Apparently this has been happening since last year & I just didn’t hear anything about it. The Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) is going to be merged into the Federal Attorney General’s Office by July 2007. All staff & authority relating to policy have already been moved over, the remainder of the functions to be merged by 1 July 2007.
Despite public perception, and it’s name, the OFLC was/is not responsible for the actual classification of films, computer games and some publications. That is done by the Classification Board and subsequntly reviewed by the Classification Review Board. The legislation for classification is set down by an agreement between the Federal Government and the states and territories. Also the classification boards are not responsible for regulating the Internet, radio or television, this is covered by the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 and governed by the Australian Broadcasting Authority. Music is covered by the Recorded Music Labelling Code of Practice [pdf] jointly managed by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and the Australian Music Retailers Association (AMRA).
Confused yet?
The OFLC is basically an administrative support agency for the other two classification boards. Makes sense that this would be rolled into the Attorny General’s ‘s office; I can’t see why we need yet another layer of bureaucracy.
The Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Amendment Bill 2006 [pdf] outlines the changes:
- facilitate the abolition of the Office of Film and Literature Classification
fold OFLC’s administrative and policy functions into the Attorney-
Department- remove agency management powers and financial responsibilities from
the Classification Board- ensure the Convenor of the Classification Review Board and the
Classification Board have equivalent functions and powers regarding
Boards, and- streamline the film classification process by fast-tracking the classification
additional content released with already classified or exempt films.
Sounds good, but whether it results in any practical changes to policy & procedure remains to be seen.