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Comms Council welcomes government report on outdoor advertising

The Communications Council has welcomed a decision by the government that appears to validate the current system for the self-regulation of outdoor advertising, with calls for only minor tweaks to how ads are policed.

Entitled Reclaiming Public Space, the house of representatives report broadly recommended maintaining the current codes on outdoor.

“We’re glad that this inquiry has weighed up community concerns and the low actual level of complaints on outdoor advertising to conclude that the system is working,” Daniel Leesong, chairman of the Comms Council, said.

“The biggest change will be a shift to more pro-active policing rather than relying on the complaints-based system,” he told Mumbrella.

Although the new rules will likely bring in new costs for advertisers and media vendors, it is “too early to say” how these costs will play out in the new system, he added.

“Where there are gaps [in the self regulation system] our industry will address these through education and research.”

A fortnight ago, a review by the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs recommended that outdoor advertising should be placed within the national classification system.

A week later, the Outdoor Media Association announced a new self-regulation review policy to curb ads of a sexual nature.

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