ACMA rejects alcohol ad ban on commercial TV

Free-to-air television can keep pouring.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has rejected a ban on alcohol advertising on commercial television. The decision concludes its review of the alcohol rules in the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice.

According to Free TV Australia, the regulator found that a ban would be a blunt instrument with uncertain outcomes. It would also impose high costs on broadcasters and could simply push the advertising onto unregulated online platforms.

The review still came with recommendations. Free TV will consider them in its next revision of the Code, which will include public consultation.

Those include a call for Free TV to remove the exemptions that let alcohol ads run alongside sports broadcasts at times when classification rules would otherwise prohibit them. “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,” ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said.

 The regulator has also asked Free TV to voluntarily apply its Code to content on broadcasters’ online services.

The numbers

Free TV says the review confirms commercial television is one of the most tightly regulated environments for alcohol advertising in Australia. On its numbers, the record is close to spotless.

The ACMA did not assess a single code-compliant complaint about alcohol advertising on broadcast television between January 2024 and August 2026.

The industry’s self-regulatory Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC) scheme shows a similar split. In 2025, digital media accounted for 82% of ABAC determinations and 94% of breaches. Broadcast television accounted for 5% of determinations and no breaches.

The goalposts problem

The review also looked at sport, recognising that most alcohol exposure during televised matches comes from sources broadcasters don’t control. That means the logo on the stadium signage, the sponsor on the jersey, and the branding on the venue itself. The network can’t edit those out of the shot.

Free TV backs the ACMA’s call for the Government to address alcohol marketing across all platforms. The peak body says each new restriction placed only on local broadcasters widens the regulatory gap with the global digital platforms competing for the same audiences and advertisers. It also says those restrictions cut into the revenue that funds free Australian news, sport, and entertainment.

Free TV Chief Executive Officer Bridget Fair said: “Free-to-air television takes its responsibilities to Australian audiences seriously, and our compliance record shows it.

“The evidence is clear that alcohol marketing problems sit overwhelmingly on digital platforms, not on free-to-air television. Yet once again, local broadcasters face the prospect of further restrictions while global platforms remain largely unregulated.

“Every new restriction on free-to-air television makes it harder to keep investing in the Australian news, sport and local stories that audiences depend on. That is the real cost of regulating one part of the market and ignoring the rest.”

What happens next

Free TV will now work through the recommendations as part of its Code review.

“We will work through the ACMA’s recommendations carefully as part of our Code review, and continue to argue for proportionate, evidence-based settings that apply across all platforms,” Fair said.

The ACMA has decided against a ban. Whether anyone does the same tidying up on the platforms is now up to Canberra, which has had that question on its desk for a while.