Codes - cinema films, home videos and DVDs

All films, videos and DVDs for public exhibition, sale or hire, must be classified under the provisions of the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995.

Classification is carried out on behalf of all states and territories of Australia by the federal Classification Board , using the Guidelines for the Classification of Films and Computer Games, as agreed to by the State and Territory Ministers responsible for censorship.

Each State and Territory has parallel Acts which specify:

• which classifications are permitted in that State (e.g. X rated videos are not permitted to be sold or hired in any State. Only ACT and NT permit X rated videos)

• the conditions of display, sale or hire. Such conditions include requirements to display the classification of individual films and videos in advertising, on covers of videos, and for video shops to display large posters explaining the classification system.

These Acts also set penalties for allowing under age children to gain access to legally restricted films and videos (i.e. R18+ and MA15+).

See each individual state and territory Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1996.