ACMA calls for tighter alcohol advertising rules on free-to-air TV – The Australian Communications and Media Authority wants commercial broadcasters to reduce children’s exposure to alcohol advertising by removing special exemptions attached to televised sport.
The regulator has completed a review launched in March 2026. It examined whether the existing alcohol advertising rules for free-to-air television still provide suitable community safeguards.
The outcome matters beyond conventional television. The ACMA is also asking broadcasters to apply the Free TV Code voluntarily to their online services. It has recommended that the Australian Government examine alcohol marketing across every platform, rather than address broadcast television in isolation.
ACMA review targets the sport exemption
The most immediate recommendation is directed to Free TV Australia, which develops and updates the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice. The ACMA wants the industry body to remove exemptions that allow alcohol commercials to appear with sports broadcasts during periods when classification rules would otherwise prohibit them.
Under the current arrangements, daytime and weekend sport can expose large family audiences to alcohol advertising. The regulator argues that the exception is difficult to reconcile with the tighter treatment of other restricted products.
ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said children were a central concern.
Weekend sporting events shown during the day attract large audiences, including significant numbers of children who are exposed to alcohol advertising under the current exemptions.
These exemptions are unique to Australia and inconsistent with advertising of other restricted products, such as gambling.
Nerida O’Loughlin, ACMA Chair
The review recognised an association between alcohol advertising, increased consumption and risky drinking. Those behaviours can contribute to alcohol-related harm. However, submissions differed on how much commercial television advertising contributes to wider social harm.
The ACMA also acknowledged the commercial context. Alcohol advertising is a relatively small but important source of broadcaster revenue and forms part of the business models surrounding alcohol brands and sport.
O’Loughlin said that evidence supported a measured response rather than a blanket approach.
On balance, the ACMA considers that targeted and proportionate changes should be made so that free-to-air television provides appropriate community safeguards for alcohol advertising.
Nerida O’Loughlin, ACMA Chair
Online television services should follow the same code
The second recommendation asks Free TV Australia to extend the television code voluntarily to programmes carried through broadcasters’ online services. That would reduce differences between the protection viewers receive on a linear channel and the rules applied when they watch the same broadcaster online.
The rules should be clear and consistent. Audiences expect the same safeguards to apply regardless of whether they watch a program on free-to-air television or online.
Nerida O’Loughlin, ACMA Chair
Australia uses a co-regulatory system for commercial broadcasting. Free TV Australia writes and revises the industry code, while the ACMA decides whether a proposed code can be registered.
The regulator cannot edit the code itself. If Free TV Australia does not submit a revised code that provides appropriate safeguards, the ACMA says it could instead determine a program standard. That would give the issue a more direct regulatory response.
Government urged to examine every advertising platform
The review found that television represents only a small share of the alcohol advertising Australians encounter. Respondents also raised concerns about online advertising, venue signage, branded jerseys and other marketing outside the ACMA’s broadcasting remit.
That led the regulator to recommend a broader Australian Government review of alcohol advertising. It wants potential gaps and inconsistent rules across platforms considered together.
As a result, the ACMA has recommended that the Australian Government consider alcohol advertising regulation holistically, including looking at potential gaps and inconsistencies across platforms.
Nerida O’Loughlin, ACMA Chair
The recommendation is consistent with a recent call from the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability. That committee recommended a new mandatory framework for alcohol advertising and marketing.
Community concern remains focused on children
The ACMA received 96 submissions during its consultation. It also met broadcasters, sporting organisations, public health advocates, alcohol and advertising industry representatives, government bodies and comparable overseas regulators.
The review found community concern about alcohol advertising was generally lower than concern about gambling advertising. Even so, concern remained consistently high when children’s exposure was considered.
The decision now moves attention to Free TV Australia’s next code revision and the Government’s response to the proposed cross-platform review. The broadcast industry has an opportunity to change its code voluntarily. A program standard remains available if the final safeguards are not considered adequate.
For the industry response, read TV Central’s report on Free TV Australia’s reaction to the ACMA alcohol advertising review. The ACMA has published its complete review outcomes report.