South Australia To Restrict MA15+ Games To Adults

posted by Glenn on April 3rd, 2012 at 7:38 pm

In April last year, South Australian Attorney-General John Rau says that his state would remove the MA15+ rating for games in favour of a new R18+ rating, to better protect children from video games carrying violent and other objectional material.

“If there is a national opportunity to embrace R18+, South Australia will do it with the quid pro quo that MA15+ is eliminated as a classification and all games that are now rated MA15+ will be made R18+

“We do this [different legislation in different states] with film now–the ACT and NT have different legislation when it comes to X-rated films compared to the rest of the country. This already exists and the sky hasn’t fallen in. I don’t think that it will be a problem if South Australia has a slightly different regime in respect to games than the rest of the nation.”

A year later, this proposal is scrapped. Now his state will restrict games rated MA15+ to people eighteen years and over, according to GameSpot.

“Complementary South Australian legislation [on R18+ for games] is likely to be introduced in State Parliament in May.

“However, my long-stated position has been to protect children by creating a clearer distinction between games that may be suitable for children and those that are suitable only for adults.

“Therefore, my intention is that the South Australian legislation will prevent the sale of MA15+ games to minors. This move will give parents greater certainty about the appropriateness of games for their children.”

Rau has claimed previously that his state would replace the MA15+ rating with the new R18+ rating, but this proposal was scrapped. His office confirmed that the new law will be policed at the retail level.

The reason for the change is to provide a clearer gap between content that is suitable for children and content restricted for adults.

So if this law passes, children can only purchase games that carry an M rating or lower, and cannot buy certain games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Dead Island.

ACT Set to Introduce R18+ Rating First

posted by Glenn on March 28th, 2012 at 8:39 am

ACT Attorney-General Simon Corbell always has been a longtime supporter of an R18+ rating in Australia, and his jurisdiction is set to become the first in Australia to implement the new rating, according to ABC News.

“The ACT will be the first jurisdiction to progress a bill giving effect to the Commonwealth’s decision to implement the R18+ category in Australia.

Previously, MA15+ was the highest rating a video game could get, but with the new changes, some games containing excessive violence or other objectionable content may be released, while other games that are already rated MA15+ would be relabeled with the new adult rating.

“This is part of a national reform that will allow adult gamers to view R18+ material in the same way that can already be done for film and printed material. But at the same time it will also provide protection to parents and children by giving parents better guidance about what material is and is not appropriate for people under the age of 18.”

Ron Curry, CEO of Interactive Games and Entertainment Australia, explains that even if the new rating comes into effect, it probably won’t stop material currently refused classification (such as Mortal Kombat and Syndicate) being downloaded from the internet.

We can look down and go ‘Hey, what’s that big black sticker, that’s telling me that this content isn’t appropriate.

“Even though they may not be able to have that online, at least there’s that recognition, at least there’s a way of going out and finding out if this product is acceptable for your child or not.

The Federal Government’s amended R18+ legislation is expected to come into effect on January 1, 2013.

R18+ Bill Clears Lower House, Heads to Senate

posted by Tim on March 22nd, 2012 at 9:48 am

On Monday 19 March, the R18+ bill was passed by the lower house of Parliament unamended, and is now headed for the Senate for the final round of voting before being passed into law. This is fantastic news, and R18+ Games Australia would like to congratulate all the members involved for having the common sense and strength to stand up for this important change.

There’s every indication that the bill will also pass the Senate with a minimum of fuss, but as usual, we’ll be sure to keep you informed.

Mortal Kombat Refused Classification, Again

posted by Glenn on March 9th, 2012 at 6:15 pm

According to Games On Net, the Classification Board has awarded Mortal Kombat: Game of the Year Edition an RC rating.

This is not suprising, given that this game was already banned last year, then again by the Review Board. Given their past experiences, Warner Bros. would think to wait for the R18+ rating, but they decided not to.

The game has been released for the PlayStation Vita handheld, and Warner Bros. thought that the smaller screen would reduce the amount of violence on screen. The Classification Board did not agree with this.

“This view was not shared by the Australian Classification Board and as such has been refused classification in Australia.”

Bill Cleared by Coalition

posted by Glenn on February 29th, 2012 at 6:39 pm

According to Games On Net, the committee responsible for carrying out an inquiry into the R18+ Bill has just handed down their report. The highlight is the one recommendation that the House of Representatives pass the new rating.

The report goes further to explain that the reason the Coalition used to force the bill to an inquiry was invalid, because “extensive public consultation on the introduction of an R18+ category of computer games legally restricted to adults has been undertaken since 2009″

It closes by saying “The Committee is satisfied that the evidence demonstrates overwhelming support for an R18+ Restricted classification for computer games. The Committee further notes that the Bill’s aim is not controversial. Rather, it seeks to align the existing classification system for computer games with the system that applies to films.”

The Bill will be sent back to Parliament, ready to be debated again. With both Labor and the Coalition agreeing to the R18+ rating, hopefully it will get through quickly, in time for the January 2013 target set out by former Federal Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor.