Charmaine Moldrich, CEO of the OMA says the House of Representatives’ committee stated it had “failed to be convinced” that government regulations or a classification system would be more effective than self-regulation.

Moldrich says, “Outdoor media has a world-class system of 12 self-regulatory Codes that’s working. While no system is perfect, 99.98 per cent of outdoor ads were compliant last year and it’s reassuring that the inquiry took note of that.”

The report said 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,” Moldrich says.

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.

Moldrich says 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.

She says, “We are always mindful that we need to reflect broad community views and standards. The OMA has always been committed to continuous improvement of our system of checks and balances.”

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