The House of Representatives report on the regulation of billboard and outdoor advertising strongly vindicates the industry’s system of self regulation, the Outdoor Media Association (OMA) has said.
OMA Chief Executive Officer Charmaine Moldrich noted the committee’s statement that it had “failed to be convinced” that government regulations or a classification system would be more effective than self-regulation.
“Outdoor media has a world-class system of 12 self-regulatory Codes that’s working,” Ms Moldrich said.
“While no system is perfect, 99.98% of outdoor ads were compliant last year and it’s reassuring that the inquiry took note of that.”
The report said that the number of ads being complained about is low and the number of complaints upheld even lower. “In fact, of 30,000 outdoor ads posted, just seven complaints were upheld by the Advertising Standards Board so the absence of recommendations for sweeping changes is sensible,” Ms Moldrich said.
“The report brings down 19 recommendations and the recommendations that relate to our industry have already been put into place or are in the process of occurring.”
Independently of the report, the OMA had introduced a new Content Review Policy. It would be supported by industry training, public education about complaint mechanisms and a concept advisory service.
Ms Moldrich said the House of Representatives inquiry provided detailed insights into the views of the community and had been a good chance to reflect on checks and balances.
“We are always mindful that we need to reflect broad community views and standards,” Ms Moldrich said. “The OMA has always been committed to continuous improvement of our system of checks and balances.”
Outdoor Media Association of Australia
www.oma.org.au
