7 December 2016
The Turnbull Government has announced the pilot of a new world-first classification tool that will streamline the process of classifying Netflix content and make it easier for programmes to become available to Australian audiences.
The Government has been working with Netflix over the past year to create the tool, which combines Netflix’s technology with Australia’s classification ratings and consumer advisories.
This innovative solution represents the first time in the world that a self-regulatory tool will be used to classify films and television series.
The pilot will be undertaken over the next 12 months and will see Netflix applying the classification tool to classify their content for Australian audiences.
During the pilot, a broad range of classification decisions will be reviewed by the Classification Board to assess the integrity of the tool and ensure that ratings delivered by the tool meet Australian community standards. If needed, the Board has the power to revoke classifications made by the Netflix tool and replace them with its own decisions.
The tool speeds up the classification process and removes red tape for Netflix, while ensuring that all Netflix content is classified and the community continues to receive high quality information to guide entertainment choices for themselves and their children.
This is the second classification tool being trialled by the Government to address the increasing volume of content readily available online through new digital platforms.
The Government is currently evaluating its pilot of the International Age Rating Coalition tool another innovative classification system which has produced over half a million Australian classifications for online and mobile games on Google Play, the Microsoft Windows Store and the Nintendo eShop.