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AND VIDEO TAPE CLASSIFICATION (AMENDMENT)
BILL 1991
NEW SOUTH WALES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This Explanatory Note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament)
The object of this Bill is to amend the Film and Video Tape Classification Act 1984:
(a) to relocate the definition of "exhibit" in the Act;
(b) to prevent the acceptanceof an application for the classification of a film
unless the application is also made in the States and Territories on whose behalf
the commonwealth censor classifies films;
(c) to require the censor to have regard to uniform Ministerial guidelines issued for
the classification of films and advertisements;
(d) to provide that separate applications for classification are to be submitted for
film and video versions of the same title;
(e) to require payment of additional fees for classification applications in respect of
lengthy films containing more than 1 title;
(f) to allow the censor to review previous classification decisions after 2 years
from the date of the original decision;
(g) to allow in special cases the use of advertisement for a film before the film is
classified;
(h) to empower the censor to require an exhibitor, distributor or seller of films to
submit advertising material for approval;
(i) to provide that a classification decision takes effect when written notice is
given of the decision rather than the date the decision is gazetted as at present;
(j) to allow the censor to approve particular classes of alterations or additions to a
film as well as specific alterations or additions after the film has been
classified;
(k) to increase the penalties for exhibiting, displaying for sale of selling certain
unclassified films;
(l) to provide that advertising "trailers" exhibited or forming part of a film are
be of the same or a less restrictive classification than that of the film;
Act No. 74
Film and Video Tape Classification (Amendment) 1991
(m) to remove the current exception for minors under 2 years of age from the
provisions prohibiting the exhibition of "R" films in the presence of minors
and to extend those provisions to certain unclassified films;
(n) to empower the censor to require warnings as to a film's contents to appear on
the film's packaging;
to extend the current and proposed provisions concerning the markings to
(o) appear on film packaging to include the spine and top face of video
(p) to remove (from the offence of displaying for sale or selling unclassified films)
the exception for films that arc subsequently classified "G" or "PG";
to make possession of 10 or more copies of an unclassified film evidence of
(q) possession for sale;
(r) to alter the current offence of copying films that arc refused classification by
extending the offence to certain unclassified films;
(s) to make copying of an unclassified film evidence of copying for the purposes
of sale if 10 or more copies are made;
(t) to increase (from 1 month to 90 days) the period for which property seized
(during the investigation of an offence under the Act) can be retained by police;
(u) to enact savings and transitional provisions.
Clause 1 specifies the short title of the proposed Act.
Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act on a day or days to
be appointed by proclamation, except for the amendments made by Schedule 1 (9)(11)
concerning notification of classification decisions by the censor. These amendments are
backdated to 1 January 1991 to give effect to a decision by the Commonwealth to cease
publication of notification of classification decisions in the Commonwealth Gazette.
Clause 3 gives effect to Schedule 1.
Clause 4 provides that the explanatory notes appearing in the Bill do not form part
of the proposed Act.
Schedule 1 makes the amendments described above to the Film and Video Tape
Classification Act 1984. Each amendment is explained in detail in the explanatory note
relating to the amendment concerned.