mr Carr worked 117 days as a temporary Board member during 2021–22.

Lora Pechovska

Lora Pechovska, 33, lives in the north-western suburbs of Sydney. She has a Bachelor of Education (Secondary: Humanities) (Hons), a Bachelor of Arts (English Hons) and a Diploma in Digital and Interactive Games (Art).

Her community involvement includes working in educational environments such as teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), tutoring refugees and teaching English overseas. She currently works as a private English tutor and as a retail assistant and visual merchandiser for a fashion retailer.

Ms Pechovska worked 131 days as a temporary Board member during 2021–22.

Other temporary Board members

Mr Adam Hennessy and Mr Raphael Richards did not work any days as temporary Board members during 2021–22.

Statistics

There are statutory time limits for the making of classification decisions—20 days for standard applications and five days for priority applications. In addition, the Board endeavours to meet a three-day turnaround for public exhibition films.

Key statistics

The Classification Board made 2,479 classification decisions in 2021–22, a small decrease from 2,491 in the previous year. There were no classification decisions on internet content referred by the Office of the eSafety Commissioner and two classification decisions on content referred by the enforcement agencies.

No decisions exceeded the statutory time limit of 20 days for standard applications and five days for a priority application.

A breakdown of the Board’s workload is shown in Table 1. There was a 32% increase in the number of public exhibition films submitted, and a 24% increase in the number of films which were 241 to 300 minutes in duration.

Table 1: Number of Board decisions

Type of classification decision	Number of decisions
Total	2,508
Film (public exhibition (theatrical))	480
Film (sale/hire)—DVD/Blu-ray/online	1,461
Film (sale/hire)—ACA	94
Film (sale/hire)—ATSA	144
Computer games—excluding AACG	204
Computer games—AACG	94
Publications	0
Serial publication declarations	0
Internet content	0
Enforcement	2
Sub-total	2,479
Other decisions
Advertising assessment of likely classification—film	3
Advertising assessment of likely classification—computer games	0
Section 87 certificates—Classification Act	2
Conditional cultural exemptions (section 6H—Classification Act)	24
Call ins	0
Revocation of classification	0
Decline to deal further	0
Unclassified	0

Comparison with last year’s workload

A comparison of the number of Board decisions this year compared with 2020–21 is shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Board decisions—comparison

Measure	2021–22	2020–21	Percentage change
Overall classification decisions	2,479	2,491	0.5% decrease
Public exhibition (theatrical) films	480	364	32% increase
Computer games—excluding AACG	204	195	5% increase
Computer games AACG scheme	94	85	11% increase
Film—(sale/hire) DVD/Blu-ray/online	1,461	1,563	7% decrease
Film—(sale/hire) ACA scheme	94	73	29% increase
Film—(sale/hire) ATSA scheme	144	181	20% decrease
Publications/serial publication declarations combined	0	5	100% decrease
Board audits of serial declarations	0	0	nil movement

2020–2022 saw increased cinema closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While statistics on the number of applications depict a small drop in the application numbers, the number of minutes of content the Board classifies has increased significantly. This is demonstrated in two key ways. Table 3 below describes the Board membership numbers for the past three years. A reduction in the staff of full time Board members has resulted in a significant increase in the number of days worked by Temporary Board members.

Table 4 breaks down the total applications for films, including public exhibition films, by length of viewing time or minutes. This table demonstrates significant increases in longer films and series which are submitted for classification. The increase in public exhibition films alone added approximately 106 days of viewing content.

Table 3: Classification Board size

Classification Board size	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21	2021–22
Full time Board FTE	5.4	6.7	4.7	5.3
Temp member days	480	528	649	905

Table 4: Films classified by duration

Time slice	21–22	20–21	% change
Total	480	364	32%
Film other
0–60 minutes	629	691	-9%
61–120 minutes	578	632	-9%
121–180 minutes	62	62	0%
181–240 minutes	14	29	-52%
241–300 minutes	94	76	24%
301–400 minutes	42	42	0%
401–500 minutes	16	13	23%
501–600 minutes	12	7	71%
601–700 minutes	6	5	20%
701–800 minutes	6	5	20%
801–900 minutes	0	0	0%
901–1000 minutes	0	0	0%
1001–1100 minutes	0	0	0%
1101–1200 minutes	0	0	0%
1201–300 minutes	0	0	0%
1301–1400  minutes	0	1	-100%
1401–1500 minutes	1	0	100%
1501–1600 minutes	0	0	0%
1601–1700 minutes	0	0	0%
1701–1800 minutes	0	0	0%
1801–1900 minutes	0	0	0%
1901–2000 minutes	1	0	100%
Total	1,461	1,563	-7%
PE
0–60 minutes	9	8	13%
61–120 minutes	285	277	3%
121–180 minutes	185	79	134%
181–240 minutes	1	0	100%
More than 240 minutes	0	0	0%

Films classified for public exhibition

The Board made 480 decisions on applications for the classification of commercial films for public exhibition.

Table 5: Decisions on commercial films classified for public exhibition

Classification rating	Number of decisions
Total	480
G	17
PG	100
M	225
MA 15+	127
R 18+	11
X 18+	0
RC	0

As indicated in Figure 1, 72% of public exhibition film classifications during the year were in the advisory categories of G, PG and M, with the highest number of individual decisions in the M category.

Figure 1: Decisions on films classified for public exhibition

Films classified for sale/hire

The Board made 1,699 decisions on applications for classification of commercial films for sale/hire, including films submitted as part of the authorised assessor schemes (ACA and ATSA) where the Board is still responsible for the classification of the film, but its decision may be informed by an assessor’s report and recommendation of classification rating and consumer advice.

Table 6: Decisions on commercial films classified for sale/hire

Classification rating	Number of decisions
Total	1,699
G	262
PG	297
M	663
MA 15+	458
R 18+	18
X 18+	0
RC	1

As indicated in Figure 2, approximately 72% of classifications of films for sale/hire during the year were in the advisory categories of G, PG and M, with the highest number of decisions in the M category. This is consistent with the past year, where the highest number of classifications was in the M classification category, and is aligned with the PE film decisions.

One film for commercial sale/hire in the reporting period was Refused Classification (RC).

Figure 2: Decisions on commercial films classified for sale/hire (including ACA and ATSA)

Table 7: Commercial films classified for sale/hire applications Refused Classification (RC) by reason

Note: The reason for refusing a commercial film classification is a reference to the relevant item in the Code—refer to Appendix A.

Reason	Number of decisions
Total	1
Film RC 1(a)	0
Film RC 1(b)	1
Film RC 1(c)	0
Film RC 1(a) & 1(b)	0

Computer games

The Board made 298 decisions on applications for computer games. The figures include applications made under the AACG scheme. Under this scheme, authorised assessors can make a recommendation about classification and consumer advice for a game at the G, PG or M classification levels. The Board is still responsible for the classification of the game, but its decision may be informed by an assessor’s report and recommendation of classification rating and consumer advice.

Table 8: Commercial computer games decisions by classification

Classification rating	Number of decisions
Total	298
G	84
PG	79
M	82
MA 15+	37
R 18+	14
RC	2

82% of computer game classifications during the year were in the advisory categories of G, PG and M, with the highest number of decisions falling in the G category.

The Board determined two Refused Classification (RC) decisions for computer games in the reporting period.

Figure 3: Computer game classification decisions (including AACG)

Table 9: Commercial computer game applications Refused Classification (RC) by reason

Note: The reason for refusing a computer game classification is a reference to the relevant item in the Code—refer to Appendix A.

Reason	Number of decisions
Total	2
Games RC 1(a)	1
Games RC 1(b)	1
Games RC 1(c)	0
Games RC 1(a) & 1(b)	0

Publications

The Board made no decisions on commercial applications for classification of publications.

No serial classification declaration was granted or revoked in the 2021–22 year.

Advertising approvals

The Board did not receive any applications for approval of advertisements under section 29 of the Classification Act.

Advertising assessments

The scheme for advertising of unclassified films and computer games allows advertising subject to conditions set out in the 2009 Determination.

During the reporting period, the Board made three assessments of the likely classification of films and no assessments of the likely classification of computer games.

Table 10: Advertising assessments for films

Likely classification	Number of decisions
Total	3
G	0
PG	0
M	1
MA 15+	2
R 18+	0

Revocations

No decision was made to revoke the classification of a film, computer game, publication or serial declaration under sections 21A, 21AA, 21AB or subsection 13(5) respectively of the Classification Act during this reporting period. Revocations under approved classification tools are discussed in the section Approved classification tools.

Call-ins

Under the Classification Act, the Director may call-in, that is, issue a notice to the publisher to submit an unclassified film (section 23A), computer game (section 24), or a submittable publication (section 23) for classification. Similar call-in provisions apply in relation to certain advertisements.

There were no call-in notices issued during the reporting period.

Approved classification tools

Pursuant to section 22CF of the Classification Act, decisions made by an approved classification tool are taken, for the purposes of the Classification Act, to be decisions of the Board.

Table 11: Tool decisions deemed to be decisions of the Board—comparison

Measure	2021–22	2020–21	Percentage change
IARC tool	275,159	250,983	9.2% increase
Netflix tool	1,290	1,300	0.8% decrease

The IARC tool

During the reporting period, the IARC tool made 275,159 decisions, which were published on the NCD, and 4,653 games were checked by staff of the Classification Branch who have been delegated authority to do so by the Director. Of these, 3,450 decisions were revoked, and the NCD was updated to reflect the new decision. Most of these checks resulted in an increased classification rating.

Figure 4: IARC tool classification decisions

RC decisions totalled 56, which was less than 0.1% of total decisions.

Table 12: IARC tool decisions by classification

Classification rating	Number of decisions
Total	275,159
G	206,663
PG	18,217
M	42,936
MA 15+	6,346
R 18+	941
RC	56

The Netflix tool

From 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022, the Netflix tool produced 1,290 decisions, which were published on the NCD. To ensure the Netflix tool makes decisions that align with decisions of the Board, titles that might be high profile, or the subject of a complaint are checked. During the reporting period, 43 titles were checked by the Board. Of these, 40 decisions were revoked and the NCD was updated to reflect the new decisions. Most of these checks resulted in changes to the consumer advice without changes to the classification rating.

Table 13: Netflix tool decisions by classification

Classification rating	Number of decisions
Total	1,290
G	130
PG	213
M	523
MA 15+	412
R 18+	12
RC	0

Figure 5: Netflix tool classification decisions

Other functions

Exemptions to show unclassified content

Under the Conditional Cultural Exemption Rules, organisers for events such as film festivals and computer games expos, and for cultural institutions such as art galleries and museums, self-assess their eligibility for exemption to exhibit unclassified films, computer games and certain publications. If they comply with the standard conditions, event organisers can register their event online in the classification portal.

During 2021–22, 260 festival events were registered.

During the reporting period, the Director received 24 applications for a waiver or variation to the exemption rules. Of these, the Director approved all of the applications, with variations in certain circumstances.

Cinemas across Australia began to reopen and seating restrictions were eased; however, the reluctance of many people to return to physical screenings meant that many festivals applied to conduct hybrid formats, combining cinema screenings with an online component.

Enforcement agencies

The Board classifies films, publications and computer games submitted by law enforcement agencies. These classification decisions are often used in enforcement proceedings undertaken by the agency involved.

There were two classification decisions for enforcement applications made in the reporting period—both for publications. Both required a certificate to be issued pursuant to section 87 of the Classification Act. There was no single section 87 certificate issued during this period. Hence, the total number of documents issued was four.

There were no enforcement applications for computer games or films in 2021–22.

Table 14: Enforcement application decisions by agency

Enforcement agency	Publications	Films	Section 87 certificate1	Total documents issued
Total	2	0	2	4
Department of Home Affairs (Australian Border Force)	2	0	2	4

Internet content

Under Schedule 7 of the BSA the Board classifies internet content on application from the Office of the eSafety Commissioner. The Board did not receive any application from the Office of the eSafety Commissioner in the 2021–22 year.

Decisions

Films

Decisions for films were made using the Guidelines for the Classification of Films (2012) (the Films Guidelines).

The Films Guidelines explain the different classification categories and the scope and limits of material suitable for each category. Several principles underlie the use of the Films Guidelines, including the importance of context and assessing the impact of the six classifiable elements (themes, violence, sex, [coarse] language, drug use and nudity).

The Board’s general practice when providing consumer advice is to indicate the strongest classifiable element or elements which caused it to receive the designated classification level. The consumer advice is usually preceded by a descriptor to indicate impact or intensity, with this descriptor generally corresponding with the hierarchy of impact stated in the Films Guidelines. The default consumer advice for G-rated films is ‘general’ where there is no content which, in the Board’s opinion, warrants specific mention as consumer advice.

The following discussions and statistics about films relate solely to those decisions made by the Classification Board and exclude those made by the Netflix tool.

Out of the total of 2,179 commercial films classified in 2021–22, 279 films were classified G.

The G classification is for a General audience and the films range across wide genres. Not all G-rated films are of interest or are suitable for a child or teenager because, for example, of storylines or thematic content.

Significant films intended for children classified G during this period include:

• Lovely Little Farm—General: a series which follows Jill, a young child, and her family, who live on a farm with a number of pet animals, including a talking pony and alpaca.
• Pinecone and Pony—Very mild themes: an animated television series in which a young girl, Pinecone, and her pony, Pony, engage in various adventures and learn important life lessons. ‘Pony … partially falls when his front legs buckle. This causes Pony to fart. A puff of visible gas emanates from Pony’s rear with an audible fart sound… the film’s very mild crude humour warrants a G classification with consumer advice of very mild themes.’
• Wolfboy and the Everything Factory—Very mild themes: ‘animated children’s programme, following the adventures of a young boy known as Wolfboy in a magical realm called The Everything Factory. .. a school-boy grabs Wolfboy’s notebook and begins to laugh at his drawings, telling the other school-children, “He thinks he’s a pirate!” Wolfboy grabs the book and tries to pull it away, and the two boys begin tugging at the book until it flies into the air, pages of drawings flying through the air. The other school-children pick up the drawing and begin to laugh at Wolfboy, causing him to blush and look embarrassed… the viewing impact of the thematic content is mitigated by the film’s stylised and cartoony animation style and the focus on overcoming problems by being empathetic to others’ feelings and offering emotional support.’

G films can be equally attractive to adult audiences. Significant films directed towards older audiences during the year included:

• Citadel Colour Masterclass—General: ‘an instructional series in which a host demonstrates various painting techniques on Warhammer figures and models.’
• Camino de Santiago: Faith Walk with Kristin and Peter—Very mild themes: ‘a documentary that follows husband and wife Kristin Dickerson and Peter Fleisher as, over the course of six weeks, they make a 500-mile pilgrimage to the remains of Saint James in Spain… Kristin speaks with a fellow pilgrim who comments, “My wife died recently. For me it was a question of asking why I can’t deal with her passing. I am still traumatised and it’s just on two years when I say ‘recently’.” ‘
• Billy Joel: In Black and White—Very mild themes and coarse language: ‘a recording of a Q&A session with Billy Joel in Miami Beach, Florida. Filmed in black and white, the session contains his thoughts on life and music, interspersed with clips of musical performances… he sings his own song, “Piano Man”, referencing various customers as they drink around him. Lyrics include the lines, “Making love to his tonic and gin” and “The businessmen slowly get stoned”… he talks about his ongoing surprise that audiences come to see him play, asking, “What the hell are all these people coming to see me for?”’

A number of films classified G during the year are worth noting:

• Back to the Outback—Very mild crude humour, animated violence and coarse language: ‘an animated children’s adventure film which follows the journey of animals breaking out of their cages at Australia’s Wildlife Park on a quest to return to their homes in the outback… An extended car chase commences with the use of weapons including a tranquiliser gun and a bazooka. The chase is joined by a number of motorbikes… Pretty Boy falls and lands in the lap of a motorbike rider. The rider threatens him with a knife before he is rescued by Maddie, who hisses at the rider and scares him away. The car chase continues and the camera faces Chaz standing in the jeep with a bazooka in his hands. Chaz explains, “There is no more Mr Nice Guy!” His son looks on in shock and says, “Dad, that is a bazooka.” Chaz explains, “I was saving this for your birthday son, this is an emergency.” … The bazooka is fired, hitting the wall of the cliff, with stylised dirt and dust particles emerging. The scene ends when scorpions arrive at the scene to help the animals, landing on the scope of the bazooka… depictions of violence are mitigated by the film’s comedic tone together with the context of no character coming to any harm or injury, imparting an impact which does not exceed very mild. As such, a classification of G is appropriate.’
• King Tweety—Very mild themes, slapstick violence and coarse language: ‘a US animated feature in which Tweety Bird, Sylvester and Granny head to the Canary Islands after the Queen of the Islands is kidnapped and it transpires that Tweety is a long-lost relative… At several points, Tweety and Sylvester find themselves pursued by different creatures as part of madcap chases. These scenes are played for comedic effect, with Tweety often completely unaware of their pursuers and Sylvester bearing the brunt of their attentions… In the Board’s view, the numerous escapades and chases in this animated film are played for laughs and any sense of peril is very low.’
• Sixteen Legs: Journey to the Queen of the Dark—Very mild themes, predatory animal behaviour and sexual references (another version was classified PG): ‘a modified version of a previously classified documentary feature, Sixteen Legs, about Tasmanian cave eco-systems and the giant spiders that live within them. An abridged and less technical version of the original film, it is intended for use in schools and consists mostly of scientific content… Predatory animal behaviour is depicted at 34 minutes, when a cricket is caught in the web of a giant spider… Close-up footage depicts the spider removing legs from the cricket… A sexual reference is included when it is explained that the male spider has curved legs for gripping the female. As the curved limbs are depicted in close-up, the voiceover says, “This makes their sex-life truly kinky”. The mating process is then only described in discreet scientific terms, with verbal references to genitalia and papal bulbs.’

Out of the total of 2,179 commercial films classified in 2021–22, 397 films were classified PG.

The PG classification stands for Parental Guidance. Films classified PG range across wide genres. Some films may contain material which some children or young people may find confusing or upsetting. It is intended that the viewing of PG-rated films by persons under 15 years of age is with the guidance of a parent or guardian.

Significant films intended for children classified PG during this period include:

• Cruella—Mild themes, violence and sense of threat: ‘a dramatic film in which a young, eccentric woman—Estella—begins designing for an acclaimed fashion firm, butting heads and ultimately competing with firm operator—the Baroness—as her alter-ego—Cruella… Despite the sense of threat throughout this sequence, its overall impact is mitigated by the somewhat campy and theatrical tone of the verbal interplay between the Baroness and Estella, the fact that her housemates and pets are depicted unharmed at the end of the sequence and that Estella is revealed to be alive and well immediately after the sequence.’
• Prehistoric Planet—Mild themes and predatory animal behaviour: ‘A UK wildlife documentary series presented by David Attenborough, in which digital imaging and special effects are used to insert realistic prehistoric creatures into real-life natural locations… a fight between two male pterosaurs results in them engaging in a rapid aerial dogfight, … they are depicted chasing one another through the sky, until the pursuer snaps at his quarry and it is seen to fall against the side of the stack and then slide a long distance down, dislodging sand and rocks and coming to rest, implicitly dead… the thematic material in this film, including depictions of predatory behaviour, sit within the overall context of a wildlife documentary and do not exceed a mild impact.’
• Panda Vs. Aliens—Mild science fiction themes and animated violence: ‘an animated action film in which a television actor, Pandy (a panda), must stop an invading alien force from destroying his Earth-like planet, the planet Nuwa… Glider breathes fire onto a lump of the octopus’ ink projectile, which causes a large ball of fire to hit King Karoth in his floating space chair and send him crashing into a wall… due to the film’s overall light and comedic tone and lack of injury detail, the film’s science fiction themes and animated violence do not exceed mild in impact.’
• Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse—Mild themes and animated violence: ‘an animated feature film based on the animated series, Teen Titans Go! … The film contains themes, relating to possession and peril, which have a low sense of threat and menace and are justified by context. The film also contains infrequent mild violence that is justified by context. The themes and violence are inextricably linked by the narrative of the film, in which the Teen Titans and DC Super Hero Girls attempt to save the world from bad guy, Lex Luther, and his team of super-villains.’
• Clifford the Big Red Dog—Mild crude humour and slapstick violence: ‘a family film based on the popular children’s book character of the same name. The film follows Emily, who falls in love with a small, red puppy when she and her Uncle Casey visit an animal rescue… She picks Brutus up and holds him near Clifford’s rear. Owen turns away, holding his nose. Emily pulls a face and turns away as Brutus sniffs what is implicitly Clifford’s rear. Emily says, “Are you done?” and lowers Brutus to the floor… The two groups of men try to stop each other by throwing packets of chips, candy and other food items at each other. One man uses a string of sausages as a nunchuck. Casey ducks down behind the counter and manages to flip it over onto another man’s head. A man squirts a bottle of ketchup over another man. The men trade light punches, shoves and kicks as they fight each other around the shop. There are no injuries depicted and all the men are viewed running down the road in the following scene.’

PG films can be equally attractive to adult audiences. Significant films directed towards older audiences during the year included:

• Christmas on the Farm—Mild themes and occasional coarse language: An Australian romantic comedy film in which a writer, Emmy, has to convince a playboy publisher, Jackson, that she wrote her dead mother’s memoir by hosting him and his mother at her family farm for Christmas....Jackson yells out in pain that something has bitten him. They panic and Emmy tells him, “Grab your crotch, grab your crotch, once they latch onto something they’re impossible to get off…” In the Board’s opinion, the impact of the themes exceeds very mild… The film contains mild coarse language in the form of a single use of the word “shit”.’
• Laura Ingalls Wilder—Prairie to Page—Mild themes: ‘a documentary film about the life and work of the American writer, who is mostly known for the Little House on the Prairie series of children’s books… A woman notes that the war occurred due to broken promises and treaties made by the American government with the Dakota people. She comments, “Very violent battles took place. The media coverage during that period was trying to incite fear.” An image depicting two Dakota men holding hatchets and grabbing the arms of a white woman is viewed as another woman comments, “White women of that time did feel great fear of Indians…” In the Board’s opinion, given that the depictions of violence are used to illustrate thematic aspects of Wilder’s novels and only viewed in black and white photographs or still images, it is appropriate to subsume the element of violence.’
• Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)—Mild themes and drug references: ‘an American documentary film about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival which celebrated African American culture… gunshot-like sound accompanies Reverend Jackson saying the word “pow” and the screen cuts to black. A black-and-white photograph of a lifeless Dr King lying on the ground with a dark pool of blood around his body is depicted…. In the Board’s opinion, due to the film’s documentary context and use of still images and post-action depictions of violence and thematic content, the viewing impact of the film does not exceed mild.’
• John Farrow: Hollywood’s Man in the Shadows—Mild themes, violence, sexual references and nudity: ‘an Australian documentary feature about one of Hollywood’s most prolific yet forgotten film-makers… His behaviour is described as ‘womanising’ and the interviewee goes on to say, “He was out screwing all those women… and there were dozens.” A still image of a vintage Man Ray photograph is shown onscreen for three seconds. The black and white image depicts the shadowed upper torso of a nude woman, her arms spread and her breasts visible, holding her hands behind her neck.’
• Palazzo di Cozzo—Mild themes, drug references, sexual references and occasional coarse language: ‘a documentary about Sicilian furniture merchant and cult icon Franco Cozzo… The film contains themes, including discussion of criminal activity, that have a low sense of threat or menace and are justified by context. The film contains drug references that are mild in impact and justified by context… a woman who owns a bed purchased from Franco comments, “I wanted some [furniture] for so long. But when I was set to buy some I was sharing a studio with some boys and they said, ‘You’ll never get laid if you get that stuff’.” ‘

A number of films classified PG during the year are worth noting:

• Tamayomi: The Baseball Girls—Mild themes, sexualised imagery and coarse language: ‘12 episodes of the Japanese animated sports drama series Tamayomi: The Baseball Girls, which follows the fortunes of a girls high school baseball team, led by childhood friends Tama (the catcher) and Yomi (the star pitcher). This film is… in the Japanese language with English subtitles… Yoshino meets Shiragiku and immediately grabs the back of her thigh, saying (as a compliment), “You did kendo? That’s why you’re so beefy!”… In the Board’s opinion, as these scenes are presented with a comedic tone and are not sexualised, they impart a mild impact… after Ibuki is struck by a pitch, Yomi asks to see where she got hit. The camera cuts to a brief close-up shot of Ibuki bending over a plastic stadium chair, with the right leg of her shorts rolled up to show a pink mark on the back of her thigh, just below her buttock. This is accompanied by a comedic sound effect that draws attention to the shot before it quickly zooms out. Ibuki says, “You see, it’s nothing at all really.” In the Board’s opinion, given that the female characters throughout the film are not routinely depicted in sexualised costumes or poses and the context of the scene is a depiction of a sporting injury, the impact is no higher than mild… The film contains mild coarse language in the form of the words “shit” and “crap”.’
• My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu Climax—Complete Season 3—Mild sexual references, innuendo and coarse language: ‘12 episodes of a Japanese animated series My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax, said to be the Complete Season 3. The series takes place during the penultimate year of high school for Hikigaya, Yukino and Yiu, as they and the Service Club attempt to stage the first ever prom for graduating students… innuendo and sexual references are, at times, inextricably linked in a drama in which high school students occasionally flirt and discuss the potential for romantic involvement… the students make flirtatious comments about their potential attraction to each other, asking questions like, “So you’re attracted to younger women?”, “Is this a love triangle or something?” and “Are you hitting on me?” There is no depiction of sexual activity, with references to their suppressed attraction to one another being almost entirely verbal, although they occasionally touch each other’s hands or arms and exchange meaningful looks.’
• Ablaze—Themes of racial discrimination: ‘an Australian documentary film which examines the life of the Aboriginal filmmaker and activist Bill Onus. The film is narrated by Onus’s grandson, the opera singer Tiriki Onus… the film touches on persistent issues of racial discrimination, segregation, the suppression of Aboriginal culture and language and the removal of children from Aboriginal families… At 17 minutes, a woman describes the treatment of Aboriginal families in Fitzroy in the 1940s and says, “It didn’t matter whether you lived or died because we were treated like animals…” In the Board’s opinion, the treatment of themes is mitigated by the film’s documentary context.’
• Encanto—Mild sense of peril: ‘an animated film that tells the story of an extraordinary family who live in the Encanto, a charmed place in the mountains of Colombia. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift, except Mirabel, who may be the family’s last hope when they discover the magic surrounding the Encanto is in danger. In a short film prior to the main feature, a wolf spies a raccoon and hungrily races towards it. The raccoon is startled and dashes away as the wolf makes chase. The wolf catches up to the raccoon and, just as the wolf is about to bite, the raccoon’s parent rushes in and throws its baby out of harm’s way. However, in the process of saving the young raccoon, the parent collides with the wolf’s claw and is implicitly struck. Flashes of red are viewed (implicitly blood), however the raccoons make it back to their shelter safely… the harrowing experience ultimately has a positive outcome, in which the raccoons’ relationship with each other is strengthened.’

Out of the total of 2,179 commercial films classified in 2021–22, 888 films were classified M.

A film classified M is not recommended for persons under the age of 15 years. There are no legal restrictions on access.

• Atrangi Re—Mature themes: ‘an Indian romantic drama in which two young people, Vishu and Rinku, are forced into marriage, despite both being involved with other people… The film is in Hindi and Tamil with English subtitles... In this fantasy sequence, the multiple shots of Sajjad and Rinku burning do not contain any injury or wound detail, with the stylised flame effects covering the shapes of their bodies. However, the music on the soundtrack becomes increasingly urgent and the frequent cuts between the two timeframes serve to amplify the tension, generating a sequence that is moderate in intensity… the combination of the depiction of Sajjad’s suicide attempt and the later sequence in which he sets light to himself, has a moderate impact overall.‘
• West Side Story—Violence: ‘a musical in which tensions escalate between rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, when Tony falls in love with Maria, whose brother is the leader of the Puerto Rican Sharks… stylised and choreographed brawls between two gangs and other scenes of violence and sexual threat are moderate in impact… The thematic treatment of the gang rivalry that propels the narrative… can appropriately be subsumed into the element of violence.’
• The Tragedy of Macbeth—Mature themes and violence: ‘A drama, filmed in black and white, which is based on the play by William Shakespeare… Macbeth is then depicted, at close-range, taking a knife and explicitly pushing it into King Duncan’s neck. A small amount of blood sprays onto Macbeth’s face as the King implicitly dies… the impact of the thematic content and violence within the film is mitigated by its highly-stylised theatrical context and use of black and white cinematography.’
• This Much I Know To Be True—Coarse language: ‘a documentary about the working relationship between Nick Cave and Warren Ellis… The film contains use of coarse language that is moderate in impact. It includes infrequent use of strong coarse language that is justified by context in the form of the word “f**k” and derivatives.’
• Some Kind of Heaven—Drug use: ‘US documentary film which examines the lives of the residents of America’s largest retirement community… The film contains drug use and drug references that are moderate in impact and justified by context… Reggie, one of the village’s residents, discusses mortality. He then says in a voiceover, “I really like stimulating myself with drugs. They get me to a spiritual place, really quick.” The camera then cuts to show him tipping plant-like material from a glass jar into his palm. He then places the material into a V-shaped pipe, which he inserts into his mouth and left nostril, shown in a close-up shot.’
• Illusions Perdues—Sex scenes and nudity: ‘a French Restoration drama which focuses on a young writer named Lucien and his attempts to enter Parisian society following a scandalous relationship with an unhappy Baroness. The film is in French with English subtitles… Lucien is depicted having intercourse with Louise. Framed in close-up and visible from the shoulders up, he lies on top of her. His upper body moves as he implicitly thrusts against her and the tops of her legs are visible at the bottom of the screen, resting on either side of his torso. Their faces are seen in extreme close-up as Louise says, “Harder!” and gasps, throwing her head back. This is followed by an extreme close-up of Lucien’s face as he stares intently down at her. The scene cuts to them lying peacefully together. Lucien gets out of bed and is depicted naked and in profile walking across the room… the depictions of sex and nudity in this film do not exceed a moderate impact.’

A number of films classified M during the year are worth noting:

• The Batman—Sustained threat, violence and coarse language: ‘an action thriller in which Bruce Wayne is drawn into a web of crime and corruption following a series of high profile murders carried out by a sadistic serial killer… The mayor’s body is depicted in a chair, his head and face completely wrapped in grey masking tape with the words “No more lies” written across his face in red lettering, implicitly blood. A policeman describes the crime as, “Blunt force trauma, lacerations on the head… He got hit a lot of times, and hard”. It is then revealed that his thumb was cut off, as a medium shot depicts his arm, with the hand covered by a paper bag, being extended and lifted. The bag is removed from the hand, revealing his fingers and absent thumb, although this is not seen in detail and there is no blood evident. As his hand is lifted, Batman looks down and says, “He was alive when it was cut off”… In the Board’s view, the violence does not exceed a moderate impact and the film can be accommodated within the M classification. However, the Board is also of the opinion that specific consumer advice of sustained threat is warranted to reflect the dark and menacing tone throughout, particularly with reference to the string of sadistic murders in the first half of the film.’
• The French Dispatch—Nudity, sexual references, coarse language and drug use: ‘a US/German comedy which brings to life a collection of stories published in an American newspaper in a fictional 20th century French city. The film is predominantly in English, but features sequences with French dialogue that is subtitled in English… the same woman, now revealed to be a prison officer named Simone, is depicted in a series of four still images, again posing as an artist’s model. She is fully naked and her breasts, pubic hair and buttocks are visible. In one pose she is depicted in profile and balanced on her hands on top of a radiator, her legs extended. In another, again in profile, she curves her body forward causing her breasts to hang down. In a final image, her shoulder, arm and breast are depicted in close-up as she is depicted sprinkling a liquid, named as turpentine, up her arm and across her body… a night-time image depicts a laneway with three characters stood in the shadows at the bottom left of the screen. A man lifts his wrist while another man bends his head to it, implicitly to inhale a drug that is being offered to him… In the Board’s view, the very brief images of implicit drug use in this film do not exceed a moderate impact.’
• Joe Bell—Mature themes, coarse language, sexual references and references to suicide: ‘an American biographical drama following the true story of a man named Joe Bell who embarks on a walk across America to speak about the effects of bullying in tribute to his son, Jadin… the thematic content is frequent throughout the film and central to its overarching narrative, it is treated discreetly and does not exceed moderate in viewing impact. Therefore, the film warrants accommodation at the upper end of the M classification, with consumer advice of mature themes and sexual references, and subsuming advice for violence… The Board is also of the opinion that, as the suicide of Jadin Bell is central to the narrative of the film and is referenced throughout its duration, the film warrants additional consumer advice of references to suicide.’
• Cloudy Mountain—Disaster themes and a sense of peril: ‘a Chinese disaster film set in a mountainous region where a 10-year tunnelling project is nearing completion. A series of geological disasters interrupts the project and endangers a nearby town, as a father and son work to rescue survivors and divert an imminent landslide. The film is in Mandarin with English subtitles… This film features numerous extended action set-pieces as a series of geological incidents generate water fissures, a huge sinkhole in a town-centre, rock-falls and landslides. Characters are depicted in perilous circumstances, often during lengthy sequences… Despite the absence of wound detail and the lack of realism in many of the stunt scenes, the numerous lengthy action sequences generate moderate levels of tension throughout.’
• Un Monde—Bullying themes: a drama from Belgium in which Nora starts school only to discover that her brother, Abel, is being routinely bullied. The film is in French with English subtitles… Although a fictional piece, this film is shot with hand-held camera at the height of the protagonist, in a naturalistic documentary style and featuring ambient sound which is often louder than the dialogue. All the action takes place in a school setting and a level of realism is maintained throughout, amplifying the impact of the narrative on Nora and her brother… The theme of bullying is central to the narrative of this film, with the majority of scenes and interactions between characters directly linked to the bullying that Abel is experiencing. Although the majority of the early sequences are discreetly and briefly portrayed, the cumulative impact of the piece, and especially the final sequence in which Ismael is bullied, exceeds a mild impact.’
• If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power—Mature themes, violence, sex, nudity and coarse language: ‘a film experience set to the music of Halsey’s upcoming album of the same name. The film follows a queen as she discovers and unlocks a paranormal power within her… At 12 minutes, the queen is depicted walking through a bath-house. In a distant shot, she is depicted walking into a pool, fully nude, with her breasts and pubic region exposed. Multiple nude women, whose breasts and pubic regions are also exposed, follow her into the water in a line. In a series of cropped shots, some of which are underwater shots, the women’s breasts and lower bodies are depicted. The nudity is naturalistic and the scene is set to music from Halsey’s album, creating a context resembling that of a music video.’

Out of the total of 2,179 commercial films classified in 2021–22, 585 films were classified MA 15+.

Significant films classified MA 15+ during this period include:

• Nitram—Strong themes: ‘an Australian drama inspired by the events of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre… This film depicts a dramatised version of real-life events in a clinical, detached style. While the shootings are not depicted on-screen, the overwhelming sense of menace imbued in the film’s dispassionate depiction of events—and amplified by the viewer’s awareness of the looming massacre—cumulatively generates a strong impact.’
• RRR: Rise, Roar, Revolt—Strong themes and violence: ‘an action/drama film in which two men, Raju and Akhtar, become best friends while on opposing sides of the law during the colonial occupation of India. The film is in Telugu and English with English subtitles… although the film is highly stylised, the film’s blood detail and drawn-out depiction of a flogging exceed moderate in impact and warrant an MA 15+ classification with consumer advice of strong themes and violence best describing the film’s content.’
• Flashback—Strong drug use: ‘a mystery/thriller film from Canada. It follows Fredrick Fitzell, who experiences flashbacks from his past which include a missing girl and experimentation with a mind-altering street drug, Mercury… drug use and drug references that are strong in impact and justified by context… Fredrick steps through the doorway, into a flashback scene of a dark, drug-fuelled party, where guests are depicted semi-conscious and drug paraphernalia is viewed. Seb holds out his hand with four black pills, saying, “One hundred percent pure. Shall we?” …’
• Margrete: Queen of the North—Strong nudity: ‘a historical drama film co-produced in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Iceland and the Czech Republic. Loosely based on true events in 1402, the film follows Queen Margrete of Denmark, who has successfully united Denmark, Norway and Sweden into a union that she rules through her adopted son, King Erik… Erik and Astrid are viewed lying with their naked bodies entwined on a bed, sleeping. Erik’s bare buttocks are viewed. A knock at the door wakes them and they sit up, with Astrid’s bare breasts viewed as she hurriedly pushes herself up to a seated position. Her genitals are obscured by Erik’s body as he moves to comfort her. Erik’s penis is briefly viewed dangling between his thighs as he kneels on the bed, in a shadowy shot.’
• G Storm—Strong violence: ‘a Chinese action crime drama, set in Hong Kong, in which officers of the Independent Commission Against Corruption investigate a crime syndicate involved in the trafficking of young women. The film is in Cantonese and subtitled in English… a container is opened on a dock to reveal it is full of frightened women, who are dragged out by workers. ICAC officers move in to make arrests, but the criminals begin shooting at them with machine guns. The officers take cover in the container, but the thugs fire machine guns through the container walls, hitting a number of the women still inside. Bloodied wounds are visible.’
• House of Gucci—A strong sex scene: ‘an American biographical crime drama following the fight for control within the Italian fashion house… In the Board’s opinion, the vigorous and forceful nature of the movement depicted, combined with the prolonged duration of the scene and Patrizia’s loud and enthusiastic vocal effects, imparts a viewing impact which exceeds moderate.’
• The Parapod: A Very British Ghost Story—Strong coarse language: ’a UK documentary film inspired by a popular podcast in which a confirmed sceptic, Ian Boldsworth, and a believer in the supernatural, Barry Dodds, discuss hauntings and mysterious events… Throughout the film, Ian and Barry use the word “f**k” in a large proportion of the conversations that they have, often numerous times in rapid succession… This scene alone contains 20+ uses of “f**k” or derivatives in a 2–3 minute duration. The Board also notes that other examples of coarse language, predominantly “shitting” and “twatting”, are similarly used very frequently throughout the film.’

A number of films classified MA 15+ during the year are worth noting:

• Holiday—Strong crude sexual humour: ‘a US comedy film. It is Christmas and Liz takes her boyfriend to meet her conservative family for the first time. To lighten the occasion, they decide to bring marijuana-infused salad dressing, but things get out of hand when Liz’s mother uses the entire bottle on the bowl of salad… Dad pushes a life-size model of a reindeer through his rival neighbour’s window, startling the family inside. Dad is depicted thrusting behind the reindeer, implicitly engaged in rear-entry intercourse. Dad’s face is depicted in close-up as he says, “Oh you’re tight, I got a splinter.” His neighbour films him on a phone as Dad goes on to say, “I am f**king your deer. This is your deer from your front yard and I am f**king it!”... In the Board’s opinion, the sexual references and crude humour in these sequences exceed what can be accommodated at the M classification level.’
• Transference: Dark Mutants—Strong suicide scenes: ‘a supernatural thriller film about telekinetic siblings, Emma and Josh, who attempt to avoid detection with the help of a psychiatric doctor… The sequence focuses on the woman repeatedly slicing at her wrist, with blood dripping to the floor. Emma is then depicted on the floor, with pills scattered on the floor and her wrist slit open with blood down her arm. A close-up shows her bloodied arm and a small pool of blood under her arm. In the Board’s opinion, although the film has an overall supernatural tone, the film’s depictions of suicide are strong in impact and warrant specific consumer advice.’
• Lion Spy—Strong hunting violence: ‘an Australian documentary film that follows Rogue Rubin, who, after discovering that lions are on the verge of imminent extinction, goes undercover in Africa as a big game photographer to discover why the lion population is diminishing… Despite being partially obscured by bushes, blood detail is evident on the lion’s head before it is explicitly shot a second time at mid-range. The hunters congratulate each other as a close-up is shown of the lion’s head lying motionless in the blood-stained grass. Pieter proceeds to grab hold of the lion’s bloody head, which rolls around loosely in his hand, as a larger blood pool is viewed underneath the lion and Pieter tells Ralph that his shot was “perfect”… In the Board’s opinion, given the frequent and often prolonged depictions of animals in distress, the impact of the themes exceeds moderate. This is further heightened by the level of blood detail depicted and use of close-up camera shots.’
• Pompeii: City of Sin—Strong sexualised imagery: ‘an Italian documentary film exploring the mythology and culture of Pompeii prior to being buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. … The film is in English and Italian with no English subtitles accompanying dialogue in Italian… in context of the representations of sex and nudity in Pompeii’s frescos, the camera pans across a wall of fresco paintings in which a woman, appearing to be nude, is depicted on her knees and bent forward atop a bed with a seemingly nude man positioned behind bracing himself against another seemingly nude man positioned behind him, implying that the three individuals depicted are engaged in sexual intercourse… In the Board’s opinion, despite the documentary and historical context of the depictions, the focus on these depictions in the context of a prolonged discussion about the role eroticism played in the culture of Pompeii, exceeds moderate in impact.’
• The Kids—Strong themes of exploitation, sex, drug use and coarse language: ‘an Australian documentary film exploring the lives and circumstances of the original cast members of Larry Clark’s iconic 1995 film, Kids. The film includes interviews with some of the cast members of the film as well as archival footage of them in their youth and footage from the film, Kids… and brings attention to the ways in which director Larry Clark inserted himself into the teenagers’ lives through the use of drugs and alcohol and proceeded to profit from the film and photographs taken of them… Based on the context of the conversation of Larry’s photographs of the group appearing in Kids prior to the shooting of the film, it is implied that some of the girls depicted in the photographs may be minors. However, there is no clear indication of the ages of the girls in the photographs. In the Board’s opinion, consumer advice of strong themes of exploitation and sex appropriately describes the nature of the imagery depicted in the shots of Larry Clark’s photographs, subsuming advice for nudity… In the Board’s opinion, the frequent and aggressive use of strong coarse language [f**king] throughout the film (over 80 uses in the film’s 91 minute duration) imparts a strong impact warranting an MA 15+ classification.’
• Plunderer—Season One Part 2—Strong animated violence, sexual violence, sexualised imagery and sexual innuendo: ‘12 episodes of the animated Japanese fantasy series, Plunderer, … a group of youngsters have travelled back in time and are now students in a military academy, where they vow to develop “an army that does not kill”. The series is in English, with the credit sequences in Japanese… The film contains animated violence, including sexual violence, which is strong in impact and justified by context… Rihito is forced to decapitate a number of soldiers. The action is initially seen in a stylised silhouette, with a still image depicting his slashing sword and three cartoon-style men in the distance with their heads flying through the air above their bodies. … Blood begins to spurt from the opening wounds and then Rihito’s face is viewed in close-up as a large amount of blood sprays from the man’s neck and all over Rihito. The head begins to slide forward diagonally along the line of the wound and then another silhouette view depicts Rihito standing in front of the man as his head slides off and falls to the ground. A close-up of the man’s chest, smeared in blood, is depicted before an aerial view of his headless body falling backwards onto the ground… In the opinion of the Board, the sexualised imagery and comic sexual references throughout this series sit in the upper range of what could be accommodated within an M classification. The series therefore warrants additional consumer advice for sexualised imagery and sexual innuendo.’
• Jackass Forever—Strong crude humour, dangerous stunts, nudity and coarse language: ’a US comedic film featuring Johnny Knoxville and his Jackass crew, reunited to perform a selection of their trademark mad-cap stunts and gross-out pranks… Chris stands nude, his penis depicted in close-up, squashed completely flat between two pieces of perspex. The gang point and laugh, including Chris, as screws are tightened to increase the pressure. Chris says, surprised, “It doesn’t hurt!” as an extreme close-up depicts his penis, completely flat, between the two sheets of plastic. Close-up shots then depict his testicles flapping beneath the perspex as he thrusts his hips repeatedly to hit a ball which is attached to the perspex with a piece of elastic… The stunts in this film are presented entirely within a comedic context. Although some of them are dangerous and result in injury to the participants, there is no depiction of serious or long-lasting harm or distress. The danger combined with continuous examples of crude humour and frequent male nudity, generates a sequence of pranks and skits which remains at a strong impact level throughout the film.’
• Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires—Strong animated violence, blood and gore and crude sexual humour: ‘a UK animated gross-out horror comedy in which a renegade cop, Chuck Steel, is recruited to save the city from the scourge of the trampires, a mutant hybrid of tramps and vampires… The tone throughout is very broadly comedic, with frequent examples of near-the-knuckle or gross-out humour, which along with the animated presentation, greatly mitigates the impact of the violent and gory sequences… This film employs a non-stop, fast-paced barrage of violence and crude humour throughout. However, the breezy comedic tone and over-the-top blood and gore effects, in combination with the highly stylised animated presentation, serve to mitigate the impact of the material, which the Board deems not to exceed strong.’

Out of the total of 2,179 commercial films classified in 2021–22, 29 films were classified R 18+. There are virtually no restrictions on the treatment of themes within this classification.

Significant films classified R 18+ during this period include:

• Benedetta—High Impact Sex Scenes: ‘a French and Dutch co-produced biographical drama following an Italian nun named Benedetta Carlini, venerated for her religious visions and manifestation of the stigmata, who was arrested and judged for her affair with another nun. The film is in French with English subtitles… although the sexual activity is largely obscured by the positioning of the actresses’ bodies, the realistic simulation of sexual activity, combined with the duration of the sex scenes, exceeds strong in viewing impact, therefore warranting an R 18+ classification.’
• Barbardeala cu Bucluc Sau Porno Balamuc—High impact sexualised nudity and actual sexual activity: ‘a dramatic film in which Emi, a school teacher, finds her career and reputation under threat after a personal sex tape is leaked on the Internet. Forced to meet the parents demanding her dismissal, Emi refuses to surrender to their pressure. The film features dialogue in Romanian, Czech, French and Russian that is subtitled in English… an essayistic section of the film titled “Short dictionary of anecdotes, signs and wonders” commences. This section of the film features commentary on various aspects of Romanian life, culture and history including statistics on domestic violence, attitudes towards rape and the involvement of Romanian military in the Holocaust… the text “blowjob” appears on screen as a woman is viewed explicitly fellating a man… In the Board’s opinion, the depictions of actual sexual activity are neither gratuitous nor exploitative, rather appearing to be part of a genuine exploration of sexuality and hypocrisy in contemporary society which are considered to be contextually relevant within the narrative of the film.’
• A Violent Man—High impact coarse language: ‘a dramatic film about Steve, a man serving a life sentence in prison, who takes a new inmate, Marcus, under his wing, confronting his violent past when his daughter reaches out after 20 years to reconnect with him… the film contains over 21 uses of very strong coarse language—and 170 uses of strong coarse language that is frequently aggressive—in its 105 minute duration, it exceeds what can be accommodated at the MA 15+ classification thereby warranting an R 18+ classification.’
• L’Evenement—High impact themes: ‘a French drama set in 1963, when abortion was still illegal in France. Anne, a successful student, discovers that she is pregnant, and is forced to confront shame, pain and a potential prison-term as she seeks to terminate her pregnancy. The film is in French with English subtitles… Anne’s sweating face and shoulders fill the frame, facing the camera, as she lowers herself onto the toilet. … A loud plop is heard, implicitly the fetus falling into the toilet bowl, and she briefly clenches. The close-up on her shocked face is held for a long beat as she attempts to control her breathing. … The camera continues to hold the view of her face. As she lowers her head to look down, the camera pans down her body, revealing her open thighs and pubic hair. The umbilical cord of the fetus hangs from between her legs and the toilet bowl is filled with bloody water and indistinct red matter. The camera moves back up to her sweaty face, which registers shock and confusion… The depiction of Anne’s miscarriage is more explicit than the previous abortion scenes. Her sustained anguish throughout, the sound effects of the fetus hitting the water and the visual image depicting the bloody fetus and cord hanging into the toilet bowl, cumulatively generate a scene of a high impact level which may cause offense or distress to some sections of the adult community.’
• Titane—High impact themes and violence: ‘a surreal French drama in which a young woman, Alexia, who is responsible for a series of murders, falls pregnant to her car. On the run from police, she assumes the identity of a young man, Adrien, who has been missing since he was a child, and is accepted by Adrien’s firefighter father, Vincent, as his son. The film is subtitled in English… Within the R 18+ classification there are virtually no restrictions on the treatment of themes. The film contains themes including scenes of attempted abortion and childbirth that are high in viewing impact. It also depicts a sexual relationship between a woman and a car. The film also contains violence that is high in viewing impact. … Alexia kisses Vincent as they lie together in bed. He rebuffs her and jumps from the bed. Alexia, nude, gets up on all fours. She vomits black liquid onto the bed. Vincent turns her onto her back and opens her legs in order to help her give birth. Alexia is pictured from the waist up, with the childbirth occurring below screen. The skin of her abdomen begins to tear in multiple places, revealing metal beneath. Vincent encourages her to push as she cries out in pain. The sound of a baby off screen indicates the child has been born. The camera then cuts to a side shot of Alexia lying back dead on the bed. The skin of her belly has been ripped open, showing the metal sphere beneath. Vincent wraps and comforts the baby as the scene ends… In the Board’s opinion, the treatment of themes and violence throughout the film imparts a cumulatively high impact. A classification of R 18+ is therefore appropriate… In a minority of the Board’s opinion, the treatment of themes and violence is mitigated by the film’s surreal, absurdist tone and consistently careful camera placement and imparts an impact which does not exceed strong. In the minority of the Board’s opinion, the film can therefore be accommodated at the upper limit of the MA 15+ classification.’
• Violation—High impact themes, violence, sexualised nudity and sexual violence: ‘a Canadian drama in which Miriam, a troubled woman on the edge of divorce, returns home to her younger sister after years apart. But when her sister and brother-in-law betray her trust, she embarks on a vicious crusade of revenge… At 45 minutes, a close-up depicts Dylan’s hand on Miriam’s shoulder and she moans quietly. Blurred close-ups depict Miriam’s neck and closed eyes as she lies on the ground, implicitly sleeping. In close-up, Dylan whispers, “I’ve wanted you for years. You feel so good. I’m so f**king hard for you.” He is heard moaning as Miriam continues to sleep. At 47 minutes, a close-up depicts Miriam’s eye flickering open. She quietly says, “Don’t. Stop.” Dylan is heard quietly moaning as a montage depicts abstracted close-up views of his skin pressed against Miriam’s, Miriam’s eye and an insect crawling across her fingers… In the Board’s opinion, as the depiction of the sexual assault is limited to abstracted close-ups of Dylan and Miriam, the impact of the scene is no greater than strong. However, given the duration of the scene and that the incident is central to the film’s narrative and Miriam’s motive in Dylan’s murder, additional consumer advice of sexual violence is warranted.’

The X 18+ classification applies to films only. It is a special and legally restricted category which contains only sexually explicit material: that is, material which contains real depictions of actual sexual intercourse and other sexual activity between consenting adults. X 18+ films are restricted to adults 18 years and over. These films can only be legally sold or hired in the Australian Capital Territory and parts of the Northern Territory.

Films classified X 18+ can contain real depictions of actual sexual activity between consenting adults, but the classification does not allow violence, sexual violence, sexualised violence or coercion. Nor does it allow consensual depictions which purposefully demean anyone involved in that activity for the enjoyment of viewers.

No commercial films were classified X 18+ during 2021–22.

Refused Classification (RC)

Films that are classified RC cannot be legally sold, hired, advertised or exhibited in Australia. Films will be classified RC if they depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults, to the extent that they should not be classified. Films that describe or depict in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult, a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 years (whether the person is engaged in sexual activity or not), will also be classified RC; as will films that promote, incite or instruct in matters of crime and violence. Films depicting gratuitous, exploitative or offensive depictions of violence with a very high degree of impact, including sexual violence, will also be RC.

One commercial film was classified RC under clause 1.(b) of the Films Table of the National Classification Code in the reporting period. The film was Interspecies Reviewers, a 12 episode Japanese anime series about a group of adventurers, who review brothels and sex workers from different species in a medieval fantasy land. The film was in Japanese with English subtitles. The Board determined that the film “depicted in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult, a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 (whether the person is engaged in sexual activity or not).”

Computer games

Decisions for computer games were made using the Guidelines for the Classification of Computer Games (the Games Guidelines).

The Games Guidelines explain the different classification categories and the scope and limits of material suitable for each category. Several principles underlie the use of the Games Guidelines including the importance of context and assessing the impact of the six classifiable elements (themes, violence, sex, [coarse] language, drug use and nudity).

The Board’s general practice when providing consumer advice is to indicate the strongest classifiable element or elements contained in the game which caused it to receive the designated classification level. The consumer advice is usually preceded by a descriptor to indicate impact or intensity. This descriptor generally corresponds with the hierarchy of impact stated in the Games Guidelines.

The following discussions and statistics about computer games relate solely to those decisions made by the Board and exclude those made by the IARC tool.

The G classification is for a General audience. While many games at the G classification are targeted at children, it does not necessarily mean that a child will enjoy all games classified G. Games at the G classification may also contain online interactivity and in-game purchases.

Out of the total of 298 commercial games classified in 2021–22, 84 games were classified G.

Significant computer games intended for children classified G during this period include:

• Slime Rancher 2—General: ‘an adventure game played in a sandbox-style open world, in which Beatrix LeBeau explores Rainbow Island, harvesting slimes and building a conservatory in which to keep them. There is no online interactivity in the game… The environment does not contain danger and if the character takes action that might harm them, for example falling into water, the screen goes black and a message is displayed that says, “You have been knocked out and require a number of hours rest”. The screen then goes completely black for a few seconds, before the player respawns back in the conservatory… Tarr Slimes can approach the player en masse. If they get close enough, stylised white mouth shapes flash onto the screen as they implicitly attempt to bite Beatrix. This action causes the player’s health bar to reduce, ultimately leading to a black screen and to respawn… In the Board’s view, the occasional presence of Tarr Slimes is a minor part of this non-threatening and gentle game and does not warrant specific consumer advice in relation to themes or violence.’
• Let’s Sing 2022—General, online interactivity and in-game purchases: ‘a music/karaoke computer game consisting of popular songs from ABBA. The player can listen or sing in different game modes, accept singing challenges, have a singing party or compete against friends. The game contains online interactivity in the form of online multiplayer mode and leader boards, and in-game purchasing of new songs.’
• Grand Mountain Fantasy Wonderlands—Very mild themes and coarse language: ‘a skiing and snowboarding game with a distant third-person perspective, in which the player traverses ski slopes, avoiding obstacles and competing in various snow-based mini-games. The game contains no online interactivity… In general gameplay, as the player hits obstacles or fails to land after falling from significant heights, their sprite falls to the ground, implicitly injured. The screen goes grey and gameplay restarts from a checkpoint… the player’s character is said to strike other non-playable characters and environmental characters, such as bears, as they traverse down ski-slopes, gaining points for each collision and punch. Animation detail in these sections of the game is minimal, with no blood or injury detail depicted and a distant overall perspective.’

G computer games can be equally attractive to adult audiences. Significant computer games directed towards older audiences during the year included:

• Lawn Mowing Simulator—General: ‘a simulation game in which the player must build up a lawncare business, purchasing and upgrading appropriate equipment and headquarters, balancing the books, and hiring employees. The player selects gardens to process, avatars and corporate uniforms. The game features no online interactivity, or in-game purchasing.’
• Pro Cycling Manager 2022—General, online interactivity: ‘a game in the Pro Cycling Manager franchise, which allows the player to manage a professional cycling team and compete in a wide range of competitions. The game includes online interactivity in the form of multiplayer tournaments, text chat and leader boards… The game allows the player to manage a professional cycling team which competes in various races. There are 700 stages and more than 80 teams as well as the ability to create a customised team. The player chooses tactics while viewing a third-person perspective of the peloton in the race.’

Computer games in this classification contain content that a child may find confusing or upsetting and may require the guidance of a parent or guardian, who needs to make decisions about appropriate entertainment material for their child.

Out of the total of 298 commercial games classified in 2021–22, 79 games were classified PG.

Significant computer games intended for children classified PG during this period include:

• Skul: The Hero Slayer—Mild fantasy violence and coarse language: ‘an action-platformer with rogue-like features in which Skul—a small skeleton soldier in the Demon King’s army sets off on a mission to strike back at the hero who slew his leader. The game does not include any online interactivity... Skul strikes his enemies with weapons and uses magical abilities in order to deplete the health bars of enemy characters such as wizards and tree-monsters. On defeat, enemies disappear in flashes of light and are replaced by coins or other collectible items. On completing levels, Skul battles various boss characters including a tree-monster and a multi-headed beast with the heads of lions and serpents… There is no blood or injury depicted in the game’s brightly-coloured, pixelated graphics… During one section of the game Skul says, “I really want to kick their asses”.’
• DC League of the Super Pets—Mild violence: ‘an action video game set in the DC comics universe in which the player flies through a cityscape as a cartoon dog dressed as either Superman or Batman and battles a range of robotic flying ships and turrets. The game does not include online interactivity… The game includes boss battles in which Lex Luther is depicted in a robot mech-style suit. Lex shoots rockets at the player super dog while the player must shoot specific areas of Lex’s mech suit in order to disable him. When the player character’s health bar diminishes the player character dog can be knocked off screen by an enemy projectile. The player character dog grunts and flashes white when hit by enemy fire… In the Board’s opinion, the game’s science fiction themes are mitigated by the brightly coloured presentation and the game’s focus on combat, and can be subsumed under the element of violence. The game’s violence does not exceed mild in impact due to the lack of injury detail and cartoon presentation.’
• Asterix and Obelix Slap Them All!—Mild violence: ‘a 2D side-scrolling action beat-‘em-up game in which Asterix and Obelix travel to Gaul, Spain, Corsica, Rome, Egypt, and Britain while battling Roman enemies. The game does not feature any online interactivity… The player controls the heroes Asterix and Obelix as they progress through a series of side-scrolling levels, battling enemies and collecting coins and food. The Roman soldiers are armed with shields, spears and swords, but Asterix and Obelix use mostly exaggerated melee attacks (slaps, throws, spins and comedic bumps) in combat. There is no depiction of blood or injury detail with attacks on enemy characters indicated by orbiting stars and comic book-style impact bursts featuring text such as “Bang!” or “Bong!”.’
• Kao the Kangaroo—Mild fantasy themes and violence: ‘a three-dimensional platforming game, presented with a third-person perspective, which follows an anthropomorphic kangaroo with magical boxing gloves, as he traverses a number of fantasy environments, collecting coins and other objects, dodging obstacles and engaging in crude combat with a variety of fantasy enemies. The overarching aim of the game is for Kao the Kangaroo to follow in his father’s footsteps, defeating an evil force that plagues his village. The game has no online interactivity… During typical sections of combat, the player strikes various fantasy creatures with their fists, knocking them backwards or causing them to disappear, as they encounter them in the environment. No blood or injury detail is depicted. In the Board’s opinion, the cumulative impact of themes and violence—although mitigated by the game’s cartoon animation style—exceeds very mild.’

PG computer games can be equally attractive to adult audiences. Significant computer games directed towards older audiences during the year included:

• Police Simulator: Patrol Officers—Mild themes, violence and drug references, online interactivity and in-game purchases: ‘a simulation game in which the player adopts the role of a police officer in the fictional US city of Brighton, undertaking law enforcement duties and dealing with incidents. The game features online interactivity in the form of in-game chat using pre-defined message options. The game also features in-game purchasing of objects… The game contains infrequent drug references that are justified by context. The drug references within the game are unrelated to incentives and rewards. The game contains no interactive illicit or proscribed drug use… When undertaking the search of a suspect, the player may find drugs on their person, limited to marijuana or “bags of white powder”. The drugs are not depicted onscreen, other than in small generic icons that appear in the list of items uncovered during a search. The player then has the ability to arrest NPCs for possession of drugs, or for suspicion of selling narcotics if the search uncovers multiple lots of the same drug.’
• Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream—Mild fantasy violence and sexualised imagery: ‘a third-person, fantasy role-playing game which is part of the Atelier franchise. The player controls Sophie, an Alchemist who travels with her friend, Plachta, through a strange vortex to a land created by a goddess who is attracted to people’s dreams. The game does not include any online interactivity… The game features several female characters who are dressed in bikinis, bras and underwear and low-cut revealing tops. At times, during cut scenes, the camera focuses on the female characters’ chests as they speak. Their ample breasts move up and down as they talk and are highlighted by the camera angle and their low-cut outfits. A large portion of the game is played with the player’s crew of characters all dressed in bras and underwear, or board shorts for the male characters… In the Board’s opinion, the game does not feature overt sexual situations or references and the game’s inclusion of sexualised imagery, in the form of revealing outfits and prominent cleavage, imparts an impact that does not exceed mild.’
• Bail or Jail—Mild themes and violence, online interactivity: ‘an action/survival game in which children are trapped in a Halloween-themed world of monsters and ghouls and must escape from them in order to go back home. The game includes online interactivity in the form of online multiplayer for up to four players… Once captured, the children are thrown into a “cell” where they are seen with a shocked expression and stars orbiting their heads. No injury detail is depicted. One monster, a werewolf creature, is able to throw its captives a considerable distance into the cell, but this does not result in any additional harm to the captive, other than the rotating stars. Other players are able to free the children by pressing the glowing eyes on skulls attached to the cell. In the Board’s opinion, the game’s horror theme is light-hearted in nature, and mild in impact. Similarly, the violence does not exceed mild in impact.’

A number of computer games classified PG during the year are worth noting:

• Olliolli World—Mild crude humour, online interactivity: ‘a skateboarding platform adventure game set in the world of Radlandia… The game features online interactivity which takes place in a sixth district called Gnarvana. Gnarvana features online asynchronous multiplayer options and associated leaderboards, as well as a sandbox element which enables players to create new levels and share them with other user IDs… Gnarly Mike later speaks about the tattoos he already has, saying, “You know the tattoo on my left butt cheek? That was inspired by Malik”. A female character replies with, “We do NOT know your left butt cheek and no-one here EVER wants to get to know it”. Visual crude humour is also evident in a district named Los Vulgas. Large cat statues named Cat Cash Cannons are featured at various intervals on a skate track, their bodies depicted in profile and with the tail raised, exposing a small black cross in place of their anus. As the player skates through the track, they bounce up and against the behind of each cat, causing a small puff of smoke and a burst of coins to be emitted from the cross, accompanied by sounds resembling a fart. In the Board’s opinion, the examples of crude humour are mild in impact.’
• F.I.S.T.: Forged in the Shadow Torch—Mild science fiction themes, violence and coarse language: ‘a Metroidvania-style action-adventure game in which the playable character, Rayton—an anthropomorphic rabbit armed with a giant mechanical fist—leads an uprising up against the robotic Legion that has invaded Torch City in an effort to liberate it from its oppressors. The game does not include any online interactivity… At the end of each platform-based section of gameplay, Rayton engages in a battle against a boss character such as humanoid robots and other anthropomorphic animals that are equipped with mech-suit armour. Boss battles feature a health bar that is depleted by repeated strikes to the enemy character. There are no depictions of blood or injury in the game… In one section of the game, a character says, “What? Crap…”.’
• Megaman X Dive—Mild science fiction violence and sexualised imagery, online interactivity: ‘a 3D side-scrolling platforming game in which players must control the player character from a distant third-person perspective in order to navigate a variety of environments while avoiding environmental hazards and destroying “irregular data” which takes the form of robotic enemies. The game contains online interactivity in the form of multiplayer modes… The game’s character menu allows the player to view and inspect the available playable characters, some of which include female characters with large breasts who can be dressed in swimsuit costume options. Characters are depicted in a still-image which is viewed in the background, as well as in an animated 3D model which appears in the foreground. The 3D models are accompanied by a variety of idle and attack animations during which the characters’ breasts are depicted bouncing and jiggling… One of the character’s animations includes her sweeping the floor, ending in a pose which depicts the character leaning forwards. The character model can be rotated and when viewed from behind, the part of her underwear visible underneath her skirt. The character cannot be viewed in close-up detail while in this pose.’

Computer games classified M are not recommended for persons under 15 years of age. Accordingly, they require a mature perspective. There are no legal restrictions on access, and ultimately it is the responsibility of a parent or guardian to make decisions about appropriate entertainment material for their child and to provide adequate supervision.

Out of the total of 298 commercial games classified in 2021–22, 82 games were classified M.

Significant computer games classified M during this period include:

• Way of the Hunter—Hunting violence: ‘a hunting simulation game in which the player hunts a variety of animals in large open-world environments. The game contains no online interactivity… In the first person perspective, the targeted animal is seen through the scope mounted on the gun, and a small blood spray is seen if the hit is successful. The hunter approaches the kill, and it is seen lying dead with red stained grass or soil nearby, and blood staining the animal’s fur. Immediately following each kill, an “X-ray” view is presented… It is also possible to kill an animal by running over it with a vehicle, and to repeatedly run back and forth over the carcass. Additionally, it is possible to run over and kill the character’s human companions, though this is not intended as an objective of the game.’
• Rollerdrome—Violence and coarse language: ’a futuristic action-based sports game with a predominantly third-person perspective, in which the player traverses various skating-rink and skate-park-like environments, performing tricks and shooting at various enemies, as they compete in a deadly futuristic blood sport. The game has online interactivity in the form of leader boards… The player attacks enemy characters and environmental obstacles with various firearms and projectiles, while maintaining speed on a pair of rollerblades. At times, when attacking, the player is able to slow down or freeze time, to perfect their attack trajectory. When enemy characters are struck, their health bar depletes, with small, highly-stylised polygon-esque blood sprays occasionally visible upon bullet impact. Combat is generally very distant, with a third-person perspective, mitigating its overall impact… In the Board’s opinion, the overall impact of the elements of themes and violence is heavily mitigated by the game’s highly-stylised, comic-book-like aesthetic, futuristic setting and undetailed graphics to the extent that it does not exceed moderate… In one section of the game, a man can be overheard saying, “I don’t give a f**k what he has to say for himself.”’
• Rune Factory 5—Mature themes and sexual innuendo: ‘an anime-style adventure RPG in which the player becomes a ranger with SEED, the peacekeepers of a fantasy world who protect their farming community by hunting monsters. The game does not include any online interactivity… The game features a character named Ludmilla who, in her responses, makes several references to her masochistic tendencies. These are not delivered in sexualised situations, instead being delivered in the context of comedic banter. Examples include, but are not limited to: “You know I just looove taking punishment.”… Despite being presented in a comedic context, it is the Board’s view that Ludmilla’s references to enjoyment of pain exceed a mild impact… In the Board’s view, the sexual references include examples of sexual innuendo that sit at the upper limit of the PG classification, therefore warranting additional consumer advice.’
• Steelrising—Science fiction themes and violence: ‘a post-apocalyptic science fiction game set in 17th century France, in which the player controls a robot during the end of Marie Antoinette’s reign. The game has no online interactivity… During some sections of the game, as the player walks through the streets of France, large piles of clothed bodies can be seen from a somewhat distant third person perspective, with some blood detail visible on the ground around them and on their clothes. In one instance, a man appears to have been impaled with a flagpole. The player cannot interact further with these bodies or inflict any post-mortem damage.’

A number of computer games classified M during the year are worth noting:

• Skull and Bones—Mature themes, violence, drug use, coarse language and sexual references, online interactivity and in-game purchases: ‘an action adventure RPG, played in the third person, in which the main goal is to become an infamous pirate. The game features online interactivity in the form of multi-player options and in-game purchases of items including a “Battle pass”… The player may encounter NPCs, including some that are identified as “prostitutes”, who make sexually suggestive comments such as “‘Tis better to be a rich whore than a poor beggar,” “Scurlock never met a lass he didn’t want to tumble”… The player can manufacture, smuggle and trade opium but can not consume the drug. In this trade, the player can view the lab where the opium is implicitly being manufactured featuring opium boilers, opium balls and bunches of dried poppies. This manufacturing processes is not detailed or realistic and the player does not operate the mechanics of the manufacture. In some sections of the game, NPCs are depicted implicitly smoking the drugs from pipes but the animations lack realistic detail and the NPCS are not seen inhaling or exhaling smoke. The playable character cannot consume it or give it to his crew.’
• Rugby 22—Simulated gambling, online interactivity: ‘ a sports simulation game in which players can build, train and manage a rugby team composed of their favourite players and play famous tournaments. The game has online interactivity in the form of various multiplayer modes… The game features the opportunity for the player to participate in simulated gambling using in-game currency. During friendly games in career mode, the player is invited to bet an amount of fictional currency, referred to as Sport Points, against the number of tries the team will score during the game. The player selects the number of tries and the currency value of the bet they are placing, with buttons marked “Do not bet” and “Gamble” as options that are presented to them. The in-game currency is subsequently used to purchase booster packs, staff and players to help improve the team. If the player fails to score the predicted number of tries, the amount of in-game currency gambled is lost. In the Board’s opinion, the simulated gambling imparts a moderate playing impact.’

Computer games classified MA 15+ are not suitable for persons under 15 years of age. It is a legally restricted category, which means that people under 15 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian to buy or hire an MA 15+ computer game. MA 15+ computer games contain themes, violence, sex, language, drug use or nudity which have a strong impact.

Out of the total of 298 commercial games classified in 2021–22, 37 games were classified MA 15+.

Significant computer games classified MA 15+ during this period include:

• Charon’s Staircase—Strong horror themes: ‘a first-person horror game in which the player explores a property, haunted by ghosts and memories of the past, in which it was said that illicit medical experiments occurred. The aim of the game is to uncover the property’s secrets. The game has no online interactivity or in-game purchases… As the player progresses through the game, there are various situations in which they encounter humanoid creatures—implicitly the product of numerous unethical medical experiments—feasting on the flesh of corpses. These depictions are often dimly lit and obscured, however, exaggerated sounds of flesh being eaten can be heard on the soundtrack. The humanoid characters are also depicted with blood on their faces and torsos, as they slowly gnash at bloodied corpses on the ground… In the Board’s opinion, the overall impact of the element of themes within the context of this game—heightened by the presence of some blood and gore, as well as the game’s visceral soundtrack in sections depicting cannibalism—exceeds moderate.’
• Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem—Strong bloody violence, online interactivity: ‘a first-person shooting game within the Serious Sam video game franchise. Players control Sam, a soldier, as he battles hordes of alien enemies on a journey through the wild lands of Russia on a quest to catch up with the traitorous General Brand. The game contains online interactivity in the form of a multiplayer co-op mode.’
• Shin Megami Tensei V—Strong sexualised imagery: ‘Shin Megami Tensei V is an instalment of the ongoing Japanese fantasy roleplaying game in which the protagonist, an unnamed high school student, fights against a series of demons in a post-apocalyptic version of Tokyo. The game contains online interactivity in the form of a link to download Japanese audio, which cannot be accommodated on the original game card… A demon named Mara is depicted as a huge green penis, riding in a chariot. Mara’s head is an anatomically realistic depiction of the glans of a penis, with folds of foreskin underneath the coronal ridge and veins running down the shaft of the penis… The skills listed for Mara on the character menu have innuendo-laden names when considered in conjunction with the demon’s physical form, including Hell Thrust and Toxic Spray… In the Board’s opinion, despite the game’s fantasy setting and highly stylised visuals, the example of Mara constitutes sexualised imagery which imparts an impact that exceeds moderate.’
• Diablo Immortal—Strong fantasy themes: ‘Diablo Immortal is a MMORPG in which the player explores the nightmarish realm of Sanctuary, battling fantasy creatures. The game includes in-game purchasing options that allow the player to purchase “orbs” that can be exchanged for a variety of items including battle passes… Whilst navigating throughout the Sanctuary environments, players frequently find bloodied corpses, skeletons, highly-stylised pools of blood splatter or bodies that have been implicitly tortured and strung up on crucifixes or stakes. In a section of the game known as the Pit of Anguish, the player battles a creature with the appearance of a large, pulsating heart. Strikes to this creature are accompanied by stylised sprays of blood and a large mouth with sharp teeth appears… In the Board’s opinion, despite the isometric third-person perspective and frenetic pace of the battles, the impact of the themes and violence exceeds moderate.’
• Elden Ring—Strong fantasy themes and violence, online interactivity: ‘a third-person dark-fantasy role-playing game in which players play as a Tarnished, an exile summoned back into the Lands Between, who must navigate and explore a variety of environments and defeat enemies in order to restore the Elden Ring and become the Elden Lord. The game includes online interactivity in the form of multiplayer modes… When enemies are damaged by the player, generous sprays of blood are depicted on screen which often result in blood stains forming on the environment, and the enemy’s health bar depletes… As the majority of the depictions of violence include generous blood spray and splatter, the game imparts an impact that exceeds what can be accommodated within the M classification.’
• Soulstice: Deluxe Edition—Strong fantasy themes, violence and sexualised imagery: ‘a third-person hack ‘n slash game in which the player controls a character named Briar, exploring environments, interacting with non-player characters and killing enemies in order to complete objectives. The game does not contain any online interactivity… In another cut-scene, a giant, large-breasted, winged, humanoid creature dressed in minimal armour, which barely covers her breasts and pubic region, becomes possessed by her armour. She wraps her hands around her own throat and implicitly chokes herself. The arms become limp and dangle lifelessly. The camera pans up her body, placing emphasis on her breasts between which a skull feature on her armour begins to speak. Her body becomes animate once again as the armour takes control of her body. Her clawed hands caress up her body and appear to fondle her breasts before releasing them.’

The R 18+ classification category is wide in scope giving effect to the Code principle that adults should, with limited exceptions, be able to read, hear, see and play what they want. The R 18+ classification is legally restricted to adults. People under 18 are not permitted to rent or buy R 18+ computer games. The impact of material classified R 18+ should not exceed high. Some material classified R 18+ may be offensive to some sections of the adult community.

Out of the total of 298 commercial games classified in 2021–22, 14 games were classified R 18+.

Significant computer games classified R 18+ during this period include:

• As Dusk Falls—Interactive drug use, online interactivity: ‘an episodic, narrative-driven crime story in which the player controls the direction by making dialogue choices for participants, including criminals, victims and bystanders, and law enforcement. The action begins with a failed armed robbery in a small town. The game features online interactivity in the form of multiplayer options and in-game chat functionality… The game contains interactive drug use. The interactive drug use is not detailed or realistic, and drug use within the game is unrelated to incentives and rewards… Vanessa enters a dance party venue with Jay, where an un-named party-goer approaches them, and offers them “clover”. Jay asks “What is it?” to which she replies “It’s for headaches.” Vanessa advises Jay “I think it’s ecstasy, have you done it?” … the player is offered a choice, presented in two clickable boxes: “Take Pill” or “Stay Sober”. If the player opts to have the playable character, Jay, take the pill, he becomes clearly drug-affected. This is represented by a dream-like sequence of visuals within the noisy party venue, blurred double-vision from the character’s perspective, and flashing lights. A character can be heard to say “Isn’t this amazing!”…This sequence represents an instance of interactive drug use by offering the player the determining choice about whether the character takes the drugs. According to the Guidelines, “interactive illicit or proscribed drug use is not permitted” within the G to MA 15+ classifications and such activity can only be accommodated within the R 18+ category if it is “not detailed and realistic’”.
• Disciples: Liberation—Sexual activity related to incentives and rewards, online interactivity: ‘a dark fantasy strategy role-playing game set in a war-torn world where four factions have been vying for control. Players choose their armies and fight for control of the battlefield in the game’s turn-based combat mode. The game includes online interactivity in the form of multiplayer without chat functions… Mahelt asks about the player’s mission and the player has the choice to select the option, “Regret later. Act now.” This option triggers the text, “You grab her muscled frame. Hers presses against yours. Lips collide. Fingers dig into flesh, press against bone. You are two, then one, then many.”… Unlocking this description of sexual activity triggers the unlocking of an achievement named “All’s Fair In Love And War” that appears on the lower right-hand corner of the screen accompanied by a heart-shaped icon. In the Board’s opinion, the gameplay described above exceeds what can be accommodated at the G, PG, M or MA 15+ classifications as, pursuant to the Guidelines, within each of these classification categories, “Sexual activity must not be related to incentives or rewards.” The game is therefore classified R 18+ with consumer advice of sexual activity related to incentives and rewards. A minority of the Board is of the opinion that, as the on-screen textual notification of a trophy has no effect on the player’s ability to progress through the game, and is in fact triggered through the game’s platform delivery (in this case, the Steam platform) and not the game itself, it should not be considered an incentive or reward.’
• The Quarry—High impact horror violence, online interactivity and in-game purchases: ‘an interactive third-person, choice-based branching-narrative horror/survival game…The main plot revolves around nine teenage camp counsellors who are stranded at a summer camp known as Hackett’s Quarry… The game contains online interactivity in the form of “multiplayer” game mode called “Wolf Pack”—where a player who owns “The Quarry” can host their Story playthrough online and invite friends to join their session. In-game purchases include the ability to buy player/character skins from first-party stores… The werewolf advances on Abi and pushes her forcefully to the wall, where a burst of blood from her head is expelled. The werewolf bites at her throat and shakes her body forcefully, before tearing her head off in an explosion of blood spray. He throws her head to the floor and it bounces, as blood continues to pour from the neck. The werewolf releases Abi’s headless body and jumps out a side window. The headless corpse is depicted in close-up as it falls to the floor, with the on-going cutscene focusing on arterial blood as it continues to pump outward from her neck stump, viscera and some spinal detail… In the Board’s opinion, as the violent content within the game is frequent and repetitive with some emphasis on blood effects and dismemberment, the overall impact of the element of violence exceeds strong.’
• Amnesia: Memories—References to sexual violence: ‘a visual-novel style game in which the protagonist has lost her memory after colliding with a spirit and must travel through a number of worlds in order to separate herself from the spirit and regain her memories. The game does not feature online interactivity… The game contains references to sexual violence that are justified by context, not visually depicted, interactive or related to incentives or rewards, and therefore warrants being legally restricted to adults. The Guidelines define sexual violence as “sexual assault or aggression, in which the victim does not consent” and state that “sexual violence, implied or otherwise, is not permitted” within the G, PG, M or MA 15+ classifications… The still image remains onscreen as his final lines of dialogue scroll across the text box, “If I stop screwing around, and forcibly take you for myself, will you finally look at me, only me? Or would you just break?”… The Guidelines state that sexual violence, whether actual or implied, is not permitted within the R 18+ category. This exchange of dialogue and the accompanying image, combine to generate a brief depiction of sexual threat and a verbal prelude to potential sexual violence. However, in the Board’s opinion, the scene does not ultimately progress from a threat of sexual violence to a depiction of sexual violence.’

Refused Classification (RC)

In 2021–22, out of the total of 298 computer games classified, two computer games were classified RC: Deathsmiles I & II; and Rimworld. Upon application, Rimworld, however was subsequently reviewed and classified R 18+ by the Review Board.

Computer games that are classified RC cannot be legally sold, hired, advertised or demonstrated in Australia. Computer games will be classified RC if they contain content that has a very high impact.

In addition, the Guidelines provide that certain material will be refused classification such as:

• implied sexual violence that is visually depicted is not permitted.
• exploitative or offensive descriptions or depictions involving a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 years.
• illicit or proscribed drug use related to incentives or rewards.

Deathsmiles I & II was refused classification on the basis of:

‘exploitative or offensive descriptions or depictions involving a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 years’.

• Deathsmiles I & II—’a compilation of two arcade-style shoot-em-up games set in a Victorian fantasy world and featuring female characters who shoot monsters and collect items before being faced with a final boss… In addition to the gameplay, the games feature brief cutscenes and still images featuring examples of sexualised imagery, sexual innuendo and sexualised dialogue which involve characters that are clearly stated as being 13 and 14 years old. These scenes are incongruous with the action and fantasy-based narrative of the gameplay. In Deathsmiles II, the still image depicts Follett in the foreground, partially submerged with the top half of her breasts visible. Sitting on a rock platform by the water’s edge are two more female characters. Both have towels wrapped around their torsos. The cleavage and upper breasts of the girl on the left are visible and the girl on the right has a leg raised and bent slightly over so that her groin is obscured. Dialogue then scrolls across the screen, including Rosa saying, “Follett honey. Your soft skin is glistening in the water… Hee hee…” Follett replies, “Rosa… You’re being lewd again!” Windia says, “Owowow… Why do hot springs have to be so hot?..”, followed by Supe saying, “It’s so warm… I feel all soft and fuzzy…” Due to the gratuitous inclusion of sexualised imagery and associated instances of sexual innuendo featuring female characters who are explicitly stated to be minors, it is the Board’s opinion that the games include examples of depictions of persons who are children under 18 in a way that is likely to cause offence.’

Publications

Only ‘submittable publications’ must be classified before they can legally be advertised or distributed in Australia.

Section 5 of the Classification Act defines a submittable publication as:

• an unclassified publication that, having regard to section 9A [Refused Classification for media that advocates terrorist acts] or to the Code and the classification guidelines to the extent that they relate to publications, contains depictions or descriptions that:

  a) are likely to cause the publication to be classified RC; or

  b) are likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult to the extent that the publication should not be sold or displayed as an unrestricted publication; or

  c) are unsuitable for a minor to see or read.

It is the responsibility of distributors to ensure that they meet classification requirements for publications. The enforcement legislation in some states and territories provides that it is an offence to sell or deliver a submittable publication that has not been classified.

Classifications

There are four classifications for publications—Unrestricted, Category 1 restricted, Category 2 restricted and RC.

The Guidelines for the Classification of Publications are used by the Board when classifying publications. They explain the different classification categories and the scope and limits of material suitable for each category.

Unrestricted

The Unrestricted classification covers a wide range of material. Unrestricted publications may contain classifiable elements such as sex and nudity with some detail, but the impact should not be so strong as to require legal restriction to adults.

A special consideration of the Board in classifying publications is the suitability of covers for public display. There are specific criteria for the assessment of covers which specify that the impact of any descriptions or depictions and references on covers should be low. This accords with one of the principles of the Code, namely that everyone should be protected from exposure to unsolicited material that they may find offensive. Publications with covers that are not suitable for public display cannot be classified Unrestricted.

Generally, there are no restrictions on the sale or display of Unrestricted publications. However, the Board can apply consumer advice not recommending the publication for readers under 15 years of age.

There were two publications classified during the reporting period, both of which were classified as a result of enforcement applications. Both publications were classified Unrestricted.

Category 1 restricted

Category 1 restricted publications may include realistic depictions of nudity, realistic depictions of sexual excitement, and detailed descriptions and simulated or obscured depictions of sexual activity between consenting adults.

Category 1 restricted publications can only be sold to persons 18 years of age and over and must be displayed in a sealed wrapper. The Board can impose a further condition that the sealed wrapper is made of opaque material. Category 1 restricted publications cannot be sold in Queensland.

Category 2 restricted

Category 2 restricted publications may include realistic depictions of actual sexual activity involving consenting adults.

Category 2 restricted publications can only be sold to persons 18 years of age and over, and can only be displayed in restricted premises. Category 2 restricted publications cannot be sold in Queensland.

Refused Classification (RC)

Publications classified RC cannot be sold or displayed in Australia.

Serial classifications for publications

On application, the Classification Board can issue a serial classification declaration. This means that a classification (and conditions, if applicable) given to a single issue of a periodical will apply to a specified number of future issues of the same periodical. Publishers must ensure that the future issues do not have content at a higher level than the serial declaration allows.

During the reporting period, no periodical was granted a serial classification declaration.

Other decisions

Internet content

During the reporting period, the Board classified no applications containing internet content, referred by the eSafety Commissioner.

Correspondence

The Board seeks to reflect current community standards in its decision making, and feedback from the community is informative and helpful.

During the 2021–22 reporting period, the Board received in excess of 500 pieces of correspondence including: complaints about film and computer game decisions (either that the classification was too high or too low); and several inquiries about a variety of other classification decisions. The Board values the commentary received from members of the Australian public in the classification process—feedback is important and valued.

The number of pieces of correspondence received by the Board for decisions made by approved tools was eight. A breakdown of the complaints only by category is as follows:

Board media type/classification tool	Number received
Publications	4
Films	46
Computer games	444
Netflix tool	8
IARC tool	5

Films

The Board received 46 complaints about the classification of films, seven of which related to the theatrical release film, The Kashmir Files.

Publications

The Board received four complaints about publications, all of which were related to the publication titled Real Man Real Truth.

Computer games

The Board received 444 complaints about computer games, of which 369 were about Rimworld, and 54 were about World of Warships.

Netflix tool

The Board received eight complaints about the classification of films available on Netflix, two of which related to the film Squid Game: Season 1.

On 11 May 2022, the Netflix tool rated the film, Spiderhead—MA 15+ with the consumer advice ‘Science Fiction Themes, Violence, Strong Blood and Gore, Sex Scenes and Drug Use’. A complaint was later received about the film, signed by 75 members of the public. The Board checked Spiderhead on 28 June 2022. The Board’s decision report confirmed the film’s MA 15+ rating, with the revised consumer advice of ‘Strong science fiction themes, violence and suicide scenes’.

Enquiries and other assistance

The department responded to a range of other enquiries including, how to get content classified, how to obtain exemptions from classification, and requests for information on the determined markings for films and computer games. There were a number of requests about the importation of publications, films and computer games.

Convenor’s letter of transmittal

The Hon Michelle Rowland MP

Minister for Communications

Parliament House

CANBERRA ACT 2600

Dear Minister

In accordance with subsection 85(1) of the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995, I am pleased to submit a report on the management of the administrative affairs of the Classification Review Board for the period 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.

Yours sincerely

Susan Bush

Convenor

28 September 2022

Locked Bag 3, HAYMARKET NSW 1240

Telephone 02 9289 7100 Facsimile 02 9289 7101 www.classification.gov.au

Introduction

The Classification Review Board

The Classification Review Board is an independent statutory body established to review decisions of the Classification Board, upon application. The Classification Review Board is established under the Classification Act. The Classification Act provides that the Review Board is to consist of a Convenor, a Deputy Convenor and at least three, but no more than eight, other members.

The Convenor

The Convenor of the Review Board has a range of statutory functions under the Classification Act which include:

• managing the administrative affairs of the Review Board
• determining the constitution of panels of the Review Board to review decisions
• determining how decisions are recorded
• arranging the business of the Review Board
• providing the Minister with the Review Board’s Annual Report.

In addition to the Convenor’s powers in relation to the Review Board, the Classification Act confers a number of additional functions and powers which include:

• approving forms for the purpose of the Classification Act
• providing certificates and notices of decisions, including evidentiary certificates.

This report includes an overview of the work of the Review Board in 2021–22.

The Review Board received secretariat support from the Classification Branch.

Membership of the Review Board

Appointments to the Review Board are made by the Governor-General, following a recommendation by the Minister. Under the Classification Act, the Minister must, before recommending an appointment, consult with state and territory ministers with responsibility for classification. The Classification Act also requires that regard is had to the desirability of ensuring that membership of the Review Board is broadly representative of the Australian community.

Appointments are made for fixed terms of up to five years and members are eligible to serve a statutory maximum term of seven years.

Section 84 provides that the Minister may appoint a person to act as a member during a vacancy on the respective Boards.

Conditions

The Remuneration Tribunal determines the entitlements of the members of the Review Board in relation to remuneration and official travel. These determinations are available on the Remuneration Tribunal website at www.remtribunal.gov.au

Conflict of interest

The Classification Act makes provision for the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest by members of the Review Board.

Meetings

The Review Board is a part-time board and convenes only to deal with applications for review.

Convenor’s overview

The Classification Review Board provides an important and independent mechanism for the community and industry where there is concern or disagreement about the classification of films, computer games or publications.

During the 2021–22 reporting period the Review Board received four applications for review—three movies and one computer game. These applications were for the films, The Children in the Pictures, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, and for the computer game Rimworld. The Review Board met three times in person and once by video-conference.

The Review Board met on 27 September 2021 following an application from DNX Media to review the MA 15+ classification of The Children in the Pictures. The Review Board’s unanimous decision was to classify the film M (Mature) with the consumer advice ‘Mature themes and frequent references to child sexual abuse’.

Sony Pictures applied for review of Ghostbusters: Afterlife following the decision of the Classification Board to give it a classification of M with a consumer advice of ‘Fantasy themes and violence’. The Review Board met on 30 November 2021 and unanimously decided on the classification of PG with a consumer advice ‘Fantasy themes and infrequent mild coarse language. Some scenes may scare young children’.

The review of the computer game, Rimworld, was held on 20 April 2022 when the Review Board unanimously classified the game R 18+ with a consumer advice ’High impact themes and drug use’.

The Review Board met on 30 June 2022 at the request of Roadshow Films to review the film, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande. The Review Board unanimously classified the film M (Mature) with a consumer advice ‘Sexual themes, sex scenes, nudity and coarse language’.

As this is my last report as Convenor, I would like to thank all the members of the Review Board who have made themselves available (generally at short notice) to participate in reviews in person or online and to attend a refresher training day. In particular, I would like to acknowledge my former Deputy Convenor, Peter Price, whose term expired earlier this year. Peter was always an excellent voice of reason and I wish him well. His successor as Deputy is Susan Bush, who has seamlessly taken over the reins and provides sound advice in all deliberations. I cannot fail to also acknowledge the contribution of Adam Davy as ‘the gamer’! Adam’s expertise in this area is invaluable along with the perspective he brings to other considerations. Thank you to all the members of the Review Board. You have been a delight to work with.

In this report I would also like to acknowledge the outstanding and professional work of the staff at the Classification Branch both present and past. Their dedication to their work, whether it be in person or remotely, is first class. The support they have provided to me and the entire Review Board with good humour and fine attention to detail has been faultless. I thank them and wish them well.

Sue Knowles

Convenor

Classification Review Board profiles

Current Board members

Susan Knowles

Convenor

APPOINTED: 1 July 2015

APPOINTMENT EXPIRED: 30 June 2022

Ms Susan (Sue) Knowles, 71, resides in Perth, Western Australia. Ms Knowles retired as a Senator for Western Australia in the Australian Federal Parliament after 21 years of public service. During her career in the Parliament, she held a variety of positions including Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Deputy Opposition Whip in the Senate. She served on many Senate committees and inquiries, including as Chair of the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee, dealing with health care, aged care, Aboriginal heath, welfare and other related matters. She was also a member of the Senate inquiries into British Child Migrants in Institutional Care and Australian Children in Institutional Care.

Ms Knowles is currently a member of the Advertising Standards Community Panel and chair of the Council of Owners for Seashells Resorts in Broome and Mandurah. She is actively involved in the local community by way of volunteer work with the St John of God Hospital, and is a member and patron of several local sporting clubs.

Susan Bush

Deputy Convenor

APPOINTED: 6 December 2018

APPOINTMENT EXPIRES: 5 December 2022

Ms Susan Bush, 47, resides in Albany Creek, Queensland and is a writer/actor/investigator/transcriber with a background in the television broadcast industry in both Australia and the UK. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Media Studies from Griffith University and a Master of Arts from the University of Queensland. She was awarded Certificate of Highest Achievement (Best Actress) at the 2014 Australian Screen Industry Network Awards.

Ms Bush has also spent her time volunteering in the local film-making community, including judging the SAE ATOM awards since 2015. She is a parent of three children.

Adam Davy

APPOINTED: 6 December 2018

APPOINTMENT EXPIRES: 5 December 2022

Mr Adam Davy, 42, of Kelvin Grove, Queensland, is the Head of the English Department at Kelvin Grove State College, a metropolitan state school. He has performed in various expert advisory roles with the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA). In his work, he services the Arts and Education communities through the development and facilitation of creative writing, poetry and education programs. In 2021, his contributions in these fields were recognised by the English Teachers Association of Queensland, who presented Mr Davy with their annual Peter Botsman Award.

Mr Davy has been awarded a double degree (Arts and Education) from Griffith University and a Bachelor of Psychology (Hons) from the University of New England. He is the father of two children and a regular gamer.

Rechelle Leahy

APPOINTED: 6 December 2018

APPOINTMENT EXPIRES: 5 December 2022

Ms Rechelle Leahy, 47, resides in Armidale, NSW. She is a Director of the National Rural Women’s Coalition, a board member with the Northern Tablelands Local Land Service, a Member of the Australian Gender Equality Council and the ABC Advisory Council. She was also appointed by the Australian Government as an Employment Facilitator with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations in the New England North West region of NSW as part of the Local Jobs Program in 2021.

Rechelle is a principal sector specialist in governance, contract management, procurement and social policy issues. Her passion lies with gender equality, equity and improving policy through advocacy, specifically related to the specialised issues of rural, regional and remote (RRR) women and girls in Australia. Her passion for this work is the driving force behind her consultancy business RegionalCollab.

She has actively built a profile advocating for rural women and girls nationally and internationally, having represented civil society in New York, at the United Nations—Commission for the Status of Women, as a representative of the National Rural Women’s Coalition for the past four years. Rechelle was nominated for a Pro Bono Australia IMPACT25 Award two years running, recognising her work creating a positive impact for women and girls in rural, regional and remote Australia, and she is an Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence.

Ms Leahy’s qualifications include an Advanced Diploma in Migration Law, a Certificate in Mediation Practice, and a UN Diploma.

Margaret Clancy

APPOINTED: 6 December 2018

APPOINTMENT EXPIRES: 5 December 2022

Ms Margaret Clancy, 72, resides in Castlemaine, Victoria and has extensive experience in film classification, having served as a Classification Board member for a total of seven years at the Office of Film and Literature Classification. She has been a television classifier at the Seven Network and the Classification Manager at National Indigenous Television (NITV). She has been involved with Indigenous communities through her work at NITV, including training of Indigenous staff. Through her career, a diversity of roles has included teaching (ESL, voice and drama), journalism, script writing and acting. She holds an Associate Diploma in Speech and Drama from the London College of Music and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.

David Toll

Appointed: 7 December 2021

Appointment expires: 6 December 2024

Mr David Toll lives in Bulli, NSW, and is the owner and director of a mediation, investigation and negotiation business. Prior to this he held senior leadership roles in higher education and emergency services.

His qualifications include a Bachelor of Laws from University of Wollongong and Masters in Business Administration from Edith Cowan University. He also holds a Diploma from the Australian Institute of Company Directors and further qualifications in mediation, negotiation and media studies.

Mr Toll has served on the Board of Triathlon Victoria and as Chair of the Academies of Sport Inc. He enjoys open water swimming and surf ski paddling for recreation and is currently adapting to life with two small grandchildren.

Board members who left the Classification Review Board in 2021—22

Convenor, Susan Knowles, fulfilled her maximum seven year term on the Classification Review Board on 30 June 2022.

Deputy Convenor, Peter Price, AM fulfilled his maximum seven year term on the classification Review Board on 6 December 2021.

Mr Chris Allen resigned from his position on the Classification Review Board on 25 May 2022.

Decisions of the Review Board

In the reporting period, the Review Board conducted four reviews. The reviews were completed within the statutory timeframe.

Reports for the Review Board’s decisions are published on the Australian Classification website at www.classification.gov.au.

Title	Media	Review applicant	Date of review decision	Original classification	Review classification
The Children in the Pictures	Film	DNX Media Pty Ltd	27 Sept 2021	MA 15+	M
Ghostbusters: Afterlife	Film	Sony Pictures Releasing P/L	30 Nov 2021	M	PG
Rimworld	Game	Double Eleven Limited	20 April 2022	RC	R 18+
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande	Film	ROADSHOW FILMS PTY LTD	30 June 2022	MA 15+	M

Attendance at Review Board meetings

The Review Board convened for four days in 2021–22 to deal with four separate applications.

Table 15: Attendance at Review Board meetings

Review Board member	Meetings 2021–22	Meeting days attended 2021–22
Susan Knowles, Convenor, WA	4	4
Peter Price AM, Deputy Convenor, NSW	2	2
Rechelle Leahy, NSW	1	1
Susan Bush, QLD	3	3
Adam Davy, QLD	2	2
Margaret Clancy, VIC	0	0
David Toll, NSW	1	1

Complaints

The Review Board received eight complaints about its decisions in the reporting period.

One complaint was about Suicide Squad, with the complainant expressing concern that the film should have been classified higher than MA 15+. This film was classified by the Review Board in June 2021.

Five complaints were regarding the film Ghostbusters: Afterlife with the complainants expressing concern that the classification of PG was too low.

There were two complaints regarding the computer game Manhunt, which was classified by the Classification Review Board in 2004. The complainants expressed concern regarding the RC rating and felt it should be available to the Australian public to play.

Judicial decisions

Aspects of a Review Board decision can be reviewed, on application, by the Federal Court under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth).

In the reporting period, no application for review of the Review Board’s decisions was lodged with the Federal Court.

Appendices

Appendix A: National Classification Code

National Classification Code

1. Classification decisions are to give effect, as far as possible, to the following principles:
   
   1. adults should be able to read, hear, see and play what they want;
   2. minors should be protected from material likely to harm or disturb them;
   3. everyone should be protected from exposure to unsolicited material that they find offensive;
   4. the need to take account of community concerns about:
   5. depictions that condone or incite violence, particularly sexual violence; and
   6. the portrayal of persons in a demeaning manner.

Publications

2 Publications are to be classified in accordance with the following table:

Item	Description of publication	Classification
1	Publications that: describe, depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified; or describe or depict in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult, a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 (whether the person is engaged in sexual activity or not); or promote, incite or instruct in matters of crime or violence	RC
2	Publications (except RC publications) that: explicitly depict sexual or sexually related activity between consenting adults in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult; or depict, describe or express revolting or abhorrent phenomena in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult and are unsuitable for a minor to see or read	Category 2 restricted
3	Publications (except RC publications and Category 2 restricted publications) that: explicitly depict nudity, or describe or impliedly depict sexual or sexually related activity between consenting adults, in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult; or describe or express in detail violence or sexual activity between consenting adults in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult; or are unsuitable for a minor to see or read	Category 1 restricted
4	All other publications	Unrestricted

Films

3 Films are to be classified in accordance with the following table:

Item	Description of film	Classification
1	Films that: depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified; or describe or depict in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult, a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 (whether the person is engaged in sexual activity or not); or promote, incite or instruct in matters of crime or violence	RC
2	Films (except RC films) that: contain real depictions of actual sexual activity between consenting adults in which there is no violence, sexual violence, sexualised violence, coercion, sexually assaultive language, or fetishes or depictions which purposefully demean anyone involved in that activity for the enjoyment of viewers, in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult; and are unsuitable for a minor to see	X 18+
3	Films (except RC films and X 18+ films) that are unsuitable for a minor to see	R 18+
4	Films (except RC films, X 18+ films and R 18+ films) that depict, express or otherwise deal with sex, violence or coarse language in such a manner as to be unsuitable for viewing by persons under 15	MA 15+
5	Films (except RC films, X 18+ films, R 18+ films and MA 15+ films) that cannot be recommended for viewing by persons who are under 15	M
6	Films (except RC films, X 18+ films, R 18+ films, MA 15+ films and M films) that cannot be recommended for viewing by persons who are under 15 without the guidance of their parents or guardians	PG
7	All other films	G

Computer games

4 Computer games are to be classified in accordance with the following table:

Item	Description of computer game	Classification
1	Computer games that: depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified; or describe or depict in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult, a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 (whether the person is engaged in sexual activity or not); or promote, incite or instruct in matters of crime or violence	RC
2	Computer games (except RC computer games) that are unsuitable for viewing or playing by a minor	R 18+
3	Computer games (except RC and R 18+ computer games) that depict, express or otherwise deal with sex, violence or coarse language in such a manner as to be unsuitable for viewing or playing by persons under 15	MA 15+
4	Computer games (except RC, R 18+ and MA 15+ computer games) that cannot be recommended for viewing or playing by persons who are under 15	M
5	Computer games (except RC, R 18+, MA 15+ and M computer games) that cannot be recommended for viewing or playing by persons who are under 15 without the guidance of their parents or guardians	PG
6	All other computer games	G

Appendix B: Photo credits and artwork attribution

The Classification Board would like to give special thanks to all those who supplied images to the Classification Board Annual Report 2021–22:

Page(s)	Attribution
9–29	Penny Clay Photography

Glossary

Term/abbreviation	Explanation
AACG Scheme	Authorised Assessor Scheme for Computer Games
ACA Scheme	Additional Content Assessor Scheme
Advertising Scheme	Advertising of Unclassified Films and Computer Games Scheme
APS	Australian Public Service
ATSA Scheme	Authorised Television Series Assessor Scheme
BSA	Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth)
Call-in	The Director of the Classification Board may call in a publication if they have reasonable grounds to believe it is a submittable publication and that it is being published in an Australian state or territory. The Director of the Classification Board may also call in a film or computer game if they have reasonable grounds to believe it is not exempt and that it is being published in an Australian state or territory
Classifiable elements	The six classifiable elements in a film and a computer game are: themes; violence (including sexual violence); sex; (coarse) language; drug use; and nudity. In publications, ‘themes’ are referred to as ‘adult themes’ and the remaining five elements are also applied and assessed
Classification Act	Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 (Cth)
Classification Board	Statutory body established under the Classification Act. The Classification Board classifies computer games, films and certain publications
Classification Board member	A statutory appointee to the Classification Board established under the Classification Act
Classification Branch	The Classification Branch of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. The Classification Branch provides administrative support to the Classification Board and Classification Review Board
Classification guidelines	See Guidelines
Classification Review Board	Statutory body established under the Classification Act. The Classification Review Board is a part-time statutory body convened, as required, to review decisions made by the Classification Board
Classification Review Board member	Statutory appointee to the Classification Review Board under the Classification Act
Code, the	The National Classification Code
Consumer advice	The Classification Board and Classification Review Board determine consumer advice for films, computer games and certain publications. Films classified G, PG, M, MA 15+, R 18+ and X 18+, and computer games classified G, PG, M, MA 15+ and R 18+, must be assigned consumer advice. Consumer advice generally identifies the classifiable elements that have contributed to the classification of the content and indicates the intensity and/or frequency of those elements. The Classification Board and the Classification Review Board may also provide consumer advice to publications classified Unrestricted
Convenor	Member of the Classification Review Board who is responsible for the management of the Classification Review Board’s business
Deputy Convenor	Member of the Classification Review Board who may exercise some of the Convenor’s powers in the Convenor’s absence
Deputy Director	Full-time member of the Classification Board who is the operational manager of that Board and who may exercise some of the Director’s powers in the Director’s absence
Determined markings	Classification symbols and descriptions and, as set out in the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) (Markings and Consumer Advice) Determination 2014
Director	Full-time member of the Classification Board responsible for the management of the Classification Board
eSafety Commissioner	The Office of the eSafety Commissioner is committed to empowering all Australians to have safer, more positive experiences online. The Office was established in 2015 with a mandate to co-ordinate and lead the online safety efforts across government, industry and the not-for-profit community
Exempt film	A film exempt from classification requirements as defined by section 6B of the Classification Act
Fee waiver	The waiving of classification application fees in specific circumstances, as provided by the Classification Act
FOI Act	Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth)
FOI	Freedom of Information
Guidelines	Under the Classification Act (section 12) the Minister may, with the agreement of each state and territory, determine guidelines to assist the Board in applying the criteria in the Code. There are separate guidelines for the classification of films, computer games, and publications which may be viewed online at www.legislation.gov.au
Industry assessors	Persons authorised by the Director to make recommendations to the Classification Board on the classification and consumer advice for the ACA Scheme, the ATSA Scheme, the AACG Scheme and the Advertising Scheme
National Classification Scheme (the Scheme)	A co-operative Commonwealth, state and territory regulatory scheme for classification of films, computer games and certain publications
National Classification Code (the Code)	A code that sets out how films, computer games and certain publications are to be classified
Prohibited Exports Regulations	Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958 (Cth); regulation 3 relates to the exportation of ‘objectionable goods’ (including computer games, computer generated images, films, interactive games and publications)
Prohibited Imports Regulations	Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 (Cth); regulation 4A relates to the importation of ‘objectionable goods’ (including computer games, computer generated images, films, interactive games and publications)
Computer games classifications
Classification	Advisory/Restricted	Impact Level
G	General (advisory category)	Very mild
PG	Parental Guidance (advisory category)	Mild
M	Mature (advisory category)	Moderate
MA 15+	Mature Accompanied (legally restricted category)	Strong
R 18+	Restricted (legally restricted category)	High
RC	Refused Classification
Film classifications
Classification	Advisory/Restricted	Impact Level
G	General (advisory category)	Very mild
PG	Parental Guidance (advisory category)	Mild
M	Mature (advisory category)	Moderate
MA 15+	Mature Accompanied (legally restricted category)	Strong
R 18+	Restricted (legally restricted category)	High
X 18+	Restricted to 18 years and over (contains consensual sexually explicit activity between adults)	–
RC	Refused Classification	–
Publications classifications
Unrestricted	Unrestricted
Category 1 restricted	Not available to persons under 18 years
Category 2 restricted	Not available to persons under 18 years
RC	Refused Classification
Serial classification declaration	A declaration issued by the Classification Board on the classification, and any conditions that apply, to issues of a publication periodical for a specified period
Submittable publication	Defined under the Classification Act (section 5) to mean an unclassified publication containing depictions or descriptions that are likely to cause the publication to be classified RC, or are unsuitable for a minor to see or read, or are likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult to the extent that the publication should not be sold or displayed as an unrestricted publication

Index

A

Ablaze, 44

Additional Content Assessor (ACA) Scheme, 18, 31, 33

administrative arrangements, 3–4

Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth), 83

advertising approvals, 35

advertising assessments, 35

Advertising of Unclassified Films and Computer Games Scheme, 19–20

Allen, Chris, 82

Amnesia Memories, 65–6

approved classification tools, 18–19, 36–7

Approved Cultural Institution (ACI), 17

As Dusk Falls, 64

assessor and classifier training, 14

eLearning modules, 10

assessor schemes, 17–18, 33

assistance, 71

Asterix and Obelix Slap Them All, 57

Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream, 58

Atrangi Re, 45

Auditor-General reports, 5

Australian Border Force, 3, 20, 38

Australian Feature Film Summit, 11–12

Australian International Movie Convention, 11–12

Australian Privacy Principles, 5

Authorised Assessor Scheme for Computer Games (AACG), 17, 30, 31, 34

Authorised Television Series Assessor Scheme (ATSA), 18, 30, 31, 33

B

Back to the Outback, 40–1

Bail or Jail, 59

Barbardeala cu Bucluc Sau Porno Balamuc, 52

The Batman, 46

Benedetta, 52

Bickerstaff, Alison, 13, 26

Billy Joel: In Black and White, 40

Burke, Jenny, 12, 27

Bush, Susan, 74, 78, 79, 83

C

call-ins, 35

Camino de Santiago: Faith Walk with Kristin and Peter, 40

Carr, Damien, 12, 29

Category 1 restricted classification

publications, 14, 67, 68, 87

Category 2 restricted classification

publications, 14, 67, 69, 87

Charon’s Staircase, 62

‘Check the Classification’ (‘CTC’) message, 19–20

The Children in the Pictures, 77, 82

Christmas on the Farm, 43

Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires, 51

Citadel Colour Masterclass, 40

Clancy, Margaret, 81, 83

Class 1, 21

Class 2, 21

Classification

reform, 12

Classification (Advertising of Unclassified Films and Computer Games Scheme) Determination 2009, 19, 20, 35

Classification Board, iv, 10

accountability, 3–4

administrative arrangements, 3

changes, 13

Code of Conduct, 12

complaints, 70–1

conflict of interest, 15

correspondence, 70–1

decisions, 1, 10, 18, 30, 39–54

Deputy Director, 10, 12, 13, 14, 23

development days, 11

Director, 14–15, 18, 22

Directors, Acting, 12, 13

documents, categories, 5

enquiries, 71

establishment, 1, 14

external accountability, 4

financial management, 3–4

functions, 1, 15–16

independence, 1

liaison with Department, 3

meetings, whole board, 11, 15

member profiles, 22–9

membership, 1, 13, 15

outside employment, 15

part-time members, 25–6

psychologist and wellbeing, 11

remuneration, 15

reporting, 3–4

risk management, 4

role, 9, 14–21

stakeholder liaison, 3, 11–12

statistics, 10, 30–8

temporary members, 15, 27–9, 31

workload, 10, 30, 31

Classification Branch, iv, 78

administrative support, iv, 3, 5, 75, 78

functions, 3

presentation, 11

stakeholder liaison, 3

classification decisions, 30, 31

quality decision making, 10

timeliness of, 10, 30

Classification Guidelines, 1, 2, 16 see also by name

Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 (Cth), 1–2, 8

section 11, 16

section 87 certificates, 30, 38

Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 (NT), 2

Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Enforcement Act 1995 (Tas), 2

Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Regulations 2005, 3, 5

Classification Review Board, iv, 75

accountability, 3

administrative arrangements, 3

categories of documents, 5

complaints, 83

conflict of interest, 76

Convenor, 75, 77–9

decisions, 5, 75, 82

Deputy Convenor, 75, 78

establishment, 1, 75

external accountability, 4

financial management, 3–4

functions, 1, 3, 15–16, 75

independence, 1

judicial decisions, 83

legislative base, 75

liaison with Department, 3

meetings, 3, 77, 83

member profiles, 79–81

membership, 1, 76

overview, 77–8

reasons for decisions, 5

remuneration, 15, 76

reporting, 4

risk management, 4

stakeholder liaison, 3

Classification (Serial Publications) Principles 2005, 16

classification tools, 9, 36–7

Clifford the Big Red Dog, 42–3

Cloudy Mountain, 47

Code of Conduct, 12

‘commensurate audience’ rule, 20

community standards, 9, 19, 70

complaints

Classification Board, 70–1

Classification Review Board, 83

computer games

advertising assessments, 35

applications for classification, 15–16

classification of, 34, 88

complaints, 70

decisions, 19, 30, 31, 34

G (General) classification, 34, 55–6, 88

Games Guidelines, 1, 16, 55

IARC tool, 4, 19, 36

M (Mature) classification, 34, 60–2, 88

MA 15+ classification, 14, 34, 62–4, 88

PG (Parental Guidance) classification, 34, 57–60, 88

R 18+ classification, 14, 34, 64–6, 78, 88

RC (Refused Classification), 34, 66, 88

unclassified, 17, 19, 20, 30, 35, 37

computer games expos, 37

Conditional Cultural Exemption Rules (CCE), 16, 30, 37

Convenor of the Classification Review Board, 75

letter of transmittal, 74

correspondence, 70–1

COVID-19

cinema closures, 31

operational measures, 10, 11

Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), 4

Cruella, 41–2

Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958, 15, 20

Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956, 14–15, 20

D

Davy, Adam, 78, 80, 83

DC League of Super Pets, 57

Deathsmiles I & II, 66

Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, iv

administrative arrangements, 3

Annual Report, iv

liaison with Boards, 3

website, 4

Diablo Immortal, 63

Director of Classification Board, 8

Deputy, 10, 12, 13, 14, 20

functions, 14–15, 18, 20

letter of transmittal, 8

overview, 9–13

Disciples: Liberation, 64

DNX Media, 77, 82

E

Elden Ring, 63

Employee Assistance Program (EAP), 11

Encanto, 45

enforcement agencies, 38

enquiries, 71

external accountability, 4

F

fees, 3

film festivals, registration of, 37

exemptions, 37

films

advertising assessments, 35

anime, 54

applications for classification, 15–16

classification of, 87–8

complaints, 70

decisions, 30, 31, 39–54

duration, classification by, 32

Films Guidelines, 1, 16, 39

G (General) classification, 32, 33, 39–41, 88

M (Mature) classification, 32, 33, 45–8, 77, 78, 88

MA 15+ classification, 14, 32, 33, 48–51, 88

Netflix classification tool, 4, 9, 18, 19, 37, 70, 71

PG (Parental Guidance) classification, 32, 33, 41–5, 88

public exhibition (PE) classification, 32

R 18+ classification, 14, 32, 33, 52–4, 88

RC (Refused Classification), 32, 33, 54, 87

sale/hire classification, 33

trailers, 20

unclassified see unclassified film

X 18+ classification, 14, 32, 54, 87

F.I.S.T.: Forged in the Shadow Torch, 59

Flashback, 48

Fowler, Jenny, 12, 28

freedom of information, 4

Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth), 4

The French Dispatch, 46–7

funding, 4

G

G (General) classification

computer games, 34, 55–6, 88

films, 32, 33, 39–41, 88

G Storm, 49

Ghostbusters: Afterlife, 77, 78, 82, 83

glossary, 90–3

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, 77, 78, 82

Grand Mountain Fantasy Wonderlands, 56

Guidelines for the Classification of Computer Games (2012), 1–2, 16, 55

Guidelines for the Classification of Films (2012), 2, 16, 39

Guidelines for the Classification of Publications (2005), 2, 16, 67

H

Hennessy, Adam, 29

Holiday, 49

House of Gucci, 49

Hubble, Felix, 12, 28

Humphrey, Iain, 12, 13, 24

Humphreys, Andrew, 13, 27

I

If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, 48

Illusions Perdues, 46

industry assessments, 17

Intergovernmental Agreement on Censorship, 1

International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) Global Rating Tool, 4, 9, 18, 19, 36

decisions by classification, 36

deemed decisions, 36

Global Overrides, 19

internet content, 21, 30, 38, 69

Interspecies Reviewers, 54

J

Jackass Forever, 51

Joe Bell, 47

John Farrow: Hollywood’s Man in the Shadows, 43

Jolly, Fiona, 8, 9–13, 22

judicial review, 83

K

Kao the Kangaroo, 58

The Kids, 50

King Tweety, 41

Knowles, Susan, 77–8, 79, 82, 83

L

Laura Ingalls Wilder—Prairie to Page, 43

Lawn Mowing Simulator, 56

Leahy, Rechelle, 80–1, 83

legislation

Commonwealth, 1–2

states and territories, 2

Let’s Sing 2022, 56

letter of transmittal

Classification Board, 8

Classification Review Board, 74

L’Evenement, 52–3

Lion Spy, 50

M

M (Mature) classification

computer games, 34, 60–2, 88

films, 32, 33, 45–8, 77, 78, 88

publications, 67

MA 15+ classification

advertisements, 20

computer games, 14, 34, 62–4, 88

films, 32, 33, 48–51, 88

Manhunt, 83

Mann, Thomas, 12, 13, 24

Margrete: Queen of the North, 48–9

Marvello, Jennifer, 12, 13, 25

meetings

Classification Board, 11, 15

Classification Review Board, 3, 76, 77

Megaman X Dive, 59–60

Merton, Rachel, 13, 26

Minister for Communications, 8, 9, 12, 15, 76

My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu Climax—Complete Season 3, 44

N

National Classification Code, 1, 2, 16, 54, 86–8

National Classification Database (NCD), 4, 37

National Classification Scheme, 1

changes, 5

Netflix, 12

Netflix classification tool, 4, 9, 12, 18, 37

complaints, 71

decisions, 37

Nitram, 48

Nixon, Ellenor, 12, 13, 23

Northern Territory

classification legislation, 2

O

objectionable goods

import or export permission, 20

Office of the eSafety Commissioner, 21, 30, 38

Olliolli World, 59

Ombudsman, Commonwealth, 5

Ombudsman Act 1976 (Cth), 4

online content, regulation of, 21

Online Content Scheme, 21

Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth), 21

P

Palazzo di Cozzo, 43–4

Panda Vs. Aliens, 42

The Parapod: A Very British Ghost Story, 49

Pechovska, Lora, 12, 29

PG (Parental Guidance) classification

computer games, 34, 57–60, 88

films, 32, 33, 41–5, 78, 88

Plunderer—Season One Part, 51

Police Simulator: Patrol Officers, 58

Pompeii: City of Sin, 50

Prehistoric Planet, 42

Price, Peter, 78, 82, 83

privacy, 5

Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), 5

Pro Cycling Manager 2022, 56

publications, 67

applications for classification, 15–16, 34

Category 1 restricted, 14, 67, 68, 87

Category 2 restricted, 14, 67, 69, 87

classification of, 86–7

complaints, 70

covers and public display, 66

decisions, 30, 31, 67

Guidelines, 1, 16, 67

M (Mature classification), 67

RC (Refused Classification), 67, 69, 86

revocations, 30, 35

serial classifications, 16, 30, 31, 34, 69

submittable, 67

Unrestricted, 67–8, 87

Q

The Quarry, 65

R

R 18+ classification

advertisements, 20

Class 2 content, 21

computer games, 14, 34, 64–6, 78, 88

films, 14, 32, 33, 52–4, 88

RC (Refused Classification), 14, 20, 21, 33

computer games, 34, 66, 88

films, 32, 33, 54, 87

publications, 67, 69, 86

Remuneration Tribunal, 15

Restricted classifications see Category 1 restricted; Category 2 restricted

revenue, 3

revocations, 30, 35

Richards, Raphael, 29

Rimworld, 66, 70, 77, 78, 82

risk management, 4

Rollerdrome, 60–1

Rowland, the Hon Michelle, 8, 12, 74

RRR: Rise, Roar, Revolt, 48

Rugby 22, 62

Rune Factory 5, 60

S

serial classification declarations, 16, 30, 34, 69

Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem, 62

Sharp, Tristan, 12, 13, 23

Shin Megami Tensei V, 63

Sixteen Legs: Journey to the Queen of the Dark, 41

Skul: The Hero Slayer , 57

Skull and Bones, 61

Slime Rancher 2, 55–6

Some Kind of Heaven, 46

Sony Pictures, 78, 82

Soulstice: Deluxe Edition, 63–4

Spiderhead, 71

states and territories

classification legislation, 1–2

classification regulation, 1

Steelrising, 60

Stevens Review, 11, 13

submittable publications, 67

Suicide Squid, 83

Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), 43

T

Tamayomi The Baseball Girls, 44

Tasmania

classification legislation, 2

Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse, 42

Tenison, Paul, 12, 13, 26

This Much I Know To Be True, 45–6

time limits for decisions, 10, 30

Titane, 53

Toll, David, 81, 83

The Tragedy of Macbeth, 45

Trained Content Assessors (TCAs), 14

Transference: Dark Mutants, 49–50

U

Un Monde, 47

unclassified content

Advertising of Unclassified Films and Computer Games Scheme, 19–20

exemptions to show, 37

Unrestricted classification

publications, 67–8, 87

V

Violation, 53–4

A Violent Man, 52

W

Way of the Hunter, 60

website, 4

wellbeing, 11

West Side Story, 45

Wolfboy and the Everything Factory, 40

World of Warships, 70

X

X 18+ classification films, 14, 21, 32, 33, 54, 87

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1 A section 87 certificate is an evidentiary certificate that describes the action taken, or not taken, by the Classification Board in relation to a publication, film or computer game.