Overview of regulations for children's broadcasting

There are many arguments for regulating the programming of television where it is aimed at, or potentially viewed by children. A couple of good summaries are here and here. Given the ease that issues surrounding children can be used politically, I’m surprised the ACMA/ABA haven’t issued reams of guidelines and codes. They have, however, provided the Children’s Television Standards (CTS), which need to be met as a licencing condition for Australian television broadcasters. "The objective of the CTS is to ensure that children have access to a variety of quality television programs made specifically for them, including Australian drama and non-drama programs."

The CTS appears to be reviewed and updated regularly (see here and here). Perhaps this is not surprising as it has been observed:

The quality of children's programming on commercial television has been a major issue since the commencement of television in Australia. The basic policy position with regard to children and television has been as follows:

• Children are entitled to be provided with quality, age specific and comprehensive programs geared to their special cognitive abilities and experiences;
• It is part of the public interest responsibility of commercial television licensees to provide such programs;
• Children, like adults, are entitled to a viewing choice and are entitled to the diversity of ideas and information that is central to broadcasting policy; and
• Commercial television has unparalleled access and large resources to reach young viewers, and licensees cannot expect to pass their responsibilities to the child audience to other outlets.

As a result the CTS outlines the ACMA/ABA must classify children’s programming before broadcast and; commercial broadcasters are required to meet minimum annual quotas of material in two classifications: 260 hours of children’s programs (C) and 130 hours of pre-school programs (P). C programs must include at least 32 hours of Australian children’s drama, 25 of which must be first release – meaning it is new content.

I am given the impression the ACMA/ABA establishes screening times for children’s programming through codes of practice, such as this (dated) one from the Federation of Australian Commercial Television Stations.

The CTS details acceptable advertising within programming for children, including their content, classification, ratio to programming and frequency. The ACMA/ABA also enforce the classification of advertising within periods that may be viewed by children, such as weekend sporting broadcasts as shown in this recent news release.

In July 2004 the ACMA/ABA established tighter regulations for advertising aimed at children, particularly food and beverages, in response to extended criticism from community and health groups.

From what I've seen compiling this brief summary, I expect the CTS is effective in maintaining community expectations of children's broadcasting - especially given the frequency of revisions the document appears to undergo.