New consumer advice

8.57 Modifying classified content and selling packages of content might, in some cases, call for new consumer advice.[41]

8.58 Sometimes classified content may be modified in such a way that the content does not need a new classification, but it does need new consumer advice. For example, a director’s cut of an M-classified feature film may include a sex scene that was not in the original film; the scene might still be suitable for an M-classified film, but it should usually be noted in consumer advice.

8.59 Likewise, where multiple pieces of content are sold in a single package, it will sometimes be necessary to give the content new consumer advice. For example, if one episode of an M-classified television series has consumer advice for violence, and another episode of the same series has consumer advice for sex scenes, and both episodes are later sold together on a DVD, then the consumer advice for the DVD should usually reflect both the violence and the sex, even if all the content on the DVD will still be M and does not need to be reclassified.

8.60 Accordingly, the ALRC suggests that the new Act should provide that if classified content is sold in a package with other classified or unclassified content, so that the consumer advice no longer gives accurate information about the content, then the content must be given new consumer advice, even if the content does not need to be given a different classification.

8.61 The new Act should also provide that if classified content is changed, such that the consumer advice no longer gives accurate information about the content, then the content must be given new consumer advice, even if the content does not need to be given a different classification.

8.62 In Chapter 7, the ALRC recommends that the Act should empower all classifiers, including trained industry classifiers, to determine consumer advice, even if the content has already been classified. It is important that consumer advice can be changed independently of the classification decision because otherwise some content might need to be resubmitted to the Board, at some expense to the distributor, simply to change the consumer advice.

Recommendation 8–3 The Classification of Media Content Act should provide that if classified content is changed, so that the consumer advice no longer gives accurate information about the content, then the content must be given new consumer advice, even if the content does not need to be given a different classification.

[41] Consumer advice is discussed in Ch 9, and refers to the few words beside a classification marking, such as ‘Strong violence’, that give information about the classifiable elements of the content.