Films Board of Review
Film Board of Review
1970 – 1 January 1996
Commonwealth appeal board for film censorship, which on application reviewed decisions of the Commonwealth Film Censorship Board to ban, cut or classify films and could confirm or reverse them.
How it came into existence
Set up under the customs film censorship regulations (the Customs (Cinematograph Films) Regulations) as part of the film censorship reforms of Don Chipp as Minister for Customs and Excise, restoring an appeal board after decades in which a single Appeal Censor had heard appeals against the censors' decisions. It dismissed an appeal against the cuts made to The Naked Bunyip in September 1970, so 1970 is taken as the start; a Senate committee account links it with the R classification introduced in 1971. One history calls it the Film and Literature Board of Review. The exact date and instrument of establishment are not confirmed.
- Appeals against film censorship decisions
Took over the appeal role of the Appeal Censor, an office under the customs film censorship regulations administered by the department.
Legislation: Customs Act 1901 (Customs (Cinematograph Films) Regulations)
How it ended
Replaced on 1 January 1996 by the Classification Review Board when the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 commenced. Until then a further appeal lay only to the minister.
- Review of film censorship and classification decisions
Main functions
- Review on appeal of film censorship decisions
- Fresh decisions on the banning, cutting or classification of films
Where it sits
Last in the portfolio of Attorney-General's Department.
Lineage
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Sources
Government records and websites
Some dates or links for this organisation are uncertain. Corrections are welcome.