“Out of step” media classification scheme to undergo major reform

Australia’s media classification is set to undergo a major reform, as technology advances mean the current scheme is seen as not fit for purpose.

Two separate bodies, the Social Research Centre and Mettlesome, have been commissioned by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts (DITRDCSA) to review the current classification guidelines. Both organisations will draft updates to the guidelines behind the ratings assigned to video games, films, and publications.

Mettlesome is hosting a series of in-person workshops across the country to kick off the research. Titled “Improving Media Classifications“, the workshops will ask attendees to “design [the] ideal classification system” to improve the current model. The description for the workshops mentions that “current media classifications are based on legislation made a few decades ago”.

A spokesperson from DITRDCSA confirmed to GadgetGuy that the upcoming reform to the National Classification Scheme aims “to make it fit for the modern media environment”.

Updated video game classification guidelines factors in gambling-like elements. Image: Vitaly Gariev via Unsplash.

“This is in response to public consultations that confirmed that the classification criteria that are used to guide classification decisions are out of step with community standards,” said the department spokesperson.

Video games, films, and publications are all classified under separate sets of guidelines. The guidelines for video games received the most recent update; revisions to the guidelines in 2023 address references to gambling, including in-game purchases linked to chance.

Since the guidelines came into effect in 2024, games like EA Sports FC 25 received an ‘M’ rating because it includes “chance-based in-game purchases” through the game’s Ultimate Team mode.

Conversely, the film classification guidelines are from 2012, while the guidelines for publications have remained intact since 2005.

What are the media classification reforms looking to change?

According to DITRDCSA, the current review of the National Classification Scheme will look at “current areas of community concern such as gender-based violence, mental health themes and sexually explicit content”.

It will add to the feedback obtained in 2024, as part of a previous round of consultation that informed the federal government’s planned Stage 2 Reforms to the National Classification Scheme. Stage 1 included changes like the consideration of gambling content in games, while Stage 2 consists of broader systemic changes. The ABC, Netflix, YouTube, and the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA) were among those that made submissions during the 2024 feedback period.

One submission came from the Australian Classification Board, the independent body that classifies media under the established guidelines. In the submission, the Board claimed that the National Classification Scheme “has not kept pace with the way Australians access and consume media content”, citing digital distribution, like streaming services, as a major factor.

Highlighting the friction between traditional broadcast TV and on-demand streaming was a submission from the Australia New Zealand Screen Association. It mentioned the difference between the “different legislative frameworks” that broadcast TV operates under compared to streaming platforms, adding extra classification steps depending on where the content airs.

Streaming platforms like Netflix have a different classification process to broadcast TV. Image: Freestocks via Unsplash.

Some of this friction has been alleviated by more self-classification methods becoming available to producers of TV, film, and video game content. As pointed out in a major review of the National Classification Scheme by Neville Stevens AO dubbed the “2020 Stevens Review“, submitting media to the Australian Classification Board is both time-consuming and costly. Self-classification reduces some of these barriers.

Differences in classification between types of media have also caused concerns. IGEA, the local peak body for the video game industry, claimed in its submission that similar content that would get an MA15+ or R18+ rating in films would result in a game being refused classification.

From an industry perspective, there are many moving parts involved. From a consumer perspective, the existing National Classification Scheme has been criticised for lacking an evidence-based approach, particularly for families.

Complicating the matter is the fact that any changes to the guidelines will require consensus between the federal and state governments.

After the workshops take place throughout May and June, another round of public consultation will begin in late 2025.

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