TV Code of Practice

The Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice regulates program content on commercial free-to-air television, including:

• program classification;
• accuracy, fairness and respect for privacy in news and current affairs;
• non-program time on television;
• placement of commercials and program promotions;
• loudness of commercials in respect to adjacent programming.

The Industry Code of Practice sets out a formal complaints process for matters covered by the Code. To find out more information about the complaints process please refer to Section 7 of the Industry Code of Practice which can be downloaded via the link provided at the bottom of this page.

 

Complaints about the content of a commercial?

If your complaint is in relation to the content of a commercial you have seen, you should address your complaint to:

The Advertising Standards Bureau
Level 2
97 Northbourne Avenue
TURNER ACT 2612

Tel: (02) 6262 9822
Fax: (02) 6262 9833

https://adstandards.com.au/lodge-complaint

 

Complaints about programming and scheduling

Viewer feedback is a valuable way for our Programming Department to keep in touch with community opinion.  If your feedback relates to a particular programming matter not covered by the Code of Practice such as general scheduling queries, general feedback or comments you should follow the steps below.

 

Complaints under the Code of Practice

The Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice (the Code) regulates the content of commercial television in accordance with current community standards.  If you believe WIN has acted contrary to the Industry Code of Practice you can make a complaint to FreeTV.

 

Making a complaint

1. You can lodge your complaint electronically by using FreeTV's Electronic Complaints Form:

https://complaints.freetv.com.au/Submission

2. You can send a written letter to WIN Television Head office at the following address:

           WIN Television Head Office
           Locked Bag 8800
           Wollongong NSW 2500

3. You can send your complaint to WIN Television Head office by fax to the following number:

           Fax: (02) 4227 3682

Please note that your complaint must be made in writing and should be lodged as soon as possible. WIN will provide a substantive written response to a written complaint about matters covered by the Code where the complaint is received within 30 days of the broadcast.  Lodging your complaint within 30 days of the broadcast, triggers the complaints handling procedures for alleged breaches of the Industry Code of Practice.

 

What information should your complaint include?

Your complaint should include a minimum of the following information:

• Your name, address and telephone number.
• Name of advertiser/product.  If your complaint is about an advertiser/product, you must include the program viewed at the time of the incident. These complaints are handled by the Advertising Standards Board, see above.
• The station on which you saw or heard the program/advertisement.
• The date and time you saw or heard it.
• Reasons for your concerns.

 

When should you expect to receive a reply?

The Industry Code of Practice requires a station to respond to you within 30 working days of receiving a complaint about a matter covered by the Code.

 

What can you do if you don't receive a reply or you do not consider the reply to be adequate?

If the station has not written back to you within 60 days or you do not consider the response to be adequate, you may send your complaint to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).  ACMA will need a copy of your original complaint to the station, as well as a copy of the station's reply.

 

WIN Television policy in relation to complaints and feedback received by email and telephone

WIN Television appreciates that, for many people, telephone or email is the preferred way of expressing a view about programming.  WIN Television welcomes feedback from the general public and its viewers as a valuable means of engagement with its audience.  Under the Industry Code of Practice, WIN Television stations are not obligated to provide a written response to telephone calls or email comments that are not related to the Code.

WIN Television policy in relation to complaints and feedback received by email, telephone and via its website is defined below:
1. Where comment that concerns a matter that is clearly covered by the Industry Code of Practice is received via the electronic lodgement system available on the FreeTV website, it will be dealt with via the formal complaints process set out under the Code of Practice;
2. Where comment or feedback is received by telephone, the complainant will be advised that complaints need to be made in writing and they will be made aware of the existence of the Industry Code of Practice;
3. Where general comment or feedback is received by telephone or email that is not Code relevant, the complaint or feedback is noted and brought to the attention of relevant staff.

 

Related Documentation and Forms

Commercial Television
Industry Code of Practice

The content of free-to-air commercial television, is regulated under the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice which has been developed by Free TV Australia and registered with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). Revised 2 July 2004 (Amended 24 November 2008, 1 January 2010, 1 December 2015)

To view a copy of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice, please refer to the Related PDF document.

Click to view related document
Loudness in Advertisements
Broadcasters are aware that community concern exists in relation to the perceived loudness of advertisements compared with adjacent programs.

To view a copy of the relevant free-to-air television industry Operational Practice (OP 59) please refer to the Related PDF document or download a copy of the Industry Code of Practice via the link provided above.
Click to view realted document

(Last modified on April 30, 2018)