Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Like the member for Gellibrand, I want to acknowledge all of our Australian creatives who are making incredible content, whether that be the video game makers—I'm very keen to see the Untitled Goose Game and give that a crack. I met this morning with Screen Producers Australia, who represent a lot of film and TV content makers, and I've been working closely with children's content producers to look at ways in which we can encourage that sector so that our kids grow up watching Australian content and not all foreign content.

Australians know what good content is, but it's important, particularly when it comes to our kids, that they're seeing their own lives, stories, places and spaces reflected in the content that Australian creatives are making and that we continue to encourage screen companies in making that content available for our kids. I speak for my family and I'm sure many other Australian families when I say that we rely very much on classifications to make informed choices. For my kids—Sally, 11 and a bit, and Frank, almost 10—as they start to move into the teenage years, it will become more important that we are supported in making good decisions, informed choices, about what we watch, read and play.

The national classification system has remained largely unchanged since its introduction in 1995, almost a generation ago. The scheme is based on the principle that adults should be able to read, hear, see and play what they want but that minors, children, should be protected from material that's likely to harm or disturb them and that everyone should be protected from unsolicited or offensive material. These are all principles very much worth pursuing today—perhaps more than ever, given the changes in the way that Australians access media content, particularly with the rapid growth in online content. But since 1995—a long time ago—the national classification scheme has not kept up with these changes.

We've heard a bit about the scheme's inactivity in the last 10 years. I think this threatens the integrity of the scheme and the confidence that Australians have in it as a trusted source of information. The Australian Law Reform Commission's 2012 report Classification—content regulation and convergent media and the more recent 2020 Review of Australian classification regulation by Neville Stevens, which our government released a couple of months ago, found that aspects of the scheme are no longer fit for purpose.

These reviews as well as calls from industry have highlighted that reform of the scheme is long overdue. Our government is committed to reforming the scheme to ensure that it meets the needs of modern Australia and modern Australian families. That's why, in March this year, the government committed to a two-stage process of classification reform. A staged approach will enable immediate improvements to the current scheme to progress now, while the government undertakes necessary consultation to develop a contemporary and fit-for-purpose classification framework, one that reflects the modern media environment and will serve all Australians into the future.

This bill supports the implementation of that first stage of the government's classification reforms, by introducing a number of changes to existing classification arrangements, and delivers on key elements of the government's first stage of classification reforms. This bill amends the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 to improve the capacity of the national classification scheme to efficiently manage a rapid growth in the volume of classifiable content, particularly online content, to reduce costs, to promote industry compliance and to increase access to cultural content in public libraries and approved cultural institutions. As an aside: when I was first elected to this place, I started and have now handed on to the member for Bean and his offsider the parliamentary friendship group for GLAM—galleries, libraries, archives and museums—because our cultural institutions are so important. I'm really pleased that this bill is going to see an increase in access to cultural content in our public libraries and those approved cultural institutions.

Specifically, it expands options for industry to self-classify content to make it easier for content providers, particularly online content providers, to comply with classification regulations and reduce classification time frames and costs to business. It will also provide for appropriate safeguards and oversight by expanding the Classification Board's powers to quality assure, and revoke where necessary, self-classification decisions. It also expands exemptions from classification for low-risk cultural content, including films in languages other than English that would be classified at the G or PG level being distributed through public libraries, as well as content that is displayed by approved cultural institutions as part of routine exhibitions and events. Finally, it will improve the efficiency of the classification system by removing the requirement to reclassify material that has already been classified under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

Under the national classification scheme, publications generally do not need to be classified prior to being made available to consumers. Only 'submittable publications' are required to be classified. If you're wondering what 'submittable publication' means, you're in luck because I'm about to tell you. A submittable publication is one that is likely to be restricted to adults because it contains depictions or descriptions likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult and is unsuitable for a minor to either see or read. The director of the Classification Board has the power to call in submittable publications for classification where there are reasonable grounds to believe that a publication is a submittable publication.

This bill prioritises immediate first stage reforms, which are needed to help set the scheme on the right path. It enables the government to work with key stakeholders to develop more comprehensive second stage reforms to (1) clarify the purpose and scope of the scheme, (2) establish fit-for-purpose regulatory and governance arrangements and (3) ensure that classification criteria are aligned with and responsive to evolving community standards and expectations.

Currently, there are two ways for industry to have content classified: either through submissions to the Classification Board or through the use of minister-approved classification tools. The rapid growth in the volume of content now available to Australians, particularly online, means that it is no longer efficient or effective to rely on the board to classify content. In addition, not every content provider has the resources to invest in the development of automated classification tools.

To address this—and it is an issue—the bill expands options for industry to self-classify content. Content providers, particularly online content providers, will be able to comply with classification regulations and reduce classification time frames, which is also going to reduce the cost for business. The bill establishes a new accreditation scheme to enable content to be classified by individuals who are trained and accredited by the government.

To support the expansion of self-classification arrangements, the bill introduces a number of safeguards, as you would expect, that are important for this process to have integrity. Eligibility criteria will ensure that only fit and proper people are accredited to classify content—no weirdos. Provisions for accreditation to be suspended or revoked for failure to appropriately classify content will also apply.

The Classification Board's powers to quality assure self-classification decisions will be expanded to include decisions by accredited classifiers, similar to arrangements already in place for decisions of approved classification tools. This bill also provides further clarification around the use of consumer advice to ensure that this advice, which is an important source of information for consumers, is appropriately and consistently applied in classification decisions.

The bill expands classification exemptions for low-risk content, where it is sensible and beneficial to do so—sensible reforms. Classification exemptions will be introduced for certain films in languages other than English being distributed through public libraries, as I previously mentioned. This will improve access to cultural content and ease the regulatory burden on cultural institutions that provide such content to our constituents.

To improve the efficiency of the classification system, material already classified under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 will no longer need to be reclassified for distribution on other platforms. This supports the classify-once principle, where content that has been classified using similar classification guidelines and has not been modified does not need to be classified again. This is another sensible approach, and one that was advocated for in the Stevens review and in the recommendation of the ACCC's 2019 Digital Platforms Inquiry for a national uniform classification scheme to classify or restrict access to content consistently across different delivery formats as part of a harmonised media regulatory framework.

Our government has pioneered classification reforms in our first year in office. I think this is another example of us doing more in one year than those opposite were capable of doing in 10. We are committed to reforming the national classification scheme to ensure it meets the needs of modern Australia, and this is important. My family and many Australians rely on the classification system to make informed choices about the content that they and those in their care watch, read and play. Continued inaction on modernising the scheme threatens its integrity and the confidence Australians have in it as a trusted source of information, both for themselves and for their loved ones. These reforms will create a contemporary classification framework, one that will serve us all well into the future, in two stages—immediate action and then further consultation for further reforms.

I want to finish by reiterating how important this industry is and how important it is that families have confidence in the classification system—that it is updated to ensure it responds effectively to changes in the communications apparatus that our kids have in their hands these days. It is important that we also educate our children. They are able to access a far broader range of information and content than ever before, so we need to make sure that we give them the tools to cope with that. Our government is providing an updated classification system that will protect our kids, and that is really important.

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