Broadcasting Services Act 1992
123Development of codes of practice
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123 Development of codes of practice
(1) It is the intention of the Parliament that radio and television industry groups representing:
(a) commercial broadcasting licensees; and
(b) community broadcasting licensees other than providers of services targeted, to a significant extent, to one or more remote Indigenous communities; and
(ba) community broadcasting licensees whose services are targeted, to a significant extent, to one or more remote Indigenous communities; and
(c) providers of subscription broadcasting services; and
(d) providers of subscription narrowcasting services; and
(e) providers of open narrowcasting services;
develop, in consultation with the ACMA and taking account of any relevant research conducted by the ACMA, codes of practice that are to be applicable to the broadcasting operations of each of those sections of the industry.
(1A) For the purposes of a code of practice developed under this section, the licensee who holds the apparatus licence mentioned in subsection 103(2A) of the Radiocommunications Act 1992 is taken to be:
(a) part of the section of the industry referred to in paragraph (1)(b); and
(b) not part of the section of the industry referred to in paragraph (1)(e).
(2) Codes of practice developed for a section of the broadcasting industry may relate to:
(a) preventing the broadcasting of programs that, in accordance with community standards, are not suitable to be broadcast by that section of the industry; and
(b) methods of ensuring that the protection of children from exposure to program material which may be harmful to them is a high priority; and
(c) methods of classifying programs that reflect community standards; and
(d) promoting accuracy and fairness in news and current affairs programs; and
(e) preventing the broadcasting of programs that:
(i) simulate news or events in a way that misleads or alarms the audience; or
(ii) depict the actual process of putting a person into a hypnotic state; or
(iii) are designed to induce a hypnotic state in the audience; or
(iv) use or involve the process known as subliminal perception or any other technique that attempts to convey information to the audience by broadcasting messages below or near the threshold of normal awareness; and
(f) in the case of codes of practice developed by commercial broadcasting licensees—broadcasting time devoted to advertising; and
(g) in the case of codes of practice developed by commercial radio broadcasting licensees—the broadcasting of Australian music; and