Complaints

The Council is the principal body with responsibility for responding to complaints about Australian newspapers, magazines and associated digital outlets, such as websites. Its jurisdiction extends to all the print publications and related digital outlets of its constituent bodies, which collectively account for about 90 per cent of all print media sales in Australia. For further details, see Constituent Bodies and their Publications.

The Council currently receives more than 700 complaints each year. About 75 per cent of those which are fully pursued by the complainant result in a correction, apology or some other form of action being taken. Where the complaint cannot be resolved without a formal adjudication, the publisher is required to publish the Council’s adjudication promptly and with due prominence.

This section provides further information on:
 

• Making a complaint:
  what can be complained about;
  who can complain;
  how to make a complaint.
   
• Handling of complaints:
  Council processes for investigation, mediation and adjudication
   
• Adjudications and other outcomes:
  a compendium of all Council adjudications;
  selected summaries of the outcomes of other complaints;
  statistics about the outcomes of complaints.